Darkroom – Tony Egan

I set up my first darkroom in 1983. It was in the bathroom of a small flat in Randwick, NSW. Blacked out windows at night and chemical trays on a board over the bathtub. Simple, but effective enough for 8×10 prints on resin coated paper. I had caught the bug!

As we moved home several times in the next 25 years, the temporary darkroom moved to laundries and eventually a garage. In 2008, as kids left home, we decided to downsize and move from a big house in the suburbs to the Inner West of Sydney. We both insisted on a place within easy walking distance to public transport. My wife wanted a single storey detached house and my must-have was a space to establish a permanent darkroom. We were very lucky to secure all requirements. We got a house with a large double garage which I partitioned to create a 2.2 x 4.8 metre darkroom.

I designed and fitted out the space and quickly filled it with 5 enlargers and all the little extra items I had also coveted. From around 1998 almost all my gear was acquired second hand or gifted by others wanting to rid themselves of un-used equipment. E-Bay was a goldmine in the early 2000s, but it has become much more difficult to find some rarer items in recent years.

Apart from the love of photography, I also enjoy a variety of handyman activities and inventing and modifying devices. I built a 12×16 print washer with perspex separators. I updated my Durst 138 enlarger with a high lumen LED light source. I also modified a Beseler 4×5 enlarger to enable enlargement of 8×10 negatives. It has 4 high lumen LED lights in a box built above the original bellows. This shines on a white glass diffuser and the negative is sandwiched in glass holders under a top anti-Newton ring sheet. I have also built a UV lightbox for alternative processes and converted an IKEA glass display cabinet as my negative drying unit. I added a small portable hotplate in the bottom to provide heat to dry negatives within 30 minutes or so.

I am very grateful for the enjoyment I’ve had in the creative space of my darkroom for almost 15 years now. It’s wonderful to be able to enter anytime day or night and work on a new project with amber light and fine music flooding the room.

Just outside the darkroom I have a large workbench I use for matting and framing prints. I have mat cutters, a dry mounting press and also make my own wooden floating frames. I like being self-sufficient when it comes to preparing for exhibitions or selling prints. My darkroom is also available for hire and I also offer workshops for anyone interested in learning about film development and printing. 

When I retired from the corporate world 5 years ago I set up a small photography business offering a variety of services.  You can find out more by going to the website.