Film Development Outdoor Lab
The image that I have attached at the top of this page shows my film development outdoor lab that I used for developing my Entwined project large format image. It definitely makes an outdoor lab seem far more glorious than it actually is. With that being said, there are some benefits. Most obviously, the views. Then we have the clean air! (This in particular is a massive benefit. No more dirty black and white chemicals invading your nostrils and lungs). Finally, we have the benefit of not needing to designate and temporarily shut down a room (of which most only have a limited quantity in their household). The negatives include, first and foremost, the weather. Those snow covered mountains may look good, but the freezing conditions wreak havoc not only with your body, but also with your chemicals. The speed at which the chemicals lose temperature is quite fast, so you'll need to use a water bath as well, and keep development times on the shorter end if possible. You may also need to look at your equipment. A glass thermometer is never really a good idea, but even less so in the winter (as I found out!). I actually used an electronic meat thermometer in the end, although you may find something better or more accurate. Also, if, like me, you have no nearby water source, then expect to be running to and from the kitchen a lot with hot and cold water. Finally, back to equipment, you are going to need a daylight tank. I myself use a Paterson Orbital, which has been adjusted for black and white development. A further problem is that your water is not going to be at room temperature. If it's winter, then it's going to be significantly colder than the recommended levels, so you will need to use hot water, and then wait for it to cool down. And you can be waiting a long time. You will also need a table to work on. And if you don't want to get in trouble, you will also need a plastic sheet cover. I went for a lovely red and white polka dot design. Some problems I encountered included getting direct sun on my daylight tank. (I have some suspicions that this may have caused a development mark on one side, although I can't be sure.) I also shattered a thermometer, as already mentioned. Finally, the cleanup job was a bit of an effort. As my balcony is used in fairer weather, I had to really be sure that I wasn't leaving any nasty chemicals around. So that's it really. A film development outdoor lab is possible. You heard it here first!