How do i set up and use a home-made darkroom?

-alright, im 16 years old, but im really getting into photography. i don't so much plan to be a professional, i however really want to work experimentally with film and development. Digital isn't my thing. what im trying to find out is how to set up my own temporary darkroom in my house bathroom or something. ive gotten all sorts of books from the library about the subject and none of them helped me because i have no knowledge of the development process. what do i need, how do i learn, and does anybody have any book suggestions on this topic? any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.As the other responder said, all you need for developing is a changing bag and a developing tank with reel (Paterson Super System 4 is a good brand to buy). Once you load the film into the tank in the changing bag, you can do the rest of the process in the daylight.



The process for developing is simple: all you need in addition to the tank is a developer (Kodak D-76 is what I use), a fixer (Kodafix Solution is what I use), water, a thermometer, and a timer. Once your developer reaches the proper temperature, pour it into the loaded tank (don't take the inner lid off or you will ruin the film). Start your timer and develop for the time indicated on on your film's data sheet (you can find it online), agitating the tank every 30 seconds or so. Once the time is up, pour your developer out and pour water in. Agitate for 30 seconds, and then pour the water out. Next, pour the fixer in and let the film fix for the time requred, agitating again every 30 seconds. After that, you can take the inner lid off of the tank, and wash your film in cool running water for about 15-20 minutes. Once that is done, you can hang your film up to dry.





If you would like to do contact printing or enlarging, you can do what I do to set up a darkroom: I go into a small windowless room, and tape the door up with two heavy-duty trash bags (3 mil or thicker), using gaffer's tape to cover up the edges. Turn the lights off for about three minutes, and if you still can't see any light leaking or your hands in front of your face, you are good. While you can work in the dark, it will be better if you use a safelight for developing paper (you can NOT use a safelight for developing film, as it will ruin the film). I use a red LED safelight from Cyron Lighting, and it doesn't affect the paper even after half an hour under the light.



Good luck!