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A darkroom is a given space, usually a separate area in a building or a vehicle, that is made dark so as to allow photographers to use light-sensitive materials to develop photographs and film.
Darkrooms were used in the late 19th and early to late 20th century for black and white photography. Using black and white film, amateur photographers could control every step of the photographic process and achieve results at home.
Due to the relative complexity involved in processing colour film (see C-41 process) and printing color photographs, and to the rise, first of Polaroid technology and later digital photography, darkrooms are quickly decreasing in popularity amongst both the amateur and professional class.
The darkroom
The heart of most darkrooms is the enlarger, an optical apparatus that projects the image on a negative to a base. On the base, a sheet of photographic paper, typically either Resin-coated or fibre-based paper, is exposed. It is during this initial exposure that the photo can be modified, mostly by burning (giving more light to specific parts of an image by exposing it while blocking light to the rest) and/or dodging (reducing light to a specific part of an image by blocking light to it). After this exposure, the photographic printing paper is ready to be processed.
Note that some photographers who use large format (usually defined as 4x5" and larger sized film) cameras do not necessarily need to enlarge images, but are able to produce contact prints as final images.
The paper is then developed, rinsed or put into a stop bath, "fixed", then rinsed again and dried. Some darkrooms also have special print washers used to most thoroughly clean the paper.
The darkroom does not have to be completely dark when making black and white prints. Black and white print papers are only sensitive to blue light, so black and white darkrooms feature a specially-made red or amber colored light, known as a safelight. It enables the photographer to work in the light so they can see what they are doing, without exposing the paper. A low-intensity orange or yellow light can also be used, but these are less common than the red safelight. Color print paper, on the other hand, is sensitive to all parts of the visible spectrum and therefore must be kept in complete darkness until the prints are properly fixed.
Depending on personal preference, a darkroom may have a "paper-safe", which is a light-proof box to store photographic paper not in use as opposed to the light-proof bags that the paper comes packaged in, and a changing bag, which is a small bag with arm holes specially designed to be completely light proof and used to prepare film prior to developing. The key advantage of using a changing bag is that items used while loading or handling film are less likely to fall or be misplaced as they are enclosed in a small area.
See also
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Photography | Dunkelkammer | 暗室 | Doka | Ciemnia fotograficzna
"Darkroom"