Darkroom work!

I'm sitting very still at the moment as I have a new pinhole camera propped in front of me, I'm doing a long exposure with this one for the first time and so it's a bit of a test, illuminated by the computer screen and a wind up lantern ( which is fading fast as I write) i'm hoping to get some result tonight from my 'box of milk chocolate caramels' ten minutes and counting... thirteen feels like it might be good!

I spent the afternoon in a rapidly rigged up darkroom which was basically a cupboard with a sky light that was typically a full stretch on a table situation to get it blacked out. After the acrobatics and once the setting up of the trays was sorted some of the adults and children came in with their various pieces of exposed RC paper, in the little pots I had given them.

It was going to be one of the days, I decided to do a few of the test pieces that I had prepared, well I was a bit miffed and slightly bemused to watch them turn black so quickly, ok we all have those days and I can't understand what was up with them , maybe the paper got fogged or something?! anyway with fingers crossed we got through a load of tiny pieces of paper and thankfully some images were to be seen. These were all test prints and their first time in the darkroom so I think they seemed quite philosophical about any 'mistakes' they all took it in their stride as part of the learning curve and discovering what their homemade pinhole cams could do. These cams had been made last week from one single piece of black card, as a net which folded into a portable box, that would hold a paper neg about 5cm square. The pinholes probably aren't as regular as I would have liked but then they have to see what they can do with these first and i didn't want them getting all worried about measuring it etc.

Okay I'm going off to dev this exposure.....cross those fingers! back in ten.......Well I'm back after having a fight with the cat whilst trying to wash dev off it's paws, somehow it decided to create mayhem this evening by knocking a papier maché sculpture over then hurtling around like he had a rocket somewhere you shouldn't keep a rocket! only to finish up in the dev, with the print I'm not sure if that black mess that was produced was his doing or mine after that so I'm starting again. I shall give some results tomorrow hopefully!

No pictures to accompany this tonight then!