Once upon a time photographically

[Niner]

Now days you grab your trusty digital camera. Make a few...or a lot.. of snapshots and then come home and stick the card into the computer card reader to get a look at them. Once upon a time.... in film time... you loaded the film, and took the 12, 24, 36 snaps available. You came home and did the developing, us serious film adventurers, usually in B&W but sometimes color film, with the right enlarger, and if we were feeling flush and could afford the chemicals as well as the film. Now days us film guys, after usually developing the film as of old, we likely as not scan the negatives in an Epson Perfection V600 scanner and then save them as jpgs. If we want prints all we have to do is go to snapfish or one of the others and upload the image, tell them how big a print we want, pay them some money and in a week there is the print or prints.

I was thinking of my old Beseler print maker this morning. I used to make my own prints in a small poorly air vented bathroom. Three trays in the bathtub in a house I lived in thirty and more years ago. The Beseler on a sink counter. Once I got a bad sore throat and went to the EENS doctor. He said I should quit smoking as my throat looked like pre cancer. I did stop smoking. But I found out later it was breathing the fumes in that bathroom. But...being scared out of smoking turned out to be a good thing anyway.

To shorten this story a bit. I went looking for my old print maker in the garage. Any plastic I had covering it was long since missing. Rat crap was evident along with a thick layer of dirt on it nearly everywhere. There were the rusty screws and a little rust here and there elsewhere as well. If the bulb in it works it will be a miracle for sure. I decided to at least wash the body of the long deceased friend. I still have many prints made with the Beseler all over the house.

I think I'll try posting this on a facebook page where I'm sure to get a few boos for using the soap and water on the relic.

[PeterN2]

I had a go at making black and white prints many years ago. I didn't have any place suitable for regular use and used the bathroom. I only used it a few times, the printer, not the bathroom. The enlarger I used was a Russian Zenith that only did 35mm negatives. It is packed away in the loft somewhere, among a load of other stuff that I really should get rid of, but haven't.
Regards
Peter.