The $5 Darkroom (from the laboratory archives)

Some of you young whippersnappers may not know that there was a time when photos had to be developed using film, chemicals and all sorts of fancy equipment. Back in the day, a decent black and white darkroom setup cost about $150. But what if you didn't have that kind of money? In 1988 my friend Steve and I came up with a clever solution called "The $5 Darkroom."

I recently stumbled across these drawings in an old notebook.





It was made using a cardboard box, a lightbulb and a camera. The contraption was pointed at a wall, where a piece of photo paper was tapped. We then used some disposable aluminum trays filled with chemicals from a cheap black and white "hobby pack" to develop the prints.


Focusing was a challenge, but it worked just fine once we figured out that we needed to remove the General Electric logo from the lightbulb unless we wanted it emblazoned on every print!