What is a digital darkroom?
These days, photographers use what I like to call a “digital darkroom”. First of all, you don’t need an actual darkroom. You can set it up anywhere you can set up your computer or laptop. All you need is space for a scanner and camera. There are no toxic chemicals to mix, set up, or clean up. You don’t need to set aside large blocks of time to feel productive. I’ll never go back to a chemical darkroom. Enlargers and colour processors are expensive and cumbersome. Colour balancing is difficult– you have to keep working at it to keep in practice. There is a relatively long time between exposing and evaluating the print: wet prints out of the processor have a blue cast that makes them difficult to judge. Manipulations — dodging, burning, contrast control, colour balancing — can be done with far more precision digitally — especially with colour. I’m sometimes tempted to go back to black and white darkroom printing. It doesn’t have the frustrating complexities of colour, and a well made
