ok so i havent updated this journal since before i even started printing. wow. obviously i have done some printing since than but not as much as i had hoped. i went to the darkroom about 3 times after that and then i was told that i cant use it anymore because my moms supervisor didnt want to be liable if i got injured with the chemicals wich doesnt make sense because i bought all my chemicals with my own money. so i didnt print for about month and a half or so. i kept shooting and got fed up with being so behind on my film developing that i got a one roll tank some chemicals and negative sheets and started developing in my kitchen. now im all caught up and i got to use my moms office darkroom one more time a couple weeks ago when her office was closed and made 7 prints for a school assignment that never got done because i had only finished half of it =/. and then.....i found a darkroom. a friend of mine had told me about a really good darkroom that costs no more than 50 dollars for 12 hours of access to some very proffessional equipment and instructions on how to use it to its full potential. we went on thursday and went the full 12 hours. i got there at 8:30 and anxiously waited for it to open deathly afraid that i would walk in and be in some guys living room. this was partially true. i knocked at about 8:50 and a very tall man in his sixties answered the door. he showed me in and the first things i saw where a couch a refrigerator and a microwave. he lives in quincy but if you didnt know that you would think he lives there. he toured the facilities with me and just as we where about to start in the firs test strip (something i had never even made before) when we hear the doorbell it was my friend adrienne. she came in and loaded her negative carrier and got ready to print. we spent a little more than 12 hours in there and the results where better than anything i had ever made before. i learned so much in so little time i actually took advandage of the variable contrast enlargers and for the first time actually felt like a real photographer. before when i was printing i was doing maximum aperture for minimal exposure times with no contrast. thistime i was using real apertures and exposure times and using contrast and split tone/grade printing and for the first time dodging and burning. it felt so great and at the same time very frustrating i made about nine test strips for the street performers piece using primary exposures up to 3 minutes and secondary pure blue split tone exposures up to 2 and a half mintues but it was well worth it. im so happy i went. from now on, on the days i have off from school im going to go in and print. im saving up to have 40 dollars at all times for situations like "Surprise! you dont have school tommorrow!". i also recently tried kodaks BW400CN (the CN actually stands for color negative seing as its not actually black and white film. not to happy with the results so ill only be posting a few from that roll. there where hints of color in pretty much all of the prints seing as its black and white film made to be processed in color chemicals and on color paper. go figure =/. i also recently tried a roll of kodaks ultra color film wich i am very happy with its slightly confusing seeing as the 400 iso is actually 100 and the 100 is actually 400 i might not post any because of exposure problems and poor focusing but well see. yesterday i hung out with my friend ethan and we shot three rolls of black and white in his old twin lens reflex i may only make contact sheets at first though so thats whats up with me and im going to try and update this stupid thing more.

peace

walter