Do you know of a darkroom facility, still in it’s original form, at a newspaper or media owner or photo agency dating back to the 1960/70’s or earlier …anywhere in the UK? And/or images and footage of a working darkroom or the working life of darkroom staff.
As part of our ongoing research and documentation of the UK photo press industry at our Press Photo History project we are looking to record life at work for photographers and agency staff from 1904.
Send photos to [email protected] Call 07802437827 – Thanks.
UPDATE: Lovely shot below just in from Photographer David Levenson to kick us off!
Morning Will
Re your post – here is a pic of Bob Fincher, Fox Photos printer in the large print darkroom at Fox in Scoresby Street around 1978. Bob made wall sized enlargements on the rail mounted enlarger ( on the left) from half plate copy negs.Fox was under a railway arch, so every time a train went over, everything vibrated. Amazingly even though giant print exposures were a minute or more, everything – enlarger, wall, all vibrated the same, so the prints were sharp!
David
Great images here from David Norrie the CEO of UK based sports photo agency Colorsport with this note:
Will
I am sending you some images of the Albert Wilkes darkroom (for your Press Photo History Project) in his Bromwich studio and office from the 1920s. Albert, a former Aston Villa and England footballer, had started taking sporting pictures in the 1890s, moving to Legge Street in Bromwich before the 1st World War where he worked with his son, Albert jn and where it remained until the 1970s. The business and archive of 50,000 glass plates were acquired by Colorsport nearly fifty years ago. By adding the Provincial Press Collection a few years later and expanding the business, Colorsport now has unrivalled archive material of all English football clubs, many going back well over a century to the late 1800s, as well as every FA Cup Winning team.
Hope this help
Best
David
