Personalizing My Darkroom #2 And My 8 Darkrooms

I have always felt it is very important to have an inspiring and creation creating darkroom space. All of my darkrooms (8 so far) have had personal touches, photos, non darkroom items, books, whatever it takes to make the rooms more fun to be in, more fun to dream in, more fun to make art in. I never understood how people can make photos in sterile stainless steel factory type darkroom spaces. They seem way to clinical to me, like your at an autopsy! My work spaces, got to have my music, got to have my books, got to have my places to dream, and to come up with new and exciting ideas. Maybe the rooms are not quite as spacious and functional but I make do, they work for me. the photos comes out in the end. Now with 2 personal darkrooms I have more room to spread my wings when needed. Hopefully more good prints will be the result and more crazy shit photography ideas and dreams will be thought up and chased down.

My 8 darkrooms through the years are as follows:

1) My old bedroom when I started doing darkroom work at 14 years of age. (mom and dads home) (1978)
2) My dedicated darkroom in the bathroom space next to my old larger bedroom (mom and dads home). (1980)
3) In the bathroom of a motor home. (1985)
4) In West Oakland (Ghetto area) California in a 4) In West Oakland (Ghetto area) California in a small bathroom at a jazz club.(1985)
5) My #1 darkroom at my home, best darkroom by far!! 8x10 enlarger, 2 large stainless steel sinks. (1990?) (Thank you Dad, Mom, Uncle Frank and Dwayne G)
6) Bangkok apartment Thailand bathroom. (stayed in Thai 10 months) (1999)
7) My room in Pattaya Thailand. (stayed in Thai 1 year)(2003)
8) Darkroom #2, the latest beauty!! (2019)

My hope is these darkroom photos will make my memories flow, and will lead to more creative work int he future. This place is more me now. I feel at home in the room, it is my universe, my sanctuary.

Here is the personalizing I did today, adding a bunch of photos from the "Families of the Dump" work.

Note* Also have a nice photo of mom and dad I want to add later.
Note* Have the plumber scheduled to come in March 12 to hook up my 3 darkroom sinks. He told me there should not be a problem.

Old photo from 1999, young baby being held by grand mother in Tool Kok Slum Phnom Penh Cambodia. (Canon F1 35mm)

"Families of the Dump" (2017-2018) tiny test photos, made up a while back, found them in a box...so PUT THEM UP!! :) (Canon 5D Mark 3, at 10000 ASA)

"Families of the Dump" (2017-2018) test photos. The child in the top left photo reached out and held my hand in the completely black darkness of the dump as I was making photos. I was standing, looking for something to photograph when suddenly I just felt her take and hold my hand, I did not even realize she was next to me. This happened more than once with more than one child in my 4 months or so of shooting pictures and doing donations. The children are so lovely, being with them was life changing, their smiles, laughter. It is hard for me to put it into words. All I know is I got to get my lazy ass back there and help them again.(Canon 5D Mark 3, at 10000 ASA)

Advert for "The Train Is Coming" exhibition, on the left is a photo of a lady who lived on the streets of Bangkok (1999), the photo on the right is a photograph of my old friend Sonny, who was an ex prize fighter, a middle weight contender, met him in West Oakland when I was 21. Sonny taught me to love Jazz and that the world was more complex, diverse and beautiful than my simple straight life in Edmonton had taught me, I owe him so much. The middle advert photo was made in Klong Toey Slum in Bangkok, the little girl and her friend  were following me around learning English, she kept saying "NOSE" over and over again when I taught her it, she loved the word, giggled and laughed when she said it. The many children in that part of the slum asked me to come back, asked me when I would return. I did come come back but I never saw them again. (Mamiya 6 medium format, Leica M6 35mm and Canon A-1 35mm)

"Families of the Dump" (2015, 2016, 2017-2018). The young girl with younger girl are sisters, the older one took great care of her little sis, taking her everywhere, always watching out that she had food, and was safe. In later photos they both had shaved heads because of the lice problem in the dump. The photo of the housing with the dogs was made in 2016, that area of the dump was bulldozed down as it was too close to a new highway being built (both pics made with a 5x7 view camera). ( 5x 7 view camera, Rolleiflex medium format, Canon 5D Mark 3, at 10000 ASA)

From the "The Train Is Coming" shot in Bangkok's Klong Toey Slum. A railway track goes right through the slum mere feet from peoples homes. I gave a copy of this photo to the mother, she LOVED IT!! After I gave it away, other mothers wanted to pose with their babies in the same spot. (4x5 view camera)

From the Sex Worker portrait series. This photo is from 2007, both young women worked in a short time go go bar. They would would take customers from the bar directly upstairs to the short time (one sex time) rooms. Pic made in Pattaya Thailand in 2007 in a studio with a 8x10 view camera.