I just bought a photo enlarger, and I have no idea how to use it

[zahc]

I bought a Besel printmaker 35 enlarger today from craigslist. Trouble is, I have no idea how to use it or if it works. I've already determined the negative carrier is missing, but I don't even know where it was supposed to go. There are three controls...height, focus, and this lever thing that flips up the light box away from the bellows. Where does the big lens go, where does the negative carrier go?


http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n78/daravon/lensage.jpg
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n78/daravon/lightleak.jpg
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n78/daravon/shootinmatch.jpg
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n78/daravon/whatsthis.jpg

BTW, 'how-to use enlarger' returns some google surprises.

[Scout26]

I'll ask......

Why the hell would you buy something that you have no idea how to use ??

Next time send me a big pile of cash and I'll send you a fully functional cardboard box complete with instructions on how to have hours and hours of fun !!

 

BTW, 'how-to use enlarger' returns some google surprises.

Don't watch much TV during sporting events, I take it......

[zahc]

I don't watch TV at all, or sporting events.

I bought the enlarger because I wanted to print photos. I didn't think it would be hard to figure out but I guess I was wrong. Maybe I'm missing more parts, but the enlarger only projects a small spot onto the baseplate, smaller than 8x10 even all the way at the top. Maybe I'm missing lenses.

[mtnbkr]

http://www.beselerphoto.com/enlargers.html#printmaker

In case you don't know...

You'll need a grain magnifier to focus properly.

Chris

[Gewehr98]

I've always wanted to get back into B&W photography.

Are photo paper and chemicals still widely available in this day of digital photography?

I see enlargers on Craigslist fairly often...

[mtnbkr]

Yes, Penn Camera and another shop nearby sell supplies.  There are many sources online as well.  Silver based processes won't go away, they'll just become marginalized like tintypes, wet-plate collodian, etc.  Apparently there are a lot of fringe manufacturers in Europe and Asia more than willing to produce the needed materials.  I've read good things about them.

www.apug.org is a good site for all things analog photography.

Chris

[Bogie]

I'd check with www.schillers.com or B&H Photo out of NYC...
 
Personally...
 
www.digitalenlarging.com - I use an Epson 9800 with the "photo black" ink set. It rawks. Did some black and white shots the other day, and they were great.
 
I'd watch ebay for the neg carrier.
 
Have you ever loaded a film can? And are you prepared to keep water temp fairly consistent?

[Monkeyleg]

Have you ever loaded a film can? And are you prepared to keep water temp fairly consistent?

Heathens. I have black and white photos I've done over the years in 35mm that have more detail than even the best combinations of digital cameras and printers. And digital can't capture the subtle gradations in my style of lighting.

The problem is that nobody is willing to trade off the convenience of digital for the perceived minor superiority of film.

[Manedwolf]

I saw the thread title as "potato enlarger". I need some coffee.

[Gewehr98]

Just remember to put the enlarged potato in the front of your speedo next time at the beach, Manedwolf.

Not the back. 

[zahc]

The problem is that nobody is willing to trade off the convenience of digital for the perceived minor superiority of film.

Digital is convenient? Nothing I hate more than sitting in front of a computer pushing a mouse.

[Manedwolf]

Digital is convenient? Nothing I hate more than sitting in front of a computer pushing a mouse.

Photo shoot to need-it-right-now sent off to the magazine in about an hour. That's why.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Yup, digital is all about convenience.  I use wet photography when I have time to kill.  I use digital when I just want to get a picture done.

[Monkeyleg]

The whole convenience discussion here reminds me of a conversation I had with a very young, very green freelance assistant last year on a photo shoot.

I was taking RGB readings of the photo on the monitor when he asked, "how did you guys do this before digital? How did you know if the highlights and shadows were right?"

I told him, "we looked at the film. Someone who's been in the business long enough knows what will reproduce properly."

He thought about that for a few minutes, then asked, "but what did you do before you shot the film? How did you know how the shots were going to look?"

"We used Polaroids," I said, "although there was an art in interpreting the Polaroids to know what the film would look like. But Polaroid had only been around since the early 1980's for professionals. Before that we didn't have anything."

"So what did you do?"

"We looked at the set."

I don't think he believed me.

[Bogie]

Heh... It's fun to "hang lights" with kiddies...
 
"Why do we need this spotlight? Why does it need to be so bright? Why did you run all the extension cords in from the other rooms? Why did you cover the wall with aluminum foil? Why did that breaker trip?"
 
Of course with digital, I can just prop up 8-16 fluorescent tubes, and go to town... Nice soft, and relatively shadow-free...
 

[Harold Tuttle]

Watching the National Geographic Society divest from all of its analog & darkroom processes was quite interesting.

Banks of light tables and enlargers went into storage and then disappeared

The concept of a contact "print" is now replaced with a gangscan digital print.
Its not the same thing, but its good enough for the bean counters.

[HankB]

Digital is convenient? Nothing I hate more than sitting in front of a computer pushing a mouse.

Exactly what were you doing when you wrote that? 

[TMM]

it's been a couple months since i've used one (and quite a few more months since i posted here last!)

the "light leak" photo, i believe, is where the negative carrier goes. it seals the gap up pretty good. and, IIRC, enlargers don't shoot all of the light through the negative. some leaks out here and there...

the "what's this" photo is the holder where you place the color filters. the ones i used were varying shades of red. the darker the color, the greater the contrast achieved on the print.

the lever that lifts the light box from the bellows allows you to slip in the negative carrier.

i have no idea where the lens goes. i've never disassembled/assembled one. my suggestion is, if you're like me and enjoy taking things apart, take it apart and look for a place that looks like it could use a lens.

the very last lens, at the bottom of the bellows, should be able to turn. that controls the aperture, and thus the amount of light coming through and hitting the photo paper.

oh, and you'll need a timer to hook up to the enlarger so you know your exposure time. or you could manually switch it on and off, i suppose, counting seconds in your head. but that's a bit more imprecise...

hope that helped a bit

tmm

[zahc]

Ya it looks like I'm either going to have to buy or make a negative carrier. More likely make since they are like 90 dollars new.

[HankB]

The "lensage" photo illustrates a condenser lens. This goes between the light source and the film - it's purpose is to redirect the light so as to properly fill the entrance pupil of your enlarging lens while at the same time provide uniform illumination across the entire negative.

The "light leak" photo appears to be, as TMM said, the area where the negative carrier goes.

The "whatsthis" photo is also, as TMM said, the color filter holder. You'll want to put a deep red filter in here, so you can project an image of your negative onto your easel - which you will load with photo paper - without actually beginning your exposure. (B&W photo paper is relatively insensitive to red light.) When you're exposing the image, you'll start a timer and simultaneously swing the deep red filter out of the way. Anywhere from one to several seconds later, you'll swing it back to stop the exposure.

Your enlarging lens will go on the bottom of the bellows, between the negative carrier and the red filter.

. . .  I have no idea how to use it or if it works . . .

At least they didn't sell you a gonkulator . . . those are only useful on submarines. 

[seeker_two]

I bought a Besel printmaker 35 enlarger today from craigslist. Trouble is, I have no idea how to use it or if it works.

Just remember....it's for enlarging photos ONLY....misuse may damage the device and cause serious permanent injury.... 




 

[Bogie]

No, you're not swinging the red filter out of the way...
 
Gitcherself a holder for the paper. It'll have the correct-size holes in it.
 
Put the holder under the thing, with a sacrificial sheet of the same thickness paper. Focus on it with the enlarger on. Turn it off. Insert the paper (using only red safe light), then hit the timer button for your exposure.
 
Or just buy a used Epson 1280...
 

[zahc]

Gitcherself a holder for the paper. It'll have the correct-size holes in it.

A paper holder? Is that kind of like the gonkulator? Doesn't the paper just sit on the bottom? And how long am I supposed to shake everything, until the bunny shows up or just long enough to appease the broodwich?

[Monkeyleg]

The paper holder keeps the paper flat. On an enlarger you have a very shallow depth of field. A curled corner or a bump in the paper could make the image soft in that spot.

The paper holders most commonly used (when I was doing darkroom work) were adjustable for 5x7, 8x10, and 11x14 sizes. The really good paper holders had dozens of holes on the base that ran from a vacuum unit, which kept the paper completely flat.

Once you get the enlarger figured out, you're going to need chemicals, as well as containers to store them in and trays to use them in, a darkroom, and all sorts of other miscellany that you'll accumulate over time.

[zahc]

I just checked, and it DOES fit on the tiny sink in our roughly 5'x7' bathroom. Maybe with water in the bathtub, a board between the toilet and the edge of the tub, towel under the door...

I'm doing the WAF calculations and it's not looking good. That's never stopped me before, though.