Inside the PictureBox.: The ‘Dinky Dark Room’

Completed 'Dinky Dark Room'

I initially looked at photographic black bags for my darkroom requirements. It quickly became apparent that a bag was not going to be suitable for the various jobs that I knew that I was going to have to perform with it.

To load the Lomo tank you require approximately 2ft of space and a bag would be in constant contact with the film and presumably impede loading of the tank reel.
I need to load the vision3 250D onto 2x 100ft 16mm camera reels from a 400ft film core (I have about 130ft to play with).
Then cut the 100ft camera reels into 2x 50ft reels that will then fit the tank reel.

I considered whether I could adapt a bag and make it more tent like in structure to lift it off the tank components. This would be unsatisfactory though as the bag has been designed as a bag and would not allow for the space required if expanded.
So I then thought about making a collapsible dome or tube tent like structure from scratch, considering if blackout tents already perhaps existed that I could adapt by attaching blackout sleeves to it. An internet search did turn up blackout tents but mainly as a sensory deprivation device. http://www.amazon.co.uk/SensaHut-Sensory-Blackout-Tent-Pop/dp/B009KUQA46

There were none for photographic purposes. The cost of these tents was prohibitive for something that was experimental with an unknown outcome.

It occurred to me that black plastic boxes exist that must be light proof (like water cisterns) that I could potentially cap over the lid with light proof material with sleeves, so I set about finding what was available. A quick search of our largest DIY retailer in the area turned up a host of black
boxes until, fantastic, a large black box with a hermetically sealed lid. It looked perfect, if it is gas and water proof it made sense to me that it should be light proof. I called into the shop (yes B&Q) to see the box for myself. It was perfect, just missing sleeves. So I bought one.
I took a trip out to the local material shop (Boyes) and bought a large piece of curtain blackout material (about 2x2m) as with the photographic blackout bags I planned to use double sleeves.

The next problem was how on earth should I attach the sleeves to the box? They need to be maintainable/replaceable. I considered various methods:

Sand blast cabinet glove fixings (these were all too big for the space available on the box)
http://www.esska-tech.co.uk/esska_eng_s/Plastic_Rings_For_Gloves_And_Blast_Cabins_2_Pieces_1524skb160br_25040.html

Toilet bowl and soil pipe fittings (which were all a little bit too small). http://www.screwfix.com/p/black-screw-on-end-cap-sp292/22628#

Rubber trim like that on car body panelling (I figured it would probably pull away from the edge once the sleeve material was pulled). http://www.amazon.co.uk/Standard-black-rubber-protective-8-5mm/dp/B00D05NGIK/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0ARZQ0ZJK2Y62GQE730D

The tubing grips and holds the shirt sleeve securly

None seemed ideal. I started to investigate split tubing of various kinds to use in the same way as the car trim, but once the tube is split it loses its structural strength. It will kink and not grip at the edges as required. Because I had one to try I did experiments with a washing machine waste pipe with scrap material and a hole of the required size. It worked! The beauty of this solution is that it will also work around the curved corner of the box.

Tubing for experiments


Success! The washing machine waste pipe

It grips the shirt sleeve securly

The next step was to make some sleeves and apply what I had learned to the box. the outside dimension of the sleeve must fit around the outside dimension of the tube when in situ. I made a very basic sleeve design with two sleeves, an inner and an outer to each of the two full sleeves. The inner had a very basic elasticated hem whilst the outer had a more elaborate elastic and Velcro fastener. The outside diameter of the sleeve was based on an appropriately sized saucer that would make a suitable aperture that would be comfortable to use. I was really pleased with them. I hadn’t done a project with a sewing machine since I was at school and they came out a treat.

I marked up the box allowing for the trim to sit unimpeded around the edge of the intended holes and cut them out and sanded them with a dremel. I finished them with a quick scrape with the edge of a metal ruler to remove any burrs. Fitting the sleeves was relatively easy as it was with my mock up. Tugging on the sleeves confirms that they are securely attached to the box (as it flexes under the pulling). During the shooting of the demo footage the stitching gave around the Velcro on one of the sleeves. It was an easy job to remove the pipe and then sleeve for repair and re-fitting it securely was as easy as during the first installation.

All in all it is a great design solution (even if I say so myself) and one that I am sure would be of use to other film and photography enthusiasts.

Demo footage was filmed during the whole of the construction which I shall edit upload and share with the various film communities.