Building a darkroom

When I started at LSUS I was shown around various rooms by Dr. Webster who is the chair of the program until December.  She showed me this wonderful room full of props from the theater department.  As I glanced in I saw a beautiful sink covered by supplies and these booths that looked much like they were prepared to hold enlargers.  I asked quickly and was surprised to hear that it used to be a room for developing film.  I mentioned that I worked as a Darkroom technician back during my first two degrees when I was double majoring.  On the spot, Dr. Webster said it was my task to get the darkroom set up and running.  I set to work right away asking for the props to be removed, and surveying the needs of them room as well.  Once everything was cleared away, I realized I had a real task on my hands, as the room was in disarray.  The walls had yellowed, there were stains that growing in places, and a floor that looked as if it hadn't seen a mop, or broom in years.  Below you can see the white of the new wall color and the original color not created by paint alone. (Ewww)

Once the room was painted white, I went to work on developing a mural for one side of the wall that would make the room seem more engaging for the youth of incoming students.  Also, while working on this redecorating assignment I went to work on writing a grant that would allow us to purchase the materials needed to run the room, enlargers, timers, lights, etc. 

I was so thrilled that within my first year, I had written a grant that was accepted to begin work on buying supplies for the dark room.  $600 was my first approved grant ever as an assistant professor. How exciting is that?  So while I waited on the money, I finished painting the room and the booths as you can see in the photos below. 

The room waited a long time in transition waiting on individuals to get things ordered, or for B&H to have what we needed.  About a year and a half later....last week, we finally got the final things we needed.  The chemicals.  This will be a great addition to the department.  I hope it runs for a long time.