ABSTRACT
There are literally hundreds of alternative darkroom techniques. Many are available to buy in a kit form, supplying all the necessary chemicals and tools (special brushes or coating rods). Most processes need large-format negatives for contact printing. A large sheet of clean, heavy glass (bind or grind the edges to make it safe to work with) can be used in place of a contact-printing frame. Old photographic processes range in complexity from the very easy to the very difficult. Darkroom techniques mean working with existing negatives but some photographic processes also involve the image-making part of the process. The manual skills and understanding of the production of images with a full tonal range (sensitometry) will stand photographer in good stead for more complex processes should their then wish to progress.
