Would you believe Work In Process is celebrating its first birthday next month!

Ever since opening its door last June and processing its first roll of film, the lab has become home for many of Melbourne's and Australia's finest photographers. So what better way to say happy birthday to the lab than to throw an exhibition for its wealth of talented analog shooters.

WIP is giving you the chance to show your photographs alongside like minded creatives, enthusiasts and professionals all on the same night, all in the same room. We’ve teamed up with the amazing crew at Hound & Bone Studio to offer you beautiful fine art pigment prints at a special price just for the event. There will be prizes up for grabs on the night for winning images from Kodak Professional, Hound & Bone, Holbrook Workshop - Custom Framing and She Shoots Film. Bodriggy Brewing Co have kindly donated complimentary ale for the night which will be served out of the beautiful Voivode bar along with some delicious cocktails that will be sure to keep you warm.

The exhibition’s aim is to give Work In Process’s customers the opportunity to print one or two of their favourite images they have taken in the past year and show them in a gallery situation, where they might have never had the chance to otherwise. Exhibitors are welcome to take their prints home or have a go at selling them on the night.

To be apart of this exhibition and get your images out of the digital world and into print all you have to do is have had the film developed at Work In Process in the past year! If you have a couple of special photographs that you would like printed, find the negative and bring it in store before the 11th of June, WIP will do a High resolution scan on them before going to print.

The exhibition will be held on Saturday the 22nd of June at the incredible XO Studios in East Brunswick.

Together with Hound & Bone we are offering two sizes of prints on two different paper stocks at a very special price:

A4: $11.20 & A3: $22.40 including a high res scan and printed on your choice of either Canson Rag Photographique or Canson Platine Fibre Rag. We will also add $5 per print to help with costs for hiring the venue and creating the installation needed to display the prints. There is a maximum of 2 prints per person and spaces are very limited. All images must be scanned before the 11th of June.

Every day

amazing Images come through our lab. Get one printed, show it off, hang it on your wall afterwards, sell it or give it to a loved one.

Happy first birthday to Work In Process and thanks to you for continuing to supporting this humble little lab. Heres to the future of analog photography.

~Brock.

Win one years worth of free processing valued at $676!

Here’s your chance to win a whole years worth of colour development and scanning at Work In Process! To tie in with our recent poster campaign, there are 100 “Film Photo Lab” posters scattered around Melbourne’s northern suburbs. To win the grand prize you will snap a photo of as many of the posters as possible (smartphone pictures more than welcome). The first person to find all 100 will win the crown!

The Prize: 52 rolls of colour (C41) development and basic scanning valued at a maximum of $676.

Competition start and end dates: Monday 21st January 2019 - Monday 4th February 2019

Area: Melbourne’s inner-Northern suburbs (Brunswick, Fitzroy, Collingwood, Northcote, Thornbury, Preston, Coburg etc.)

Winner announced: Friday 8th February 2019

What do you need to do?

To win the 52 rolls of free processing (that’s a roll a week!) you’ll need to get a photo of as many of our “Film Photo Lab” street posters you can find. The photos must clearly show and be able to distinguish the different locations. There are 100 posters scattered around the inner-Northern Suburbs of Melbourne. The first person to find all 100 will be crowned the winner (if you do find all 100 email them through straight away!). If at the end of the campaign 100 have not been found, the person who has found the most will win. Image sharing is welcome and so is prize sharing. In the chance that there is a tie of numbers between multiple persons, the persons names will be drawn from a hat. To lodge your entry email your images to info@workinprocess.com.au with the subject titled “52 Rolls”. Include in your email how many posters you found. To upload all of your images you might have to make a zip folder or use a file share app like Dropbox, Wetransfer, Google Drive etc. Good luck!

Competition terms and conditions:

The promoter being Work In Process (ABN:27835 698028) of 225 St Georges Rd, Northcote, Victoria, 3070

By participating you (Entrant) agree that you have read the Terms and Conditions as outlined.

Competition will run from Monday 21st January 2019 - Monday 4th February 2019Winner will be announced 8/2/2019 at 1400hr AEDTPrize is for 52 rolls of 35mm (12,24,36 exp) or 120 format C41 development and basic resolution scans at Work In Process.The prize is valid for one (1) year (8/2/2019 - 8/2/2020) any processing not used at the end of this period will be forfeited.Rolls must be lodged by the contest winner and sent to their nominated email address.If we don't receive all of your files at once your total number will be invalidThe images taken and entered by participant can/ will be used by Work In Process for advertising/ promotional materials.If this promotion is interfered with in any way or is not capable of being conducted as anticipated due to any reason beyond reasonable control of Work In Process (including but not limited to technical difficulties, unauthorised intervention or fraud) Work In Process reserves the right to (a) disqualify any entrant (b) to modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the promotion.The Promoter is not liable for any loss (including loss of opportunity) or damage (including, but not limited to, direct, indirect or consequential loss) or personal injury in relation to this competition or the use of, or participation in, the prize.Prize not redeemable for cash or any other products.Prize is non-transferable.Employees, Associates and affiliates of the install company are ineligible to enter (sorry! no insider knowledge)

Honestly, the perfect darkroom doesn'tcome easy. In the last 10 years I've lived in 7 different places where 4 of which I've managed to do some wet printing, to an extent. Renting and not being able to build permanent structures, do any plumbing or electrical work or even have the spare space for something like a darkroom make the thought of dishing out some silver gelatine master pieces seem near impossible. If you want it though, where there's a will there's a way.

What exactly is the perfect darkroom though? I personally think its one where you are most comfortable in, it is efficient and practical. Each time I went to construct one I was always presented with different individual challenges to overcome, I'm sure your darkroom has some of its own or if you're about to build one I bet there are a few head scratchers to deal with. The reason behind making this post is that I had to recently pull down my home darkroom due to moving house (again). I think it was the perfect darkroom, a combination of everything I had previously learned when setting one up and what works well, effectively, non-destructable to a rental property but mainly, on the cheap. And now in my new place there is no possible room to have one so I wanted to share what I have learnt with you who might have a chance.

Circa 2007 my first darkroom build at home. Earning pizza delivery boy money and study part time meant it had to be on the CHEAP, so I had more coin to go towards that cask on a friday night ( you could probably guess the vast amount that was drunk in this toilet/darkroom/party room combo). This darkroom was slapped together in what used to be the bathroom of the granny flat I lived in. I learnt many darkroom not to's from this example. Dusty, dirty, no ventilation apart from the small fan you can see on the shelf to push some air around, all which was no good for the prints; but it gave them character and I like that. You know how I was saying cheap... In the top left hand corner you can see a red light built from a lamp cord, Adidas box, an Ilford safelight filter and black electrical tape. It worked well and its actually the same safelight filter I still used to this day (in a different housing), but what a fire hazard it was. Another darkroom that's not so memorable was one that was underneath an old Queenslander. It had only one solid wall, the other three were made from black builders plastic stapled to the crossbeams above. You could really only use it of a night time so the light wouldn't get through. Where there's a will, there is a way.

There's only 3 necessities to having a functioning darkroom; Darkness, power, and water. Out of the three water is the easiest, it doesn't have to be fresh and flowing. A bucket of water is fine to let resin coated prints sit in for a little while before you can give them a proper wash. Power too is not the hardest, most rooms have a point in them already and if not, an electrical extension cord wont burn a hole in your pocket. Darkness is the real problem of the three. My go-to when blacking out a room is simple-

I have used it in every darkroom build to seal the doors, its just a foam with adhesive on one side and works perfect to trap light out of your door jam. Then I will roll up a towel to act as the under door seal which also comes in handy for anything that gets spilled on the ground if its tiled.

Blocking light from windows is tricky. In my first childhood home darkroom I simply painted them out. When I first moved to Melbourne I was (still am) fortunate to have a close group of creative type friends who let me use their laundry as my darkroom but the catch was it needed to be packed up each time once done. It had a large window in it which let in great light but not for printing. So along with the roll of foam seal and towel for the door I managed to block out the window with some small strips of velcro and black builders plastic. The furry side of the velcro I stuck to the outers of the sill and the hook side was placed on the builders plastic (the photo above is of the laundry darkroom and plastic covered window). It worked great and was easily removed each time I was finished for the session.

I said it earlier, the perfect darkroom doesn't come easy. You'll really need to find your groove and each person is different. Efficiency is a high priority of mine, I want the most prints I can dish out in the shortest amount of time I have. Having a decent size desk space to work from is great but if you cant achieve that make yourself a little toolkit. Grab a small toolbox and fill it with the little things that come in handy and this way you wont be fumbling for things in the dark:

•Permanent pen

•Pencil

•Masking tape

•Scissors

•Black card

•Xacto knife or similar •Note pad

•Soft brush

•Blower

•White gloves

•Wire

An important piece of kit I couldn't recommend enough are these Ilford filter sets. If you can find one get it and use it. It beats stuffing around with those flip book cut plastic filters.

Wet areas are one of the most important parts of the process, it is the second last place your print goes before drying. Please ignore my electrical disaster waiting to happen and more closely focus on the 4 important things I think a wet area should have. A clock to time your developing, a fan to keep the air moving (only as a last resort if you cant have ventilation), a white light overhead so you can see your prints and tests and of course music, but that can be anywhere of course! Put a bin near by so you can trash any unwanted test strips so they aren't floating around and risking contamination of anything else. And talking about contamination keep a good supply of clean hand towels in your darkroom. Nothing ruins a print or your motivation quicker than finding a fixer finger print on a image you just spent a good amount of time getting the perfect dodge and burn on. Keep your fingers dry at all times.

There's much more to the perfect darkroom than what I have said but they simply come with time. What works well for me might not work well for you but hopefully its given you some ideas. Everyone is different and has different styles of printing, you really have to make it your own.

A little while ago I modded an Instax mini for use on my Bronica ETRS. Chris from The Phoblographer stumbled across it and was kind enough to ask me some questions about it (you can read it here). Since then I’ve been getting a whole lot of response from ETRS owners wanting to do the same to theirs! I never covered the build properly as at the time I was just hacking at it and destroying and didn't really know what I was doing with it. It turned out that it worked - kind of. The main problem with it though was the focal plane distance which would throw infinity focus out so I never pursued it further. BUT the other week I found a Polaroid 300 in the thrift shop, so why not give it another go?

Although It’s a different camera from the original Fujifilm Instax camera I figured it would be almost the same under its shell (we can get to that later).

This time I documented it so if you want to try it as well you can see some of the trouble that I hit along the way. The first time around I spent a good rainy weekend inside unscrewing and cutting bits here and there, much cursing, and in the end went through 6 cartridges of film just testing the damn thing. Glad I got that out of the way the first time, The second was a breeze. V.2 still has focussing issues but they are tolerable and you can get away with most things at f/8. The fact that the cartridge needs to be housed is that main problem with getting it so the film plane is closer to the body. If someone else can figure it out let me know!

I chose the Bronica to be the host for two reasons. The multiple exposure lever lets you trip the shutter when there is no ‘real’ back attached and simply that it’s my favourite camera outfit! I’m sure you could use any camera as long as you have a flat film plane to hold it against.

What you’ll need-

CameraInstax body (it can be broken! We ditch all the electronics in there)Small screwdriversFelt to light seal itBig rubber band (the one from an underwater disposable camera works a treat)Stanley knife or razor bladeA rotary tool/ Dremel helped a lotThe rewind knob from a donor cameraAn old Bronica back just for the hooks (not needed but is another one that helps)Epoxy glueBlack gaffa or electrical tape to tape up light leaks

This isn't an exact step by step, more of a walkthrough. You’ll still have to trouble shoot in some areas to make it work for you and what you have. To start the build we need the chassis of the Instax camera, so take to it with your phillips head and remove the lot.

The outer shell comes first. We don't need the front cover but will need rear with the film door

This was where I found the only real difference from the Fujifilm camera, the electronics are a more intertwined with the mechanics of the camera. Still the principal is the same, remove the circuitry and lens assembly.

*CAUTION* whenever you see a capacitor, these hold the current needed for the flash. They have a nasty little shock if you touch the prongs on the end. Never touch one unless it has been discharged. Just keep away from this guy.

Once the circuits are gone I could take of the lens assembly.

When you get to the hook that ejects the film put it off to the side. Take note of what it looks like when it comes off and how much it sticks up past the film plane. This is the part of this puzzle that gave me the most grief, we can do it later.

Once you have the electronics and lens off you’ll be left with this-

Leave the roller assembly and the two cogs that are attached to them on the side.

Now you can start the rebuild!

You’ll need to shave everything that protrudes out from the film plane. This is where the Dremel really helped. Keep it as smooth as possible, any dip or poke could break the light seal when attached to the camera body. Use the razor blade to scrape and smooth, or cut off small pieces. please be careful not to cut yourself.

Test it by laying it flat on the body. You can see here how much area the 645 image covers on the film. Line it all up, make sure you have taken enough off the chassis.

Ok, now for that ejector hook problem. Ugh. This is the most essential part of the build. It’s the hook that grabs the film on the inside of the pack and pulls it towards the rollers before you can wind and eject it. You need to find a way to keep it from sticking up past the film plane, but still be able to slide it across enough and to grip one sheet at a time. You’re pretty much fabricating yourself a new ejection system. Mine isn't pretty, but it works well. I flipped the plastic over, cut some off here and there and cut and re-bent the hook. Be careful with that hook, its quite fragile if you keep bending it back and forth. This hook is actually the one I used in the first version, I broke the V2 one by bending it too much. So play it safe otherwise you'll have to make a whole new one.

Mine looks like this once it's done. Nice and flush with the film plane. You can see I had to relocate the screw so it can slide across and the spring was moved so it can retract the hook assembly (bummer, I just noticed in this picture it has come off it's spot, the pokey out bit above it).

Now this part isn't needed but it sure helps hold it to the body. The hooks from a Bronica back, you might be able to machine your own from some metal sheet if you don’t have one to spare. Only the top hook though, the Instax back comes out too far and covers the bottom set hence the rubber band to keep it all together… and ghetto. Make sure you line the film area up first before you glue it. Use epoxy glue on this, let it set overnight. I foolishly used a hot glue gun on the V.2 as I was being impatient and it broke off straight away.

The other change from the the first version is the felt I used to light seal it. The first was a thick red felt, it was just something I had lying around. This time I used some thin velvet which aided in getting that film plane closer to the body.

The old rewind knob you have glues right onto one of the cogs of the rollers. The cog also likes to slip off so I glued that to the roller too.

The rotary tool helps again with cutting off the excess shell.

That's about it. The rubber band just slings around and holds it in place nicely. It would be nice to get it to sit on by itself but this works for me. You’ll need to take the winder handle off if you have one attached to the Bronica body.

You can see here where I've taped up the light leaks. Mine have only leaked around where the hook assembly is.

Using the thinner felt helped immensely with the focal throw out even if it was only 1 or 2mm difference. I don’t think it would be possible to get it any closer than this without doing some serious work to the back, but you can scrape by with some added depth of field. The ejector hook is the part you will encounter the most trouble. Good luckwith it if you give it a go!

**Of course, I take no responsibility of any unfortunate mishaps, accidents, breakages or harm done from you trying the methods outlined in this blog post.