Of course after 6 hours in the darkroom that may be debatable. My feet hurt, I need coffee, and there is frustration when the final print does not come out as expected. Learning how to print is going to take awhile. The biggest change in what I now do is that when I create an image it is with the intention of printing it. These images were created on Tuesday evening after working those 6 hours in the darkroom. I will print one of them. I wonder if you can guess which one? The images were created with the Nikon FA, and the Nikkor 50mm F2 AIS lens. I used Kodak 400TX shot at 400 and 800 and developed in HC-110(1:31) for 4 minutes, 15 seconds, @20C.
Steven Lawrence Pictures 
Nice images.
I hear you re: darkroom. I find it to be very enjoyable work but it is the single biggest time-sink for those of us using film who don’t send our film out for processing. For larger format work (6×6 and up) I see no other way (I’ve not been happy scanning 6×6) but the sheer number of negatives with 35mm means at least contact sheets before dedicating time to a real print session. I’ve replaced contacts with scanning in my “workflow,” printing only those few negatives I am especially fond of.
Are you using the printing process as part of your imaging, or trying to stay faithful to the negative as is?
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I am using 2 public darkrooms. I see people who start with the negative and use all sorts of processes to make it ‘better’, and then there are those, of whom I am one, that is printing the negative and trying in a print to do the best job of replicating all the information the negative has to offer. Exposure, contrast filters, and dodging and burning are the tools I use. I am trying to replicate the scene I saw and thought might be a good print.
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I like and would print the one with the woman frowning and the guy who is looking at his mobile phone.
Darkroom work is like being able to guess the exposure of film, given a little practice, it gets easier the more you do. Test strips and ‘split-grade printing’ gives me a ballpark print very quickly. I then leave the print for a few days & look at it in a mirror or upside-down, before covering it in exposure marks which helps with burning and dodging the final print.
You may know all this, if so sorry.
I must admit I find it far more satisfying than looking at a screen with Lightroom.
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Leaving a print for a few days and coming back to it I am finding the most important thing to getting a good print. When I try to in one day to achieve a final print I am always disappointed later.
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