You can make your own photo enlarger.
Printing your own pictures is fun, but an enlarger is very expensive. Luckily, with your basic film photographer's equipment and a few other odd items you can make your own photo enlarger.
Instructions
Making the Enlarger
1. Attach your camera to the tripod and adjust it so the lens faces down. Open the back, where the film is loaded, and put one of the smaller ends of the box over the opening. Trim the box as needed to make it fit evenly across the back of the camera and tripod.
2. Cut a 1.5 inch by 2 inch rectangle in the center of that end of the box. On the other end, cut a hole to fit the socket of the light fixture.
3. Line the inside of the box with aluminum foil and tape it in place.
4. Place the lighting fixture socket through the top and screw the enlarging light bulb inside the box.
5. Cut a 4.5 inch by 6 inch rectangle from the plastic carton to serve as your filter. Make two slits in the box, one on either side, halfway between where the bottom of the light bulb reaches and the bottom of the box, which will attach to the camera. Slide in the filter through the slits and tape it in place.
6. Seal the box and cover it with foil, shiny side out.
Using the Enlarger
7. Set up your darkroom with chemicals, trays, safe light and photosensitive paper.
8. Attach your cable release to your camera. Set the shutter speed to bulb, sometimes marked as "B."
9. With the camera mounted on the tripod, open the door to the film compartment and lay the strip of negatives across it, emulsion side down. Lay the plate glass over the negatives to flatten them.
10. Secure the enlarger upright over the camera, so the bulb dangles down inside the box. Turn on the light. Twist the rings on your camera lens to set your aperture, or the amount of light coming through the lens, and to focus the image.
11. Set your photo paper below the lens, where the light will shine. Use the cable release to open the shutter inside the camera and expose light to your photo paper.
Tags: your photo, your camera, Attach your, cable release, camera tripod
