Inside Hong Kong’s Only Colour Darkroom: My Photo Spectrum Workshop Experience
Inside Hong Kong's Only Colour Darkroom: My Photo Spectrum Workshop Experience
Diary
Inside Hong Kong’s Only Colour Darkroom: My Photo Spectrum Workshop Experience
Not long ago, I saw a sponsored post on Instagram announcing a new photo lab in Hong Kong—Photo Spectrum—which offers C41, E6, ECN-2, and black and white development. At first, I thought it was just another lab like Colorluxe and Dotwell, but I was wrong. If you are looking for places to develop in Hong Kong, check out this LINK.
For those who don’t know, I enjoy darkroom printing; it feels like entering another place. It’s very soothing—just put on your music and safelight, and get to work. A minimum of 3-4 hours flies by because you lose track of time when you’re so focused on doing just “one” thing. You won’t realise how quickly half or even a whole day can pass. Secondly, in this digital world, shooting film and getting a scanned file doesn’t feel like getting the most from analog film. I want something physical, to take a closer look at my photos, learn about my own style, and improve from there. I’ve collected all my negatives in different archive boxes. I never had access to a darkroom when I was in school; usually, government schools in Hong Kong don’t have a photo lab, but this planted a seed.
From time to time, I’ve tried my best to squeeze in some visits to a darkroom near Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, run by a photography lecturer named Keeping Lee. Lee taught me how to print in his space, gave me advice, and showed me techniques for making some black and white prints. Because of Sisi Lu’s video on YouTube or Instagram, where she was printing some of her medium format portraits in colour, I became curious about colour printing in the darkroom. However, there was no one in Hong Kong offering this service, and I thought this idea was just set aside, but it was always in my head.
One day, an ad appeared on my Instagram. I visited Photo Spectrum’s profile and was surprised to see that they offer colour contact sheets and colour darkroom prints. I messaged the owner and decided to book a session to learn more about printing in colour.
(Left) Final print with some light leaks (explained below); (Right) Scanned image from Colorluxe
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Photo Spectrum - An Analogue Darkroom and Film Processing Lab
Last week, I finally got a chance to visit this place and meet Chi Long, who owns Photo Spectrum. He runs the entire lab and is very knowledgeable about film. First off, the place is really cosy and doesn’t feel like any commercial lab I’ve ever been to. It reminds me of the long-gone Pro Lab ColorSix in Central, Hong Kong. There’s a grand piano sitting in the middle, shelves displaying some of his photobooks, and of course, a fridge to store film stocks. That day, I sent two rolls to develop: one Kodak Colorplus 200 shot by my wife in her Klasse S, and another Reflx Lab 500T (Kodak Vision 3 500T) pushed one stop to 1000. I filled in the QR code sign-up form and requested a contact sheet for both rolls.
Photo Spectrum
Room 2105, Block B, New Trade Plaza
6 On Ping Street, Shek Mun
Sha Tin, New Territories
Hong Kong
"What separates Photo Spectrum from other film labs in Hong Kong is my goal of making photography fully analogue. Here, your end results are (hopefully) tangible chromogenic prints, mounted on a frame and hung up."
My Colour Darkroom Workshop Experience
In the digital world, we want everything fast, often within just one or two clicks. We frequently overlook the amount of effort involved in the process (I’m especially guilty of this). I understand that producing a good black and white photo isn’t easy; it requires time and practice. After trying to make some colour prints, I’ve realised that they require even more steps to achieve a great result. This has deepened my appreciation for the darkroom technicians of the analog era and their dedicated labour.
There are probably a few darkrooms still available to rent in Hong Kong, but none of them offer colour printing. Photo Spectrum is the only one. I spent a total of three hours there printing two images. One was a photo I took in Hong Kong with a Leica Noctilux 50mm f/0.95 ASPH at wide open using CineStill 800T, and the other was shot in Osaka with a Makina 67 on Kodak Portra 400. The process involved several steps:
- Making test prints with exposures at 2-second intervals,
- Choosing a desired exposure and making a test print,
- Examining this print to determine which colours were excessive or lacking,
- Testing stripes with each colour adjustment,
- Creating a final test print,
- Dodge and burn (which I skipped due to time constraints).
The results were stunning; I was completely blown away by the resolution and detail from these small negatives. Also, adjusting the yellow tint in the Kodak Portra 400 print to perfect the lady’s skin tone was enlightening. Seeing this final print made me feel as if I were holding my Makina on the day I took the shot. It feels like completing the missing piece in my photography journey, something I needed to explore to determine whether I truly enjoyed it. I think I have completed one of the most important aspects of photography.
Darkroom: Colour Printing vs Black and White Printing
The colour printing process for negatives is called RA-4. Some of you may be curious about the differences between printing black and white negatives and colour prints, or some may be very experienced in this area. Please let me know if you have any tips or experiences to share with us in the comment section. Here are the key differences between the two printing methods at a high level:
- No Contrast Control – Unlike black and white paper, which can use colour filters to increase its contrasts, colour prints cannot use any filters to add contrast.
- Colour Filtering – We use 3 primary colours and 3 complementary colours to adjust your colour prints. This process is time-consuming, and you need to test out each colour one by one as a control group. Adding too many variables, like adjusting both Green and Yellow together, will end up getting mixed results. It’s best to do testing on paper with each single adjustment, and the ratio that Chi Long suggests ranges from 5 to 10, depending on the cast.
- Complete Darkness Required – Black and white printing can use a safelight; however, colour printing requires complete darkness. You have to get all the paper, machines, and buttons ready. I put an Insta 360 Go3 and taped its signal light, but still contaminated two of the prints. Prints are super sensitive to light.
- Temperature Control – All chemicals must be heated to certain degrees. But thanks to Photo Spectrum, they have an 80 RA 50-4 Tank to process the RA-4 colour printing process.
The advantage of having a film tank rather than a process tank is that the temperature control is done within the machine, and you only need to put the paper in the machine, and it will do the work for you so that you can increase your testing process. Having the tank be able to dry your print is a huge advantage!
Final Thoughts
I was deeply impressed by the amount of detail in our negatives. When I use the grain focuser, I can immediately tell the difference between colour negatives and black and white negatives. I was also discussing with Chi Long how the 500T structure seems difficult to spot the grain. He explained the grain structure of Kodak Motion Picture film (i.e., Kodak Vision 3 500T) versus Kodak Professional film (Kodak Portra 400). That day during the workshop, I printed these two types. Kodak Portra obviously has a better grain structure and sharpness, whereas Motion Picture film, not designed for still photographs, has less distinct grain sharpness.
If you haven’t tried printing your colour negatives, I highly recommend you do so. You will not only learn more about colour negatives but also get to see your own photos in a way that no other place in Hong Kong can offer.
Finally, I have received the scans from Chi Long. My wife and I were really satisfied with the quality of the scans. I can’t wait to see the contact sheet in person and select some photos to print for archival purposes. I highly recommend everyone try developing films there.
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