I posted this as a response to: "jobs in custom b&w printing in NY" but I think it deserves a wider readership.

I worked in labs in NYC for many years, and I can tell you, lab work is one step above slavery.

Or maybe one step below.

If you think that working in labs is a way to break into the "glamorous" world of professional photography in NY, think again. For most people it's a dreary drudge of a dead end. Lab workers are looked upon as dirt by most photographers, who see themselves as "artists" and lab workers as the lowly technicians whom they reluctantly allow to bring their lofty creations to life. From my experience, it was usually the reverse: many of the lab workers I knew were extremely creative, intelligent people who somehow found themselves trapped in the smelly underworld of the lab scene, forever typecast as mere "technicians", completely unable to break into the bright world of photography above. Lab managers were mostly slave drivers who worked their underlings to death, took all the credit when things went well, none of the blame when things went poorly. And I would characterize most lab owners in an even less favorable way. Many of the lab workers I knew were either alcoholics or druggies, hiding away in their dirty, cockroach infested little caves, hoping that no one would discover the fact that they needed chemical assistance to get through the day--or night. And the night shifts, if anything, were even worse. The only ones who survived in this horribly abusive environment--other than the chemically lobotomized, that is--were people that could only be described as A--holes of the First Magnitude.

For a reasonably accurate portrayal of lab work in NYC, I would suggest you rent a video of Richard Wagner's opera, "Das Rheingold." Pay particular attention to the Niebelung who live underground and mine the gold for the gods above--then think of yourself in that way.

http://www.ravenvision.com/rvapeter.htm

-- Peter Hughes (leonine@redshift.com), October 02, 1999

Answers

Jeeez, Peter...

A good color printer is hard to find, stop scaring off the new blood.

I think working in a lab is a great way to learn the limitations of applied photographic science. I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a long term career, unless ownership is available, but it's not the hell-hole you descibe... unless you stay beyond a mutually benefitial tour of duty. Been there, done that?...t

-- tom meyer (twm@mindspring.com), October 04, 1999.

I don't know if Peter's experience is the exception or the rule, although having worked at a print production facility in my first post-college job I believe it when he says that it is a dead-end carreer and the bosses can be slave drivers.

But I've seen a couple of exceptions, both in NYC. I interviewed the lab technicians working in the Time Life photo lab on an assignment for Modern Photography in 1988. This was an assignment that had me basically hanging out in the lab for a few days, looking over their shoulders as they printed some of the worst negatives that have ever been seen on the pages of Life magazine. I had several off the record conversations with the lab techs, some of whom had been there for decades. They were all proud of their work and felt they were an important part of Time and Life. My observation: they did not look abused, lobotomized or any of the other charicterizations Peter mentions. And their bosses seemed like nice guys (they even offered me a job at one point).

I know it's probably an exception to Peter's rule, but I thought I'd share my observations as a counterpoint. Not all darkroom jobs

-- Mason Resnick (bwworld@mindspring.com), October 04, 1999.

Interesting thread as I have been wondering that since digital printing is rapidly taking over in most areas and in my limited experience a lot of fine art photographers do not seem to do thier own printing, could there be some sort of niche career oportunity here? Suppose I was able to provide a quality traditional printmaking service for small runs of prints (B&W at first, maybe) and then also specialized in provideing some alternative printing processes and then provided good customer service, maybe evento the point of including mounting/matting/framing of an exclusive "handmade" limited quantity; could this be a viable career? Would other photographers find this a useful service?

-- bill zelinski (willy226@yahoo.com), October 04, 1999.

So, Peter, which were you?

-- Jodi Herlich (metro99@uswest.net), October 04, 1999.

sschaaanctuary!(in my best Laughton) Pete's not far off. I was one of the unfortunates he described. I could never decry the learning experience that it afforded. Even so I'm glad I made it out alive. Asshole is a title I'll proudly carry around my own darkroom.

-- tribimodo (linhof6@hotmail.com), October 06, 1999.

This responce is more related to Bill Zelinski's responce then the original post. I have been running a complete custom lab since finishing my commercial photography program some four years. I have used this as my means of income to support a 2000 sqft studio. I have found that it was easyer to find clients for custom darkroom work then for shooting assignments. My equipment includes an Illford Ciba machine 16X20 and a Durst RA-4 16X20 printer. I am at the point where my shooting assignments are beginning to exceed my income from the dark room. Which has been my goal, I really feel that if I was to persue custom lab work as a primary business it would be easy to succeed in making a good living working for myself. The best thing about my plan has been the client work has amortized all of the darkroom equipment that I wouldn't have been able to justify had I been working for some one else. Not to mention how valuable its been in improving my shooting skills, by understanding cause and effect of controlling exposure, which dosen't always mean proper exposure.

-- Lloyd Shugart (wshurgart@uswest.net), November 20, 1999.