There’s a certain magic in seeing your photograph appear on paper after exposing it to light for maybe 10 seconds and dipping it in its first chemical bath. It’s everything digital photography isn’t, and it comes through in the darkroom, where you’ll need a working knowledge of basic chemistry and time management to take your film through the development process.
Anyone interested in developing black & white film at home should download this PDF file from Ilford. From the chemicals necessary to the merits of each of its films, Ilford’s guide has everything you need in order to set up your own darkroom at home. Granted, this guide is Ilford-specific, so be sure you aren’t using this for another brand of film, as there are differences across companies’ film stock.