A Time and A Tide: Kao, Charles K
A Time and A Tide: Kao, Charles K
A Time and A Tide: Kao, Charles K
Kao, Charles K.
Kao, Charles K.
A Time and A Tide: Charles K. Kao A Memoir.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, 2010.
Project MUSE. muse.jhu.edu/book/31354.
[ This content has been declared free to read by the pubisher during the COVID-19 pandemic. ]
Building Independence
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Tom, my landlady’s son, was aloof but helpful. I seldom asked him for a
favor. One day while he was working in the basement he invited me to
have a look at this cavernous area. I noticed that the basement was half
sunken below the ground level and had only two short windows on the
wall facing the garden. If I covered them up with cardboard I could use
the basement as a darkroom and print the photos that I had taken dur-
ing my voyage to the UK. I had my contact print frame and a developing
tank that I had brought with me from Hong Kong, but I didn’t have an
enlarger. My plan was to spend as little money as possible on this project,
since my budget could not stand anymore frivolous spending. This ruled
out the purchase of a real enlarger.
I found a large cylindrical tin with a lid just right for a light-tight
housing as my illumination source: a light fitting with a light bulb could
be inserted at the bottom end and a small rectangular opening, the
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