A few weeks ago we took you through the wacky and wonderful world of Hipstamatic – the digital answer to the plastic toy camera. This week we’re taking a look at Swankolab, the fantasy darkroom created by the makers of Hipstamatic. You already know that Hipstamatic does many things, with ease and style. It can turn an ordinary scene into a fantastic retro-vibed image that looks like it came straight out of an old school camera. But what Hipstamatic cannot do is edit the photos you take with another app. 

This is where Swankolab comes in…it’s a fun, game-like interactive darkroom that offers top quality photo editing. It’s a bit like entering a mad scientists secret lair / darkroom, where you can unleash your creativity...anything goes and anything could happen. The photo-processing capabilities are great, and the effects are comparable to that of Hipstamatic, but with the added benefit of creating your own chemical concoctions and darkroom “formula”. This photo-editing app is seriously fun, but if you’ve <a href="#" title="The Beginners Lens SwankoLab Review"> read our review </a> …you’ll need to put your patience hat on and spend a lot of time “in-app” to get to grips with it. 

<h4>Let’s get started with the <del datetime="2011-08-26T12:06:02+00:00">game</del> editing…</h4>

1.	Open the app and load an image by tapping the Select An Image prompt in the middle of the screen. 

[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="233" height="350"  alt="Swankolab" url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/swankolab1.jpg"  ]<p>&nbsp;</p>

2.	After your image is loaded, you’ll be transported straight into the darkroom, complete with a shelf for your chemicals, a pin-board for your “formula”, a chemical tray, and the on/off develop switch (the digital replacement to chemical developer and stop bath). The image you’re developing will be pinned to the back wall of your darkroom. 

[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="500" height="350"  alt="Swankolab 2" url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/swankolab2.jpg"  ]<p>&nbsp;</p>

3.	Next you’ll need to start choosing the chemicals for the formula. To do that just swipe the chemicals on the shelf from left to right. To help you decide which chemicals to use, you’ll get a helpful description on the on the back wall of the darkroom as you swipe through the choices. Each chemical has a pre-determined number of units, and you can add up to 8 per formula. 

4.	To add a chemical, simply tap on it and you will see it float off the shelf and magically “pour” into the chemical tray. It’s a bit like having your own little invisible photo assistant. 

5.	Once you’re happy with your formula tap the developer switch to turn in on. The darkroom light will come on, the image will slide into the tray from its pinned position, and you’ll see your image swish around in the chemical bath as you wait for it to develop. Once developed, it will be hung up on the line to “dry.”

[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="500" height="350"  alt="Swankolab 3" url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/swankolab3.jpg"  ]<p>&nbsp;</p>
 
6.	Tap the Save / Share button to add this image to your camera roll, or to send on through Facebook or email. 

What’s really useful about SwankoLab is the ability to save your chemical formulas, so you can return to the app and use them again in future. Saving your formula is really simple; all you need to do is tap the View Formula button as your print is “drying on the line”. Once open, you’ll see the chemicals you’ve used to achieve that effect, to save the formula simply name the formula, type any notes you want to remember and tap Save. 

[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="233" height="350"  alt="Swankolab 4" url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/swankolab4.jpg"  ]<p>&nbsp;</p>

You can access your saved formulas, plus use the pre-loaded formulas by tapping the Formula Book icon from the darkroom home screen. Choose a formula by tapping on it. You can also take a closer look at each formula by tapping the blue arrow, where you can analyze each chemical used in the formula. 

[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="233" height="350"  alt="Swankolab 5" url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/swankolab5.jpg"  ]<p>&nbsp;</p>

Finally don’t forget about Uncle Stu’s Photo Emporium…if you want to add to your chemical collection just tap the store icon from the darkroom home screen. Uncle Stu’s Photo Emporium also offers a lifetime subscription for only $1.99, which is great for SwankoLab addicts. A subscription will get you access to all of the chemicals in the current catalog, plus you’ll automatically get all of the chemicals that are added to the emporium in the future. It’s great value for money considering individual chemicals can cost at least that much. 

Have you gone swanky lately? Upload your SwankoLab photos in the comments below! 
