inside-out camera. (wait. what?)

Did you know that there is a necessary HUGE/GINORMOUS piece of equipment used in darkroom film developing and printing??!
I didn't either.
Instructor Mike calls this beast of a machine, an enlarger.
He tells me it's like an INSIDE-OUT CAMERA,
Interesting.
This is what exposes light through the negative onto your mashingly expensive print paper.
This printing paper can be glossy, satin or something appropriately more satin. I have chosen satin printing paper to work with -as a newbie- because it does not show fingerprints so glaringly. Well, yes, right about now you can imagine me banging things louder than everyone else, running into walls and too blind to see like everyone else in the red lights. Charming for everyone.
Okay, so I have my first developed roll of film.
I tell my friends it's like cooking meth without a suit! I am so proud. I did a fantastic job the first time.
You have to enclose yourself in this weird little closed room with absolutely no light and then proceed to pry off 35mm film plastic rolls with can openers. Who knew? Then load the film onto plastic rolling holders without messing up or your film will turn to shit in the chemical processing/developing. All this while being completely, fantastically blind, in the dark.
Voila!
I have my first print of a crappy photo of a sublime guitar my boyfriend owns--a TIME guitar.
In the first one you can see the gradations of light used (it was supposed to be a test-strip, but well, I'm literally throwing money everywhere! Why not?!). In the next you can see what I finally chose.
Guess what? I did, indeed, use this enlarger and now have an early idea of how to use this INSIDE-OUT CAMERA! ("Go shoot!" Instructor Mike says as we leave.)
Ok. I will.