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  #11  
Old 9th March 2017, 09:10 PM
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I'll tell you what NOT to do - don't get diverted for five years down the digital dead end. I thought I was a pretty decent printer before I became pixelated but now, having returned to film, it doesn't come so easily to me.

Here's an oldie but goodie from Michael Johnston about getting a special look in your prints. I must try it myself some day.

https://luminous-landscape.com/sm-02-04-28/


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  #12  
Old 9th March 2017, 10:14 PM
Jerry Bodine Jerry Bodine is offline
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In 1966 I participated in my first workshop with Ansel Adams in Yosemite, when I had no idea what I was doing and knew not enough to ask an intelligent question; was working only with 35mm Leicas and printing with my Focomat Ic in the light-proofed kitchen of my apartment. This was a major improvement from an earlier darkened kitchen, hoping no one in the adjacent building would turn on their lights and mess me up. So the time spent with AA was earthshaking for me and changed my life forever; I bought two of his prints to bring home to look at daily on my walls as a target quality to try for – no intent to ever sell them. After three additional workshops with him, today I’m devoted to large format work only, using two films (HP5+ and FP4+) / one film developer (HC-110) / one printing paper (Ilford MG Classic, but open to others) / and one print developer (Liquidol). My enlarger has been with me since the late sixties when it was only usable with graded papers such as my favorite Galerie – an E6 Omega 5x7 that I’ve modified to an LED light source for use with VC papers (was never very happy with MGIV paper). I’ve always had AA’s prints hanging on the walls, mixed in with my B&W prints; since remodeling and painting the walls a middle gray to better present the prints, there’ve been occasions when guests arrive and exclaim “WOW! This looks like Ansel Adams.” to which I reply "Actually two of them ARE his, which then leads to "Really, which ones?" While this doesn’t speak well about developing my own style, it does make my day because it tells me I’m getting ever closer to my goal and reminds me of a caption I once saw: “Man is at his best when reaching for something just beyond his grasp.” Perhaps there may be some lessons one can draw from all this.

Last edited by Jerry Bodine; 9th March 2017 at 10:28 PM.
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  #13  
Old 9th March 2017, 10:44 PM
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Great story, Jerry. You must be doing something right when your work stands comparison with AA's. Can you say anything about what you learned from him that improved your printing? Or was it more to do with the switch to large format and whittling your choice of materials down to a minimum?


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  #14  
Old 10th March 2017, 01:46 AM
Jerry Bodine Jerry Bodine is offline
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Here’s an example: At the time of those workshops, vc printing was just surfacing; I knew nothing about that technology then, but AA had already begun to use it and was already adept. He invited anyone with difficulties working with a troublesome negative to bring it to the workshop (devoted to darkroom work) so he could help. I showed up with a 120 Hasselblad negative of Mt. Rainier, taken from a very high ridge looking down on one of the very white glaciers that displayed a section where some crevasses were exposed (with texture on the negative). There was also a VERY white “halo” cloud (highest luminance in the scene) around the mountain just below the snowy summit (which was in bright sunshine and a clear blue sky behind it). A portion of the glacier just below the cloud was shaded by it and illuminated by a very soft almost misty light but with texture. I asked him how to preserve the texture in all those varying shades of white and how to increase the contrast locally in the crevasses. He examined the negative, put it in his Beseler 4x5 enlarger, then turns his attention to his Ferrante Codelite system (pictured in The Print, p.18), twiddles the two large dials on the Codelite, puts a sheet of Dupont vc paper in the easel, makes an exposure, twiddles the dials, does some burning, twiddles the dials, does some dodging - without even so much as a test strip - explaining reasons why as he goes through this process. Then he develops the print, first agitating it facedown then flipping it over with more agitation, then stop bath, then fixer long enough to view the result under room light. Then he turned to me and asked, “What filter did you use that created such low separation between the summit and the sky?” Knowing already that he was a stickler on keeping field notes of each exposure, I said “Gee, I’d have to check my notes when I get home.” Of course there were no such notes, but I knew I’d done three exposures with yellow/orange/red in that order so I could find the answer by looking at subtle changes in cloud movement or examining the overall contrast changes; so I didn’t really feel like I was fibbing to him. The resulting print accomplished everything I’d hoped for. He also said that I should use air-dried unferrotyped glossy print paper (e.g., Kodak F surface) IF I wanted to maximize sharp details. After he was all done with this my thoughts were:

OMG!! I can never afford a Codelite, but I CAN begin to learn more on my own about vc printing as the technology advances, which I still do. I also learned from him that print highlights are controlled by exposure first, then developed to obtain the desired blacks. With the graded papers of that era, OVERALL contrast could be controlled via two-bath development, initially in a soft developer like Selectol Soft, then in Dektol (each with its own dilution). But LOCAL contrast was tougher to obtain, and vc printing was better at that task. Later on I found split-grade printing to be a very useful tool. But I still do test strips, so obviously I fall short in the practice/practice/practice category. He also convinced me to learn the Zone System with sheet film and get a good spot meter. I’ve done all of that, in addition to keeping thorough field notes (a good learning tool as well – one can figure out his errors from those). Visualization prior to exposure is something we all attempt but demands knowledge of our materials; I doubt AA would ever suggest we limit our material choices. I feel it’s good to limit the materials until it becomes obvious that perhaps a change of materials is really a potential benefit.
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  #15  
Old 10th March 2017, 07:14 AM
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Thanks for sharing, Jerry. Very insightful and a great read.
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  #16  
Old 10th March 2017, 10:04 AM
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Thanks for your interesting posts Jerry.
And thanks to Brock for providing the link to Michael Johnston's article about how to achieve "the glow" in your prints. I first read the article fifteen years ago. It was interesting to read it again.

Alan
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  #17  
Old 10th March 2017, 10:59 AM
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Another great thread from FADU. I'm a beginner in this printing melarky but I thought a couple of observations of my journey over the last couple of years might help others in the same position.

To begin with I was so pleased to get anything from my darkroom activities that every time I printed it was quantity over quality - I guess I couldn't wait to see what the next negative looked like in print. Now I've slowed myself down and spend more time with a negative that I think has some merit - trying some different ideas (more/less contrast, exposure, different paper, toners) and spending a bit of time looking at the resulting prints.

Also, I've completely given up scanning negatives. I used to scan every film I developed and use 'that ubiquitous software' to preview the negatives - essentially using that as a way to decide which negs were worth printing. I sat back a few months ago and looked through my negative folders from the last couple of years and came to the conclusion that my workflow really wasn't helping me progress. In some of my films I could see exposure was all over the place, yet the software had produced very acceptable digital images from all of them. Too often in the darkroom, though, I was printing at grade 4 or beyond. Since then, as I say, I've stopped scanning my negatives and gone back to producing a contact sheet. I'm convinced this change has helped me understand how to produce negatives which are much easier to print.

And I'd give another shout for Bruce Barnbaums' book The Art of Photography.

Michael
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  #18  
Old 10th March 2017, 11:22 AM
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Michael, I love your phrase "printing malarkey".
You may describe yourself as a beginner but your very useful insights into the process suggest to me that you have come a long way in two years.

Alan
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  #19  
Old 10th March 2017, 12:23 PM
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Call me a lazy or a bad printer because I only like to put my time, money, effort and energy into the best negatives.

No matter how much fannying about in the darkroom with a poor negative, I'm only left with a pile of unsatisfactory prints. I find it an expensive exercise trying to hone and perfect my printing skills when it's not in the negative in the first place. And for what? To tell myself or teach myself how to make prints that I would never hang or want to show to anyone.

So surprisingly, what my darkroom printing experience has taught me is to be a more conscientious and critical photographer at the picture taking and film processing stages. Work on getting the best possible negatives is what it boils down to for me. You'll have much more fun and success during your darkroom sessions and it should help reduce frustration, disappointment and unnecessary cost and waste at the printing stage.
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  #20  
Old 10th March 2017, 02:23 PM
SanMiguel SanMiguel is offline
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Thanks Alan, appreciate your comment.
Michael

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan Clark View Post
Michael, I love your phrase "printing malarkey".
You may describe yourself as a beginner but your very useful insights into the process suggest to me that you have come a long way in two years.

Alan
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