RE: [Leica] continuously variable M shutter?

[Buzz Hausner <Buzz@marianmanor.org>]

Only in my dreams could I ever print like either Ansel Adams or Henri
Gassman, both of whom produced masterpieces of profoundly different
qualities.  Like most journeyman dark-room workers, I must have a pretty
good negative to get even pretty good results.   Color?  Eliot Porter went
so far as to do his own dye-transfers, some people just have the touch, the
rest of us can only try harder.  At the end of the day intention is always
better than accident, but I will accept an accident if it was the only way
to get the shot.

	Buzz

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Eric Welch [SMTP:ewelch@ponyexpress.net]
> Sent:	Monday, March 15, 1999 11:09 AM
> To:	leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject:	RE: [Leica] continuously variable M shutter?
> 
> At 10:18 AM 3/15/99 -0500, you wrote:
> >        This exchange risks starting a thread on "what is the ideal
> >exposure."  However, I will say now that I believe this to be as much art
> as
> >science and they we may each approach "the ideal exposure" differently
> and,
> >except for chromes, have a different idea of what's right.  We all have
> >different tastes in contrast, negative density, et alii, but I believe it
> is
> >all about getting a print that represents the photographer's vision.
> 
> You are quite right, Buzz. But some people claim that their taste is for 
> flat negatives with no shadow and gray highlights. When in reality, it's 
> the fact that they don't know how to print. If a person has the
> competence, 
> and I'm sure you do, to print to get what they want, that's great. But 
> often I see a lot of work out there which is just dreadful because they 
> don't know how to get a good black or white without screwing up the middle
> 
> or the other end.
> 
> Everyone needs a day of printing classes with someone like John Sexton.
> :-) 
> Or just look at prints by Ansel Adams, and then look at their own prints, 
> and see how far there is to go with quality. Not that everyone should
> print 
> like Ansel Adams. Far from it. Most people will never come close!
> Including 
> some "Beyond the Zone System" types.
> 
> That's black and white. In color, it's easier in some ways. And much more 
> difficult in others.
> 
> There is no ideal exposure as you say. I agree. But it's a question of 
> intention or accident. The better the exposure, the better the end result
> - 
> and easier to print!
> 
> Eric Welch
> St. Joseph, MO
> http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch
> 
> Photography can light-up darkness and expose ignorance." -  Lewis Hine
> 1904