[Leica] Re: Yes, Set Up A Darkroom

[firkin at balhpl01.ncable.net.au (firkin)]

Nice summary Tim,
I suspect with my increasing interest in all things photographic and some 
increasing spare time, I'm going to have more negs than I know how to deal 
with. Your comments help confirm my suspicion that I will soon put all my 
colour work into a digital basket. 

Others have a great time with their ink jet printers, but I have nothing but 
grief. Epson and Firkin do not go together (or so it seems). My first died 
with narry 100 sheets printed, the second used to drive me so crazy, I took 
to beating it -- much like Cleese in Fawlty towers beating the VW with a 
tree, and now my latest greatest R800 drives me insane because it will not 
reliably pick up the paper and print: I get diagonal printing !!!! 

Why don't I buy a canon: well everyone keeps assuring me that the Epson is 
soooooo goooood. 

Therefore I will keep hoping, but plan to send my data files off to a 
digital lab to be printed on old fashioned Colour paper. I think I've worked 
out that scanned negs will be as good as a 6 to 10 mega pixel camera, so 
that' how I will go for now, UNLESS I hear to the opposite. 

Cheers 

Tim Atherton writes: 

> 
>> Something I'm sure Salgado and Natcheway will be most interested to
>> hear, not to mention HCB were he still with us. 
>>
> 
> thankfully, a pretty good percentage of the best photographers, both
> contemporaries and past masters, have always realised they are just that -
> good photographers, but not particularly good darkroom craftsmen (or even
> good darkroom technicians) and have sought out the best printers to print
> their work. This is especially (but not only) the case with colour 
> workers. 
> 
> Sadly the opposite is true - there are many very good darkroom technicians
> who think they are also good photographers.... 
> 
> In part, the move to digital - epically "hybrid" digital using scanned 
> film,
> has drawn a lot of colour photographers into working more with their raw
> images. They are discovering that the incredible level of control they can
> now exercise over their work, compared to what even the best of colour
> printers were ever able to do. 
> 
> Working from a hi-res scan of say an 8x10 transparency they can draw out a
> much wider range of highlight and shadow detail than was ever possible
> before. They can change contrast, colour balance, dodge and burn and much
> more, remove colour casts or whatever, as globally or locally on a print as
> they want - it's easy to retain all the detail in a sky that would 
> otherwise
> become blown out, or adjust the contrast on individual flower heads if you
> want - the range of control is almost infinite by comparison with what used
> to be able to be done, as is the accuracy of their application. And while
> there are some sets of skills that are different from those of a darkroom
> printer, the learning curve is possibly even steeper - certainly it takes 
> as
> much skill to become a "master" digital-darkroom worker as it does to be a
> wet darkroom worker - in addition, the range of tools available (especially
> for colour) is probably much much greater. 
> 
> Many of the best known of today's colour photographers are having their old
> negatives and transparencies scanned, worked on and reprinted and/or
> republished in new editions which make use of the advances. A good few of
> the best colour printers (even including some of the dye-transfer and
> ilfochrome diehards....) have realised the immense benefits of this kind of
> digital work. 
> 
> Even if it's not the type of work that appeals to you if you ever get a
> chance to see some of Chris Jordan's prints "in the flesh" don't miss the
> chance - from a technical/darkroom point of view, I think you will be
> stunned  www.chrisjordan.com . Just one example 
> 
> tim 
> 
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Alastair Firkin @ work ;-) 

http://www.afirkin.com
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