[Leica] wet trays.. digital printer. :-) A real world look!

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

My goodness what a day of digi, vs film vs M vs whatever!  :-)

When one is so busy and they don't read LUG e-mail every hour or so, and 
open it at the end of a day of having a great time making some super B&W 
prints, it appears on the LUG to have been an extremely enlightening day 
about the state of photography before us.

Now before I go on, let me explain the day just finished.

In our darkroom office arrangement we have a PC whiz bang zillions of space 
and whatever else makes it fire along like a jet going mach here to moon and 
back in seconds. I don't know what it is, it just does it. ;-) Heck I don't 
even know the kind of computer it is... it just works fast. ;-)

So there's the computer, an EPSON 2200 printer, Polaroid Sprint scanner, a 
zip drive, haven't used it in what seems years, but it's all lit up ready to 
go if called upon. :-)

Let's see what else? A flatbed scanner ready to go at a moments notice for 
prints and other notable things from photographs to text.

However, over in the other corner/side is a large sized sink ..." let's say 
darkroom sink capable of holding 4 16X20 trays and an archival print 
washer." Below that, a print dryer and storage area for wet tray chemicals. 
On the opposite side of the room, dry side ............   is the suspense 
getting you yet? ;-)...........

A large table with a Leica whatever enlarger, paper storage, negative and 
contact yearly filing books ready for selection and all those things 
required in filing negs and contacts.

So I'm sure by now you're kind of getting the layout and idea of where we do 
both our digital printing and wet tray printing ..... surprise.... all in 
the same large room! :-)  I know some will say you can't do that! dampness, 
humidity and all that. And do you know what the answer to that is?   ..... 
screw you, we've done it this way for a very long time and everything works! 
:-)  Which leads to the wonderful revelation of...... ready? ;-)

For the first time today in about 7 months we were, get ready.... wait for 
it........... printing both at exactly the same time.... fine art wet tray 
and digital all in the same room at exactly the same moment!! Damn, it was 
wonderful.:-)  16X20 wet tray prints on one side and digital Epson 2200 
13X19 humming away on the other.  And what idiot would ever say ... Digital 
and wet tray wont and can't work together? :-)

Better still? The prints we produced are beautiful! So up yours and everyone 
else's who says they can't live and work together! Are they the same? Hell 
no, but who cares, both are beautiful and both work and anyone looking at 
them so far are damn near getting wet pants with how neat they look.:-)

So get real people, both are here, both can and do work together, and yes 
they damn well look beautiful side by each, when you are not making some 
comparison to "which is better!" Forget it, there's a whole new world out 
there.

We had a great day printing and when I finally looked at the LUG with all 
the asinine BS about digital and other nonsense babbling on about almost 
every aspect of what's good, what isn't, wont work, I'll never do it, 
digital, never digital, film etc etc. quite frankly it looks like it's the 
biggest pile of ... (sorry ladies,) bull shit nonsense I've ever seen!

Get a life people, wet tray and film are still here, digital is here and 
without question the wave of the future and you as an individual have a 
choice.... run with it and have fun if you feel like it.......... or 
continue as you are having an equal level of fun shooting on a film camera. 
But stop the bull shit about which is better or bigger!

But for heaven sake lads get with it... both are here! Enjoy whichever makes 
your heart feel good and run with it... but don't be snapping and snarling 
at each other over a technological process that's advancing faster than you 
can breath and absolutely no one on this list has any control over. Other 
than, buying into the new way or not!

If you choose to join digital, have fun! And if you chose not to, still have 
fun. Is there a problem with either?

But for crying out loud get a life and do what you feel best for you and 
don't be shooting the other guy down because he or she makes a different 
choice.... absolutely no one wins when we bite at each other like salivating 
dogs!

Have a nice evening or day depending when you open this. :-)

ted