[Leica] Re: Digital prints

[Jim Brick <jimbrick@photoaccess.com>]

Mark,

It is my personal opinion (IMHO as well) that what you get from a digitized
negative (or positive), photoshopped, and outputted on virtually ANY
digital output device, will always pale in comparison to a masterfully made
silver print.

There is a dynamic depth and richness to a good silver print (Cibachrome,
Monochrome, or whatever), that just cannot be obtained by splattering ink
onto the surface of some paper.

Jim

At 12:01 PM 10/6/99 -0700, Mark Rabiner wrote:
>
>In the last week I have had my first experience with dealing with one of my
>images scanned directly from a neg. It was a shot of an Ape at Lincoln
Park zoo
>in Chicago shot on Tri X Rodinal 1:50 I did five years ago. When I brought
home
>the scan on a Zip I quickly had fun tweaking it on Photoshop which I have been
>playing with for years on downloads and so on achieving some authority
with it.
>So I "printed" the neg in Photoshop and then brought that in with 3 others 
>to be
>outputted to a slide. These I sent to Chicago for Projection at the LHSA On
>Saturday October 23rd. 
>But here's the crux of the issue. I had great fun and precision doing my Ape 
>neg
>digitally but this week sitting where I sit now but then I brought it into my
>real darkroom almost reluctantly. I don't have an Epson and I needed hard copy
>for myself.
>Was I surprised. As I don't quite print the old fashioned way as I print 
>sequent
>illy with the Aristo head first the blue filter then the green. The results I
>then achieved and the manner in which I was able to re-realize the neg was
>invigorating and captivating. I now have an Archival Fiber 8 by 10 of that neg
>and with all the controls available in Photoshop (and I am aware of most of
>them) the previous time around now the tonality of this print was most
>satisfying. And I got much more so that poignant "OH my god its somebodies
>grandfather" effect from the ape picture this time round from the silver print
>than I did in my previous world of pixels and slide output. When I get my
Epson
>and so on in November I'll be making much more of these comparisons.
>Mark Rabiner