Re: [Leica] printing questions

[Guy Bennett <guybnt@idt.net>]

richard,

thanks for your response. i, too, am wondering whether the f-stop method is
worthwhile for me or not. while i'm satisfied with the 'traditional' way of
producing test strips, i occasionally do enlarge and reduce prints from my
'standard' size, and would be pleased if there were a reliable way of
calculating printing times between sizes. the f-stop method seems to be
just that, but, like you, it's not something i have immediately assimilated
after reading about it, and i don't know if for me it's worthwhile to spend
the time necessary to learn it.

i too tend to dodge and burn in percentages, for a couple of reasons. the
main one is that since dodging and burning times are essentially arbitrary
(i.e. you use whatever looks best to you), and it's often difficult for me
to tell the difference between a given area dodged 8 or 7 or 10 seconds, i
tend to start out by choosing a dodging/burning time that is some easily
identifiable percentage of the total initial print time, and fine tune from
there. that way, if i do wish to enlarge the print, new dodging/burning
times can be extrapolated from the new initial print time.

as for determining a new initial print time for an enlargement, for
example, i'm going to give rudman's method a try. i'll do the necessary
calculations before i print next, and take a chart with me into the
darkroom. i'll give it a couple of tries and report back about its
reliability.

guy


>Guy,
>
>I just got out of the darkroom after spending 23 hours printing over the last
>2 days and am a little bleary eyed, but I'll jump in with an opinion.  I've
>read about f stop printing and it has never registered with me.  Maybe I've
>just been doing it too long my way to learn a new method, but the f stop
>method breaks my head.  I too fail to see what the advantages to it are.  I
>like the simplicity of traditional test strips, they give me the information
>I need, and I don't have to do too much thinking which makes my brain hurt.
>I've never been terribly interested in being able to print something the same
>way in another size.  I find that every time I print a photo I do it
>differently, sometimes dramatically so.  I suppose if I was selling them it
>would be a different story, they would need to be consistent.  If you want
>more information on an f stop timer try RH Designs at  <A
>HREF="http://www.rhdesigns.co.uk/contents.htm">RH Designs</A> -they make lots
>of interesting darkroom aids.
>
>After saying all this I realized that the way I think about a print in the
>darkroom is in percentages.  I'll burn or dodge for a certain percentage of
>the initial exposure, based on experience and intuition.  Maybe this is a
>blending of the 2 methods?
>
>I hope this makes sense, and is of some use to you.
>
>Richard Wasserman