[Leica] re: silver vs pixels

[dnygr at cshore.com (Douglas Nygren)]

While you may say that you prefer the photographer who takes the photo 
in the camera to the one who make it in the darkroom, I hasten to 
inform you are dreaming if you think all the work can be done at the 
moment you snap the photo. It is the rare photo, that comes out of the 
camera without needs a little here and there. This is true in the 
digital and the wet darkroom. When you snap the photo, the process has 
only just begun. If the day is overcast, you have to deal with the lack 
of contrast. If you don't, you will have a flat photo. An awareness of 
how photos print will allow you to expose your photos better.

Now I imagine you know that great Ansel Adams' photo of sunset over.... 
That photo could not be done the way it is without much work in the 
darkroom. The sky could not have been that dark to have gotten that 
exposure without the moon looking differently.

I might add that even if one takes a perfect photo, one is dependant 
upon a lab to print it correctly. My experience has been that most labs 
are dreadful. If you find a good one, never let it go. I started to 
print my own photos in order to get the most out of my prints.

First you take the photo. Then you have to print it and a good photo 
can be ruined through poor printing. If you are just a "shooter," that 
is someone who just shoots, I guess this doesn't matter. Photography 
can be more than just shooting, however. There is a place for skill in 
the field backed up by skill in the wet or digital darkroom.

Cheers--Doug