[Leica] <sigh> Getting into printing.. need advice?

[photo.forrest at earthlink.net (Philip Forrest)]

Ha ha ha ha ha!
It's little nuggets like this and the thread thereafter that make me
want to fall off this LUG wagon and just make photos. There's probably
a lot of people who responded off list (as did I) giving advice on
darkroom work. 
The funny thing about the LUG is that there is very little gray here.
Black or white. I'm right you're wrong. The whole idea of a forum is
just that, it's a forum where ideas can be shared and art can be
cultivated. Much of what travels around here though is some air of
superiority/seniority/highfalutin crap. There's a lot of talented
photographers here on the LUG. I respect them and their work. There's a
lot of tree bark and peeling paint too. Lots of "my Cooke-Amotal will
beat my 1st gen Summicron." etc...
There is a certain little bit of satisfaction of collecting anything,
but every camera and lens I personally have owned, fixed or built, I
have used to make images. Some I still have, some I cut up with an
angle grinder and dremel tool, some I sold. Too often this is not a
Leica Users' Group, it's a Snobbish Collectors' Group. I'm not a
collector, I'm a user. I don't have any equipment in a vault still in
a box. I don't collect boxes, I throw them away, helping you box
collectors by boosting the value of whatever cellulose you've
squirreled away for some foolish reason. All my lenses are used.
Heavily. I've never written a book on my lenses or anybody elses'. I
share some of the imagery I make with the group and get a little
feedback to grow from. 
I'm so sick of some of these threads such as this, that I could
projectile vomit. 
I don't care what music you're listening to while drinking whatever it
is you're drinking sitting under your OC light. 
I listen to Nirvana, Pearl Jam and a few other "grunge" groups when I'm
printing, but I don't talk about it here. Sometimes a little bit of
Jazz, sometimes NPR. I drink water from beer glasses I collected while
in the Navy but don't talk about it here.
Why?
Because nobody cares. Or more importantly, nobody SHOULD care.
It's about making art. That's narcissistic enough; we don't need to
hear what cigar goes best with the nose of Dektol. Making photos. If
that's done with a pinhole, great; if that's done with a Leica, great;
if that's done with the Hubble Space Telescope, great. 
Besides the few people in dirty, muddy shoes (like Tina,
showing us beauty in the harshest adversity) the
rest of us who point fingers should be ashamed. I'm pointing
everywhere, so I'll start with myself. I'm just so sick of the stigma
that I feel because I choose to shoot a Leica, the very pinnacle of
snobbish image making devices. That stigma comes from here. 
Go make some photos, people. 
Phil Forrest



A fellow asks us to share our thoughts on how to 
set up a chemical darkroom.  So far, most of the 
responses have been from digital people who are 
stating how much they hate darkroom work.  That 
is so much sour grapes and is not responsive to the question asked.

First, can you digital folks stand aside or, if 
you insist, set up your OWN thread of "Why I Hate 
Analog Work" or the like.  Otherwise, keep your 
bitter, vicious, and nasty thoughts to 
yourself.  It is a BIG universe and one easily 
capable of including those of us who LIKE analog 
work, those of us who are incapable of adapting 
to digital, and those who like digital 
work.  Heck, the universe is big enough to 
include the 95% of folks who use and like PC's 
and the 5% who like and use Mac's.  As they say, 
your mileage may vary, but, in the end, it IS a 
large and inclusive universe.  I suspect that 
most LUG subscribers do not own or wear or have 
ever seen a Tilley Hat, but we do spend a LOT of 
time talking about these as if they were the 
end-all and be-all of existence, not to mention 
those specialty shoes Tina wears.  (Me?  I do 
analog, cannot figure out digital, use a PC, 
walked around yesterday in Hannah without a hat 
on at all, and spend ten months of the year barefoot -- retirement is great.)

Second, let us not pour urine on an enquiring 
mind who wants to get into a chemical 
darkroom.  Encouragement is in order, not tales 
of how much some of you HATED the experience.  I 
would never discourage someone from going 
digital:  if they are happy to accept the 
constraints, that is their choice and more power 
to them.  Others are happy to accept the 
constraints of analog and more power to them, as well.

Third, I fill my time in the dark room listening 
to classical music or old radio shows.  I 
happened to be in the dark room when they 
announced that Stephane Grappelli had died.-- I 
am not wild about Jazz Violin but I did get a 
grand two-hour remembrance of his work on my 
local NPR station while whomping up several dozen 
prints and a couple of rolls of film to 
boot.  Duffy's Tavern is a great listen as is the 
radio Dragnet or Tales of the Texas 
Rangers.   Mozart, Hayden, Bach, Handel ... 
anything but the gagging nastiness of piano 
sonatas.  Those put me to sleep when they do not make me physically nauseous.

Marc


msmall@aya.yale.edu
Cha robh b?s fir gun ghr?s fir!