[Leica] Getting into printing.. need advice?

[drodgers at casefarms.com (David Rodgers)]

Daniel,

>> I passionately hate every minute of it...<<

I hope that hate doesn't include that magical moment when the image
appears. Or is that where the passion comes in? :-)

Can't say that I enjoy all aspects of analog printing. But it has its
moments. A lesson that took too long for me to learn is that simplicity
and ease are directly related. For years I experimented too much and it
just made printing more of a hassle. Liquid developer (beats mixing
powders) and a bit of selenium toner in my second fix is about as
radical as I get now.

The negs the key to enjoyable (make that bearable) printing. I also
think the neg is really why it's so hard to go from digital back to the
darkroom. It's not that easy to get a good neg -- and by good I mean
consistent with what I'm used to so I can knock out a decent print
without much fuss. It takes practice. Even the visualization part.
Visualization is a word you rarely hear in digital. I think it's been
replaced with words like chimping, auto level and sliders. 

I sense that silver prints will be more valuable than my digital prints
with the passing of time. There's a greater connection between the scene
and the photograph. In the end, that's what drives me to print analog. 

DaveR