RE: [Leica] Darkroom depression

["Dan Honemann" <ddh@home.com>]

Brougham,

Yes, this is good advice and I will take it.  I have a friend who knows
darkroom work but doesn't currently have a darkroom.  Still, there are labs
available that will rent space/equipment to use, and we plan on spending
some time there together.  That's the first step.

The lesson I've learned from the b&w negatives and what you and others have
said here is err on the side of over-exposure rather than under-.  I'll bear
that in mind, meter off the shadows, and see what happens.  I will also
experiment with setting the ASA on the M for lower than the rated film
speed.

I don't know the Ansel Adams books, but will check them out of the library.

Dan

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Brougham
> Sent: Friday, May 05, 2000 7:46 AM
> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject: [Leica] Darkroom depression
>
>
> "Dan Honemann" <ddh@home.com> wrote:
>
> > As someone who is just getting started in photography and planning on
> > doing my own (B&W) processing, I'm now facing a difficult choice. Do
> I
> > invest my money/time in building a darkroom and learning chemicals,
> or
> > in buying a scanner and printer and learning PhotoShop?
>
> Don't buy either.  Save your money.  Take a local college class that
> involves B&W darkroom work.  Play around.  Decide if you like it or
> not.  Then, you'll know what you want to do.
>
> I'm thinking that I'm going to do both.  I'm looking into some co-op
> darkrooms around here, and will probably buy a scanner as well.  There
> is something really fun about printing your own.  Then again, printing
> your own can be a real pain sometimes, too.  Especially color.  I find
> color printing to be more rewarding.  But also more painful.  Then
> again, I'm not nearly as good at B&W, and that's probably why.  I'd
> like to improve that.
>
> > The biggest surprise was when the guy at the lab told me that the
> shot
> > that would print best was one that on the contact sheet was pretty
> > severely over-exposed.
>
> If you have the information on the negative, you can print it.  It
> might not be easy, but it can be done.  If you have severely
> underexposed a frame, there's no info on the negative.  It doesn't
> matter how long you spend printing.  :)
>
> Have you read Ansel Adam's _The Negative_ and _The Print_?  Both
> *excellent* books.
>
>
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