Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2012/03/08

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Subject: [Leica] Magnum & the Dying Art of Darkroom Printing
From: mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)
Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2012 05:19:34 -0500

For me what I'd done last time in a print like years before seemed to come
back to me. I get a feeling many of my dodges and burns were exactly like
I'd done the decade before. Ones hands have memory. Like playing the guitar
or piano.
But I'm a much much better printer now than I was a decade before.
And I probably will make a much better print than I'd made various times
before. So The idea of starting from scratch from a neg and printing it as
if I've never printed it before has often been an exciting game plan.

Also my last ten  years of printing I used the two exposure split printing
method one exposure with the blue high contrast light for the blacks and the
other exposure with the green low contrast lights light. (then burning with
one of the other or a mix)
This entire new approach to printing made me rethink the balance of my
entire body of work which was mostly black and white and always they'd come
out way better than before.
I needed that two color thing right then because I was getting a bit
frustrated with the limitations of darkroom printing. You could go through
many sheets of paper and still not really nail it. Better luck next time
you'd think.

-- 
Mark R.
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/winterdays/


> From: Tarek Charara <tcharara at mac.com>
> Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
> Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2012 09:55:40 +0100
> To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Magnum & the Dying Art of Darkroom Printing
> 
> So? I like achieving similar results for a particular print and so I do 
> note
> my dodging and burning on my final test prints. I would go crazy if I
> didn't?Specially when doing limited edition prints and don't do the whole
> batch at the same time. And IF I change papers, I usually start with the
> results I noted and go from there. If I want to achieve a different
> interpretation, I also start from that particular annotated print and try 
> new
> stuff? It's not perfect, but sure is better than re-inventing the wheel 
> every
> time. And ymmv? 
> 
> And as to time spent in the darkroom? 35 years here. But I must be a bit
> younger? ;)
> 
> All the best from Paris!
> 
> Tarek
> 
> -------------------------------------------------
> Tarek Charara
> <http://www.tarekcharara.com>
> 
> NO ARCHIVE
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Le 8 mars 2012 ? 09:43, Mark Rabiner a ?crit :
> 
>> Its just that I've over 4 decades printed and half my friends did the 
>> same.
>> As in printed the same neg on different papers different times. Different
>> sizes for different shows or clients. RC and or Fiber. C print or
>> Cibachrome.  And had our assistants do It and or a custom printer do it.
>> Its scintillating horsepucky.
>> 
>> -- 
>> Mark R.
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/winterdays/
>> 
>> 
>>> From: Tarek Charara <tcharara at mac.com>
>>> Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
>>> Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2012 09:12:33 +0100
>>> To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
>>> Subject: Re: [Leica] Magnum & the Dying Art of Darkroom Printing
>>> 
>>> You'd have to make those note at some final stage so that you don't start
>>> the
>>> whole trial and error process all over again. years later when you need 
>>> to
>>> print again.
>>> 
>>> All the best from Paris!
>>> 
>>> Tarek
>>> 
>>> -------------------------------------------------
>>> Tarek Charara
>>> <http://www.tarekcharara.com>
>>> 
>>> NO ARCHIVE
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Le 8 mars 2012 ? 06:06, Mark Rabiner a ?crit :
>>> 
>>>> I cant figure out if this is an example of a kind of obsesive compulsive
>>>> psychosis or an attempt at humor. There is also a famous one of a head 
>>>> from
>>>> Avedon. An image marked up way past any reason or comprehension.
>>>> I'll tell you what I think it is its drugs in the 80's.
>>>> But it might be Public relations. Your clients are supposed to think 
>>>> that
>>>> even though you  yourself are not making the prints the relation between
>>>> you
>>>> and your assistant or printer is so involved that its worth all the
>>>> ridiculous money they are paying you for the job and or print.
>>>> 
>>>> In reality when you go through sheets and sheets of paper in the 
>>>> darkroom
>>>> its a rather organic process of trial and error. And you cant be 
>>>> reminded
>>>> of
>>>> it from a mark up or controlled by someone giving you a marked up thing
>>>> like
>>>> that. The printer has to sweat it out themselves. Adams called it a
>>>> performance of a score. But your head is not buried in the score. You 
>>>> have
>>>> to look up from time to time and cue your orchestra.
>>>> -- 
>>>> Mark R.
>>>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/winterdays/
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Leica Users Group.
>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information




Replies: Reply from tcharara at mac.com (Tarek Charara) ([Leica] Magnum & the Dying Art of Darkroom Printing)
In reply to: Message from tcharara at mac.com (Tarek Charara) ([Leica] Magnum & the Dying Art of Darkroom Printing)