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 22:50:20 -0500

With me I went into the darkroom and mixed up my trays with the idea that I
was going to end up with solid images if it was for a gallery show of a
small handful of negs. Maybe two or three. Maybe one.
I'd have not have felt impatient if it took me an hour before I was done
with a neg and had gone through a dozen or more sheets of paper as that's
the rhythm  I was in. that's what I was used to.
It it took two hours then " patience of Job."
Though Job implies gremlins.
Darkroom gremlins.
Which is what you get when you don't use Dektol.
That was almost always the reason.
Prints turning various colors an hour after you print them and so on.
But didn't get those too often in the last decade of printing.

Of course the best one is after an exhausting printing session you have them
all hung up drying or on screens and you wake up the next morning go check
them out and they have stains in the borders.
Again probably from using one of those liquids. Not Dektol.

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


> From: Alastair Firkin <afirkin at afirkin.com>
> Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
> Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2012 19:09:56 -0500
> To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Magnum & the Dying Art of Darkroom Printing
> 
>> :-)
>> That's just the thing. With the right techniques (split grade, F-STOP
>> timer...) even I can turn out an OK print relatively easily, but then the
>> artistry of dodging and burning, and lets not talk about contrast masking
>> or various flavors (local contrast, global contrast), unsharp mask... it's
>> enough to drive people to drink!!!!
>> 
>> Or scan the ##&^@ film and use photoshop / LR :-)
> 
> These things are all great fun, but boy they are also very hard to
> 'master'. you need the patience of Job.
> 
> Alastair
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
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In reply to: Message from afirkin at afirkin.com (afirkin at afirkin.com) ([Leica] Magnum & the Dying Art of Darkroom Printing)