Digital BW, The Print

Stuart,

It can be a rough transition from silver to inkjet. At 10 weeks into it I
was most unhappy with my results. The opportunities to get into the darkroom
had become so few and far between I simply wasn't printing so it seemed like
I had little to lose in pursuing the digital side and kept at it. I think it
took me almost 10 months to get to a point where I found my inkjet prints
satisfying. This was not purely a technical or craft issue but was in large
part an emotional/artistic adjustment to a new medium. I guess you just need
to live with it for awhile.

On those images that just don't work no matter how badly we want them too, I
have to wonder that some that don't work on silver may work on inkjet and
vice versa. My enlarger is still there but very dusty. Every medium has it's
limits and we need to find them for ourselves in term of our artistic
vision. I really can't imagine anything quite so artistically difficult as
to change mediums.

Martin Wesley
http://www.borderless-photos.de/guests.html



----- Original Message -----
From: <oncdoc@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2002 6:07 PM
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Re: pshop 6->7 VM (converts file differently?)


> Martin,
>
> Thanks for an outstanding discourse on the posterization issue. You  had
attempted to give me some insight into this area when I queried the group
about it some weeks ago. I tried the solutions you suggested without a good
outcome, and had reached the conclusion myself that, just as in the wet
darkroom, there are certain images that you are just not going to be able to
"make". I must say, though, at this point in my experience I derive much
more satisfaction from images printed in the chemical darkroom. I know that
this is largely a function of 25 years vs 10 weeks digital experience.
>
> I am a physician and rarely get the opportunity to spend 4-6 hours in my
darkroom. I love the fact that I can derive satisfaction and pleasure from
even the few minutes a day I am able to spend "digitally".
>
> Thanks for your expertise and willingness to share.
>
> Stuart Spigel

(snip earlier)