Master Printers

filmtwit

filmtwit

Desperate but not serious
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A master printer is a film photographer's key collaborator. They bring to life stunning moments in time by manipulating light and dark while exercising passion in pursuit of perfection. These silver gelatin darkroom experts help to realise the vision that film photographers have when they click the shutter. Using their knowledge and skills in the darkroom and beyond to coax out the details from the shadows and balance the light. The World of Master Printers is episode 3 in ILFORD Inspires' darkroom printer series: New York Silver Stories. Watch the other episodes on the Ilford YouTube channel. A Film by Exploredinary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXDJiV-XKcw
 
I was disappointed in this for several reasons, among them the emphasis on mural prints and the implication that only master printers can make huge prints; that photographers lack something that only master printers have that allows finer expression of the photographer's vision (I wonder what Ansel would say about that); and it's all happening in New York! A pretty narrow view of fine printing in my opinion.
 
What I got from the New York Ilford video was the passion and devotion of those printers and the economies of scale that allow that much real estate to be deployed for this activity with such wonderful machines and spaces for hanging and laying out prints.
 
I found it remarkable that Bell seems not to like gelatin silver split-grade printing.

It would be interesting when RFf had some serious threads about gelatin silver printing.

By far the best thing of gelatin silver printing is the enormous shelf life of silver-gelatin prints compared to spray-painted digital prints. It is incomprehensible that so many people do not consider the shelf life of their photos important. Oil painting, for example, has been widely used because of the enormous shelf life, petrification in fact, of dried linseed oil.

gelatin silver print (summar 50mm f2) leica lll

https://www.flickr.com/photos/erik_v...79834/sizes/l/

Erik.

52509079834_1933a3e4a3_b.jpg
 
Some sources even indicate inkjet prints made with pigment inks on high rag content art papers will last longer than silver prints. I dunno and I doubt any of us will live long enough to find out for sure. I'm pretty sure my inkjets will outlive me--I'm old, they're fairly recently born.
 
The film... voices from a rather elitist photo market circle. Of course the prints are great (and big), those people know their work.
I´m satisfied with 12x16 to my liking, see Dogman´s signature.
 
Erik van Straten said:
I found it remarkable that Bell seems not to like gelatin silver split-grade printing.

It would be interesting when RFf had some serious threads about gelatin silver printing.

By far the best thing of gelatin silver printing is the enormous shelf life of silver-gelatin prints compared to spray-painted digital prints. It is incomprehensible that so many people do not consider the shelf life of their photos important. Oil painting, for example, has been widely used because of the enormous shelf life, petrification in fact, of dried linseed oil.

gelatin silver print (summar 50mm f2) leica lll

https://www.flickr.com/photos/erik_v...79834/sizes/l/

Erik.

Click to expand...

Brilliant shot Erik !
 
"By far the best thing of gelatin silver printing is the enormous shelf life of silver-gelatin prints compared to spray-painted digital prints."

How do you know?
Cheers, OtL
 
Erik van Straten said:
How do you know?

Erik.
Click to expand...

"........Fortunately, ink jet colorants (dye and pigment) are very stable and typically can last 100+ years at room temperature, so dark fade is usually not a limiting permanence factor for ink jet photo prints as long as high-quality paper is used."


I have had a few prints done and framed to what they call museum standard.....guaranteed for 100 years.
 
... the urge to leave something behind on this earth ...
But: Who of us thinks that some of our descendants will be able (and willing) to value our endless hours in the darkroom? Who hopes their prints will be discovered at some point in the future and will be pinned to some museum wall?
Be realistic and forget about the 100+ years.
 
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