Calzone
Gear Whore #1
So I am restraining myself from loading the 7800 to print big. I can't afford to binge like I did last year, but I already know that my K7 has new curves, and that I can use the new darker black from Piezography Pro with my K7 and basically have a K7 on steroids.
I learned from using Piezography Pro that I will likely tone down the warmth of my K7 further by diluting my Shade 3 warn neutral to 33% Selenium to produce a broader midrange neutral. In effect I want my K7 to resemble my PP in that, in addition to having the blackest black, I will have more of a range of tones between the highlights, mids, and shadows.
I expect to see an increase in resolution, as Walker mentioned that these new curves have better ink dot placement. So all this is brutal knowing I have a Porsche in the garage, but I have to wait for better weather.
So let me run with the car analogy for a bit. Know like any performance car that you should expect a bit more maintenance. Currently I run an expensive humidifier set to 60% humidity to ensure that dry heated air does not promote clogged nozzles. I also now use my printer more or less every other day.
Sunday I had to top off my Gloss Chroma Optimizer. So now I learned that this has to get topped up every week. When I check my levels I remove my carts individually and give them a gentle shake to keep the pigment in solution and prevent settling.
Generally once a month I clean my capping station and my wiper. Using q-Tips and Piezoflush I wipe the collected sludge of dried inks off the wiper blade, and I make small pads of sections of paper towels to dab off Piezoflush that I drip onto the capping station. The idea is to remove any dried ink that will compromise the capping station from sealing, and get rid of any dried ink deposits.
So why all this extra work? This maintenance prevents clogging your print head and wasting paper and ink. I likely do it more than I need to, but I sometimes use my printer so much it might be called abuse, so babying it makes up for all those times of severe duty. Paper lint is another problem... Anyways when you discover banding or sputtered ink on a print due to a partial clog it is too late.
So now I'm at a point where I know what PP can do, and I am impressed by my results. The new level of control in the driver is highly engineered, but I find that I can get by without constant fideling with the settings for each print. All prints look good, and depending on settings I do like some prints better than others.
It seems that when optimized I can get a print to pop, become more detailed, and have a 3-D depth that gets maximized. The bad is that this requires using a print to gauge results. Know that my 27 inch Eizo dimmed down to 80 Lux in a darken room cannot reveal all the shadow detail that is in a print.
I can see that the new PP curves ("canned" curves) are so sharp that on a good portion of my K7 Tiffs I have to go back and lower contrast and or clarity because they are a bit overdone. The effect is too HDR like and over the top. Know that because I shoot a Leica Monochrom that I never adjust sharpening, and I use only the default setting of 25 that is used in LR5.
So like owning a Porsche is Piezography for you? I once had the opportunity to go for a ride in a borrowed Porsche 911 Turbo wide-body convertible in triple black. The experience was more like flying rather than driving, as my friend, a very big guy used all of his strength to steer the car through a cloverleaf accelerating to 90 mph in third gear.
Basically we put about a week's worth of driving in about 40 minutes. Wound up the car to 135 mph, which did not seem fast, and my friend tested the ABS as we came upon Babylon town Hall on Sunrise Highway.
So printing is at this level of exhileration, where you can safely go over the top without hurting anyone, and learn the performance envelope of what one can do.
More later.
Cal
I learned from using Piezography Pro that I will likely tone down the warmth of my K7 further by diluting my Shade 3 warn neutral to 33% Selenium to produce a broader midrange neutral. In effect I want my K7 to resemble my PP in that, in addition to having the blackest black, I will have more of a range of tones between the highlights, mids, and shadows.
I expect to see an increase in resolution, as Walker mentioned that these new curves have better ink dot placement. So all this is brutal knowing I have a Porsche in the garage, but I have to wait for better weather.
So let me run with the car analogy for a bit. Know like any performance car that you should expect a bit more maintenance. Currently I run an expensive humidifier set to 60% humidity to ensure that dry heated air does not promote clogged nozzles. I also now use my printer more or less every other day.
Sunday I had to top off my Gloss Chroma Optimizer. So now I learned that this has to get topped up every week. When I check my levels I remove my carts individually and give them a gentle shake to keep the pigment in solution and prevent settling.
Generally once a month I clean my capping station and my wiper. Using q-Tips and Piezoflush I wipe the collected sludge of dried inks off the wiper blade, and I make small pads of sections of paper towels to dab off Piezoflush that I drip onto the capping station. The idea is to remove any dried ink that will compromise the capping station from sealing, and get rid of any dried ink deposits.
So why all this extra work? This maintenance prevents clogging your print head and wasting paper and ink. I likely do it more than I need to, but I sometimes use my printer so much it might be called abuse, so babying it makes up for all those times of severe duty. Paper lint is another problem... Anyways when you discover banding or sputtered ink on a print due to a partial clog it is too late.
So now I'm at a point where I know what PP can do, and I am impressed by my results. The new level of control in the driver is highly engineered, but I find that I can get by without constant fideling with the settings for each print. All prints look good, and depending on settings I do like some prints better than others.
It seems that when optimized I can get a print to pop, become more detailed, and have a 3-D depth that gets maximized. The bad is that this requires using a print to gauge results. Know that my 27 inch Eizo dimmed down to 80 Lux in a darken room cannot reveal all the shadow detail that is in a print.
I can see that the new PP curves ("canned" curves) are so sharp that on a good portion of my K7 Tiffs I have to go back and lower contrast and or clarity because they are a bit overdone. The effect is too HDR like and over the top. Know that because I shoot a Leica Monochrom that I never adjust sharpening, and I use only the default setting of 25 that is used in LR5.
So like owning a Porsche is Piezography for you? I once had the opportunity to go for a ride in a borrowed Porsche 911 Turbo wide-body convertible in triple black. The experience was more like flying rather than driving, as my friend, a very big guy used all of his strength to steer the car through a cloverleaf accelerating to 90 mph in third gear.
Basically we put about a week's worth of driving in about 40 minutes. Wound up the car to 135 mph, which did not seem fast, and my friend tested the ABS as we came upon Babylon town Hall on Sunrise Highway.
So printing is at this level of exhileration, where you can safely go over the top without hurting anyone, and learn the performance envelope of what one can do.
More later.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
I am an old analog B&W film die-hard who only went digital when I bought my Leica Monochrom 4 years ago. Along the way I have still been shooting 135 and 120, and prior to owning the Monochrom I shot as much film as possible, when rebranded Tri-X cost $2.89 a roll, and rebranded close dated Acros could be had for $1.89 a roll.
For one spring and summer I averaged 150 rolls of film a month, and every month I would process all this film. I know I annoyed many people because I had a total disregard to editing and printing, but I knew that time is the best editor, and that the days of inexpensive film would not continue forever. So now I have a couple of hundred thousand images to cull though...
So now with Piezography Pro and one pass printing, along with my SL I have a large amount of work to do. Of course I won't print everything, but I will do the down and dirty of digitizing selected images and print half 8 1/2x11's to kinda make index card sized prints using PP. The one pass printing will likely take 2-3 minutes.
Digitizing 35mm via Nikon slide copier or Beoon should be easy, because I can tether my SL with LR6. The idea is to have a collection of small prints to collect and assemble some organization out of this massive mess I created. I'll avoid the 120 at this point because the 135 alone is painful enough. On each negative file I have the date developed so cronologically at least I can establish a timeline, frame numbers will help, and I have mindful data on development used and other comments to create a filing system on the back of each print.
Anyways I have a mess that likely will not go away. LOL. Anyways PP allows me to tackle a monumental task that likely will lead me to setting up a Nikon LS-8000 that I secured with Vuescan to move beyond this initial down and dirty.
Cal
For one spring and summer I averaged 150 rolls of film a month, and every month I would process all this film. I know I annoyed many people because I had a total disregard to editing and printing, but I knew that time is the best editor, and that the days of inexpensive film would not continue forever. So now I have a couple of hundred thousand images to cull though...
So now with Piezography Pro and one pass printing, along with my SL I have a large amount of work to do. Of course I won't print everything, but I will do the down and dirty of digitizing selected images and print half 8 1/2x11's to kinda make index card sized prints using PP. The one pass printing will likely take 2-3 minutes.
Digitizing 35mm via Nikon slide copier or Beoon should be easy, because I can tether my SL with LR6. The idea is to have a collection of small prints to collect and assemble some organization out of this massive mess I created. I'll avoid the 120 at this point because the 135 alone is painful enough. On each negative file I have the date developed so cronologically at least I can establish a timeline, frame numbers will help, and I have mindful data on development used and other comments to create a filing system on the back of each print.
Anyways I have a mess that likely will not go away. LOL. Anyways PP allows me to tackle a monumental task that likely will lead me to setting up a Nikon LS-8000 that I secured with Vuescan to move beyond this initial down and dirty.
Cal
Prest_400
Multiformat
One of the Lurkers.
So I found that I also have that position now of shooting but not printing. I have the idea of moving out, so no settling, which doesn't push desires to get stacks of prints. Being young it is time to grow and shoot with some editing and batch printing. Prints, even small, are jewels.
Ironically the 120 is the one I kind of endure scanning because of the frames/roll. But am select with it, even if the Texas Leicas do allow 35mm esque shooting.
The other day I recalled your slacker's brew and thought that if I lived in a city I'd get to shoot monochrome way more.
Piezography intrigued me when I discovered the concept though I do not have the B&Wness to think about it much now.
I have this MD da vinci friend that finally ended telling me to try exhibiting and publishing, it is not a purpose I have now. But printed material is the definite end and so lovely.
I sourced a lab with great rates for C-Prints, decent for bulkier and proofing. The thing is I don't quite know what to do with (large) prints after. Did a few 12x18s and these are stored. I hold up on sending people 12x18s at the moment 😂 and no "real estate riches" aspirations here. But large prints are amazing indeed, I did get some ideas from seeing some huge museum classical paintings.
Prepared some selects to get 8x12s soon(tm) and my PC crapped out with the files in, maybe one of these days I'll reselect and print.
Oh, and classify the bunch I already have around home.
Time makes time though, each thing will arrive as suited.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So I found that I also have that position now of shooting but not printing. I have the idea of moving out, so no settling, which doesn't push desires to get stacks of prints. Being young it is time to grow and shoot with some editing and batch printing. Prints, even small, are jewels.
Ironically the 120 is the one I kind of endure scanning because of the frames/roll. But am select with it, even if the Texas Leicas do allow 35mm esque shooting.
The other day I recalled your slacker's brew and thought that if I lived in a city I'd get to shoot monochrome way more.
Piezography intrigued me when I discovered the concept though I do not have the B&Wness to think about it much now.
I have this MD da vinci friend that finally ended telling me to try exhibiting and publishing, it is not a purpose I have now. But printed material is the definite end and so lovely.
I sourced a lab with great rates for C-Prints, decent for bulkier and proofing. The thing is I don't quite know what to do with (large) prints after. Did a few 12x18s and these are stored. I hold up on sending people 12x18s at the moment 😂 and no "real estate riches" aspirations here. But large prints are amazing indeed, I did get some ideas from seeing some huge museum classical paintings.
Prepared some selects to get 8x12s soon(tm) and my PC crapped out with the files in, maybe one of these days I'll reselect and print.
Oh, and classify the bunch I already have around home.
Time makes time though, each thing will arrive as suited.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Jorde,
I don't think you can go wrong shooting as much film as you can. I believe to be good one has to shoot a lot, and if one shoots crazy amounts of film eventually comes both consistency and style.
I found that nailing the fundamentals of exposure and self processing created a great foundation for the next step which was shooting and maximizing image capture with the Leica Monochrom which I say is the most unforgiving camera one can ever shoot.
If you try to optimize image capture, Monochrom exposure must be precise, and blowing the highlights in this camera is the most unforgiving due to the sensor and not having a Bayer Filter Array to allow recovery. Once gone:gone forever. The M246 with it's CMOS sensor is more forgiving, but not the original MM.
My model for printing is kinda like the housing bubble in that if I print a lot and print big some rich guy will buy my prints. LOL. So far no one is buying my prints, but I did do a show last year, printed another artist's work for exhibition in Hong Kong, and had the honor of giving a symposium at ICP.
Know that this year I will likely give a second symposium at ICP involving my printing and Piezography.
I do believe at this point the prints speak for themselves, and it is a matter of time before someone influential sees or discovers my work.
Having a pile of negatives in the wings that needs to be edited, proofed and printed is a great place to be to have follow through. Kinda like sitting on a stockpile of ammo, but I will tell you if you just concentrate on making negatives with a total disregard to printing expect people not to understand, thinking you are crazy, and it will annoy mucho people.
As an artist I have learned the best way to be an artist is to be kinda anti-social because if you want to stand out you don't want to be doing what other people are doing. Basically if you are provoking and annoying people with odd behavior they don't understand it is a good thing. LOL.
Anyways I pissed off mucho people over the years. All it had to do is make sense to me, and disregarding other peoples forceful opinions and ignoring their imposed thinking surely will piss a lot of people who will scream at you, "I wanna see prints." LOL.
No one saw my wisdom in shooting film when I could get unlimited supplies of rebranded Tri-X for $2.89 a roll; or when I loaded up the truck with rebranded Acros at $1.89 a roll that was close dated. Anyways I was so crazy that today I still have some of that unexposed film in my freezer, and I have about 100 rolls of film in my fridge that needs processing.
Anyways, now, today people don't think I'm so crazy, but the best time to have done all this film shooting was when film was dirt cheap. I can't afford to shoot Tri-X at $5.00 a roll like I use to.
Cal
robert blu
quiet photographer
Hi Cal, with your model in mind do you print in numbered signed edition or unlimited prints? Or what? Of course I think numbered edition are more worthy.
robert
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Robert,
So far I consider everything I have done either test prints (experiments) or unsigned artist proofs, even the monster prints that I printed for exhibition.
The delusional artist in me, LOL, makes me to ultimately believe that the most valuable prints I can make would be limited edition silver wet prints contact printed via Piezography digital negatives in a vacuum frame. These would be kinda easy to make if I had the vacuum frame and studio space because the technology I already have in PP. I would also like to experiment and develop to the point where I might print on Kodak AZO for that broad tonal range of a silver chloride paper.
I would like to perhaps/maybe keep the Piezography prints an open edition, where my artist proofs might have value added, by being early renditions. Anyways it is a clever way for me to get away and bury my evolutionary process and for all the variables I explored.
Also I heard of one printer that developed pricing that increased in some kinda formula as the number of prints created increased. Early adopters/collectors got the cheap price and as the numbers increased the prices were manipulated higher by further price increases.
My guess is an open edition printed in this pricing format would self limit, but also would be a twist on supply/demand economics as we know them, where scarcity is created by price and not the other way around. I think this is a cool model to follow: modest pricing in the beginning and a steepening price as more prints are sold to contain dilution of value.
Currently I am adding an element of hand made to all my prints made this year since I am actively writing useful information to document the print on the reverse. Also the workbook I am assembling I think will be very valuable one day due to all the notes, remarks, and information that is hand written by me. I think these early experimental prints that are basically developmental tests might be valuable to me now to further my work, but kinda important if anything big possibly happens. Of course I'm being delusional because the odds are against me.
So in the end I really only do it for me. If I die in obscurity I'm OK with that. My life has meaning to me, and I did not waste it. Call me selfish, but perhaps I only intend on pleasing myself, and I'm OK with that. I already have a good life, I don't need fame or accalaides to feel self worth because I have had a life of achievement already. To become wealthy would only add security. Truely if I won the lottery, I wouldn't really have much of a different life. I'd likely just add a 9880 and be in heaven.
I know if I make a 4x6 foot print of the Columbus Circle trick mirror image shot that the print because of the subject matter and because it is panoramic that a displayed framed print of this size would be very much like adding a rather large window to any room. The same for the iconic shot of the historic Domino Sugar Refinery that is mostly gone. It is for images like these that I could use a 44 inch wide printer. Even if it was just printing for me.
Cal
Prest_400
Multiformat
Yes, Yes, Yes!
I've always been wary of others, easy to flock around and all. Go on my own often (though the occasional meetup abroad is really nice!).
I kind of became a mentor to this friend who is getting into photo and soon after there is the other friend of a friend who is luring him towards the studio just for the girls. Well, kids shooting to be cool and look nice just another 1000 do on Instagram.
I do like film but also find that cannot shoot mucho because it is $$, would ramp up with more $$ coming in. Learnt on film being crazy thoughtful and selective with digital on the side doing the quantity and experiments. Hell I learnt a lot about photo when trying to do some meaningful shooting on the last year of Kodachrome, narrow latitude included.
Back as a teen I even geeked about B&W and alt processes, just getting the theory though. Pt/Pd anyone?
Totally agree shooting and printing for yourself, one of the gripes I have about is the "Me, narcissist, external validity seeking" zeitgeist -- of my "Millenial-Z" Generation.
Would totally love to attend the ICP symposium (and be in crazy NYC), there's the budget and time thing ofc which probably bounds it. A couple trips elsewhere to shoot would be nice too, long overdue visit to Asia.
"Exporting" your work abroad may be interesting. Last summer I chatted with a painter I know, he found that the Mediterranean portfolio sold nicely to USA, while some European guy commisioned him to paint NYC scenes.
In the fresh out of storage video there was that scene of the ESB from LIC bridge, as you told me, now blocked by the highrises. Has quite a value with time.
Some time in the future if there's a print exchange, sales, or so I frankly would like some NYC scenes!
twopointeight
Well-known
I just discovered this thread. Totally overwhelmed. I'll be back for more soon, but right now I need to make some decent prints on my 3800. Thanks.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Your 3800 is a durable printer. Keep it going. A lot of developments lately in advancing printing.
Cal
robert blu
quiet photographer
Lower prices for the firsts prints and increasing them toward the end of the series seems to be a practice done by many photographers...I find it a good idea.
I never thought about adding hand made elements to my prints in form of notes, now you mention it seems something to be tried
Of course doing what we like and value just for ourselves is great thing!
robert
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Robert,
One of the best things about printing is that I'm the boss. Really gratifying and kinda like seeing an image develop in a tray under safelight, or exciting when one pulls a roll out of a tank to see the IQ in the negatives.
I get the same experience when downloading files, and when I press print.
Basically we create our own universe, not all are welcome, but we build our own bubble.
I don't need a lot to be happy. Printing for me is that good.
Cal
robert blu
quiet photographer
You are correct Cal, isn't printing the nicest thing? is a short piece I wrote time ago...
robert
PS: but I like to print small
robert
PS: but I like to print small
______
-
It's tough enough finding one person to buy your work; limiting an edition to 25 shouldn't be much of a crimp.Calzone said:
Save
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
You are correct Cal, isn't printing the nicest thing? is a short piece I wrote time ago...
robert
PS: but I like to print small
Robert,
Lately I have been printing 12x18 image size. I actually am liking the smaller prints because they offer the opportunity to be held in the hands for viewing. Anyways for me this is a good part of the experience when viewing prints. I like to position the print in the light, and I also think the smaller prints encourage and invite nosing up to see the fine detail.
But at times I like going crazy, or I'll have some wonderful file that begs to be printed in a monster size because a smaller print will ask, "I wonder what this image would look like printed big."
So yesterday I did something I normally don't do: make a print from a color file. So I quickly learned that it was best to post process a nice color file before converting to greyscale for further post processing/tweaking in B&W.
Anyways I was surprised on how comfortable I felt using my B&W printing skills and applying them to color workflow. I also got the vibe that color files have a bit of different interaction, but it is basically the same thing whether its a Monochrom file or a SL file.
The image was from the Woman's March in NYC on 42d Street, near Grand Central. In the background looms the Christ-Ler Building and the PanAm Building (Met Life). My subject was an American flag on a pole being displayed upside down about 5-6 feet away. There is a sea of people (estimated to be 400K) but their signs are not a distraction and are in the far backgound, but at perhaps 7-8 feet away is this profile of a middle aged balding man that draws the eye to the profile of a NYPD cop, and it is clear to the viewer that these two men are embraced in eye contact.
Anyways it is a compelling shot, but I would have to tell you that it was the Woman's March, meanwhile it has all the landmarks that signify a big protest in NYC even without the street sign that is also in the shot.
So I just want to give a shout out to all those B&W film die-hards because I use to be one of them. I have to tell you the best skill to have is a trained eye for fine detail and long tonal range. For those that have darkroom skills and extensive wet printing experience not a lot of skills is required, and I find the lack of digital skills is more than made up for with a highly trained eye.
Because I know the smoothness of film and wet printing this carries over to my digital prints, and although my Piezography inks and systems offers higher resolution and broader tonal range than wet printing, I'm able to convey in my prints the vibe of medium format film and at times large format.
Don't ever discount your film experience, be greatfull you have it, but know it will emerge in your digital printing. Also want to state that I don't add any sharpening to my images and basically use the default setting in LR5 which is 25. My Monochrom and SL do not have anti-aliasing filters so I find that I don't need sharpening.
Jon Cone promotes the use of Photoshop over LR. His reasoning is that Photoshop is at the pixel level, and Lightroom is more about controling a RAW/DNG file. Since I don't need to sharpen or oversharpen I keep it simple and only need LR. If you shoot a camera that has an anti-aliasing filter... Oh-well.
Also know that I promote myself as a lazy slacker to show that I am clever. LOL. I like using filters so I get the contrast near perfect at time of image capture; I also maximize exposure (shoot to the right) to maximize signal for lower signal to noise; and when I post process it only requires minor tweaking. Basically I try to emulate a large format shooter who is going to contact print.
Know that when shooting film I did the same, and it is those very same fundamentals of maximizing exposure, optimizing my negative, and performing good technic that makes me a good printer, not digital skills which are shamefully little.
Decades ago in art school I learned to be a clever slacker. If I made great negatives, wet printing was easy, and the prints even back in the 70's looked like and resembled medium format even though it was 135. All these decades of film shooting and processing is now paying dividends. People think I have great digital skills, but in my case that is not what makes great digital prints: it is my old analog skills.
How rewarding is discovering one is farther along than one might think. I wonder how different it might be for someone who might not have developed their analog skill set, grew up exclusively in a digital world, and knows little of analog smoothness and rendering to ground them.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Happiness is a moist print head.
So I highly recommend "The Digital Negative" and "The Digital Print" by Jeff Schewe. What makes these two books so great to learn Lightroom is that Jeff helped develop and consulted with Adobe to make LR what it is.
There are great insights to how and why LR is setup and laid out, and these explainations also explain how the controls interact so much of the mystery is gone.
Last night I worked on the Woman's March print again, but this time not using the exposure control to boost the shadows that were underexposed. I basically used the Shadows slider to boost the shadows. The resulting print did not have the washed out distant buildings and revealed them with more detail, but the flag, the cop and the bald middle aged man got a bit more grittier.
So a third print was made via a balance of a half stop boost in exposure and a more modest boost on the shadows slider.
I tend to ride the contrast control with the exposure control, meaning if I raise or lower exposure the contrast slider gets a cooresponding move so that the slider knob for contrast remains more or less is right under my exposure slider. Under perfect conditions both would be zero if I nail the exposure, but this was not the case with this quick shot, taken in auto, that captured a bright sky in the distance.
So on one hand I was underexposed for the shadows by a full stop, but the best print for the shadows that held the cop, man and flag was a half stop of added exposure and a more modest boost in shadows.
Tonight I will print this image yet again. I need to crush the blacks a little, and add to the whites. For the most part I like to use the tone curve section of LR to boost blacks, whites and contrast, because it is less global and tone specific.
Perhaps I can add a bit of contrast via the Clarity slider, but I don't want to get too crunchy and cross over to HDR.
So it is not that the other prints are bad: they are good prints; but I know I have the controls to do better. This is where I draw the line on printing and fine art printing. The fine art print definitely is further evolved.
Anyways lately I have been busy processing color files under deadlines for work for my gal. I was really surprised how much of my skills from B&W carried over. The understanding that Jeff Schewe's books gave me I think gave me an edge, but know you only have to read one of them and for printers I would recommend "The Digital Print." "The Digital Negative" has a lot of repetition and is basically about RAW files and digital image capture.
These are not how to books, and they provide not only insights from a software designer's POV, but provide a broad understanding to break out of the box like I did above to problem solve in creative ways. BTW I left all the settings in my Print Tool all the same as a control thus far, and I will surely optimize the splitone and blending of the three curves in later iterations, but first I want to spread the contrast and make a blacker black and a whiter white now that I got those shadows developed and where I want them.
Cal
So I highly recommend "The Digital Negative" and "The Digital Print" by Jeff Schewe. What makes these two books so great to learn Lightroom is that Jeff helped develop and consulted with Adobe to make LR what it is.
There are great insights to how and why LR is setup and laid out, and these explainations also explain how the controls interact so much of the mystery is gone.
Last night I worked on the Woman's March print again, but this time not using the exposure control to boost the shadows that were underexposed. I basically used the Shadows slider to boost the shadows. The resulting print did not have the washed out distant buildings and revealed them with more detail, but the flag, the cop and the bald middle aged man got a bit more grittier.
So a third print was made via a balance of a half stop boost in exposure and a more modest boost on the shadows slider.
I tend to ride the contrast control with the exposure control, meaning if I raise or lower exposure the contrast slider gets a cooresponding move so that the slider knob for contrast remains more or less is right under my exposure slider. Under perfect conditions both would be zero if I nail the exposure, but this was not the case with this quick shot, taken in auto, that captured a bright sky in the distance.
So on one hand I was underexposed for the shadows by a full stop, but the best print for the shadows that held the cop, man and flag was a half stop of added exposure and a more modest boost in shadows.
Tonight I will print this image yet again. I need to crush the blacks a little, and add to the whites. For the most part I like to use the tone curve section of LR to boost blacks, whites and contrast, because it is less global and tone specific.
Perhaps I can add a bit of contrast via the Clarity slider, but I don't want to get too crunchy and cross over to HDR.
So it is not that the other prints are bad: they are good prints; but I know I have the controls to do better. This is where I draw the line on printing and fine art printing. The fine art print definitely is further evolved.
Anyways lately I have been busy processing color files under deadlines for work for my gal. I was really surprised how much of my skills from B&W carried over. The understanding that Jeff Schewe's books gave me I think gave me an edge, but know you only have to read one of them and for printers I would recommend "The Digital Print." "The Digital Negative" has a lot of repetition and is basically about RAW files and digital image capture.
These are not how to books, and they provide not only insights from a software designer's POV, but provide a broad understanding to break out of the box like I did above to problem solve in creative ways. BTW I left all the settings in my Print Tool all the same as a control thus far, and I will surely optimize the splitone and blending of the three curves in later iterations, but first I want to spread the contrast and make a blacker black and a whiter white now that I got those shadows developed and where I want them.
Cal
robert blu
quiet photographer
Interesting comments Cal, thanks. For sure the analog darkroom experience, even if limited to B&W is a great help when working a file with PS or LR.
What I'm doing now is very different, I would say the "real opposite" LOL I'm trying to make photo which do not looks like photos (difficult to explain !) so I shoot Polaroid actually Impossible mainly B&W, scan import in LR making minor adjustment (if necessary PS) and than I print only the photo on Hanhemuehle William Turner Paper which is a very textured.
The combination of the "not perfect" Impossible photo and the print on a rough paper gives a look which resembles a charcoal drawing, more or less!
robert
What I'm doing now is very different, I would say the "real opposite" LOL I'm trying to make photo which do not looks like photos (difficult to explain !) so I shoot Polaroid actually Impossible mainly B&W, scan import in LR making minor adjustment (if necessary PS) and than I print only the photo on Hanhemuehle William Turner Paper which is a very textured.
The combination of the "not perfect" Impossible photo and the print on a rough paper gives a look which resembles a charcoal drawing, more or less!
robert
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Robert,
Sounds wonderful. I think really creative and exploring abstraction is mighty cool.
I think I want to explore matte papers for creative possibilities. Those prints I saw in Milk Studios that resembled water colors is another inspiration.
I guess what becomes is crossing the boundry where art and photography divide and morph into something new. This is likely probably why I am drawn to Piezography.
One thing I learned from my gal the Fashion Blogger is that if you want to stand out, don't do what everyone else is doing. In this manner Jon Cone's legacy is just all that. When we started shooting I only had my Monochrom as my only digital camera so we shot exclusively only in B&W, and because of this B&W exclusive shooting her blog stood out and ascended rapidly.
BTW last night I did not have the opportunity to print, but I looked at my last print and the passage of time allowed me to evolve and process what I might do to tweak the contrast further. Sometimes great strides require the passage of time and fresh eyes.
Cal
roscoetuff
Well-known
Agree the best thing that happened to me was when a friend pushed me to get into printing. I think it improves your photography in just about every direction, and like you, I like printing as big as I can... at home.
Love seeing someone using Piezography. I've read up on, thought about it, but couldn't
pull the trigger. Upgraded from a Canon Pro 100 that basically I bought for the price of the ink... to an Epson P800 which is very nice. My plan is to stick with the OEM inks while the warranty remains in effect... and after that look to Cone's stuff and the MSI (MIS?) group that distributes both B&W and color for him. They're still working out the P800, but it'll probably happen this year (so they tell me in emails). I've corresponded with Paul Roark who's also into custom ink mixes. We don't have Leica's, but Sony and he's done the Kolarivision mod for Astrophotography to pick up red sensitivity rather than go the Monochrom route. I'm undecided at this point as that's probably a year or more out for me. Yet I've thought and continue to think about the latter as Monochrom's are coming down in price (used). Curious which of the MM's you're running? M9-M or the current model? Also curious whether you've used the MSI/MIS (whichever it is) for color, too. I'm using Imageprint rather than the Quadrip at the moment and while expensive, it does a VERY nice job. Finding Matte papers ain't bad and often just right for B&W, but color is more of a Luster or Satin finish.
There should really be a forum here for printing!!!! that isn't a Yahoo group. "Just sayin'".
Love seeing someone using Piezography. I've read up on, thought about it, but couldn't
pull the trigger. Upgraded from a Canon Pro 100 that basically I bought for the price of the ink... to an Epson P800 which is very nice. My plan is to stick with the OEM inks while the warranty remains in effect... and after that look to Cone's stuff and the MSI (MIS?) group that distributes both B&W and color for him. They're still working out the P800, but it'll probably happen this year (so they tell me in emails). I've corresponded with Paul Roark who's also into custom ink mixes. We don't have Leica's, but Sony and he's done the Kolarivision mod for Astrophotography to pick up red sensitivity rather than go the Monochrom route. I'm undecided at this point as that's probably a year or more out for me. Yet I've thought and continue to think about the latter as Monochrom's are coming down in price (used). Curious which of the MM's you're running? M9-M or the current model? Also curious whether you've used the MSI/MIS (whichever it is) for color, too. I'm using Imageprint rather than the Quadrip at the moment and while expensive, it does a VERY nice job. Finding Matte papers ain't bad and often just right for B&W, but color is more of a Luster or Satin finish.
There should really be a forum here for printing!!!! that isn't a Yahoo group. "Just sayin'".
Prest_400
Multiformat
Thoroughly agree. Interesting fact about B&W giving the edge to Maggie and the blog, it just takes a while browsing around to see how people cluster around the same aesthetic in respective genres. And many don't go for variety, I really like trying out.
Had an argument with a friend (photo newcomer) who pressures me to instagram. I guess that I reached that point of (not) doing what people do, which throws them off bonkers. So nowadays that is not publishing online instead of printing.
IMO, at the stage I am, that's throwing work off overboard just to have 100 people saying "nice" and throwing virtual hearts.
Just letting time do its own editing, and finding it an excellent way. Some people are really irking.
Really printing is about seeing, thinking and seeing further. How many times in tweaking it first looks perfect, only to retouch a couple more times and end up with many more possibilities. I remember a tip on pinning the print for a week to see further.
Best trying out paper, from what I've seen there are tons of choices (inkjet and alt processes) which on Wet and C-prints aren't, that allows for more interesting combinations.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Thoroughly agree. Interesting fact about B&W giving the edge to Maggie and the blog, it just takes a while browsing around to see how people cluster around the same aesthetic in respective genres. And many don't go for variety, I really like trying out.
Had an argument with a friend (photo newcomer) who pressures me to instagram. I guess that I reached that point of (not) doing what people do, which throws them off bonkers. So nowadays that is not publishing online instead of printing.
IMO, at the stage I am, that's throwing work off overboard just to have 100 people saying "nice" and throwing virtual hearts.
Just letting time do its own editing, and finding it an excellent way. Some people are really irking.
Really printing is about seeing, thinking and seeing further. How many times in tweaking it first looks perfect, only to retouch a couple more times and end up with many more possibilities. I remember a tip on pinning the print for a week to see further.
Best trying out paper, from what I've seen there are tons of choices (inkjet and alt processes) which on Wet and C-prints aren't, that allows for more interesting combinations.
Jorde,
I annoyed people because I shot mucho film when it was inexpensive with a total disregard to printing. My idea was to concentrate on just image capture and making great negatives like practicing deadly Kung-Fu moves. Anyways this deeply disturbed people, and all kinds of arguing resulted. Anyways I stood my ground and now I'm looking like some visionary because I exploited cheap film while it was avalable.
I can't tell you how mastering exposure and development has paid dividends in printing. Basically sloppy technic costs you a lot when one prints.
For my gal's blog basically they get published and lifted by others where most of the time I do not even get photo credit. I understand that once on the Internet one is giving away one's photography for free and one looses control over it. The rewards are the acknowldgements when a photo gets 3K likes within 24 hours, and some shots get 5K likes. Anyways the 3K likes is pretty consistent.
For my own personal work it is more private, and I am glad that we kinda have the beginnings of a support group here in this thread. Printing definitely has made me a better shooter and the eye for fine detail I just can't turn it off. I see mistakes and sloppiness readily in the world like that headstrike in an exhibitition print. WTF???
Cal