Not quite -- but if you're viewing at a normal distance instead of leaving nose grease on the print, you won't see the difference, at least if the copy lens used was of top quality and optimized for 1:1.
But a 1:1 enlargement will probably be as good as a contact print anyways.
There used to be a photo gallery in Santa Fe that owned several large prints of Moonrise. One year they had a huge modern print hung on the back wall, and a host of other large (3X4 feet or so) prints on the other walls, showing how his prints evolved from "straight" prints before intensification, to the black sky version. I remember clearly, that I was shocked at how un-sharp those prints were, especially at the corners. They really only had full impact if the viewer stood ten feet away from them.
You mean your Alan Ross print from an AA negative. It will probably look even better than if AA himself had printed it. Of course, the price is about 5 or 10 % as much as a vintage one might sell for.
AA Dreams
I was under the impression that many of the Ansel Adams prints that are available in quantity were prepared by first making enlarged copy negatives which incorporate any necessary dodging and burning, and then using those copy negatives to contact print the resulting prints.
You mean your Alan Ross print from an AA negative. It will probably look even better than if AA himself had printed it. Of course, the price is about 5 or 10 % as much as a vintage one might sell for.
I just thought I would share this Ansel Adams "image". Approximately thirty years ago while visiting my daughter who was living in LA at the time we passed a building with a wall facing an alley. I just happened to notice the wall and had her turn around and go back. Fortunately I had my camera with me and made this image. I wondered how many people ever recognized it and why it was painted facing an alley and if it still even exists. It was painted in color photographed with 2 1/4 Tri-X As i recall it was at least 20ft or more in height.
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AA book, examples of 40 photographs, does not say much about f-number of type of film, etc.
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kfed - moderate diffraction is seldom an issue with LF work because the degree of enlargement is so small. In an 8x10 or even larger format contact print, even f/256 diffraction might not be noticeable. But in my case, making 16x20 or 20X24 FB black and white prints, I try to limit 8x10 stop-downs to f/64 or less. For 30X40 inch color prints, I try to limit it to f/45; but that is still only about a 4X enlargement. Few 8x10 photographs are taken at apertures as wide as f/8 unless a very shallow depth of field is in mind. None of my own 8x10 lenses even have that wide of an aperture to begin with.
But in terms of AA's vintage work, he simply didn't have the advantage of the same modern lenses or camera precision we do today. Later, approaching old age, he did. Nor would his sheet film have been consistently flat. That's evident by uneven horizon lines in some of his ocean pictures. And his earlier films themselves were quite grainy.
pentax user - people who make big wall paintings and use plotted grids with general lines sketched in by pencil in advance. Fresco muralists like my Aunt used big paper "cartoons" temporarily taped in place, then little pin indentations to mark the outlines in the plaster. That was a lot more difficult because true fresco requires the painting upon its surface before the plaster has dried. The plasters work directly ahead of the painter. There are no re-dos like in oil painting.
Ok good to know, I wasn't sure if the contact print will still maintain its sharpness at such high f-number. Also, one of my best lenses has some balsam separation at the edge, so maybe stopping it down will nullify the issue. Is it true that vignetting becomes less of an issue with higher f-numbers? Then maybe my 8x10 lenses could be used for larger format than 8x10?kfed - moderate diffraction is seldom an issue with LF work because the degree of enlargement is so small. In an 8x10 or even larger format contact print, even f/256 diffraction might not be noticeable. But in my case, making 16x20 or 20X24 FB black and white prints, I try to limit 8x10 stop-downs to f/64 or less. For 30X40 inch color prints, I try to limit it to f/45; but that is still only about a 4X enlargement. Few 8x10 photographs are taken at apertures as wide as f/8 unless a very shallow depth of field is in mind. None of my own 8x10 lenses even have that wide of an aperture to begin with.
pentax user - people who make big wall paintings and use plotted grids with general lines sketched in by pencil in advance. Fresco muralists like my Aunt used big paper "cartoons" temporarily taped in place, then little pin indentations to mark the outlines in the plaster. That was a lot more difficult because true fresco requires the painting upon its surface before the plaster has dried. The plasters work directly ahead of the painter. There are no re-dos like in oil painting.
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