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Best Print

cliveh

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Joined
Oct 9, 2010
Messages
7,864
Format
35mm RF
Regardless of a good photograph or not, do you have a single print you are particularly proud of?
 
Matt, that is wonderful.
 
cliveh said:
Regardless of a good photograph or not, do you have a single print you are particularly proud of?
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I usually would not make the effort to make a good print of a mediocre photo. And I tend to find it difficult to make a scan that does a good print justice.
 
Most of the prints I like were not printed by me, or owned by me, the property of the various Wires I worked for, or the USAF.
 
Pieter12 said:
Aren’t all the declassified DoD photos public domain?
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Public domain or not, the prints themselves were probably the property of Paul's employers, unless he bought one off them.
 
Pieter12 said:
Before digital the DoD would send prints and transparencies to the media.
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I'm sure. But that would either:
1) effect a change of ownership; or
2) be essentially a loan of the print/transparency.
The small print accompanying the print/transparency would say which.
 
MattKing said:
I'm sure. But that would either:
1) effect a change of ownership; or
2) be essentially a loan of the print/transparency.
The small print accompanying the print/transparency would say which.
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Not sure. I never had to return anything. Could be associated with the freedom of information act. And later with digital, all that was requested (but not required) was to credit the source--the particular service, DoD, NASA, etc.
 
A few that I like. It’s always down to fresh paper.
 

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cliveh said:
Matt, that is wonderful.
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Where did Francis Bacon address "things as they are"?

Excellent quote.


The contemplation of things as they are, without error or confusion, without substitution or imposture, is in itself a nobler thing than a whole harvest of invention

Francis Bacon
 

Here's one relevant place:

How Dorothea Lange Defined the Role of the Modern Photojournalist (Published 2020)

She created one of the most enduring images of the 20th century, but she also created a new model for her discipline.
www.nytimes.com
 
  • jtk
  • Deleted
A tough question! After having made VERY MANY prints over the past fifty years (and no doubt forgotten about many) I leave the decision up to the viewer. I wouldn't show something that I consider poorly printed and I suspect what one person likes might be influenced by how they feel about the subject. If you are so inclined take a look at my websites. I welcome any comments and criticism as well. Thanks in advance.


 
I will always remember the first time I produced a 16x12 print (picture of one of my kids, which I will spare you!) that had all the quality I could want. Smooth tones, deep shadows, clean highlights, touchy-feely textural detail. As it happens, the negative was from my first film with a Leica M6; but I know the quality was the cumulative result of attention to many details. Or to put it another way, of not cocking anything up for the first time in my life. I don't often hit that high water mark, but I do take the view that if a negative is challenging to print, I have already failed.

Long before that revelatory moment, I took this shot in the Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen, and I failed on most counts. It has strongly converging verticals because of the viewpoint. Easy to correct digitally in a scan (as here), but tricky in the darkroom. It isn't sharp because it was hand-held at 1/8 sec in natural window light on 400 ISO film, and pushed in development so it is grainier than it might have been. The light falls off strongly from top to bottom. The print needs a lot of spotting because the negative suffered from 13 house moves before I finally settled and built a darkroom. Despite all this, the print captures the sheen of the marble and adds the intrinsic beauty of the silver print medium, so it is good for the eyes and I am quite pleased with it. Obviously I can't take any credit for it - only Bertel Thorvaldsen could justifiably feel proud (of the sculpture). Surprisingly, I cannot find any other image of it online, so I have no idea what it is called.

 
I suppose in terms of printing, one print I am particularly proud of is one I sepia toned, as the original needs to be slightly darker before you bleach it. As when you bring the tone back you can only guess you have got it right, as bright highlight values have to be spot on to what you are trying to achieve, which this print had. I can't show the toned version on this thread, as it is printed 20" X 16" and it would not fit on my scanner and a digital photograph would not do it justice. But thanks for asking.
 
cliveh said:
I can't show the toned version on this thread, as it is printed 20" X 16" and it would not fit on my scanner and a digital photograph would not do it justice. But thanks for asking.
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FWIW, I've had good results scanning larger prints in sections and then digitally stitching the results together. This is from an 11 x 14 print, scanned in two sections, and then stitched:
 
Thanks Matt, but I don't have the technical digital skill to do that.
 
cliveh said:
Thanks Matt, but I don't have the technical digital skill to do that.
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Bet you do - that is pretty easy, because the stitching process is quite automated.
The hardest part is figuring which way to put the print into the scanner in order to make sure all the parts are available to be stitched together.
I even use some Microsoft software that is free (I.C.E) Although sadly, no longer supplied or supported by Microsoft.
 
But they dry slightly darker.
 
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