more about me...
hello all!
i wanted to thank everyone for their kind replies.
unfortunately, i currently don't have any of my b&w prints available for uploading, but that is an easy enough problem for me to solve within a couple of weeks.
in my time working in labs, the one basic truth that i've discovered is that there are literally countless ways to manipulate an image--however, there is often only one way to print that image flawlessly. i find that i can't quite turn off my inner printer's eye when looking at photographs; it's definitely one downside to what i do, but the big upside is having a tremendous wealth of experience in negative classification. i don't quite know if i've seen it all (as far as subjects & what have you), but i think i've gotten pretty close.
a brief technical note: i print on an old (mid 1990s?) Agfa MSC 200, which was converted from color to b&w. yes, an AGFA machine. i'll get into that later if anyone's curious. it is a true optical machine, and not a digital hybrid. i print on Ilford Express PF RC paper (matte & glossy), using Agfa Multicontrast chemistry. i can print from standard 35mm, and these medium format sizes: 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7, and 6x9. my personal favorite print size is full frame sloppy border from 35mm: the image size is roughly 3x5 on a 4x6 sheet of paper, including the sprockets. my lab's website is
www.marinfilmworks.com, which is a good resource.
i've been printing on machines for a little over eight years. it seems like machine printing has gotten a bit of a bad rap. well, i'm inclined to agree with a bit of it: machine printing in most labs these days has been grossly oversimplified to the point where someone with no knowledge of negatives, much less color theory, can sit at a machine and make ok prints. however, i feel that what i do is far separate. granted, i can't dodge & burn or crop...but i can manipulate contrast in any direction, from soft grey tones to hard blacks in shadows.
thanks once again for digging me out a little place here.
