The perfect print

[cliveh]

When making a print in the darkroom, how often have you achieved what you believe to be perfection? I think I have only been able to do this 8 or 9 times over the last 50 years.

 

[Paul Howell]

Perfection, you must be kidding, who even knows what perfection is.

 

[Rick A]

I don't think I've ever said "perfect", but "wow I love it" has happened a few times.

 

[cliveh]

Perfection, you must be kidding, who even knows what perfection is.

Perfection for your own interpretation of the image.

 

[Moose22]

Geez man, I don't even print my own and I can answer this with a question: "what's perfect?"

Like, I take a photo that's exactly what I wanted and more, I LOVE it, I print it (at the lab) and love the print... and next month I do something different that I like more. Likely for very different reasons.

Art's never finished, man. It's just abandoned. I'll never do anything perfect. Ever.

 

[Vaughn]

Dang things seem to be perfect until one learns a few more things. But some have me thinking, "Did I really make this thing of beauty." (biased opinion). And sometimes it is me, luck, the stars, experience, place, and light all coming together unforced.

I have not printed in silver gelatin since the early 90s. Some of those 16x20 prints better be close to perfect because they are as good as they are ever going to get. I'm too busy with new work to revisit them, the material is no longer available, I did not keep printing notes, and where the hell are my old 4x5 negatives anyway?!

Redwood Cathedral. 5x7 carbon print from in-camera negative;

 

[gone]

I've never made or seen a perfect anything, so it would be unrealistic to think a perfect print could be made (not just by me, by anyone). I frequently get to the "that's as good as it gets w/ this #$@!! negative" though. That's handy, as it moves me along to the other negs.

 

[removed account4]

Sometimes….
It’s one of those things that when I look at it the hairs on the back of my neck tingle and am almost in disbelief when I see it….the image I just uploaded to the gallery was just like that...

 

[mshchem]

I have a few that are pretty darn good, but perfect?

 

[MattKing]

I once had a job interview for a darkroom technician's job where the critical part of the interview was to go into the newspaper darkroom and make a print.
No timers, and the task was to make a quick and dirty, suitable for old style newspaper reproduction print in conditions that simulated print deadline work.
I nailed the print on the first try.
It wasn't a pretty print, but it was perfect - for the purpose!

 

[Doremus Scudder]

"Perfect" assumes a lot of things that I don't think apply to art, period. It's not about "one" ultimately expressive and technically flawless thing. Any art work is a communication and an expression of ideas and emotions; the possibilities are infinite and there is no one particular goal. I don't even think about "perfection" when printing.

Is a Shakespeare play "perfect"? Does it have to be? Does the concept even have meaning in such a context?

Have I made prints that I like? That I think are virtuoso performances of the negative? That I believe communicate intensely what I want to say? That I think are beautiful?

Well, I don't keep a print that I don't think hits most of the above criteria, and I have hundreds...

Best,

Doremus

 

[R.Gould]

Perfect? what is perfect ?I have made lots of prints over the past 60 years or so, and I think the show what I want them to show, and they please me, which for me is the most important thing, but a perfect print? I have yet to make a print that upon looking at them that I think can't be improved, 99% of my prints can be improved upon, the other 1% are only fit for the bin, where they end up,
Richard

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Perfection should be strived for though it will never be achieved.

 

[koraks]

When making a print in the darkroom, how often have you achieved what you believe to be perfection?

More interesting than the question itself IMO: why do you ask?

 

[RalphLambrecht]

When making a print in the darkroom, how often have you achieved what you believe to be perfection? I think I have only been able to do this 8 or 9 times over the last 50 years.

about a dozen times in the last 20 years.

 

[MattKing]

about a dozen times in the last 20 years.

Which, if you are both seeking perfection and know of Ralph's background, is quite daunting!
Personally, I look for a result that gives me joy and satisfaction, not perfection.
Printing is, after all, a performance art.

 

[Philippe-Georges]

I do hope I will never reach the perfection, when arrived at that point, it will be the end because: what to do or where to go next?
Striving is far more pleasant!

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

I do hope I will never reach the perfection, when arrived at that point, it will be the end because: what to do or where to go next?
Striving is far more pleasant!

I agree! I think the Japanese call it Kaizen.

 

[removed account4]

Perfection should be strived for though it will never be achieved.

I set the bar low.

 

[Vaughn]

I set the bar low.

If I have exceeded my own expectations, that's a perfect situation to me.

To create the perfect storm, put the word 'perfect' in one's post!

 

[cliveh]

Yes alright guys, I should not have used the word perfection. Can I reword my OP to ask how often have you produced a print that you feel you can't improve?

 

[Doremus Scudder]

... Can I reword my OP to ask how often have you produced a print that you feel you can't improve?

Kind of asking the same question, isn't it?

Well, maybe not. I've thrown away a lot of prints that I didn't feel I could improve enough to make a decent print...

Doremus

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Strive for perfection. Stop when satisfied. Repeat.

 

[Tim Stapp]

Perfection is the enemy of "Good Enough."

 

[Jim Jones]

Good enough is the answer to perfect.