William Eggleston: The Last Dyes exhibition in L.A.

[Carnie Bob]

I mix BW and Colour all the time on our walls. This is from Yesterday

 

[MattKing]

I want Bob's wall......

 

[falotico]

The Eggleston exhibit features a Carousel slide projector continuously showing the Kodachrome slides which are the source of the original images that Eggleston took--at least I think these are the orginal slides! (Frankly I believe that treating the original photographs that Eggleston took to a continuous exihibtion which automatically flips to the next slide is ill-advised. It presents a danger to the original photographs).

Comparing the Kodachromes to the Dye Transfer prints shows the fundamental advantage to Dye Transfer: much deeper saturation and richer hues. I can see why Eggleston preferred DT--the images come to life!

 

[logan2z]

The first few minutes of this video show the current Eggleston exhibit at the David Zwirner Gallery in LA.

 

[MattKing]

The Eggleston exhibit features a Carousel slide projector continuously showing the Kodachrome slides which are the source of the original images that Eggleston took--at least I think these are the orginal slides! (Frankly I believe that treating the original photographs that Eggleston took to a continuous exihibtion which automatically flips to the next slide is ill-advised. It presents a danger to the original photographs).

Comparing the Kodachromes to the Dye Transfer prints shows the fundamental advantage to Dye Transfer: much deeper saturation and richer hues. I can see why Eggleston preferred DT--the images come to life!

I'd be surprised if they are projecting originals. I wouldn't be surprised if they were projecting duplicates - which still can be made, even if the dedicated materials are no longer made.

 

[Pieter12]

I'd be surprised if they are projecting originals. I wouldn't be surprised if they were projecting duplicates - which still can be made, even if the dedicated materials are no longer made.

I'm going later in the week. I'll try to find out.

 

[DREW WILEY]

It's very doubtful the original Kodachrome slides would be projected hour after hour, if at all. For someone of Eggleston's stature, the original transparencies would be careful archived. Nor would duplicates be made on Kodachrome. Duplicate slide are never really equal to the originals anyway, but were at once made in large quantities by labs using special films in order to protect the originals from fading under the strain or repetitive slide shows.

For actual print making purposes, if dupes do need to be made, it is much better to enlarge them onto the proper kind of dimensionally stable sheet film instead, especially if a complex pin registration protocol is involved, like what is necessary for dye transfer work. These films included the Kodak Edupe line, as well as Fuji's CDU line. My favorite was Astia 100F sheet film. All of these are now discontinued.

 

[MattKing]

I expect that any dupes that are being made "seriously" now involve materials from the motion picture film world - where film intermediates and even a small amount of projection stock is still being used.

 

[Richard Man]

re: Dye Transfer prints

I have a few Ctein's dye transfer prints, took advantage whenever he was doing a sales. They are gorgeous. He thinks with exceptions, his inkjet prints are (mostly?) on par with the dye works. I have no opinion on that though.

Will be in LA this weekend. Hopefully the gallery is open!

 

[DREW WILEY]

I've seen a quantity of Ctein's dye versus inkjet prints side by side. He is exceptionally at good inkjet, and writes his own profiles. About 60% of the time, from a color quality standpoint, it's hard to distinguish which is better. The other 40% of the time, the dye transfer prints have something extra special that the inkjets simply do not. A lot of this has to do with the transparency and purity of the dyes. Inkjet is an opaque process, and the blacks are especially annoying. Inkjet favors highlight control, while dye transfer favors the dark values.

Ctein was probably the last person using the pan matrix film process, until it completely ran out. It was never common. Instead of making film color separations from transparencies, then exposing the three matrix film dye sheets in that manner, pan matrix film, being panchromatic, could receive filtered tricolor content directly from color negative film originals. But by far the majority of practitioners liked the look of chromes instead, and went the more complex regular dye transfer route.

Now there is a party which can begin with scans of either chromes or color neg film, and then blue-laser expose the three profiles directly onto their own special blue-sensitive matrix film, which is subsequently developed into the three absorbent relief images, soaked in their respective dyes, and rolled one by one onto the mordanted receiver paper just like conventional DT. It's still a complex workflow, but at least one major set of hurdles has been removed.

 

[Richard Man]

...

Ctein was probably the last person using the pan matrix film process, until it completely ran out. It was never common. Instead of making film color separations from transparencies, then exposing the three matrix film dye sheets in that manner, pan matrix film, being panchromatic, could receive filtered tricolor content directly from color negative film originals. But by far the majority of practitioners liked the look of chromes instead, and went the more complex regular dye transfer route.

Now there is a party which can begin with scans of either chromes or color neg film, and then blue-laser expose the three profiles directly onto their own special blue-sensitive matrix film, which is subsequently developed into the three absorbent relief images, soaked in their respective dyes, and rolled one by one onto the mordanted receiver paper just like conventional DT. It's still a complex workflow, but at least one major set of hurdles has been removed.

Thanks for the info. Ctein's prints from the HI volcanos are exceptional with the unmatched luminosity. I have recently done a few prints with Crystal Archival paper by Whitewall, and they are of excellent quality. I would be interested in the link of the people doing what you described last.

 

[DREW WILEY]

look up Dye Transfer Atelier - Bettina Heneke. The contrast between her high tech approach and how Eggleston's recent prints have been done in a relatively simple darkroom setup will be instantly apparent. Certain well-known photographers like Meyerowitz are having their early 35mm slide work re-issued in dye transfer by Bettina in Germany.

Regarding Ctein's Hawaii shots - yes, those deep blacks and browns of solidified lava, beside truly brilliant orange hot lava, are a kind of image best represented by dye transfer. Compare the opening scenes of Apocalypse Now, one of the last true Technicolor movies, itself a dye transfer methodology, where the napalm flames are the same kind of vivid orange, impossible to achieve with other kinds of cinematography.

The problem with Crystal Archive paper is not the paper itself, but the gamut limitations and inherent warm hue errors of color neg films. Ektar CN film is a big improvement in that respect, but not in the same league as what Cibachrome could do, or dye transfer especially. I do get very high quality results with my own special workflow from LF chromes to master printing internegs for sake of RA4 enlargement, so good in fact, that it derailed me from further experimentation with dye transfer. Not the same kind of look, of course, but even better in certain respects. But that's a whole different topic.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Guy Stricherz, who, along with his wife, made the prints, just died. Their last sheet of matrix film went to finishing the Eggleston portfolio. Those who personally knew him remember him as a generous supporter of other aspiring and current DT printers, not as a hoarder of information.