Digital BW, The Print

At 09:14 PM 6/4/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>I'm sort of straddling the digital fence.  I have been scanning
prints,(conventional wet b&w prints), from the last 30 years, on a flatbed
scanner and printing them digitally in b&w.  I likemthe look ofmthem better
than the originals on F paper.  If your eye is a few inches away, they
appear as sharp or sharper.  Images that were done with 4x5 negs are
extremely smooth and grainless, just like the originals.  Street style
photography, ala Frank & Klein do equally were in digital form.  At this
point I still make a small b&w wet print, witha little bit of manipulation,
then scan it and finish it off in photoshop.  I would challenge anyone on
this list to say that these prints don't look as good as scanned negs,
rather than prints.
>David Aschkenas

David,

Having to make a print first seems like a step backwards. Do you find it
improves the digital print to scan a small silver print rather than the
negative?  I have been doing a lot of neg scanning with the E2450. I'm happy
with the results as long as the prints from 35mm are no larger than about
6-8 inches tall. I find certain subjects give the scanner fits - like rain
or grainy textures such as gravel. Perhaps these picures would work better
from a print.

AZ

AZ
Maker of Lookaround panoramic camera.
http://www.panoramacamera.us
         or
keyword.com lookaround