Digital BW, The Print

I think it's unfortunate that you seem to have such a limited view of what can comprise a 'beautiful' image.
To be hemmed in by perfect black and pure white seems so limiting, when there are ranges of emotions to evoke.

Harvey Ferdschneider
partner, SKID Photography, NYC

Jerry Olson wrote:

> Ken, To me, if a print doesn't have a satisfying black, it's a failure,
> unless it is an obvious high key print. It the deepest black in most
> landscapes is only a dark charcoal gray, it is a failure. There seem to
> be several papers capable of making a satisfying black, that are not
> glossy. Most of them have other flaws of some kind. THere seems to be no
> perfect paper as yet. I would put it this way. I am not able to get a
> satisfactory print for a lot of my pictures on Somerset Enhanced or
> Museo papers. If the images have large areas of black, these papers just
> cannot deliver it. Large areas of black look just terrible if they are
> only a very dark gray. Torchon, or Epson Archival or Eclipse, can
> deliver a pretty good black. Most Hahanemühle papers can, but several of
> them have other problems, usually flaking or they scuff too easily.
>
> I'm after the blacks of a selenium toned Oriental Seagull, Agfa Brovira,
> Kodak Elite, DuPont Varigam, or Ilford Gallerie black. IF the Inkjet
> print comes very close to those blacks, I'll be happy, If not, I won't
> be.
>
> There are exceptions. An obviously high key print wouldn't matter nearly
> as much as an image that really NEEDED a strong black to look good. Some
> high key images would need nothing more than a middle gray to white
> range.
>
> JErry
>
>
>


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