Digital BW, The Print

Jerry,

>>[T]he prints that [Adams] did mid-career are considered better
>> (by the market forces and art historians) than his later
>>work that was *much* more luminously rendered, how can that be?.

>...

>Again, would you like to see the classic Ansel prints that had only a
>charcoal gray for a black? ...

Have you ever seen the early "Moonrise, Hernandez?"  At first AA printed it
fairly straight -- complete with dull gray sky.   Maybe those early Moonrise
prints have some collectible value now, but if so, it is only because AA
later printed it with more contrast and a nice black sky. It is these later
versions of Moonrise that, in my view, made AA a household name.

Of course, I too am into landscapes.

I look at composition on two scales -- "macro patterns" and "micro
patterns."  We just don't "see" things unless they catch out attention.  In
color, we are hard-wired to respond to red, and other bright colors to a
lesser degree.  In B&W, we don't have the ability to add red to get the
viewer's attention. (And most of us landscape types don't throw in a
beautiful nude woman to get the men's attention.)  So, what I've found works
best is a high-contrast, fairly large pattern.  I call this the "macro
pattern."  It's goal is to get the viewer to notice the print from across
the room and cause the person to come over and take a closer look.  Then, of
course, the rest of the composition (it's "micro patterns") most hold the
viewer's interest for as long as possible.

Back to uncoated paper, I'll throw some Somerset Velvet in the fader at some
point to see how much less -- if at all -- it warm shifts.  I might add for
the Piezo folks, my Piezo on SV is actually slightly greener than it is on
EAM.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com