Digital BW, The Print

My feeling on wet darkroom vs digital is that while digital may never 
be able to exactly equal what a silver gelatin paper looks like- the 
materials are different, after all- and while silver gelatin papers are 
indeed beautiful, the editing capabilities of working digitally are so 
superior (especially if they are informed by long experience in the 
darkroom), and the ink/paper combinations, while different from 
silver/gelatin, are also beautiful in their own right, that ultimately 
digital wins; it not only matches fiber printing, it surpasses it.  I 
have proven it to myself;  I have been able to improve on my darkroom 
prints with digital versions.  On my wall I have two (different) 
high-key portraits side by side.  One is gelatin/silver, the other 
digital.  People can't tell which is which.

James Irelan