Digital BW, The Print

Hello Steve,

>Actually let me go one step further.  When Mr Adams made his 
>prints with the Zone System he could be assured that his Zone 
>V ended up where he wanted it (and he could alter print 
>gamma/contrast) around it.  As currently configured, mid grey 
>shifts when we load one print curve vs another - even though 
>it did not shift in the digital negative.  Unfortunately, I 
>believe, we have gone a little backwards in our rigour and 
>method.

I have been following this with interest (I especially love your "fume
room" LOL! and enjoyed your Adams and Weston quotes).  You make some
very interesting points.  They seem to have good meaning but I confess
I am missing something when it comes to imagining practical
application, and it may be caused by the way I work.

My BO workflow is a very intuitive one, and my fume room thinking has
adapted nicely to it - IOW, I still think in S-curve terms as I work.
Further, because BO doesn't allow changing tone (color), it requires
using different papers to achieve various warm/cool results.  This is
another thing about BO that is somewhat analogous to wet print work. 
I have a small handful of favorite papers.

I'm finding that my S-curve thinking adapts nicely because once I've
finished working up an image using EEM for proofs, I can now print it
on any other paper by applying a curve adj layer for whatever papers I
want to try, and then choosing the appropriate curve each time I make
a print.   For example, for an image I've been using for some
experiments I have curves for BO Merlin, BO Condor, and UT7 Condor. 
Another one has curves for BO PR, BO Aurora and UT7 PR, and so on. 
These curves are attached to the image and I just switch on the one I
want.

I have arrived at this methodology through the photographic intuitive
process as Claude described, and am now at the point where I can
devise a new curve very quickly (tweak the curve until the print
matches the contrast of the EEM proof using very small quick prints).
I have gotten familiar with the properties of the few papers I like
and pretty well know where to start and am already "in the ball park"
the first go-round.  

I find this to be a very enjoyable and satisfying way to work, and I
think it's partly because it's very similar to they way I worked in
the fume room (love that!).  I was a Fred Picker type Zonie, which I
found to be a good balance between being particular about results and
KISS.  I still feel like I'm working photographically, and my mind is
not full of gamma/black point/etc concepts.  I mentally see each paper
in terms of its S-curve characteristics and tone (how it renders
Eboni), much as I did in the fume room days.

The point of all this is I'm wondering how your ideas can hook into
what I'm doing.  How can I benefit from it?   Your concepts are
expressed in very technical terms, but can they be applied in my
intuitive S-curve way of thinking and adjustment curve workflow?  

Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm