Digital BW, The Print

In a message dated 6/5/05 12:31:50 PM, Mark Rabiner writes:


> Seems to me you could grab shots on 4x5 sheetfilm with a SPEED GRAPHIC or
> such and scan them on a 99 dollar flatbed and out do any other 40,000 dollar
> roll film sized or bigger digital capture option!
> 

I've been shooting entirely in 4x5 and 5x7 film formats and scanning the 
results.   This spring, I've decided to return to the darkroom for my work.   

When I'm on the road, sometimes I'll bring a B+J press camera along for 
giggles.   Here's a snapshot from the B+J (warning, nudity ahead):

http://www.mcnew.net/slides/5530MelanieWindow.html

I don't think digital will ever win me over.   Apart from the differences in 
the images, I am too much of a romantic.   I love the alchemy of traditional 
photographic processes.   I shoot mostly with a Sinar Norma view camera -- it 
is so beautiful I want to lick it.   I have an affection for my camera and for 
the processes, a century-old tradition of which I am a part.   I cannot 
imagine having the same affection for an electronic gizmo.   I do this because it 
fulfills me.   

The wet darkroom takes more time and more patience, granted, and the results 
can be less than precise.   But that, to me, is an asset in a time of 
immediate gratification.

Sanders McNew
www.mcnew.net


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