Digital BW, The Print

Hey all

Wondering if anyone has had the opportunity to use the new Lexjet Ultrasmooth Cotton or the new Ultrasmooth Gloss papers? I just recently received some 8X10 samples which i have found empirically to be of great value! I have no idea of longevity et al but I really like the prints I have made so far. The gloss is very like what I have been hearing about the Crane Silver Rag and the Ultrasmooth should I think be competing with HPR 308. I would love to see what others whose opinions I respect have to say about their own opinions of these papers. I sense that Lexjet have hired some of both Hahnemuhle and Innova engineers and are making a run at this market.

Look forward to hearing from you

Woody Spedden

----- Original Message ----
From: Michael Vendrell <mjvendrell2@...>
To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, March 26, 2006 6:49:48 AM
Subject: [Digital BW] Re: Great Photographic Artists [was  Scanning 35mm vs digital camera)

   
 Peter et al, Your list is so close to mine as to send
 chills down my spine.  If I had to narrow it down to
 two heroes it would be Andre Kertesz and Edward Weston
 - in no particular order.  Both used tools appropriate
 to their vision and sometimes  experimented.  One of
 Kertesz's last projects was with a Polaroid SX70. 
 Weston used a handheld Graflex SLR 4x5 for more
 spontaneous portraiture.
 
 Not to compare myself but only to "take a lesson" from
 the greats, I too have worked in 8x10 view, Medium
 Format, 35mm, and digital. Artists frequently work in
 "periods" such as Picasso's famous "blue" one.  I seem
 to get out of a "different side of the bed" about
 every decade. I started as a street shooter in 1969; 
 next worked mostly MF interiors, still-lifes, and
 portraits; then 8x10 interiors, still-lifes,
 portraits, and outdoor night work; now have come
 almost full circle, and am doing street and cafe
 shooting once again.  I've had occasion to think about
 all this as I sift through more than 30 years of
 negatives for scanning, Photo-shop work-up, and
 digital printing. And yes, almost all B&W to stay OT.
 
 For nostalgia I like working with former Soviet Leica
 and Contax copies.  But I must say that for actually
 acquiring images - digital is much better in virtually
 all technical aspects for candid street and cafe work.
  I just need to balance whether my nostalgic feelings
 (e.g imagining I'm Kertesz or Bresson) , or working
 with the tool they would have chosen if available to
 them at the time is more important.  I don't think
 there is much question that the Greats of
 photographing that-which=is-in-motion would have
 chosen digital if it had been available to them.  The
 biggest problem for me is what is frequently touted as
 digital's biggest advantage - immediate feedback. I
 agree with Nick Brandt that the processes of
 expectation (both realized and confounded), and chance
 have always been important for me.   Digital sometimes
 short-circuits this process too quickly.  It's 
 relatively easy for most of us to obtain (again) what
 we or others have already obtained - at least in terms
 of the technical, subject matte,r and overall visual
 intent .  What's hard is to develop ones vision in a
 new way. To learn to see anew. Chance and percolation
 time have been essential in this process for me- and I
 would imagine for many.
 
 If the question is: "Is digital state-of-the-art up to
 the task technically for hand-held work relative to
 35mm film"  - I believe most would agree there is no
 question about that in 2006. "Can digital  sometime in
 the near-future rival a contact print from an 8x10
 film negative (Weston's and my benchmark) and how near
 is it and how much will it cost" is a more open
 question and much more interesting for me.   As to how
 one best finds the tools and methods that work best
 for them in the evolution of their vision - that is
 something only personal experience (including
 listening and looking at the work of others) can
 answer.
 
 As an aside, while browsing Clayton's site I followed
 a link to the work of Nikolas Hartman.  His vision is
 incredible.  Check-out his site out if you haven't. 
 If you love Kertesz - I think you'll like his work. 
 He happens to work with 35mm RF's and BO printing. But
 that is, of course, just what works for him.
 
 Michael Vendrell  
 --- Peter Marshall <petermarshall@...> wrote:
 
 > I've used 8x10 and I have to say it was never a
 > match for 35mm for most 
 > of the things I wanted to do as a photographer. It
 > depends what you 
 > want. There isn't a single path. My vote for the
 > greatest photographer 
 > of the 20th century would quite probably go either
 > to Andre Kertesz or 
 > Robert Frank or Walker Evans depending which side of
 > the bed I got out 
 > of this morning. Never of course to Ansel, although
 > occasionally to 
 > Edward W. and more often to Bill Brandt.
 > 
 > Regards,
 > 
 > Peter Marshall
 > petermarshall@...     
 >
 _________________________________________________________________
 > My London Diary                   
 > http://mylondondiary.co.uk/
 > London's Industrial Heritage:
 > http://petermarshallphotos.co.uk/
 > The Buildings of London etc: 
 > http://londonphotographs.co.uk/
 > and elsewhere......
 > 
 > 
 > 
 > cloudswimmer7774 wrote:
 > > Man I hear this all the time.Mostly at DPreview
 > dot comm.Is digital
 > > capture really now a match for 8x10 BW film in
 > fine art?I live on the
 > > Calif. coast and frequent quite a few galleries.I
 > have yet to see a
 > > digital captured BW image that drops my jaw like
 > Brett's stuff shot
 > > with his old Calumet C-1, or Ansels large 8x10
 > stuff.I'm not totally
 > > convinced these guys would be capturing with
 > digital.
 > >
 > >
 > >
 > >
 > >
 > >   
 > >> It's worth something. Not a single one of the
 > photographers you
 > >> mentioned, if they were in the prime of their
 > career would NOT be
 > >> shooting digital capture, especially Ansel Adams.
 > He told us himself 
 > >> decades ago before he died that he wished it was
 > available to him
 > >> then. It wasn't. 
 > >>     
 > >
 > >
 > >
 > >
 > >
 > >
 > >
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 BY PARTICIPATING IN AND/OR POSTING MESSAGES TO THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO! GROUP YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE OWNER AND MODERATORS OF DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF THE  OWNER AND MODERATORS OF DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM: (i) THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP; (ii) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (iii) STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP; OR (iv) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP.
  

              

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