Digital BW, The Print

Right on, Clayton!

Stick and rudder.

I have a high-understanding of technology as a former IT Admin person
for several major publishing companies, but when it comes to
print-making I like the seat of the pants approach best.

Afterall, why as a traditional photographer in the 70s and 80s do I have
all these 35mm negs and contact sheets but no prints. Because that was
about as much time as I could stand in the darkroom. I wanted to be
outside, shooting, not bending over trays of chemicals in the dark for
unknown hours. Neither do I today want to be messing with a bunch more
things like various pieces of software, hardware, etc. Like you, I
prefer to go from A to B, rather than pass through the alphabet to get
to the end.

Stick and rudder is a very appealing descriptive approach. I too,
watched this forum and followed the comments and techniques of its
users, and mostly two people the most, which is you, Clayton Jones, and
Paul Roark. You phrase clicked with me. All this time I've been bogged
down processing the information on how to get good prints from this
forum. Now I realize, you perspective is really my perspective too.

I've got modern technolgy at hand (1280, R220), and I'm still not making
prints. I'm in the middle of writing several books so I really don't
cherish lost hours at the computer trouching up negs and making prints,
which lack consistancy.

That's one thing about stick  rudder I must add, and that is:  it must
work, be consistant, in order to be valid.

By example, I was doing BO prints of one neg the other week for a
charity event. I got one print finally to my liking. Then my G4/1280
started choking on the print, only printing the top 15% of the image.
Didn't matter if the print size was 11x17 or 5x7, it choked in the same
exact spot on the image. I did some voodoo, and I also reinstalled new
print drivers. That wasn't smart, the new R220 print driver messed up my
1280 print driver and ALL settings. I reinstalled the 1280 driver. I
finally saw my old presets and I finally got it to print the whole
image. But now, get this, the tone, contrast and even hue changed on
this BO print!? It was unusuable and nothing like the first print out of
the machine. I cleaned heads, etc. but didn't seem to help. A real
mystery. It meant starting over. Well, I dropped the novel idea of a
quick print for some friends and went back to writing my book.

One day I'll get back to it, and one day, when there's money, I'll get a
2400 and just see how much easier my life might become.

Simplicity is best. Technology is what got us here today, but who's the
master? Is it technology--or us?

thanks,
Craig

--
Craig B. Snyder
Writer and Photographer, www.thecraigsnyder.com
<http://www.thecraigsnyder.com/>
A Secret History of the Ollie  www.theolliebook.com
<http://theolliebook.com/>

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Clayton Jones" 
wrote:>> Hello Eugene,> I'm currently using a 2400 with K3/ABW and am
still happy with the> stick and rudder non color managed approach.


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