Print Review, for the February Print Exchange
2003-02-23 by Jerry Olson
To the Group, critique of the February Print Exchange; My 2\ufffd worth... Jerry Gary Benson: Eagle River, Alaska Beautiful Print, Gary. The black and white one is much better than the color print on the reverse. The tones match the paper very nicely. You might try just a smidgeon more shadow detail in the right foreground. Tom DeCarlo: 'Shadowing the Man in Plastic Bags' I guess I just don't "get" this picture. I can't pick out anyone in plastic bags no matter how closely I look. I think that there ought to be something in all photographs that is very sharp, and this one looks completely out of focus all over. This is the first time I've seen Epson Fine Art Velvet paper; it is beautiful. THe inkset matches the paper very well. There are so many inksets out there now. I hadn't heard of FSN E inks before. Shilesh Jani: 'Dreams' Shilesh! you didn't include any data at all, You must start doing that Inquiring minds need to know how you make your prints! I suspect the only difference is the two papers you used for the duplicate prints. One appears to be Eclipse Bright White Satine, and the thicker one Photo Rag? I VERY much prefer the one on Eclipse Satine. This image looks much better on the pure white paper. This is a beautiful image, grainless, and really sharp. A winner! Thomas Fors: 'Deadwood' This appropriately named picture is flawless. The print qualify is perfect, I don't see how it could be improved. This is the first example of a 2200 print that really shows what that printer can do that I've seen. Dead on neutrals, and absolutely NO metamerism. I sure wish it were possible to get this quality from the 2200 printer without Image print. That software is just too expensive and difficult to use for me. Tony Terlecki: 'Saddam on a Stick' It must be the times we live in, but I really like this picture. Nice title. The Head could stand just a hair more contrast I think, it doesn't have a bright enough highlight. If you made the stick perfectly vertical it would improve the image. One other thing might improve it, but that would be beyond your control... A pigeon in the process of releasing a "wad" on the top of the head would make my day! David Tilson: 'Willows' A pleasant fall scene, using sidelighting. You might want to try a print where the foreground might be just a little lighter and a bit contrastier. There seems to be plenty of detail in the foreground to work with. I like the inclusion of the old manure spreader. Kevin Gulstene: 'Mums in Pots' The soft lighting works very well on a lot of still life photographs, including this one. Nicely lit. Very nice composition, also. I think the print could stand a little sharpening though. Also, if you had one, a soft back light spotlight could have possibly grazed the leaves on the mum in the pot, as well as the right side of the pot itself. Not a strong light, just enough to separate them from the dark background Jeremy Cox: Untitled II This is an excellently composed photograph, and the best of the group shown on the data sheet. Nicely lit, too. Paper and tones are a good match. I like this image a little bit more than the hand shot of last months exchange. Tom Jow: 'Charles Bridge, Prague' This is a beautiful landscape, very well printed. Very dream like. I've often wondered what kind of results you would get with a ten stop neutral density filter, Now I know, and I love it. I'll be getting one soon. This print also proves you don't need to spend the money on Photo Rag to get that paper's quality. The blacks are terrific. Nicely done Tom ! Old San Ysidro Church: Roger Sopher Very nice arcitectural study of a very interesting church. Nice selection of inks and paper. The only thing I can think of that might show off the church a little better would be to select all of the shadows, make a duplicate layer, place it over the top of this layer, and use the screen mode. This will lighten all the shadows quite a bit. You would then have to lower that layers opacity to about 50 percent or so. You just need a little more shadow detail. Sam McCandless: 'Naru Statue' This is a face only a blind person could love! (Except for Photographers who couldn't resist it!) I think the print has a very nice sepia tone. I've printed an accidental print or two, forgetting to set one of Paul's Curves, but the tones I get aren't this pleasant. The only thing I'd like to see is a sharper print, but I imagine that's not possible with the computer, as I suspect the original wasn't perfectly sharp. Tom O'connell: 'Dahlia in Vase' Here's a print that looks much nicer in black and white than color, I think. Someday I have to look up what a bibble is. I've heard it mentioned a couple times, but have no idea of what it is. The Dahlia appears to be almost illuminated in it's black and white interpretation. Looks like there's a light behind the flower, which enhances it a lot. Nice separation between the dark red flower petals and the background. Once again EAM paper shows how good the blacks can be on this paper. I'm getting similar blacks on the new EEM paper. Bob Morrison: 'Tres Hombres' A nice Available light shot in what appears to be a very dim bar. I think the faces could be selected, and a touch more contrast used here. Just a little. Like the little print on the back of the photograph has. Keep the rest of the print as is. Gary Benson: 'Gower Gulch' Nicely textured photo. I've been to Zabrieski Point, and know the problems of getting a good print of this place, it seems to always have excess contrast. I think I would have made the rear hills a bit lighter, and the foreground highlights just a hair darker to even out the large light/dark ratio. Anyhoo, this is is my 4 cents worth. (inflation). Jerry