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Digital BW, The Print

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OT? Am I crazy?

OT? Am I crazy?

2008-03-28 by the_des_bois

Hello,

This might be OT... but hey... 

Am I going crazy? 

I started photography in 1986 with the classic Nikon FM2 and Tri-X.
Wet darkroom etc. Love at first sight.

Now with digital... I find it very easy to create color photographs...
until I get to the printing. I never seem to like the output.
Calibrated monitor, custom profile for printer etc. Gloss I don't
like. Matte paper always. I just hate having to fiddle with the color
adjustments and color filters etc.

Am I already an old school old photographer at 38? Why is it that
whenever I set my printer to color again, full of hope, I get pissed
in a couple of days and want to throw the machine out the window?

Then I come back to pure carbon printing... QTR... simple, elegant,
reliable... and I calm myself... until my next color crazy moment...

Am I the only one?  ;-)

Denis

Re: [Digital BW] OT? Am I crazy?

2008-03-28 by Tom Baker

It's a mind set thing.  If you 'hate fidling' with the color adjustments and all, you obviously don't enjoy the process.  That's why I'd say it's a mind set.  Once you get into thinking in color, and wanting color output for a particular image it's much easier and more enjoyable.
   
  I go back to the Ansel Adams (and gang) days.  You know, 4x5's, 8x10's, etc.  So, the b&w is more than serious for me.  But, I enjoy doing color images, as well.  But, I can't let the two in my head at the same time.  It's always a disaster if I do.
   
  Of course, color still enters the b&w world, like in orange, and red, and yellow, and... filters.  But, for me, thinking of color in those terms when adjusting an image to printed in b&w, has no resemblence to the same thought processes involved in doing a color image.
   
  So, if you really want to enjoy the color thing try clearing your head of the b&w for a given image.  It's still there when you want to get back to a b&w image.
   
  Tom Baker

the_des_bois <thedesbois@...> wrote:
          Hello,

This might be OT... but hey... 

Am I going crazy? 

I started photography in 1986 with the classic Nikon FM2 and Tri-X.
Wet darkroom etc. Love at first sight.

Now with digital... I find it very easy to create color photographs...
until I get to the printing. I never seem to like the output.
Calibrated monitor, custom profile for printer etc. Gloss I don't
like. Matte paper always. I just hate having to fiddle with the color
adjustments and color filters etc.

Am I already an old school old photographer at 38? Why is it that
whenever I set my printer to color again, full of hope, I get pissed
in a couple of days and want to throw the machine out the window?

Then I come back to pure carbon printing... QTR... simple, elegant,
reliable... and I calm myself... until my next color crazy moment...

Am I the only one? ;-)

Denis



                           


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: OT? Am I crazy?

2008-03-28 by esharamaki

Funny, see I'm just the opposite.  My color prints look great (in my 
opinion...) but the B&W frustrates me to no end.  My problem with B&W 
is that I really haven't taken the time to develop a proper workflow.  
Could this be your situation with color?  (I would love to take a week 
off of work and be able to do nothing but get a real B&W workflow down.)

Re: [Digital BW] OT? Am I crazy?

2008-03-28 by Josh Hackney

Your not crazy.  The thing about BW is that you eliminate all the color
corrections and white balancing.  For instance, if you're photographing a
person standing in the shade of a tree, the light can be very green,
correcting that can be difficult - or if they are being hit by sun light,
but the shadow side is toward the trees - the face is warm from the
sunlight, but the shadow is green.  Then add in the tone of the paper - blue
if you're printing on some of these glossy papers, or warmer yellow if
you're printing on OBA free fine art matte papers.  There is a lot going on
with a color print.  One image I'll nail, and the next will be a terrible
struggle.

I love my BW, but some images want to be color.  Just keep pounding away.
It's a craft!  Developing the craft takes time.

Josh



On Fri, Mar 28, 2008 at 12:11 AM, the_des_bois <thedesbois@...>
wrote:

> Hello,
>
> This might be OT... but hey...
>
> Am I going crazy?
>
> I started photography in 1986 with the classic Nikon FM2 and Tri-X.
> Wet darkroom etc. Love at first sight.
>
> Now with digital... I find it very easy to create color photographs...
> until I get to the printing. I never seem to like the output.
> Calibrated monitor, custom profile for printer etc. Gloss I don't
> like. Matte paper always. I just hate having to fiddle with the color
> adjustments and color filters etc.
>
> Am I already an old school old photographer at 38? Why is it that
> whenever I set my printer to color again, full of hope, I get pissed
> in a couple of days and want to throw the machine out the window?
>
> Then I come back to pure carbon printing... QTR... simple, elegant,
> reliable... and I calm myself... until my next color crazy moment...
>
> Am I the only one?  ;-)
>
> Denis
>
>
>
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: OT? Am I crazy?

2008-03-28 by Michael T. Murphy

I have a degree in photography.  From 1978, after graduating, to 
1998, I probably shot 10 rolls of color film.  I saw the world in 
black & white - at least from a photographic perspective.

In 1998 I started to work in color. Ten years later, I doubt that I 
have shot the equivalent of 10 rolls of B&W.  A few sheets of 
Poladoid Type 55 to test my 4x5, etc.

I am going back now and scanning and printing my older B&W work. I 
will also do some new B&W. but it seems so foreign - I can't believe 
I used to see images in B&W.  Trying to learn how again. ;>)

You do what you need to to get your vision onto paper, or the web, or 
wherever you want to get it to. Maybe the images just stay on the 
computer and no-one ever sees them?  Whatever works. 

FWIW, with a good scanner or good digital capture, processing a color 
image doesn't have to be more than setting levels.  For proofs I 
sharpen, select a neutral color balance point in levels (if needed), 
then set the highlights, shadows, and midpoint in levels. Then I 
proof. Maybe 2 minutes total - it doesn't have to be overwhelming.

Good luck!

Best,
Michael

Re: OT? Am I crazy?

2008-03-28 by the_des_bois

Funny it is and probably true. Every time I get in color mode, working
on the workflow (even if I take the time) makes me angry or not happy.

As for BW I can't stop testing and reading and refining.

Says a lot to me that I probably prefer BW for my own work while I
still greatly appreciate excellent color work from others.
Show quoted textHide quoted text
>
> Funny, see I'm just the opposite.  My color prints look great (in my 
> opinion...) but the B&W frustrates me to no end.  My problem with B&W 
> is that I really haven't taken the time to develop a proper workflow.  
> Could this be your situation with color?  (I would love to take a week 
> off of work and be able to do nothing but get a real B&W workflow down.)
>

Re: OT? Am I crazy?

2008-03-28 by arlenelove3@aol.com

I too, have been totally dedicated to B&W. I've always felt that  the 
seduction of color distracts from the essence of what I want my  photograph to say. 
The color in a photograph usually seems flat to me -  artificial , in a way, 
because unlike a painting, it doesn't reflect the  nuances of perception. 
HOWEVER - there are some subjects that are about color. In a small town in Mexico, a 
man walking in front of  a deep blue wall, carrying a bouquet of yellow 
brooms    is about color.  Since I have my 7800 with K3 ink  ( a few weeks now), 
I've succumbed to a few color prints. I've been such a  strict adherent to BW in 
my statements and exhibitions, how can I suddenly  show color? Is it like 
switching political parties? Changing religions? Maybe  I'll just keep color as a 
secret vice.
 
                              Arlene
_arlenelove3@..._ (mailto:arlenelove3@...) 
_www.arlenelove.com_ (http://www.arlenelove.com) 
 



**************Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video on AOL 
Home.      
(http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15&ncid=aolhom00030000000001)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Re: OT? Am I crazy?

2008-03-29 by hflockwood

No, you're not crazy.  I don't need no stinking color either.  QTR and K7 are all I need.

Harry


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "the_des_bois" <thedesbois@...> 
wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text
>
> Hello,
> 
> This might be OT... but hey... 
> 
> Am I going crazy? 
> 
> I started photography in 1986 with the classic Nikon FM2 and Tri-X.
> Wet darkroom etc. Love at first sight.
> 
> Now with digital... I find it very easy to create color photographs...
> until I get to the printing. I never seem to like the output.
> Calibrated monitor, custom profile for printer etc. Gloss I don't
> like. Matte paper always. I just hate having to fiddle with the color
> adjustments and color filters etc.
> 
> Am I already an old school old photographer at 38? Why is it that
> whenever I set my printer to color again, full of hope, I get pissed
> in a couple of days and want to throw the machine out the window?
> 
> Then I come back to pure carbon printing... QTR... simple, elegant,
> reliable... and I calm myself... until my next color crazy moment...
> 
> Am I the only one?  ;-)
> 
> Denis
>

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