Looking at fine B&W images is a pleasure for me. Just as happens to so many, I used to look at the works of excellent photographers and wonder why mine didn't look as good. My tones weren't 'luminous', nor did the prints sing as I viewed them. Minor imperfections seemed to be everywhere and no one really seemed to have the answer as to why. I read Ansel Adams and others and somewhat tried to do what I read. And that was the real problem: somewhat.

If you want your B&W to work and your images to improve, it will take more than half hearted, start-stop inconsistent effort. Whether you read Adams, the daybooks of Weston or the latest magazines and books-the information is not yours until you experience it. What Ansel did was good for him & he worked it out over years of effort. Not in one semester of a basic college photo class. He lived his images, as did Weston, Morley Baer and many of our finest photographers today. Good B&W images come from effort and experience, not formulas & prayer.

If your images would be better you need to be consistent in your work. I am suggesting in this article a few things I have found work for me and should work for you in improving your B&W printing.

First, get one or more reference prints of excellent quality. This will help you to really understand what a fine B&W print can be. NO image on a computer screen or the printed page can do justice to the original done by the masters. It isn't possible. Unless you see the real thing you are missing a lot of the experience. So get some fine prints to use as guides as well as for appreciation.

There are a few ways to do this. Photo Techniques magazine has regular offers of prints from some of the photographers they feature. Lens Work http://www.lenswork.com ) has special edition prints you can order for very reasonable prices. Excellent work, beautiful images and printing to use as a standard for your own efforts. There may be more, and I will extend an offer at the end of this article for both Negative & Print for your own darkroom, but whatever route you take, get a fine print or a few & really see what quality is. If you don't, if you learn to judge from books or computer screens, you will be the photographic equivalent of the couch potato athlete, sure you can do it but too damn lazy to put it to the test. We have too many of those already.

If you have, or have access to a darkroom, you are almost ready to get to work. You will need some supplies first. So, get some Dektol paper developer, stop bath and fixer. A gallon of each to start will work well. If possible, use trays that are larger than your paper size as this makes it easier to work with the paper and to agitate chemistry while processing. Then get fifty to one hundred sheets of Forte Polygrade V FIBRE paper. No, I don't work for them or get a commission. This paper tones well-almost too easily, but is an excellent paper to learn on & will stay a working tool long after your work quality has improved. It is an excellent exhibition paper, that is the main reason for my recommendation to start with it.

Get a container of Kodak Rapid Selenium toner. A small one will do. But since you will definitely be using more of it if you want to keep printing fine work, get the quart size. A small bottle of Agfa Viradon and one packet of Kodak Sepia toner will round out your toning materials. Then, get a container of Heico Perma Wash or Hypo Clearing Agent of some sort. Add one set of Ilford Multigrade filters and you are set. Get new ones if you don't have any so you eliminate another variable by using older, faded and scratched ones.

You will notice that everything is off the shelf, nothing esoteric, exotic or hard to find. Why make it difficult? If someone like John Sexton can print his jewels with Dektol, why not try it? All this stuff is readily available in most basic photo stores, certainly through Pictureline, my area photo store in Salt Lake City, and through Adorama and B&H mail order houses. All are stock, standard items.

You are going to need a negative, one negative, with a full tonal range. Some lights to darks. Bright areas to dim areas are just fine. Before you start, don't make it difficult on yourself by agonizing over what to photograph, how to photograph & how to process everything. A negative that makes a 'nice print' will be just fine. If it has major limitations, the testing will show it while it teaches you about shadow detail and highlight interpretation as you print from it. Even if you want to, no one can learn everything at once. One of the reasons to do this is to learn in a simple, repeatable way so you can take the knowledge and working methods and apply them to other materials and improve.

When you get into the darkroom, mix the chemistry as the instructions say. Developer, stop bath (here I use Kodak indicator stop-any kind will be fine) and fixer. Then you need the water tray for the initial rinsing and inspection of the print.

Turn on the enlarger and have your test negative handy and ready to use. I generally test with a 5x7 negative and contact prints for my initial quality check with new materials. Then I move to a 4x5 negative for my print evaluations, followed by a 35mm frame. This gives me the basics with materials I normally use-important to the final analysis of your results. Test with what you use, not with what you hope to use someday. We are trying to improve, not experiment.

Turn on the safelight, turn off the room lights and get ready to begin. First, you won't be using 'test strips', those damnable little tiny pieces of paper that drive most of us nuts. You will be using a full sheet of paper. Put one sheet of paper in the enlarging or contact easel and expose it under the enlarger with 1/3 of the sheet covered. Expose it with just enough light to give a VERY small density change to the exposed section of the paper. You will see if you have enough or too much exposure when you develop it. The 1/3 of the sheet that is covered will stay nice and clean and the exposed part will darken a little bit in the developer. You only want a small, very small change. Now, leave the paper in the Dektol for a full 3 minutes to start. If there is no density you will need to expose another sheet for a bit more time. If it gets darker than just a bit of light density, cut the time a little bit. With my enlarger I use my 50mm lens wide open for 1/2 second for this test. All you want is a basic time to start your paper fogging due to exposure. Now stop, fix and put the print in the rinse and turn on the lights.

A word on fixers here. Rapid fix at film strength will allow you to fix fibre papers for 60 seconds, a great time saver. Standard mixing at paper strength will be around 4 minutes. Check the directions to be sure. TIME your wet time in both the developer and the fixer. If you don't, you will never be sure of what you did & your results will not be repeatable. Knowledge is the main key to fine prints, and we are learning what we are doing in the darkroom. By 'wasting' a bit of time learning and fine tuning you will save both time and money later.

Now that you know the basic exposure to just fog the paper, put in another sheet in the easel and expose it for the same time. Now lay 8 quarters on the paper. Make note of the pattern you put them in. I put them in two rows of four, with the 1/3 of the paper still covered-completely unexposed by light. Take one quarter off the paper at 1 1/2 minute intervals while being careful to let the safelight fall on the exposed paper the entire time. This will give your paper 9 minutes of exposure to your darkroom safelight. If in normal use you leave paper out this or a longer time, you are asking for trouble. Now develop the sheet of paper and see if any of the areas where the quarters were show up darker than any of the others. If so, this is where safelight fogging starts to occur. If so, note the time and either keep the paper exposed to safelight for less time, move the safelight farther away or keep the paper in shadow during exposure.

Next, take another sheet of paper and make the same test-but this time with the quarters on the paper and the enlarger on-but no light from the lens hitting the paper. Do the basic 'fogging' exposure first. Then cover the lens so no light falls on the paper from it. Then do the same test. This will tell you if light leaks from the enlarger are having an effect on your exposures. Don't fail to make the tests. Paper getting exposed due to darkroom design defects, enlarger light leaks, overly bright safelights, etc., will screw up your results for years if you don't find out what is happening. By doing this before anything else, you will make sure your darkroom is 'paper safe'. It is a simple test, easily done, and will help your ease of mind when working in the darkroom. If you change darkrooms, do it again. Even very light fogging can keep you from getting the finest prints possible. If you find light fogging the paper, find where it is coming from and stop it. If you don't, it will cost you in lost paper and images, wasting all your darkroom efforts.

I mentioned timing your development in the chemistry. This is nice & fun to do and when you start, it is very helpful. After you have been working for a bit you will have more leeway. But both the stop bath and fixer should be watched to make sure you don't leave prints in them too long-they can start bleaching them. A short time too much won't hurt, but getting into the habit of not timing the fix will start to have consequences that can shorten the expected life of the prints and hurt your quality as well. In both stop bath-15 to 30 seconds-and fix (rapid for 60, 2-4 minutes, or normal for its indicated time-or one & two bath methods) be consistent. Be darned sure you agitate the print gently in the stop and fix the entire time it is in the bath. Just swirl the tongs over it to change chemistry, don't get too exuberant-you don't need fixer on the ceiling. Remember, you are working for consistent, repeatable quality and that doesn't come without consistent, repeatable technique.

Now that you know how much time the paper can be exposed for before fogging is a problem, you are ready to make a print. Just be sure your paper isn't left out long enough to fog it and you will be safe-that and the fact that completely unexposed paper doesn't fog nearly as fast as a sheet that has received the minimum of light to start the exposure process. The reason you checked for light leaks from the enlarger.

The type of enlarger light source doesn't really matter too much at this stage. A cheap $20 enlarger from a swap meet or a $10,000 plus custom model will both work. Cold light, condensers, color heads, etc., will all be usable & comfortable once you get used to whatever you are using. No one is 'better' than another unless you feel more comfortable with it for some reason. So use what is available & don't worry about what you don't have.

Put your negative in the enlarger and get ready to print. Set the enlarger to make a 5x7 inch print on an 8x10 sheet of paper, or use a 4x5 or 5x7 negative, choose 10 seconds exposure time with the lens stopped down two stops from wide open. Put a number 1 filter in the enlarger so your first effort will be a bit softer than the 'standard' number two. Why 10 seconds? Because you have to start somewhere-no other reason. Nothing at all magic about the time. Why a 5x7 print on the larger paper? So you will have clean white surrounding the image to help in determining contrast and maximum paper white. Now put the exposed photo in the dektol (you did mix it one to two-right?). Develop for 3 minutes. Even if the paper is getting too dark too fast, stay with your time. If it is too dark you will reduce the time. If it is too light you will add more time. In most cases you will be doing a second print. Still with the number one filter in the enlarger. You do another print, and possibly another, until you get one with what you consider good density and adequate exposure in it. Now is the time to look at it in relation to a few of the fine prints you have been looking at for comparison. Does your print have depth & feel in the dark areas? Does it have light, bright highlight areas? If so, you are moving forward. If not, we have to figure out why not & fix that. Here I am assuming you use a negative that will allow light and dark areas in the photo-remember we wanted a neg that would do so. If you discover you picked one deficient in shadow/dark areas or light/highlight areas, choose another & start over again.

So what do you do if the highlights look good where you have them but the shadows are either too dark for too light? Being off is generally a negative contrast problem & if not too bad can be fixed by using a softer or harder filter when printing. Being WAY off means you probably blew it in exposure, possibly developing the negative, and quite possibly both. If so, choose another negative & start over. If the highlights are too dark, too much exposure under the enlarger-shorten the time a bit. If too light you will have to add some time. So change the time, first, to get the highlights to look right. Once that is set-yes, processing each sheet of paper for the full three minutes-you are ready to address the shadows/dark areas by using the contrast filters. Lower numbers will help take a contrasty negative, higher numbers will add contrast to a flat negative.

No filters can make up for lousy exposure and/or development of the negatives. If yours are way off, you will have to re-shoot. There is no other way to correct them. (though digital means can come to the rescue here, within reason) But nothing makes it easier than correct exposure and development from the beginning. That said, there is a lot of leeway in the system & even if not perfect, you can still get expressive prints from negatives that are close. Just remember, it is easier to learn to shoot right than to continually have to re-do everything. That is why you are trying to learn to print well in the first place.

So, go back to the enlarger and make what you think is a good print, changing filters if you think it needs it. You are viewing the prints while wet. They will probably look a bit different than they will when dry. Try viewing them under a light of about 25 watts 3 feet from the print. This can help some. Very bright lights will influence you more and when the prints dry you will find a lot of them much darker than you remember while wet, under a bright light.

Once you have a print that looks good, make three more of the same exposure. Process the same & put in the rinse. Rinse two for five minutes only. Take these two out, squeegee them off carefully and dry one in the microwave oven and the other lay on a screen, clip up or put it on a piece of carpet or rug, or dry with a hair dryer. Just so it dries. Note: write on the back of both-5 min rinse only- and DON'T let these prints come in contact with ANY others at any time. (they are unclean-contaminated with fixer & will can ruin any prints that come in contact with them) These will show you the quick drying technique of a microwave oven, the wavy curl you get with fibre papers while drying, and the contamination you leave in them with inadequate rinsing. The microwave technique works fine, just don't do it with your fine prints, only the test print. Mainly because we don't know if this has a deleterious effect on them, but why take a chance with your fine prints?

Now that the prints are dry you can check the tonal range. You can check it in direct comparison to the other two prints still in the rinse water. This will help get you used to the difference in how your prints look when wet as compared to when they are dry. You are going to rinse your two still in the water for 5-10 minutes, or longer, then treat for 10 minutes, with agitation each minute (at a minimum) in the hypo clearing bath, then rinse in water for at least 8 separate water baths, 10 minutes each, and then dry by laying out or hanging up. Screens work well for drying. Squeegee the print (a new car windshield wiper work well here) on a flat surface & then lay flat, face down, on a fibreglass screen (like a window screen) or on a clean towel with the print face up. They will curl some, possibly a lot. Heat up while between archival mount board & they will flatten beautifully. Use an iron or dry mount press, not the oven for the warming. Do NOT put the unwashed (the 5 minute) prints in the archival board or the acid will ruin it-contaminating your careful washed prints. All that work gone to waste.

Now compare the prints again. Lay them all out on the table & look at them-being careful to keep the 5 minute wash prints away from the fully washed ones.You should have some nice looking prints virtually all the same. You will save the poorly washed ones in a ziplock bag, labeled to keep safe & away from the others-and clean the area where you set them down before putting other prints there. Don't contaminate your fully washed prints with the residue form poorly washed ones-to include wash your hands after handling the bad ones before handling the good ones or you will contaminate them. Does it seem I am being overly worried? No, I am speaking from experience-fixer kills prints if it isn't rinsed out. Including fixer from your fingers. It does carry over easily and has to be washed out of the skin with soap & water, a quick dip doesn't do it. Unfortunately the residue doesn't show up for some time so your prints later start turning brown or bleaching in fingerprint patterns-a real embarrassment and an expensive mistake.

Take the two well rinsed (now dry) prints, and put in a clean rinse tray to soak for 5 minutes. Mix the selenium toner at 1:31 (1 oz selenium to 31 ounces of water-1 quart which should be easy to handle) and you are ready for the next step. Place ONE print in the selenium toner and one in a tray of water, right next to the selenium so you can see both prints as one tones. Have a separate tray with water to start the rinse cycle after the selenium treatment. By having two prints, side by side, you can see when the toned print changes. Let it go until you feel 'comfortable' with how it looks. This can be slight toning to heavy, reddish-brown. Anything is OK at this point, just so long as there is the change. Forte tones relatively fast so this won't take long at all. Now, after the toning, you will need to go through the entire wash, treat in Hypo Clear, rinse cycle again. The untoned print can be re-dried without the whole cycle-it isn't contaminated. The selenium toned one is contaminated, but is now a bit better protected as well as toned for a bit of a change in its color and appearance.

How much of a change can you get with the toning? You will find out as you print about 10 more of the exact same print. Either this one or another negative, it doesn't matter. But you will need at least 10 more to try the selenium toner on for various times-each time having one untoned print as your comparison print. But, NO MORE with only a 5 minute wash. Keep those original ones away from anything photographic, set them in the light & watch for a few weeks to months as they start to brown out-the fixer killing your print. You don't want that to happen to anything you show, sell, give away or have on your walls. Doing it deliberately will be a graphic demonstration of what poor technique in washing will do to your prints. After all that work, all the rinsing, all the time, do you want your images to fade right off the walls? NO WAY. Doing it right from the first will give you images that will last an it is a lot less work than doing everything over.

When you print these 10 images, print three extra, for a total of 13. These last three will be just a bit different. On the first one, give the same exposure as all the others. Then cover 2/3 of the image and expose the open part with a small flashlight or open enlarger (take the negative out-so do it with the last print) at least 4 times the exposure of your prints. This will ensure maximum paper black-almost always more than you have given the prints to this point. Another of the three will be printed about 10% less time than the other prints. The third will be exposed for 20% more time than the others. These will give you a nice comparison of fine differences in prints. A lot of beginning printers want black skies and blazingly white clouds and a lot of contrast. This isn't always a good idea. There is a lot to be said for subtle prints with life & character coming from the print quality & subject matter rather than from high contrast. That is one reason I start with a number one filter. I want the softer character to come out whenever possible. You can always print more contrast, but don't confuse it contrast with the quiet elegance of a fine print. That is more than contrast. That said, once you see a lot of prints done with the impact of higher contrast, it may be harder to back off a bit to make a quiet, elegant statement. If you print a lot of contrast you may discover after a bit your prints have a 'heavy' look you didn't see at first. Yes, you can always reprint. But getting it closer to right from the beginning is easier. 'Sneak up' on the print rather than hitting the contrast bell with a sledgehammer if you can.

As you do all of these test prints, have a pencil handy and on the back of each print, before you make them, lightly write on each an 'F' (forte), the filter number used, and the number of seconds of exposure used. You can also put the enlarger setting from the lens and/or enlarger height. All can help with repeating successes and pinpointing failure points or problems when later analysis shows the need to fine tune a bit. Information never hurts & getting it at the time is a lot easier than trying to remember it later. After all, who can remember if the enlarger was set at 11 or 12 inches from the easel, or if this exposure as at f/8 or f/8 1/2? Repeatability will help you every step of the way in your search for the fine print.

Now, rinse the prints well and set up your toner again. Tone a few prints at different times. Try one or two in either the Agfa Viradon or Kodak Sepia toner-with its stinky as heck bleach & redevelop solution. Remember to keep one print separate, untoned and untouched, as your comparison. Write on the back of each one-BEFORE- once again getting it wet, what you are doing, or put a number on each & write the information down in your notebook. You will find the information invaluable as you compare results. Even when you put a print in the Viradon, or sepia toner and Then in rinse a bit & put it in the selenium toner.

The varieties are almost endless. If you make a good print, don't be afraid to make 10 or more of the same print and then try the toning techniques to see how they look. Light toning for permanence or minor tone change or heavy and two bath for different effects-you will have visual proof of what happens for you with this paper and these combinations. If you write it all down, you will most likely be able to repeat it, control it. No matter how scientific you are though, there may still be some surprises. But you keep them under control by experience, good notes and good technique. Now you can see how 100 sheets of paper can go quickly. But every sheet will teach you something. Every sheet, with its notes, becomes part of your reference library. Each one to be compared carefully with the others.

One caution needs to be mentioned here. I recommend a negative that has a nice range of tones for practice and learning. A 'full range' negative, if you have one. One with good shadow detail and some nice high tones or light areas as well. While this is good for practice, you will want to try some as well that consist of mainly the dark tones or light tones. This will help immensely in giving a different feel to your work and in interpreting images of a limited tonal range-one where this limited range is planned rather than due to shortcomings in your technique. It has been stated by some that the 'fine print' has a full tonal range. This is true-but, only as full a tonal range as is called for by the subject. I cannot in any manner suggest that one has to have full blacks to maximum whites to be a fine print. Your taste, ideas and vision may have you shooting very limited tonal range images that area printed visions of stunning beauty. They are your images and aren't held to an arbitrary standard of 'full range' prints. The scale from dark to light is yours to work with and will do well as long as the print speaks to the viewers. Please don't use this, however, as an excuse to showcase poor technique or quality. Print as well as possible with the knowledge that full black to white isn't called for in many prints. Too much black often screws up prints. This is why you make a good print and then give part of it so much extra exposure-specifically to show there is often more black to be gained on paper, but not needed to fulfill your artistic vision.

After looking at them by themselves, get mat boards in 16x20. Clean, 100% rag boards (bright white and maybe a small variation or two for comparison) and cut out at least two of them to 6x8 inches, and 9x11 inches. Have two of the same board for the back of the 'sandwich', and place your prints in the boards, showing through the opening, to get a comparison as to how they will look mounted and matted. The opening larger than 8x10 will show them as if they are mounted flat with surround ready for your signature. The smaller will show them as mounted with the white from the paper itself showing through the window mat-ready for your signature if you choose to sign on the print itself. Both ways will show you how the prints really look, ready for your wall. If you get two extruded aluminum frames and glass-preferably Denglass Water White glass, you will have an elegant viewing system for judging prints. The aluminum frames come apart easily & show you how good the prints can really look. If you view the prints this way, try viewing under different lighting. Fluorescent (a real print killer), tungsten, floods and natural room light of various types. Wall placement of the frames & prints can be tried. With the aluminum frames, you can easily try the different prints & see how they look, by putting two side by side you get the comparison of subtle differences. All in one 100 sheet box of paper. All using clean, repeatable and consistent technique. All working toward the 'fine print'.

If you follow good practice in making your prints and view them, as well as the variations you have made, your printing will improve. You will learn what your materials will do-from personal experience. No one can take that away from you. The differences in fine prints and others are often in the subtle details that many notice without realizing it. The way toning holds in the depth. The subtle change of selenium left longer to get warmth rather than the cold purple black in this print as compared to that print. After all is said and done, no one in the darkroom has any secrets that no one else knows. From Ansel Adams to Howard Bond, everyone has access to the same papers, the same developers and the same techniques. You might like soft while the next photographer likes more contrast. You may shoot in 'available darkness' while the next person shoots a lot of mid day scenes. There is no right and wrong to your vision. But there 'is' a right and wrong to printing. It lies in printing quality-or the lack of it.

Poor quality printing hides superior vision.

It is that simple.

Look at the work of the masters. Quality vision deserves and demands quality printing for it to be seen at its best. Quality printing is actually easier than poor printing. In the end it is faster. It doesn't have to be re-done. If you think high quality printing is beyond you then you are most likely taking shortcuts. Get to a workshop with the likes of Howard Bond, John Sexton, Bruce Barnbaum or a host of other excellent printers. Try Maine Photographic Workshops or Santa Fe or some of the others that offer quality instruction. High quality is NOT beyond the ability of anyone who can follow directions and work carefully. Vision in your photography is another matter, but almost anyone can improve. As far as your print quality though, there are no excuses for poor printing. There is also no excuse (this is my personal opinion) for being dogmatic in that there is 'only one right way' to print. Developer dilutions, formulas and papers allow a lot of leeway for creative control. Film choice, subject matter and personal taste allow for endless creative possibilities. As long as quality images are produced, who really cares how you did it. But you will find that almost every good printer uses good technique. There are a few who make excellent prints in spite of themselves, but they sure make it difficult on themselves. You often find them making, finally, one good print and then printing from a copy negative.

What I have touched on is just the beginning. It takes time to get good, to become fluent and comfortable with the papers and darkroom techniques we think the masters just somehow always knew. Every darkroom worker had to learn the same way you will, little by little, print by print. Working with consistency is the real key to getting prints that last and are worth viewing. Haphazard work habits virtually guarantee poor results. Choose one paper & learn it, just as you do with one film. This gives you a basis for comparison. You know what it will do and what you can do with it. Just as you start a vacation from a known location, you start creating a fine print from a known paper and technique. There are always options & if you know where you are you can choose them wisely, trip or prints. But if you don't know where you are with either, it doesn't matter what you do, does it?

So get into the darkroom & check out what I have said. See for yourself if it actually works. It isn't difficult, and for the price of a 100 sheet box of Forte Polygrade V 8x10 paper and chemistry you will be buying anyway, you could be on the way to better print quality. At worst you will discover the need to tighten up your film exposure and processing technique. At best you will start creating images with life and character that speaks to others. Even if you try and stop you will still have a few excellent reference prints for your walls. But if you try, the results will improve and I doubt you will stop. The next challenge, making 'your own' images, will present itself and you will find your abilities growing to match it. Then it becomes fun and the darkroom becomes a stage where you direct the performance that is shown in your prints.

Ansel had it right-the print is the performance.

NEGATIVE & PRINT OFFER

If you have read this and are for some reason unsure of yourself. Or unsure even when getting one or more of the excellent prints offered by those I referred to at the beginning of the article, I will make this offer. I will shoot a standard scene, one with light to dark areas. One with fine and coarse detail. One with good contrast and texture. I will shoot it on 5x7 sheet film, TMax 100. I will process the film in my darkroom along with my normal 5x7 work. I will make one contact print on Forte Polygrade V fibre paper, the same paper I recommend here for your tests, AND I will make one contact print on Kodak Azo paper, processed in Amidol developer. Both prints will be toned as I normally do and will be dry mounted on 100% rag museum quality mat board. They will be ready for an overmat and frame or to be kept for reference as you work in your own darkroom. You will own both the prints AND the negative used to produce them. Copyright will remain with me, you will have the right to print from the negative for your own education and experience, NOT for selling prints.

I will give you a full range negative of a 'normal' scene. A negative with a good tonal range, though not necessarily from perfect black to perfect white. That isn't necessary for an excellent print. You will have physical possession of the negative for your own darkroom work. A negative you may NOT pass off as your own work -EVER- for any reason. I trust that you will mark any and all prints made from this negative with the wording Copyright 2000 Dan Smith, Photographer, Photocritique.net The negative is NOT for publication, resale or duplication. It is yours to use for testing, practice and reference, along with the two prints-done on two different papers with two different developers. A set for reference to use in your own printing and testing. These are not old file negatives, but with each order I will photograph a scene here in Northern Utah, where I live. While most will be similar since I have a few locations in mind, they will all be individual, original photographs. If you would like, you can request either a 'scenic' or an 'industrial' image. I will give that leeway so you can have the benefit of contact printing an image that might better fit your taste.

This cost is $110 (US), which includes shipping in the continental USA. For shipping out of the USA, e-mail me and we can figure out the shipping charges. I will find out exact cost and add it to the $110 (US) price.

I do this so you can have a different perspective on the fine print as well as have the negative they are done with. The fine print in this instance will be a 5x7 inch original contact print done on two entirely different papers. One processed in the common materials used today and one in the tradition of Edward Weston and Michael A. Smith-Azo and Amidol. Then you have the negative for reference as well as your own darkroom practice.

This offer is for a limited time. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at shooter@brigham.net and I will answer what I can.

About the attached images

The second print was left in the toner with agitation for about 10 minutes. It shows a major change in color as a result. Your monitor most likely won't do justice to the differences. Matting and showing both images results in some liking one, some liking the other. It is mainly personal preference.

As the photographer and printer, I make the decision as to how I want the print to look. It would be nice to have prints with only one 'right' way to them. But reality is that at different times, for different reasons, that doesn't always happen. Some are open to interpretation and your taste and feelings will change as time passes. What you like now as a stark black may yield in the future to a softer or warmer image from the same negative.

The only way to tell which you may like is to make identical prints and tone them for various times and in various toners. Learning by doing is the only way that works as no book, no class or instructor can tell you how you feel. No one but you makes the decision as to your creativity and how it is reflected in your prints.

I printed these for this months article from a negative I shot last week. Tomorrow it is supposed to snow and the scene will be quite different. Cold and fog will change it. Spring green with the leaves coming out on the trees will change it. If I shoot exactly the same composition in different light, different seasons, different weather and as time goes by, I may end up with a number of images some will interpret as being the same picture. But those who take the time to look will see change. Change in interpretation as well as the angle of sunlight, leaves and weather. Though we see many things as staying the same, the photographer who looks carefully will catalogue the change as it happens. They will plan on change for image possibilities in the future. Part of this feeling of change is in interpretation of the negatives already processed. The change in how you print them, tone them and present them.

Many photographers discover their printing changing a bit as they progress. What looked good years ago may no longer fit with your evolving, growing vision. Toning is only one variable in this process. Careful use of toners with notes and your observations during processing through final display on the wall will teach you lot about how they work. What appear to be almost imperceptable differences now may be large differences once you have a lot more experience. I believe this is one of the finest features of enlarging ones own work, the ability to control these differences as well as the fortuitous surprise you learn from. Not all surprises are mistakes, some end up in new techniques to help you communicate your feelings in the print.

Both prints are on the same paper. Experiment with whatever you are using. See what it will do and what you will do with it. Start with prints that don't vary. As you start working with toners you will discover some require a print with a bit less density here or there, or a print that is a bit darker. Not all papers or toners react the same. The only way to learn and see what they do is to try them. Just as working with consistent technique will improve your printing, so will this technique allow you, teach you, and guide you in producing images that convey your soul in the finished print.