Biography:
In possession of a quality film camera during my high school years in Connecticut, I was usually disappointed with the quality of the black and white prints coming back from the local drug store. They were typically lacking in contrast, detail and tonal range. They were also glossy and irreversibly curved as if to achieve an even more unappealing appearance.
A revelation occurred during my college years when I was able to spend a year in Germany as a student in the early 1970s. Using the same film stock (Tri-X) and same camera (Pentax Spotmatic) as before, and dropping off the negatives at the local drugstore, I expected the same insipid prints in return. What did come back was jaw-dropping: images with a wider range of tones, from rich chocolaty blacks to creamy highlights containing subtle details throughout, particularly in the shadows but also in the highlights. Instead of glossy, the paper was pearl/matte and perfectly flat, features that enhanced the quality of the images. It was as if a whole new side of photography opened to me. After paying the clerk, I walked out the door thinking what a difference a continent makes. And over time, after learning more about photography, what a difference process and materials make in the look and feel of the final print.
Fast forward 45+years and I now have a darkroom in my home, where I can develop negatives and make silver gelatin prints with an enlarger. My appreciation for how process and materials impact the quality of the final print has made me a dedicated experimenter for whom the variables of multiple film stocks, developers, filters, toners and print papers offer challenges and opportunities in the creation of images that may cause, on occasion, my jaw to drop as it did on that memorable day in Germany.
CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW GALLERY
In possession of a quality film camera during my high school years in Connecticut, I was usually disappointed with the quality of the black and white prints coming back from the local drug store. They were typically lacking in contrast, detail and tonal range. They were also glossy and irreversibly curved as if to achieve an even more unappealing appearance.
A revelation occurred during my college years when I was able to spend a year in Germany as a student in the early 1970s. Using the same film stock (Tri-X) and same camera (Pentax Spotmatic) as before, and dropping off the negatives at the local drugstore, I expected the same insipid prints in return. What did come back was jaw-dropping: images with a wider range of tones, from rich chocolaty blacks to creamy highlights containing subtle details throughout, particularly in the shadows but also in the highlights. Instead of glossy, the paper was pearl/matte and perfectly flat, features that enhanced the quality of the images. It was as if a whole new side of photography opened to me. After paying the clerk, I walked out the door thinking what a difference a continent makes. And over time, after learning more about photography, what a difference process and materials make in the look and feel of the final print.
Fast forward 45+years and I now have a darkroom in my home, where I can develop negatives and make silver gelatin prints with an enlarger. My appreciation for how process and materials impact the quality of the final print has made me a dedicated experimenter for whom the variables of multiple film stocks, developers, filters, toners and print papers offer challenges and opportunities in the creation of images that may cause, on occasion, my jaw to drop as it did on that memorable day in Germany.
CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW GALLERY
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