We classical darkroom photographers know that the past few years have been challenging ever since Agfa and Kodak quit the business because they couldn’t handle the changes in the silver paper market. But the upside of these corporate behemoths getting out is that it left room for smaller players to get into (or in some cases, get back into) the market – and they have.

So my 2010 begins on an exciting note with the discovery of a new German silver gelatin paper: ADOX Classic MCC110. ADOX claims this paper looks like my old favorite (but discontinued) Agfa MCC110. Well, after working with this paper I have to say it is even better than that old favorite!

ADOX MCC110 responds beautifully to different types of developers and toning. The Metol/Hydroquinone (MQ) developer I use (an old Defender 55D formula) yields a beautiful neutral black, and it responds wonderfully to selenium toning with a deep black and very little color shift. My Glycin/Hydroquinone formula (my own recipe) produces a warm brownish black that has an incredible response to selenium toning. In fact, I can easily control the blacks from chocolate to a deep warm black.

The paper base is white, but not the harsh bright white that so many manufacturers use for their paper (too much barium sulfate). Hence, although ADOX MCC110 is not a “warm tone” paper, it has a delicately warmer white tint that I find very appealing for my figure work, but not the over-tinting so often associated with warm-tone papers.

ADOX is a old company with many years experience in the photography business. Hopefully I can look forward to consistent quality and a steady supply of what is now my favorite paper.

If you are an old Agfa fan, or if the paper you are using doesn’t quite satisfy, then I encourage you to give the ADOX classic MC110 a try. It is also a great paper for beginners to start with. Freestyle Photographic Supplies sells it, only available in glossy right now. Finally, some good news for the darkroom!

~Jeff

It seems that most people had a mixed year in 2009 with a few highs and some very challenging lows. Such is the world’s condition for the moment. I hope your photography has been refuge for you and that your creative outlets have not taken a back seat to your troubles. We must not let our creative spark be smothered by things that we cannot control.

I am looking forward to 2010. A renewed project with roses using large format (Springtime will be a particularly busy time), a new series of shoots for The Shawl Project, and special offers on two new workshops for anyone seeking to grow their skills. I’ve recently started work with a new paper from Germany that claims to have the same emulsion as the old Agfa MCC (my all time favorite paper, but no longer available), and looking forward to experimenting with an old style film emulsion from Europe. Yes, indeed, it’s going to be a busy year.

Here is wishing everyone an exciting and productive New Year.

~Jeff

Charis was never a photographer. What she brought to the relationship with Edward was a remarkable set of complimentary skills and attitudes. It is unlikely Weston would have succeeded in his Guggenheim grant proposal were it not for Charis. The work resulting from that grant was a product of their teamwork. And certainly the books and articles during that period were not possible without Charis.

I could go on and on, but instead invite you to learn more about Charis Wilson. May I suggest a wonderful documentary DVD titled “Eloquent Nude: The Love and Legacy of Edward Weston & Charis Wilson.” Filmed in cooperation with Charis when she was 90, even Charis thought it capture the essence of those years they were together. I highly recommended it - for both photographer and nonphotographer alike!

Rest in Peace, Charis.

~Jeff

Well, I guess that is alright if you are buying bulk commodity items, but it seems unsatisfactory when you are looking for a gift for a special person in your life. That is why I enjoy giving art, items found in small places, and home made gifts. That is also why I offer several prints at special Holiday prices at this time of year. Check it out! My Holiday Offerings Page is up and ready for your approval. And consider giving art this year. Original hand-made photographs, paintings, theater or concert tickets, a hand crafted food or wine - you know, something special!

~Jeff

In the studio, I am exploring with renewed energy roses using large format cameras. A few years ago I did a series using medium format and was very pleased with the results. I am even more intrigued this time because of the added level of control the 4×5 camera allows.

There has been considerable time commitment and intensity in the darkroom as I have been working with a new silver gelatin paper. I should point out that I do not casually change papers. It takes time to master a new paper because you are dealing with physical entity and each brand and type responds differently, with results that can vary from dramatic to subtle. But I recently discovered a paper by Adox (German) with some wonderful qualities. I am impressed enough to spend the time learning its idiosyncrasies and include it in the new rose series. I hope you will be pleased with the results.

All of this energy is part of preparing new prints in time for the Holidays (and also serves as a preview of the new rose studies to debut in 2010). Within a week or so I will have the web page up with several Holiday offerings – something for those seeking a special gift for that special someone.

~Jeff

Like most photographs, Adams’s prints require clean, direct illumination. (Halogen light is spectrally “clean” and works very well.) If you do not light a photograph properly, the shadow detail is usually lost and the highlights become unimpressive; the end result is a dark, flat print.

The problem is not unique to displaying Ansel Adams prints. Photographers must consider how their work will be displayed when they are crafting their prints. Unfortunately, you cannot always control the lighting of the display and must do the best you can with what you’ve got wherever you are showing your work.

Nevertheless, it is not unreasonable to assume that some sort of halogen lighting will be at your disposal. When I am printing, I evaluate the image first under small 50 watt halogen lamps in the darkroom. Then I see how the print looks and feels under Plexiglas in a mat board mockup that I always have set up on an easel in my living room. I “live with” the draft prints for several days with both spot light and ambient light before moving on to the final prints. Sure, it adds time to the process. I think of it as just part of the art and the craftsmanship of the fine print.

But then, if the lighting is bad… .

~Jeff

During the morning Q&A session, one fellow asked (in a hostile tone) why the panel members were wasting time on classical photographic methods which, in his opinion, are very inefficient and unproductive. He essentially accused the participants of doing a disservice to photography and photography students by even talking about these techniques, much less actually using them! As best as I can figure, this fellow either had an obsession with taking huge quantities of pictures or maybe he was unable to reconcile that digital is not the final word in photography.

Whatever the motivations, the panelists’ response to this bizarre question was unanimous: great photographic art is not about the process you use, but how you use that process to convey your message. Each technique and method, whether traditional, digital, or a hybrid of both, brings its own qualities to the photograph’s impact. It is up to the photographic artist to understand and master those techniques that help their art convey its message.

Maybe that fellow asking the question never moved beyond a photograph being nothing more than a snapshot of something you recognize. Perhaps he doesn’t understand how subtle qualities in a photographic print impact the viewer’s emotional response. I think it is fairly certain that he does not understand that the processes used in making the art have a huge influence on how the artist sees the world and subsequently how that vision is translated in their work.

I guess he just didn’t “get it.”

He certainly did not return for the afternoon session.

~Jeff

More than that, f295 advocates that now is an incredible time to be a photographic artist. Think about it: all of the techniques and process for the past 150 years, up to and including digital (including hybrid techniques that weave digital with hands-on methods) are available to you. Contrary to the marketing hype of big manufacturers, digital is but one thread in the tapestry of photographic art. All of the techniques and process of the past are tools for your artistic creativity. Each provides a unique approach to the your subject and influences (sometimes dramatically, sometimes subtly) the expression of your photographic print.

So, if terms like wet-plate collodion, salt print, albumen, daguerreotype, pin hole camera, sepia toning, bromoil, and platinum/palladium printing are not in your vocabulary, then you may be missing out on some powerful creative tools that can dramatically increase the dynamic range of your artistic voice.

~Jeff

This weekend I focused on finishing the 48 prints for the San Miguel project, requiring the usual spotting and dry mounting. It was certainly one of those times when one’s discipline is put to the test. There is just no way around it – from beginning to end, a fine print takes time!

When one moves from creating simply an image to making a fine print, a lot of artistic expression and craftsmanship comes into play. And a lot of hard work. Of course, with digital technology being the vernacular language of photography today, few people move beyond the image and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. Digital files and computer displays suffice for what most people want or need, much as the drug store prints from 35mm negatives have done for many decades. But when you move into the realm of the fine print, the stakes are higher.

A fine print is a real, physical object where the image is woven with the medium. Everything matters: size, details in composition, subtleties of tint and color, paper texture, viewing light and viewing distance, mat, whether the image is on the paper or in the paper, and that is just to name a few of the considerations. Indeed, many a sin is forgiven in a computer display that becomes an indictment in a physical print.

Whether you print on silver, digitally, or use an alternative process – when you put your work out there for everyone to see in a fine print, the stakes are higher and everything matters. It’s a lot of hard work, but worth it!

~Jeff

This is especially true if you are responsible for the creative spark in your work. Creativity requires effort and inspiration, much like the fall harvest requires water and fertile soil to succeed. But we cannot just take, and take, and take from creativity’s soil without putting something back; a bumper crop of creativity requires renewal of the nutrients.

When I am on a creative renewal vacation, I find it useful to …

… go unplugged (leave the computers and “tech-toys” behind);

… go quietly (don’t replace day-to-day stresses with a hectic vacation stress);

… go barefoot (get more natural and little closer to nature);

… go somewhere else (get some fresh points of view, either in the scenery or the people).

And I go remembering that some experts say it takes three days of getting away from it all before our minds start to let go of the daily stresses from which we are seeking relief. I think they are right!

~Jeff