Tag: film

drilling for silver

Posted on Posted in art biz, art stuff, da net, on photographers, the foraTagged , , , ,

bits of things. if you have to moderate the topic, you have the wrong gathering — 

VCP, bring out the prints. generous support of Mark Tarmy. Joshua Farr and Mitch Weiss  curators

What they announce:

Drawn from a remarkable local collection, these prints invite you to get close—see the paper, the grain, the edge of the negative—and slow down with images that carry time and story across generations. It’s a chance to experience iconic photographs as objects, not just pictures on a screen: how they’re printed, toned, and cared for, and why those choices matter to what we see and feel.

The exhibition brings together 36 works by 31 artists, spanning nearly a century of photographic history, with dates ranging from 1916 to 2004. The selection highlights both silver gelatin and platinum prints, offering a rich material and historical range that underscores the enduring power and evolution of the photographic print

UP TO DATE:

They will discuss specific images in the show and their significance from the perspectives of technique, meaning, and place in history. This conversation opens a window into the relationships between artists and collectors, and why photographic prints continue to matter in a screen-saturated world.

IN CONVERSATION: Mark Tarmy & Lynne Weinstein | VCP

the collector’s start:

Like most American business stories, Vermont Plank Flooring was born of a degree of foresight, a little bit of luck, and a lot of hard work.]

Our Story – The History of Vermont Wide Plank Flooring

Instead of collecting stories of drillbits , rather than collecting boxes of future used\ items, he collected photographs .

the why of this aside: Drillbits from one Plant in China are produced at 20 Tons a day.. packaged and over 100 brand going to the United States Germany even Austria… with Austria importing specialists steal from China for their use in machine tool making..

caution of the long tail: people thinking their experience is more useful than it is; that they bring more knowledge than they do . they have a view of a business — they think that that view, and experience applies across all business… ADDITIONAL. the china syndrome:

the problem is some forums are populated by a very few highly skilled honest members … how can you tell; they give references. they show their work. you are welcome to the table ;their ideas grow. they have new stories…

prejudice is often a mask itself.. revealing itself. prejudice is a mask that sometimes shows;it has dominance…you married an asian to dominate one. prejudice is often inscrutable… I can’t be prejudiced I married one; yet you’re married to dominate; reminder, prejudice is about domination…

see YouTube bit test … left as an exercise.

drill bits.. footnote. https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/latest/2026/02/ancientegyptiandrillbit/ This re-analysis suggests that Egyptian craftspeople mastered reliable rotary drilling more than two millennia before some of the best-preserved drill sets.

imagine having a collection of prints instead of bits n bobs

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Index Prints

Posted on Posted in coursenotes, Getting Stuff, labnotes, visual mindTagged , , , , ,

The idea print. Collecting visuals. Stages of the darkroom process. Beyond the wild guess. Looking more than once, while looking at more than one. Building the comparative response.

This index is from the librarians, not the linguists. /’ that it contains so much contradictory information that a verbal message is needed to fix its meaning ‘/ 

WHY make contact sheets — to see the roll, thereby providing selection by comparison.. provides an editorial overview as it reveals your progression of action in the event-scene.

The key point of this post is using “jigs” as aid to determining exposure of a print. They provide an efficient way to make several attempts, or tests of settings in making darkroom prints. Typically, they are used to determine exposure setting, however, they could also be used to test changes in contrast filters, or color balance filtration, since while the “flaps” are closed, enlarger settings may be changed.

These devices are the commercial form of what was frequently a kludge made by the printer from cardboard, tape, or, perhaps, scavenged sheet film holders. My initial, 1960s version was made using scrapped film holders. These were sold by the cardboard box full at the surplus stores.

The start point. finding a way in the dark. What is the exposure setting for darkroom materials. Color or black-white paper exposure must be tested; determined by making trial exposures. These are called “test strips” — strips, small samples of the material you will use to make your print.

Durst Test Print Tool
Ways of making test strips.

Drawing patterns, making conclusions.
Index prints are also known as “contact sheets,” or “proof sheets.” Most uses of these are as first edit device for selecting among negatives/slides. The exposure, contrast and processing controls are sometimes lax. I try for a first best use setting for the most interesting of the negatives. This sheet serves as my point of search into my file of pictures. Rather than shuffling through the negatives, I shuffle through my index prints. These prints, in some cases, provide my an easy notepad of what was printed and when. The details of the printing will be in a print/darkroom notebook.


What is the start point of making a darkroom exposure

By using test jigs, I was able to characterize film for making separations for dye transfer in as few as 6 sheets of film. A morning’s work. It was sixty years later that a boastful amateur told a student of mine that wasn’t possible.

Good to know. #OIC