Masking: What Covers What

Posted on Posted in dye transfer, labnotes, overnight notes, PrintsTagged

If at first steps you hesitate, will you ever make the journey? Making color prints is easy, but not trivial. It can be used simply or taken to extreme complexity. This is by design.

Masks are made to alter the color response. Usually they are made to correct for deficiency of colorants used in the practical printing. What was once a labor intensive procedure was made simpler, more automatic over several decades. By the 1950s theory and practice had become teachable in trade-schools to people never intending to go to college to learn linear algebra so they could make color prints.

Alexander Murray, of Eastman Kodak Research Laboratories, co-developer of the Murray-Davies equation was the early pioneer. His goal “eliminate retouching by the masking process” with as few masks as possible. “

Photo-trichromatic printing, in theory and practice by Zander, C. G., author

was an early text about ink on paper. It is a small booklet written by an ink maker and it should be read by everyone new to printing; the coverage of the first solutions to the common problems that remain today will highlight how far we have come.

Some references keyed to printing; the CMYK model.

Austin AC. Photo-Lithography: Suggestions for the Lithographers Which Should Prove Beneficial to the Trade. The National Lithographer. 1923;30(11):25-26.
Albert E. Photographisches Farbendruck-Verhahren. Published online 1899
Albert E. Photographisches Mehrfarbendruckverfahren. Published online 1900.
Bassist E. Retouching for Offset Lithography in Colors. Inland Printer. 1925;74:756.
Bultz SW. New Method of Copying Paintings: To the Editor of the Photographic Journal. Journal of the Photographic Society of London. 1856;3(40):15
Gamble W. The Future of Letterpress Printing. Inland Printer. 1925;74:757
Horgan SH. Process Engraving: A Three-Color Pessimist. Inland Printer. 1922;69:239.
Horgan SH. Offset Printing: Offset Printing’s Future. Inland Printer. 1922;69:368.
Horgan SH. Notes on Offset Printing: Color Correction on Offset Plates. Inland Printer. 1922;69:872
Mertle JS, Monsen GL. Photomechanics and Printing; Practical Information on Platemaking and Presswork by Recognized Procedures. Mertle Publishing Co. ; 1957.	
Murray A. The Masking Method of Color Correction Applied to Three- and Four-Color Reproduction. The Photo-Engravers Bulletin. Published online January 1934:13-21.
Yule JAC. The Theory of Subtractive Color Photography I. The Conditions for Perfect Color Rendering. Journal of the Optical Society of America. 1938;28:419-430
Yule JAC, Field GG. Principles of Color Reproduction. 2nd ed. GATFPress; 2001.
Field JAC. Color and Its Reproduction. 2nd ed. GATFPress; 1999.
An Improvement Process: Photo-Lithography in Color by an Ideal Method with Accurate Tonal Values. The National Lithographer. 1923;39:44. Accessed November 26, 2020. https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/ZTAyAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

Working Thought: Winogrand

Posted on Posted in A Symbol Life, minimum daily requirement, on photographers, webionaireTagged

while I’m working is to try to make interesting photographs, and what to do with them is another act—a later consideration. Certainly while I’m working, I want them to be as useless as possible.
Garry Winogrand

his own words, he aimed to “transform the real world into something completely different: into a distinct image.”  

“I don’t think it tells you anything about a photographer or work, in a way . . . call me instead a zoo photographer, it doesn’t make any sense to me.” Winogrand spent a brief period teaching photography at the University of Texas (1973-78). The prolific photographer began shooting as soon as he landed, taking pictures of people waiting for their flights in the Austin airport.

—-When you are twenty years old and the photography instructor begins lecturing on form versus content, or that a photograph cannot tell a story, or that there are no rules of composition, or that things are changed when you photograph them, or that a photographic print is an interpretation of the world by a camera, or that he didn’t develop his film for months or years after he shot it; things can get philosophical and confusing pretty quickly.—)( If students were taking Garry’s class to learn photographic techniques and methods, they were sorely disappointed. Garry didn’t teach much technique. That was left to the PJ side of the photography world or to his “TAs”. You have a lifetime to learn technique, he seemed to be saying, but I can teach you what is more important than technique, how to see; learn that and all you have to do afterwards is press the shutter. — Garza

[The one time I used the art department darkroom was when one of the TAs taught us how to develop Tri-X by inspection, the Winogrand way. Using dark green safelights, you let the Tri-X develop about half way then unspooled enough of it to check the density of the first few shots under the green light. Garry put yellow tabs on each roll of film that he shot that told him the lighting condition of that roll. Garry used development by inspection for every roll, and in my later classes I think Garry allowed one of the TAs to process a few rolls of his film. Garry use of inspection development was a bit different than the large view camera negatives where the technique was first pioneered. Gary used it to under develop his film to keep a printable density range (basically, keep the development “flat”). ] Garza

Bibliography

Books

  • Harris Alex, Friedlander Lee (2004) Arrivals and Departures: The Airport Pictures of Garry Winogrand, Germany. Steidl
  • Szarkowski John (1988) Winogrand Figments from the Real World, New York The Museum of Modern Art
  • Papageorge Tod (1977) Garry Winogrand Public Relations. New York The Museum of Modern Art
  • Parr Martin & Badger Gerry (2004) The Photobook: A History volume 1, London, Phaidon Press Ltd
  • Turner Peter. (1985) American Images – Photography 1945 – 1980. London, Penguin Books.
  • Green Jonathan (1984) A Critical History American Photography. New York. Harry N Abrams Inc.
  • Dyer Geoff (2005) The Ongoing Moment (2006 Edition) London, Abacus
  • Malcolm Janet (1977) Diana & Nikon Essays on Photography Expanded Edition. New York. Aperture. 
  • Sontag Susan (1977) On Photography London. Penguin
  • Barthes Roland (1980) Camera Lucida, London, Vintage
  • Hill Paul (1982) Approaching Photography (Second Edition) Lewes. Photographers Institute Press
  • La Grange Ashley (2005) Basic Critical Theory for Photographers, Oxford, Focal Press
  • Barrett Terry ( 2006) Criticizing Photographs An Introduction to Undertanding Images ( Fourth Edition). New York Mc Graw Hill
  • Wells Liz (2004) Photography: A Critical Introduction (Third Edition) 
  • Mason Resnick for Modern Photography in 1988
  • * Public Relations (2004)
  • * Figments From The Real World (2005)
  • * Arrivals & Departures: The Airport Pictures of Garry Winogrand (2003)
  • * The Man in the Crowd: The Uneasy Streets of Garry Winogrand (1999)
  • * Stock Photographs: The Fort Worth Fat Stock Show and Rodeo (1980)
  • Journals / Articles