Hi Edward,
Well, in my first image (woman on beach), I dodged substantial areas
during the highlight print; if one did not separate the highlight and
shadow exposure, it would be very very difficult to achieve the same
effect. I do agree, that if one does not dodge/burn, then one can
always achieve the same thing with a straight print. However, split-
grade printing completely takes the guesswork out of the printing
process, where one no longer has to "guess" a starting grade by
assessing the negative, and then do subsequent prints on other grades
until one is happy.
I am not saying that I do not adjust for subsequent prints (for
effect), but the process I follow *guarantees* a technically
sufficient / 'correct' (whatever that means, but I see it in terms of
dynamic range) print with two test strips, and then you can take it
from there. I do not disagree that there are MUCH nicer fixed-grade
papers, but it seems many of them have disappeared in anyway, and I
don't think I am experienced enough yet to become a paper snob, I am
perfectly happy with the standard medium-weight RC paper I am using at
this stage.
The other advantage of RC paper for me at this stage is time - I can
only print for about 30mins to an hour at a time, and the long washing
times of FB paper (especially with subsequent toning) would make my
much less productive during what I consider to still be a learning
phase.
thanks for looking,
Dawid
On 20 Jul 2009, at 3:38 PM, Sawyer, Edward wrote:
> Nice B&W prints Dawid, but what about these could not be done w/
> normal graded paper printing? E.g. what does split-tone (split-
> contrast, basically, right?) add that you can't get via normal
> printing? I've done it in the past but not for 20 yrs or so (multi-
> contrast B&W printing via different filters) and my conclusions then
> was that it wasn't really worth the trouble, I could get the details
> where I needed it via other methods usually. Plus I didn't like
> having to deal with multi-grade paper if I could help it (preferred
> the graded-versions of Seagull G, Galerie, et al). Would be willing
> to revisit that conclusion if it's warranted though.
>
> To me the lack of decent FB multigrade papers would be enough of a
> turnoff in general, possibly...
>
> Thanks for sharing
> -Ed
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