Hi from Cornwall

Scouter

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Hi my name is Christopher Smith I live in Falmouth Cornwall and am a avid camera collector and amateur photographer and I have just recently picked up a Sinar F with a Schneider Symmar-S f5.6 150mm lens so not new to photography but new to large format. I develop my own B@W negs and I can print as well but unfortunately I don't have room for a Darkroom at the moment so I scan with a Epson Perfection 3200 Photo Pro. I will have lots of questions to ask.
 
Hi Chris and welcome. I assume are you're the Chris coming to Dartmoor in about 3 weeks who I met in October :D

Ian
 
Welcome to the forum, Christopher!
 
Welcome.
Ask away. You will find the answer to almost everything. You might even find several answers. I'm sure you'll have answers for other members too.
 
… unfortunately I don't have room for a Darkroom at the moment so I scan with a Epson Perfection 3200 Photo Pro

I don't have room for a printing darkroom either and, quite frankly, I don't have the inclination to go back in time to the days when I did my own "wet" printing.

Nowadays, I scan my negs on an Epson V700 and use Photoshop to do the dodging and burning stuff. Selectively altering contrast with curve layers, gives stupendous results and, if I really want a genuine silver print, I just send off the file to Ilford for them to print on their laser thingy.

There are some purists who would argue that it isn't the "real thing™" but I have had experienced photographers and others all saying that they could not tell the difference on a framed print.

What is more, I have worked out an extended Zone System that allows me to recover a far greater range of tonal values from a scanned negative than I could ever do in the darkroom. I even got a more than reasonable scan from a neg that was unintentionally under-exposed by 4 stops !
 
I suppose purists are as entitled to their own views as we are. As long as everyone is clear about where we have set our boundaries* there should be no problem. On the other hand, we are all human, so perhaps some friction is inevitable.
As an example of useful tolerance, this is a forum for large format photography, but I've seen no complaints about the occasional introduction of work in other formats, and I hope it stays that way.

Joanna, are you able to share your Four-Stop Secrets or would you have to kill us all afterwards? Perhaps in a new thread, as this is the Hello section and this thread belongs to Christopher.

*I always feel uneasy about images modified with ready-made presets. Others may feel differently.
 
There are some purists who would argue that it isn't the "real thing™"
When we re-present reality via such a route, I don't see (but then I don't see normally) what 'the real thing' is all about. Does your methodology with your large format workflow work for you? SOLD! Chris, with your scanner and Sinar and Schneider, does it work for you? SOLD! Everyone a winner, but the competition is within ourselves, not each other. Make your own images, the way you want to, to produce a result with which you are pleased.
Welcome to the forum.
 
When we re-present reality via such a route, I don't see (but then I don't see normally) what 'the real thing' is all about. Does your methodology with your large format workflow work for you? SOLD! Chris, with your scanner and Sinar and Schneider, does it work for you? SOLD! Everyone a winner, but the competition is within ourselves, not each other. Make your own images, the way you want to, to produce a result with which you are pleased.

That's fairly much what I am trying to say - with the reassurance to Chris that, just because he doesn't have a printing darkroom, doesn't mean he cannot produce stonking prints that people would love to own.

A little cynically, we should not forget those who see our prints for sale for £300 or so and who say, "I could get the same thing at IKEA for only £50" :rolleyes: At which point, you do sometimes begin to wonder why you are even bothering to progress beyond the smartphone camera o_O
 
Well, when IKEA sell a print, one photographer has been very well paid for it. And you get a frame... And a Long Stand.

Anything that produces the result is fine. Some people do wax a bit evangelical about their own preferences, but it's not only the fundamentalist darkroomers. And why not? We are all entitled to argue our case, as long as we remain civil.

I do believe that it's beneficial for all photographers to have had some experience of the darkroom. Many current students of photography seem to agree. I suggest that all fundamentalist darkroom users should have some experience of digital work too. It might stop them chanting their mantra: "You just press a button." Can't think of a way to cure them of saying "It has no soul." Exorcism?

See what you've started, Christopher? Welcome again.
 
A bit late perhaps, but welcome from me as well. I have a darkroom, but only use it these days to load film holder and developing tanks. Plus it holds my Epson printer. I used to use an Epson 3200 scanner, and my early large format scans were made with it. I've never seen any need to rescan them. A few years ago when I first started the scan and inkjet route, black and white inkjet prints were terrible (to my eyes). With modern equipment, my inkjet prints are superior to my wet ones, which is a good enough reason for me to sideline the enlargers.
 
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