Drugstore or Darkroom?

[photomoof]

For color work, managing color technologies throughout the entire workflow is a daunting task.

I have a woman friend who did it, she invested an unreal amount of money and time into building a proper color darkroom. It is impressive the work she came up with.

But of course when she finally got a dealer she printing way too large for her darkroom, and went to a pro.

 

[Martin Carone Santos]

I don't believe in color, so only B&W. And always make my own enlargements, in my own darkroom.

 

[Oscuro]

Dear Bill,

With regard to the camera making choices....

The more time you spend with a digital camera (as with transparency film) the more you find that you drive it to where you want. An organic internalization occurs and you find the sweet spots. Bracketing the h3ll out of it helps when things are less obvious.

I always shot slide film. So no real post even with the limited choices available in the dye-transfer/C/M etc process.... Only no, no, no, yes, no, no, no.... Selection is the edit, not manipulation.

I think with digital there may be the phenomenon where people change cameras too fast, never really finding the sweet spots as they would have had they stuck with a camera and really learned, not just the obvious technical points, but how to really drive it to where it worked for them. Just like learning how to use slide film and have the colours sing without being mud or cartoonish.

Black and white digital? All bets off, señor. Better get your tools in order if you want a good B&W print from digital.

 

[Ronald M]

Two places near my home print as well as I and I am very good. One is $.27 per 4x5 and are 95% as good as the prolab that charges >$1.

I take care to give 27 cent house a file with good black point, good WB, good histogram. Then I ask he turn off image intelligence and he knows how to do it. Prints are on real photo paper. Machines base exposure on black point.

If you think you can print yourself cheaper, lots of luck.

Add that I have never seen but a few ink prints that were any good. They look like a picture in a book, not a luminous photo.

 

[shadowfox]

Can anyone recommend a digital printing service that allows me to choose from a choice of thick paper like Hahnemuhle Rag Baryta or Awagami Bamboo and the likes?

I understand it won't be cheap, but do they exist at all?