Fine Prints

It is always fascinating to see your finished photographs hanging in an exhibition space.  Mounted, matted, framed and properly lit, they always make me ask myself, did I really do that?  This is what fine art photography is all about.  It is not about the camera, the film, the tripod, the developer. . . it is all about that finished photograph.  Do you really care what brand of saw or chisel was used to craft a piece of fine furniture?

In today’s world of here today, gone in five minutes (or less), it seems people do not appreciate, nor are they particularly interested in long-term anything.  Quickly snap a selfie, post it to social media, laugh and move quickly to the next nothing.  No one prints photographs anymore.  We are losing that engagement that comes from holding a printed image in our hands. . . or enjoying it on the wall for days, years or a lifetime.   But, as usual, I have strayed way off topic and begun to ramble.

The print is what photography is all about.  I wish I could make more prints from the negatives I have, but it is a difficult task to make fine prints.  I find that I have to be in the right mindset to print.  If I cannot clear my mind and concentrate on printing, it is nothing but an effort in futility.  I would venture to say that I print, at best, 10% of the film I shoot.  I find that after printing for several weeks off and on, that I need to take a break and look at what I have done.

During the printing process, I really don’t take a lot of time to really deeply look at what I am doing.  I have selected the negative that I believe will make an image that I will like.  I have studied it carefully, made my best selection and feel the content of the negative is sufficient to warrant printing.  At this point I am in darkroom mode; involved in the process of shape, form, light and texture.  I have a good idea of what I want in the print and I am absorbed in the process of coaxing everything I can from that finished print.  But do I really look at the print?  Not in a sense of seeing what is there. . . not in a sense of living within the finished photograph.  That comes later.  I am concentrating on getting the print done and making sure the process is completed as it should be.  

Days later, maybe even weeks later, once the print is dry and flattened, then I really get to study what I have done.  I can shuck away all that technical chatter and look objectively at the print. . . and only the print and its contents.  I like to look at the finished images and study them carefully for flaws, or mistakes I made in the darkroom.  I look carefully at the photograph and if I am happy with what I see, it is time to move to the next step.  

This is where Living With The Print begins.  We have two large cork boards illuminated with track lighting just for this purpose.  I like to pin up my finished images and look at them. . . on the wall. . . under proper illumination. . .  for an extended period of time.  How long?  Weeks; maybe multiple weeks; depends on many factors.  My wife and I both put our finished prints up and look at them. . . over some amount of time.  After a while it becomes obvious if something is not right.  Maybe the composition is just not acceptable; then discard the print, go back and try making another negative.  Maybe the printing is not what it could be; go back to the darkroom and print it again.  Maybe it just doesn’t work at all; discard the print and try something else.

These are all choices you have to make on your own.  It is up to you to determine whether your photograph is exactly what you want; or does it miss the mark?  Should it be reprinted; or should the entire idea be abandoned?  Sometimes, older negatives that didn’t make it the first time can be reprinted years later and make a more than suitable finished print.  You change. . .your vision changes. . . your skills as a printer change. . . or your idea of what you want to express may change.  Never say never!

The important thing is to Live With Your Photographs. . . that way you will know if you have been able to say what you want with your hard-earned finished work.

JB