Emerging Flower and Hostas

Posted on Jun 30, 2013 in black & white, photography

I found a little gem at the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery in Keene earlier today. They had a signed, silver gelatin print of “Frosted Window No. Two” by Paul Caponigro on display as part of the Expressive Voice: Landscape of Emotion exhibit. There were also a number of other silver-gelatin prints on display within the exhibit.

Seeing these prints made me realize that while I have been targeting the silver gelatin look in my digital editing, I have not been out looking at real silver gelatin prints to get a good sense of what to look for. I need to do this more often. I am inspired to start working in black and white again. I have never felt completely at home with color photography, so this may be a good opportunity to narrow my focus and specialize.

When editing black and white photos digitally, I need to think “smooth” instead of “harsh.” And yes, I do know that the best way to get the look of film is to actually shoot film. However, after doing just that for a period of time late last year it became clear to me that a digital workflow better suits me. If you are going to shoot film, you really should print in the darkroom to get the full benefit.

Black and white photo of an emerging hosta flower

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