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Terrific!!!'bottle' - a7rII / Zeiss 135 APO
________________________QUOTE: "On a more serious/curious note, I'm curious to know what paper you would print these on eventually...I'm guessing a warm cotton rag type as opposed to some bright white glossy coated type.
About a decade ago I tried to emulate as far as I could that is, some of the old photographic printing processes and experimented with different types of digital matt art papers (mainly cotton rag etc...) I found that the image sat to close to the surface and was not to my liking at all!..although the D-max was good the images lacked any depth and any feeling IMHO ...I then moved away from convention experimenting with a few non digital art papers textured and smooth...The papers D-Max obviously was somewhat reduced and some papers suffered terribly from the ink spreading (bleeding sideways and too deep down into the fibrous pores of the paper) and some just gave you muddy looking prints but some papers responded really quite well as long as you got the ink nozzle head as close to the paper as possible...I then went back to Digital Art papers experimenting with pre-soaking the paper in a very dilute solution of a surfactant "Tween 20" https://www.bostick-sullivan.com/articles/tween20.html this meant I had to print slightly darker to allow for more of the ink to be absorbed into the papers pores to keep a decent D-max of the paper...Bottom line was I got distracted and went back to making digital negatives and hand coating papers in combination with different light sensitive solutions...Anyway I'm following with interest what you are doing...On the screen some of those images have a lovely feel to them, much to my liking...Cheers Barry" :QUOTE
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I hope, Barry, we aren't conducting a purely private conversation, which wouldn't belong on a 'Fun with..." thread. But on the other hand, Sony images, especially with new sensor, are so detailed that just posting on the web can't do them justice; they need printing for all their richness to be revealed, and that should be of interest to others who are having their 'fun' here.
For color, I print as before on Harman Gloss Baryta paper, though most of my colleagues seem to have shifted to Canson. I still have lots of the Harman on hand. My wide-format Canon printer sits idle because I see improved resolution with the new Epson P800. With these files, it does make a difference.
But your question was about BW printing of hi-res (Sony) files. I'm in the midst of printing a book of screwpost-bound archival prints – a form that allows removal of individual images for framing. One goal was to come as close as possible to 'f64' technique via digital processes. A friend who's a color management consultant helped with tests of papers and printing techniques (short of Piezography), and we found that after all the DMax measurements, the greater problem was metamerism in BW printing with Epson inks. We came up with an odd solution that suits this book, but I won't go into it here. I ended up using Moab Entrada paper, which can be special-ordered in a bookbinding format. This is definitely not a high DMax paper, but the eye quickly adjusts, when looking at a book, to 'calling' the darkest tones black, even when they're not. Differences in DMax show up mostly on the wall in group exhibitions, where you can see the difference between one printing style and another. Otherwise the eye accepts the darkest tone as faux black.
The point about Sony (and Leica Monochrom) files is that a they have almost contact-print detail in not-too-large prints. Regarding tonal range, I sometimes used Tony Kuiper's (or Kuyper's?) Zone System masks, which allow fairly subtle modifications of the tonal range. His Zones don't correspond exactly to A. Adams's, but it's easy to compensate. The technique is much more flexible than darkroom printing!
For this little 'digital Pictorialism' experiment, I've begun printing on Epson's Velvet Fine Art textured paper (RGB files with a boost to R and Y for sepia tone). This paper was a favorite with landscape photographers in early digital printing days. Again, it's not an especially high in DMax paper; but when I look at vintage prints prior to the 1930s, they don't rely on deep blacks. (When Weston discovered chlorobromide papers, he said these were what he'd always hoped for; but Pictorialism came before this discovery.)
Sorry if this has wandered off-topic or is out-of-place,
Kirk
PS to Pegelli: I will investigate Brenizer technique!
PPS: All of this is new to me – until about two years ago, I just did color street photography. Reverting to ancient techniques in old age.
Here is another one taken at the same time looking in the other direction (north, roughly). This one at 1/40th sec, f14 at 22mm, also hand held (love that image stabilization).A7RII, 16~35mm Zeiss FE lens at 16mm, ISO 400, 1/50 sec at f8 hand held.
Dave in NJView attachment 115736