Printing the Image - Head Cleaning Edition
As those of you who follow the blog know all too well, one of the things Ann and I have really come to enjoy is printing our photographs. A really nice image that is well printed looks so good on paper . . . it’s hard to describe. Unfortunately, with the move and getting our Dutch residency secured, getting the bimobil inspected, titled and plated, and then our trip, we haven’t had much time to actually take printing seriously. Then there’s the fact that we haven’t even made any real trips for way too long given the Portugal bimobil plating fiasco, which means very little new “work” to want to see printed (it’s tough always going back to old images - creating new images (and then developing and printing them) is way better).
All of that is just an excuse to say we’re not printing as much as we should and, once again, we were needing to run some ink through the printer (so the very expensive print heads don’t clog) before a trip, because this time we are going to be away for awhile.
As I was thinking about what I wanted to develop and print (because I wanted to take at least a bit of time for the pleasure of developing an image), I decided that given our time away, I really should be looking at using the broadest range of ink colors and tones possible. My mind immediately thought of a couple of images from our trip to Munich when we did final sign-off on the bimobil.
The first one is an image I made while wandering around with the loaner Leica M11. (If anyone wants to gift me a Leica M11 with a 35mm or 50 mm Summilux, or heck, even a Summicron, I’d be very thankful. It could even be the rumored M11 Monochrom; I wouldn’t mind.). The image is, in a word, . . . colorful. In a 1960’s sort of way. Exactly what I wanted to make sure that at least some of each of the various color inks flow through the ink-jet heads. (I think that magenta head got a real workout with this image.) I was also pretty confident that Ann’s selected image would involve colors in a more natural color spectrum.
I printed the image on a glossier paper so that the colors and reflections would jump out of the page. It worked. And the M11’s 60MP sensor (and the lovely optics, a 35mm Summicron) renders a surprising amount of detail even in the more abstract portions of the image. It’s a lovely complex and colorful image. But don’t expect me to start shooting fashion any time soon. It’s hard for me not to laugh just looking at those . . . shoes?!? Can one even walk in those?
The second image I selected is a black and white image that easily has a complete range of tones in it. In fact, there really is only tones, textures and graphic elements to it.
While normally I’d print an image like this on glossy paper to make the blacks jump out, I consciously decided to print it on a matte fiber paper. The reason for that is that the printer has two types of black inks - one for glossy paper, one for matte paper. The black . . . shoes . . . from the first print got the glossy black ink flowing through the print heads; this one gets the matte black ink flowing.
And even though the matte paper means one doesn’t get the dynamic range from black to white that you get from glossy paper (both of which are way less than you get from a monitor), the image has a lovely tonal quality that captivates the eye. Best of all, despite the fact that the image is in black and white, there is a real visual difference in materials on the wall - corrugated concrete of the building is distinct from the wavy metal barriers by the windows, which is different from the sunscreen to the right. Not to mention the different metals from the window/door framing and the windows/doors themselves. It’s a gem of an image when you hold it in your hands.
Ann’s selections are gems as well.
Ann took a slightly different approach than I did. While I was planning my road trip with Len (I have received some distinct opinions disliking my name for the road trip, but no formal recommendations for what I should call it), Ann was going through her past images to think about places she’d like to visit with her camera while she’s back in Oregon. She also looked at our last big road trip out west and found a couple others that she wanted to work on. In the end she asked me to pick the best 2 of the 5. I couldn’t so, we printed 5 images for Ann.
The first is an image from Seal Rock. It’s a deceptively appealing location because while it is pretty much a standard road-side stop for tourists, in the right light and with the right tide, it can be an amazing photography location too. This time, the light was just right.
As I noted above, there is something special about good photographic prints. And while images can look amazing on a monitor, this print reminded me just how powerful a print can be. The rock face in the print is stunning. From the coloring, the textures and the details, the rock dominates the print frame in a way that seems lost on the monitor. And that simply makes the reflection even more powerful in print than on screen. And, of course, the sea gull pops out in vivid detail, alive in a way that is lacking the way you’re looking at it now. Believe me, it’s a lovely print!
The second image is from the Painted Hills. From one side of Oregon to the other. This was an image Ann wasn’t sure she wanted to print. But the fact that she kept returning to it over the years meant that she really had to (or at least I thought so). One of the “problems” with the image is that the image doesn’t look real. It isn’t a quality from this image in particular, all of the images Ann and I made that weekend really didn’t look real. We’re not quite sure why, but it was following a heavy period of rain, where many of the hills had started to slump from too much moisture. Perhaps the combination of wet hills (not the way they usually are) and the light caused it, or the exceptional green landscape (also unusual for this area). Either way, there is something odd about the image.
We decided to print it on a matte surface to try to downplay the strange vibrancy in some of the colors (where it’s lacking in other colors). And it worked.
Again, the print is better than the screen image. It doesn’t look fake, and you can really see the wealth of texture throughout the landscape. Even better, in the print you see the alternating cool - warm - cool - warm - cool lighting on the landscape, as well as various lines that seem to appear out of nowhere, that gives the image a real sense of depth. I think we made the right paper choice for this one.
Ann’s next image is also from the Painted Hills, this time of a more commonly seen location. Here, Ann is at her usual best using light and lines to lead you through an image. The light was so low and stark that the color oddities don’t jump out as much, but if you look closely on the foreground hills, particularly the lit one on the left, you’ll see the slumping (almost melting) of the hills from the unusually wet winter. Again, even though we printed this on glossy paper, it looks natural.
Not only does the foreground glow, separating the foreground from the in-shadow mid-ground, that ridge to the left, that transitions from lit to a dark line (with the in-shadow far ridge behind) seems to lift from the page. The wonder of this print is the subtle play of light that reveals shapes and forms in the landscape. Fantastic!
Ann’s last two images came from our 2019 trip to Zion National Park. It is, unfortunately, one of the locations that got dropped from Len and my travel list. As wonderful a place as it is, it requires not only a scheduled permit to enter the park on a particular day at a particular time, getting around the park is by bus only. And since I’m not familiar with a lot of possibilities there, it was too restrictive to make the cut. Now, give us an opportunity to be there for a full week in October or November, well then it might have been in contention . . . but it isn’t.
This is an image that Ann, again, wasn’t sure about. She liked the stillness of it, and how it really does represent an aspect of Zion if you can get away from the crowds (and ignore the near-by road noise). Her concern about the image was the foreground gravel bar.
I was with her on that, but I suggested she try to print it on the matte fine art paper (like that Painted Hills print), to maybe reflect the dryness of the area. Again, the print exceeded all expectations and reveals things that are missing from the monitor. The roots on the tree to the left, just jump out, as do the textures of the trees in the background. They have a depth to them unseen on screen. And the gravel bar comes to life with textures of grasses and rocks that seem to just blend into a . . . textured mush when viewed on the monitor. The bar tells of different river conditions and of life trying to grab hold in such a dynamic environment.
Again, it’s an amazing print. An image that would have left much unappreciated (at least to my eye) without having seen it on paper.
Ann’s last image was a black and white image from Zion. This time we went with glossy paper (to give that glossy black in a good workout). It’s a reminder of just how lovely and sculptural black and white landscape images can be. I’ll just shut my mouth and let you enjoy it - there is so much to enjoy.
Well, that was it from our latest printing session.
With any luck, Ann and I will have new images to develop and to print from our trip back to the states. Stay tuned!