Re: josef sudek

[etienne garbaux <photographeur@nerdshack.com>]

Chris wrote:

> I just finished researching a delightful book of Josef Sudek's 
> Pigment Prints.  I have always liked his work--a darkish 
> pictorialism with a bent of odd--and when I saw this book I had our 
> university library buy it (it is pretty expensive).
>
> What I thought was a book about gum prints was in fact what I then 
> thought was a book of carbon prints and then I think I have come to 
> believe is really a book of carbro prints, if the author of the 
> article in the book is correct--that Sudek exposed a bromide print, 
> and then put the tissue in contact with it as per the quote 
> below.  So I think I am correct in defining this as "carbro" and not 
> some other such process though I am not sure because the process was 
> not named.  I bet someone on the list can say for sure.
Sudek (who is one of my very favorite photographers) did make carbro 
prints.  I believe he also made some straight carbon prints from 5x7 
and smaller negatives.  The virtue of carbro is that it can produce 
an enlarged carbon (or generically, pigment) print with familiar 
darkroom procedures (as opposed to enlarged internegatives, which are 
more of a hassle).  Personally, I do not find most carbro prints up 
to the standard of "real" carbon prints made from in-camera 
negatives, but then the two processes aren't really aimed at the same 
negative-producers, so it's usually an apples-to-oranges 
comparison.  And some stunning three- and four-color carbros were 
made back in the day, when it was one of the first available 
high-quality color printing processes.

Best regards,

etienne