Re: shadow density in zone III

Etienne Garbaux wrote:
> It has long been my observation that the print density values of most Pt,
> Pt/Pd, and Pd prints I see in galleries (and for that matter, prints made
> with most of the iron-based processes) do not reach either paper white or a
> Dmax greater than 1.3, which is what I would get with my printing methods
> and negatives with a DR of 1.8 or so. Interestingly, many Pt prints from
> the heyday of Pt have a full density scale rather than the abbreviated
> scale so common today. I have always assumed that modern Pt practitioners
> want their prints to look very different from S-G prints for marketing
> reasons (if it were an artistic choice, it seems suspicious that all and
> only modern alt printers would share it). Could it just be that the
> "common wisdom" of making negs with a DR of 1.8 - 2.0 for Pt (and other
> iron-based processes) has become so enshrined that it has replaced testing?

I really had to go beck and respond to this.

I think a possible reason could be that, as with many processes, Pt/Pd
is fairly easy to do and get a print, but requires a lot of practice and
control to do well. I would say that the majority of those weak prints
you have observed are just that. Unfortunately they will likely still
sell in galleries just because they are Pt/Pd. Fortunately there are
many photographers printing in Pt/Pd who do know what they are doing and
produce excellent prints. Just how many of those weak print are done
that way intentionally is anyone guess.

-- 
Jeffrey D. Mathias
http://home.att.net/~jeffrey.d.mathias/