Q: Why do you still print using an enlarger instead of inkjet printers?
A: Because to me, printing with an enlarger in the darkroom is what ultimately makes photography a craft. A craft demands concentration, hands-eye coordination *and* timing, there is no stopping in the middle then pick it up the next time. You just have to finish what you start in a specific amount of time. It’s also a one way street.
What these do to the practitioner is enforcing his/her discipline and sharpening the focus. It is a completely different attitude and mentality than using a computer and inkjet printer.
Q: Are you saying that darkroom printing is superior to inkjet printing?
A: Absolutely not. One good analogy would be a comparison between the art of calligraphy versus writing a book. Both are capable of producing incredible results, but the approach and the discipline involved are very different.
Darkroom printing is like calligraphy, it demands full concentration; one second too fast or too late in any direction, and you end up with a mess. Also, to a large degree, the results are unique. Each darkroom print is not exactly the same as the others even when they are produced from a single negative. Especially when it involves complex dodging, burning, and split grading sequences.
On the other hand, writing a book is similar to printing digitally, you can save your work anytime in Lightroom or Photoshop and pick it up the next day. And barring negligible condition of the printer (inkjet or any other technology), the results from a digital workflow will be exactly the same every single time.
Q: As the recipient of the print, why should it matter to me whether the photograph is printed in the darkroom or digitally?
A: It depends on whether you distinguish between handcrafted versus machine-produced prints. Most people value handcrafted items more than those produced by a machine because of their unique quality, but some don’t. You decide either as a photographer or a patron.
Q: I’ve been wondering about that term: “patron” What exactly is a patron?
A: Traditionally, a patron is a person who supports an artist’s work (and sometimes his/her living too). In return, the artist produces art pieces for the patron or for the cause that the patron is passionate for. It is a wonderful and mutually beneficial relationship. Not too many of them out there nowadays, at least not that I know of.
Q: By the way, what is that Google search bar doing at the bottom of this website?
A: That Google search is tailored to look for result within online resources that I determined beforehand. It is not the same as the Google search bar anywhere else. I hand-picked these online resources because they are useful to anyone who are curious about B&W photography in general. Over time, I will be adding more useful websites to make this search bar even more useful.
