A hybrid photography workflow at a high level

Given a basic hybrid photo workflow, we start with inspiration, select equipment that has some synergy with the burning thought and capture the image to film. We make some more decisions about the analog to digital conversion – selecting a film developer to which settings to apply while scanning. Finally we manage the new asset and export it for the web or print. Its this last step that I have been so dull on.

Photo technique magazine has had a great series of articles that got me thinking about how part of the hybrid photo journey is going to have to deal with the print – and there are so many options! There is everything from turning the digital image into a negative and doing traditional wet prints, to alternative processes to digital chromogenic prints to inkjet. Then you realize on the last one – inkjet – there are even more ways to craft the print!

The Modern Alchemist: Collodio-Chloride Printing-Out Paper, Bill Westheimer, November/December 2011

The Artisan Approach to Inkjet Printing, Wendy Erickson, January/February 2011

Creating Digital Paper Negatives by Chris Woodhouse, March/April 2010

Chromoskedasic Printing by Christina Z. Anderson, May/June 2010

There is of course the injet substrate decision – is it going to be a canvas or Hahnemühle photo rag or some other destination? Are you printing or are you sending it out to someone else? Good printers can be expensive, not to mention the inks and papers and the likely spoilage of these consumables. If you send it out will they get what you are looking to do or is it fire and forget.

The November / December 2011 issue of View Camera showcases an article by Jon Cone, The State of the Art in Black and White Inkjet Printing. A form of that content appears to also be available at The Agnostic Print. What you learn is that Piezography K7 rocks Epson’s Ultrachrome K3 inks. Its not even a close call. So those photo finishing houses offering you an expensive black and white print on Hahnemuhle are giving you less than your image could be. It is true that the printer manufacturers need to contend with creating amazing color prints and to that they focus. However, if you want the best in black and white printing and thought the latest Epson did the trick you have some work ahead of you. The good news is that Piezography has done most of the work for you. What is clear to me is that going down this path is a rabbit hole I may not emerge from. Consider all the work it takes to just create the image, add the hybrid photo approach and now print making to the process. How can you not want to be the print maker when it has so much to contribute to the end product?

Regardless of  how the print is made, it seems to me that part of closing the loop of hybrid photography is getting the image out of the machine and into the world. The journey expands to what it takes to gain satisfaction from the print.

For the longest time my vision was to shoot the mixer like a product – white background, studio lighting, the works. For more interest I chose to use the glass block window in my dining room. It offered a second light source to the natural window light, back lighting the blender. Moreover, it offered a more structured grid pattern to juxtapose the curves of the mixer.

Photo shoot setup for Gilchrist No. 22

Equipment:

• Mamiya RZ67 ProII with Mamiya SEKOR-Z 110mm f2.8
• Ilford Delta 400; exposure compensation +1 at the meter; 2 sec exposures @ f8 / f5.6
• Tripod, double shutter release and bellows set to 110

Development:

• Pushed 1 stop with Ilford Ilfotech DD-X 1:4 using 4-6 inversions at the top of every minute
• Stop bath for 30sec
• Five minute fix using Ilford Rapid Fixer 1:4
• Water wash for 5 minutes
• Ilfotol rinse for 5 minutes
• Hang dry after film squeegee
• Cut in pairs and sleeves using lint free gloves

Scanning:

• Nikon 9000 ED
• NikonScan
• Scan Science wet scan

Seven of the ten shots were worth further review. About half needed considerable touch up to remove air bubbles caught by the fluid and film.

Lesson 1: Do not develop and then scan immediately. The film is not as flat as it should be causing the edges of the film to lift and air to form pockets.

Lesson 2: Slight surface tension, by applying tape to the edges of the glass and holder, can correct the introduction of bubbles.

The thin grip tape that lines the sides of the Nikon negative holder began the wrinkle, likely due to the slight overflow of Lumina from the mount. From what I can tell this did not have any effect on the scan, possibly do to the ability to focus the scanner. Regardless, the ripples seemed minimal and depressed with the weight of the glass mount.

Once the final scans were complete I imported them into Adobe Lightroom 2 as my digital negatives, performed basic adjustments and then edited the visual defects (dust, bubbles etc) in Adobe Photoshop. Adobe Lightroom 2 offers spot removal, but slows with the number of spots and does not do nearly as good a job as the healing brush in Photoshop. Finally, back in Lightroom to add the final polish.

As a test, I ordered 8×10 inch glossy prints on Fujicolor Crystal Archive paper. The images were exported as JPEG, highest quality, 300ppi and sent to myPhotopipe.com to get printed on their Noritsu or Chromira printers. The results were striking – the quality was  superb and clearly much larger prints could be made with minimal quality loss. Another excellent activity for a follow-on post.

Screen shot of the ASMP website focusing on registration counts

If I were a commercial photographer, registering the copyright as part of a shoot would really be an obvious thing. Since I currently do not have a steady cash flow from my personal work, I wait to register with the copyright office – yes I am being cheap! Some people register every quarter and this year I plan to register twice.

Some argue that if you are not currently making money with your work, that sharing it is more important than protecting it. Despite my experience, that it has stifled my recent expression, it does not have to. If you plan ahead you get all of the freedom and protection. Register before you publish.