Photo Synthesis- Multimedia DVD-ROM

Why not consider the Photo Synthesis- Multimedia DVD-ROM for the photography enthusiast on your holiday gift list?

The Photo Synthesis Multimedia DVD-ROM (PDF-based and compatible with Mac or PC computers) is divided into four main sections comprising Images, Interviews, a half-hour HD Video presentation, and the complete Photo Synthesis book.

Included are over 90 color images from the series: Photo Synthesis, together with two separate interviews of Witherill (a 58 minute audio interview conducted by LensWork editor: Brooks Jensen, and a written interview conducted by CPA Board President: Jim Kasson). Also included is a 33-minute featured HD video presentation titled: Photo Synthesis: Genesis of a Working Process. And finally, the complete Photo Synthesis book (in PDF form) is also included. All for only $24.

For additional information or to order your copy please click the following link:

Photo Synthesis Multimedia DVD-ROM

New Introductory Print Specials

Don’t miss the latest print offerings on the Introductory Print Specials page.

For a limited time only, 11”x14” prints of the pigment ink editions shown below are available for only $140.00 each. That’s over 50% below the retail price! And free shipping is included.

What are IPS Prints?

Introductory Print Specials (IPS) feature an ongoing program of selected pigment ink print editions which are offered through the HuntingtonWitherill.com web site at over 50% below the retail prices. Each IPS print is culled from the regular limited edition, is signed and numbered, and is printed on an over-sized sheet. IPS prints are not mounted or over-matted. Each loose print is rolled and shipped in a sturdy mailing tube. And the $140.00 price includes free shipping within the USA.

This ongoing offer applies only to the two images currently posted on the Introductory Print Specials page at HuntingtonWitherill.com. Each offering will be available for a limited time only and there will never be more than two (2) editioned images available as IPS prints at any given time. Each time new work is introduced to the web site, new IPS offerings will be posted and will replace the previous offerings. Once an image has been removed from the Introductory Print Specials page it will not be re-introduced to the IPS program at a later time and standard retail prices will apply for the remainder of the edition.

For more details about the current IPS offerings, click here.

No Substitutions, Please! (continued from above)

I can't tell you how many times the following lament has been brought to my attention by photographers who (quite often) are in the early stages of working with digital processes. It goes something like this: My inkjet prints don't match my silver gelatin prints. Can you tell me how I can get them to better match? I can't seem to get the same depth that I am able to get with my silver prints. As an aside, I've received four such similar e-mail inquiries over just the past two weeks (which probably explains the reason for my own lamenting, herein.)

Most often I respond to this inquiry by acknowledging that I personally have never felt the need to produce an inkjet print that, in any way, attempts to match a silver gelatin print. Actually, in a conscious effort to help short-circuit some of the lingering negative perceptions about digital photography (particularly with respect to the unintended deception problem I alluded to above) I've always endeavored to produce inkjet prints that feature the best inherent qualities that the inkjet printing process has to offer. I pay no attention to the idea of trying to get my prints to match any other specific photographic process. Why do I do this? It's because I firmly believe that digital printing processes (when carried out with appropriate skill and finesse) are quite capable of displaying every aspect of the aesthetic and creative potential of any photographic vision. As such, inkjet prints are deserving of no apology and/or excuse.

Are inkjet prints different than silver gelatin prints? Absolutely! Inkjet prints are as different from silver prints as silver prints are from platinum prints. And that is precisely why it makes little sense to try to match any one process using another. A horse that tries to be a camel is neither!

Now, if you continue to find that you are unable to acheive a level of "depth" in your inkjet prints – that you were able to acheive with your silver gelain prints – it may well be that you are simply using a printing paper that is incapable of producing the intense black you desire. In terms of Dmax, inkjet printing papers vary widely (just as Dmax varies with silver gelatin papers). If the "blackest black" (the highest Dmax) is your primary objective in making photographic prints, inkjet prints can be made using certain glossy papers (Harman Glossy Baryta Paper, by Hahnemuhle, is a good example) that are capable of producing blacks with a Dmax of 2.3. Most silver gelatin prints pale by comparison with a Dmax of 2.1. (Don't forget that Dmax figures are calculated logarithmically, just like the Richter Scale is when used for measuring earthquake intensity.) Therefore, it is entirely reasonable to conclude that inkjet prints are actually capable of blacker blacks, than are silver gelatin prints. Nevertheless, this "blackest black" dilemma has also remained a non-issue for me, personally. I've never felt that having the blackest possible black was necessarily the ultimate benchmark by which to measure the success or failure of a photograph.

I personally use matte papers for both my black and white, and color work. (Currently I am using Hahnemuhle Photo Rag, bright white, 309 gsm.) By the way, the Dmax of Hahnemuhle Photo Rag is considerably less than 2.1, at around 1.7-1.8. However, with the extensive control available when using image editing software, localized contrast in both the shadows and highlights can be increased so that the appearance of a print's overall contrast range is visually enhanced, while simultaneously producing a perceptible increase in the amount of detail in both the shadows and highlights. This is, essentially, a good part of what George DeWolfe so eloquently details within his book: Creating the Digital Master Print. (Lark Publishing, 2009).

Suffice it to say, successful photographs are a function of many factors that venture well beyond the basic reflective density measurements found in the print. And frankly, I've yet to hear of any photograph that was ever judged to be successful based solely upon the fact that the print itself was visibly indistinguishable from some other entirely different printing process. It's always been my contention that, ultimately, the success (or failure) of any photograph has very little to do with the specific tools, materials and methods that were used in the production of the photograph, itself.

Are inkjet prints somehow better than silver gelatin prints? Of course not! They're simply different.

Huntington Witherill

Comments and Suggestions

Do you have any comments, ideas and/or suggestions about how to improve the e•musings newsletter? If so, don’t hesitate to contact me via the link provided below. All serious ideas for improving, changing and/or expanding e•musings content will be given consideration. Thank you!

Contact

Free Subscription

Would you like to receive e-mail notification of upcoming issues of the e•musings newsletter? If you have not previously been receiving Huntington Witherill’s email announcements and would like to receive announcements of future issues of this newsletter and occasional announcements of upcoming exhibitions and workshops, simply click here to sign up. If you have been receiving previous email announcements from HuntingtonWitherill.com, you needn’t sign up as you will continue to receive e-mail announcements.

And of course, if you prefer not to receive future mailings from HuntingtonWitherill.com, you can simply click the “SafeUnsubscirbe” link located at the bottom of any e-mail announcement.

Thank you!