Age and an adversity to risk stop me from venturing very far up into the hills these days. I know if I did such walks would reveal some wonderful vistas of this majestic area. Yes, there are great viewpoints from the high passes which can be reached by car, but somehow it’s not quite the same as a day out fell walking followed by a pint and a pie back in the village pub nestled in the valley below.
Looking back I sometimes wish I had been a little more adventurous when age and fitness were on my side, nevertheless a less challenging walk along the shoreline of Derwentwater still comes with many rewards. There are scenes which are simply beautiful. Some might argue they truly encapsulate what the Lake District is all about. Big skies above the hills which are reflected in a large stretch of water. Assuming of course the air is still and the water calm.
These images taken of Derwentwater a few weeks ago on a rather lovely morning are well known scenes which have inspired many an artist and photographer. Witnessing for yourself the majesty of the landscape and nature at its finest, is very gratifying and good for the soul.
I would think that most photographers have been inspired by the work of Ansel Adams. I know I have. Ansel Adams was a great exponent of chiaroscuro. The art of using strong contrast in a picture where light subjects are set against a dark background or conversely dark subjects are set against a light background. When used creatively it can work so well in monochrome photography. As well as adding depth to an image, it can be used in a very impactful and dramatic way.
Over the years I think I have learned to see in black and white. To understand how a scene or particular subject will translate to monochrome. To seek out compositions which when processed make an interesting and pleasing image. I am helped of course by the camera having a black and white preview but I need to spot the potential image first, long before I reach for the shutter button.
It’s not very often that I only post a single photograph, let alone provide an explanation as to why I enjoy the result. On this occasion I considered this picture of a dead tree in its skeletal form worthy of doing so. My reasoning – well for me it’s a good example of why I love black and white photography.
The horizon line virtually splits the image in half. Light adjoins dark. The uppermost branches stand out against the bright clouds. I have used the dark areas in the sky to prevent the eye wandering outside the frame. The lower part of the tree is bathed in light, enhancing their shape, texture and form. They contrast so well with the dark background of nearby trees and hills in the distance. I like the inclusion of a building, just to the left of the trunk. This adds scale and depth to the image without it being a distraction to the main subject.
At the time of taking, I ask myself how can I process the image to best effect. Will I need to darken parts of the sky and in the case of this image, where do I place the branches of the tree to make the most pleasing composition. I would like to think the answers to all these questions have resulted in an image which you can enjoy.
I have many photography books which I probably don’t look at as often as I should. One of these books is ‘Ansel Adams – 400 Photographs’. A truly wonderful collection of his work spanning many decades. His use of light and dark, form and texture, all of which he brings together to enhance the composition. Every page is a lesson in the art of great photography and includes many examples of how chiaroscuro is used to excellent effect. A book for every photographer’s shelf.
“The negative is the equivalent of the composer’s score, and the print is the performance“
Or in this digital age, you can replace the word negative with digital or RAW file.
I can think of no better way to sum up the importance of printing your photographs. In the days of film (which still applies of course) any negative worthy of presentation was printed in the darkroom. Bathed in red light there was an air of anticipation and excitement, as the photographer gently washed developer fluid over the paper. And as if by magic the image would slowly start to appear.
The art of photography is only complete when the image appears on a sheet of photographic paper. This is when the captured image finally comes to life. You can hold it in your hand, feel the surface and weight of the paper and pass it around for others to see and enjoy. Leaving a processed image on a hard drive is no different to storing the negative strip in an envelope which never sees the light of day. In my opinion an excellent photograph, or just one of your favourites, should be printed.
In Part 4 of this series on photographic workflow I want to write about printing. This post has been delayed as I decided to buy a new printer which arrived this week and I thought it might be interesting to share with you the reasons why I chose an Epson SC-P700. I will go through how it is set up, the software I use for printing, my paper selection and lastly making the print.
( I have added the links to Parts 1, 2 and 3 of my photographic workflow at the end of the entry)
After a little research I decided the right printer for my purposes would be the Epson SC-P700. An A3+ photo printer using pigment inks. It’s quite compact and I liked its functionality. Ten or more years ago I bought an Epson 3880 A2 printer. It is still working but I don’t have the space for it in the room where I use my computer equipment. Besides my wife wanted a printer for her artwork, so I decided to treat myself.
I no longer want to print as large as A2, A3+ is plenty large enough. In additon to its reduced size and weight, perhaps the biggest advantage of the P700 over the 3880, is that it has separate ink feeds for the Photo Black and Matte Black ink cartridges. The Epson 3880 has one feed for both these cartridges. This means that whenever you want to switch between a gloss and a matte paper, the printer would have to change the feed from one cartridge to the other. It took time and in the process wasted a lot of ink.
I am still getting to know the new printer but I like the fact it has a semi-opaque top cover with a built-in light. This allows you to see the photograph as it’s being printed. It’s not as magical as being in darkroom but I enjoy it all the same. I no longer have to wait until the paper re-appears at the front of the machine to see how things are going. I also appreciate the pop up screen. It’s good quality and the touch menu is easy to navigate. Far more intuitive to use than the buttons and menu of the Epson 3880. It even gives you a historical readout of the prints you have made, the date and time it was printed and the settings used. Very useful. Time has moved on and you would expect the functions of a printer to improve and they have been with the P700.
I won’t go into any more detail about my decision making process, but I would like to thank Keith Cooper of Northlight Images for his incredibly helpful website and YouTube Channel. A commercial photographer based in the UK, what Keith doesn’t know about digital printing isn’t worth knowing. I have learned a huge amount from his insightful and very comprehensive articles and videos. There is a link below to his review of the Epson SC-P700 which includes a very useful section on how to set up the machine.
Out of the box to making my first print took me about an hour and a half. It connected to my WiFi network without any problem at all. Another big plus as I no longer have a long lead trailing across the carpet for me to trip over! Overall it was quite straightforward although I did need to delete and reinstall the Epson Print Layout software for it to recognize the printer. Once I had done this I was good to go.
One further point – having installed the ink cartridges the initialization process takes about 15 minutes and Epson are quite transparent when they say this uses quite a lot of ink. The supplied cartridges are not full of ink out of the box, so I was quite pleased to see the remaining supply levels once the printer was set up. As I will rarely be printing in colour I just bought spare cartridges of the four Black/Gray inks. There should be sufficient colour ink to last me for quite a while. Keep in mind that even a black and white print will use some of the colour ink. Epson also supplies a spare maintenance tank, as the one included fills up quite quickly during the initialization apparently.
There are many ways to print from Photoshop, Lightroom, Affinity Photo or indeed Capture One which is my preferred RAW processor. However I think the simplest solution, and it suits my workflow, is to use Epson Print Layout. You can find out more about it and download the right version for your computer and operating system here – Epson Print Layout .
From Capture One I can select an image then ‘Open with’ Epson Print Layout. I have already ‘baked in’ all my adjustments and created a Tiff file. If this is not the case then to carry any adjustments across to Epson Print Layout which have been made in Capture One I need to ‘Edit with’. From there it’s simply a case of selecting the media type, paper size and so on. I then use the Advanced B&W Photo settings which are again very straightforward to use for printing in monochrome of course. I have rarely, if ever, used an ICC Colour Profile. In my opinion it’s just not necessary to get a truly great black and white print.
Epson Print Layout Software
Before printing I had to choose the type of paper for the photos I want to print. Sounds obvious of course, but making the right choice has a significant bearing on the look of the finished photograph. There is a bewildering selection of papers from many manufacturers. They all offer a range of glossy, lustre, matte, fine art papers and the list goes on. Some have a slight texture and some are more suited to black and white than others. Test packs of various papers are useful but for the work I want to print I was looking for a paper that perhaps best mimicked a paper that would have been used in the darkroom. I selected a Baryta Paper by Canson, pictured here. (Baryta Prestige II). I have used Canson papers in the past and always liked the results. It’s quite a thick heavyweight paper at 340gsm, so it feels substantial in the hand.
Having set up the machine I ran a quick test using an ordinary sheet of plain A4 paper. I ran this through the printer just to make sure it was working correctly. This gave me the confidence to use a sheet of Canson paper for my first print. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the result.
The first print
Very happy with result
For more information about printing on Baryta type papers do watch the video below. Again it’s by Keith Cooper of Northlight Images, and is well worth sparing some of your time. So too is the video giving his advice on Advanced B&W Fine Art Printing.
The next stage, and one which presents quite a challenge, is choosing which images to print. I know this is going to prove difficult as the cost of printing can’t be ignored. I will have to be quite ruthless in my selection and only print my favourite images. I did print a lot when I was submitting pictures for club competitions or on the few occasions I was going to exhibit my work. Those days are behind me now, so I simply want to print a selection of images for my own pleasure. I could have sent them to a photo lab but I much prefer printing my work. I feel more in control of the finished result.
I intend starting with a project which has been ongoing for some time now. Images of the Dorset landscape close to where I live. I had already printed contact sheets onto sheets of A3 paper as shown below. There are 140 photographs and more are still be captured. At a little over £3 per A3 sheet, not to mention the cost of the ink, printing all of them would be a very expensive exercise! I may decide to print more than one photograph per sheet. Epson Print Layout works well in this regard as you can easily set up and save templates for repeated use.
Which ones do I choose to print?
This post is already a rather lengthy one, and I am beginning to think the topic of collation, final selection, preparation for print, presentation and storage is a subject in its own right. So there may well be a Part 5 to this Photographic workflow series.
For now I hope you have found this post interesting and if you wish to look at Parts 1, 2 and 3 here are the links below.
In all the years I have been making photographs, there have been certain locations which are deserving of the comment; ‘one day I hope to return’. The Lake District, and Buttermere in particular, definitely falls into this category and I hope you can understand why from the images you see here.
After a long interlude of twelve years, I am pleased to say that a few weeks ago I was walking along the shoreline of Buttermere once again. It was quite early in the day and although the sky was overcast, there were some bright patches of light reflecting off the surface of the water. In many respects these are ideal conditions for black and white photography.
Who knows but one day I would like to head to The Lake District again. If I do, I’ll try not leave it quite so long. After all none of us get any younger and to reach some of the best locations for photography it can involve quite a trek. Hopefully my legs will still get me there! If not these photographs and others captured during our stay will always serve as a reminder of this very beautiful place. That’s the great thing about photography. The images themselves do not have to be 10 out of 10. If all they do is bring back happy memories about a certain time and location, then pressing the shutter to record these moments is a very worthwhile thing to do.
Incidentally all these images were captured with the Leica Q3 and processed in Capture One and Nik Silver Efex Pro. After a few months in use I can truly vouch for what a great camera it is.
There will be more posts of the Lake District coming soon but in the meantime you might like to look at my Lake District Gallery Page. It shows a number of images from my previous visit to the area back in 2013.
This blog has been rather quiet recently for one very simple reason. I headed north to the Lake District and then up to Scotland for three weeks and I have now returned home. Whilst this trip was holiday first, walking and photography were the draw to head north to some of my favourite destinations.
In the past I would have taken a laptop with me and started editing and processing ‘on the hoof’ so to speak. But on this occasion I decided I would wait until I returned home. In some ways it would extend the holiday, as I could look forward to downloading the images and seeing what I had captured for the first time. Yes I could view them on the back of the camera but they look very different on a large monitor. I also think there is something to be said for allowing time for the images to gestate before any processing is undertaken. I have heard of some photographers who will wait months or even years before they edit a photograph. I am not that patient, but I do believe waiting a few weeks is beneficial. You approach the image afresh, perhaps seeing something in the picture which wasn’t immediately evident at the time the shutter was pressed. I do think a little time results in a better photograph.
The image above is of Derwentwater in the Lake District. It’s a scene I remember taking and I was keen to process the image. There will be many more of course, so as I work through the files, I am looking forward to sharing some of these with you in the coming weeks.
alan frost photography 