All The Printed Horses

Bolder had a post on Monday that got me thinking. It's about printing your photos. You might want to check it out. And maybe wish him some luck as he gets ready to do another Ironman!

Anyway, printing my photos is something I've always done - from 4x6 to 16x20s. The only photos I have on the walls of my apartment are mine. Some printed by me, some printed by a friend, and some that I sent out to print (all my medium and large format slides/negatives and 35mm slides - man, I miss Velvia). My mom, sister, grandpa, and some of friends all have my photos on their walls (mostly portraits but some landscapes too). It's a great feeling to see my work on their walls.

But really what I want to talk about is back in the day when I used to print my own black and white photos. I have an enlarger to print 35 mm film and the whole set up - trays, drying racks, tongs, red light. And I used to have the various chemicals and paper too. I had holders to print 8x10s, 8x12s, and 5x7s. I only ever did black and white though. Color seemed too complicated. :)

I liked printing my own black and white photos because I could control the contrast and the cropping and the exposure. I could decide to print with a border or not. I could do some burning and dodging (though I was not really good at it). I always started out with a test print and did strips at various exposures. Then I would decide which worked best and go from there. Ansel Adams I was not, but it was fun and there were many late nights because of it!

I stopped printing for a few reasons. I have a one bedroom apartment and no counter space in the bathroom for the trays so I had to hang black cloth around a little area in my closet where I had some file cabinets. Spike ruined a couple of rolls of film and some prints by bursting in and letting light in. And once he jumped into the trays and I had to give him a bath to get the chemicals off him (and still have a scar from the ensuing fight). The local photography shop where I used to buy my supplies closed up. And I was deep in debt so I couldn't afford film and supplies as much.

I would like to print again one day. Hopefully, when/if I get a little house, I can build a darkroom in it or the garage. One that Spike can't break into. Then I could see myself printing again! :)

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