Post 20 x 24 Contact Prints

[Joe Forks]

He should definitely think it through before he jumps, however, he should not base his decision on what others did or did not do. Sandy may have summed it up very nicely with this quote; "20X24" is pretty insane but being half crazy already I never let that bother me.". Joe only needs to justify this to himself, and his significant other if there is one. Interestingly enough, while I was standing on the ledge wondering whether to jump or not, my S.O. practically nudged me right over. I told her it was expensive, and if I screw up a shot it's 10 or 15 bucks every time, and she said "so what? You can do it, you'll figure it out, and you will grow from the experience".

I'm going to tell you the same thing, Joe. Do it. You CAN do it, and you will grow from the experience, even if it doesn't work out.

[Jay DeFehr]

Joe,

I think it's great that you're excited about a huge camera, and making huge negatives to make huge contact prints. Nothing exceeds like excess, as they say. Like Monty, it's the experience of the process that matters most to me, the final product is icing on the cake.

Regarding contact prints vs enlargements, there are important difference related simply to the printing process. When contact printing, there is no non-image-forming light on the printing paper, and no degradation due to a second optical system. Vibration during exposure is also mostly a non-issue when contact printing, but an insidious inevitability when enlarging. All these things apply equally to digital negatives contact printed. I should add in fairness, that most of these issues can be mitigated or eliminated when enlarging, so that a good enlargement can look much like a contact print. So, in the end, it's the process you enjoy the most that matters. Good luck, and have fun.

[JMB]

Thank you Joe, Jay, Pawlowski and everyone for your comments. Your thoughts have been very helpful, and I appreciate the time that each of you have taken to respond. Happy New Year.

[stefandiller]

Hello Mike,
just came opver your post. I did a lot of photography on 20x24", mostly identical twins.
After nearly stopping to do wet work in the lab I decided I must get my hands on a really big drum scanner to scan the 20x24" negatives.
I finally ended up buying two Crosfield 6250 drum scanners which can accomodate 22x30" on the large drum and scan it in 11000 (eleventhousand ;-) ) dpi. A real monster, being nearly two meters long and weighing 1400 pounds.
A 2 GB b+w file is something awesome, especially coming from a drum scanner.
I know there is (or had been at that time I did the webpages) no real way to show the beauty of the contacts via WWW, but if you like, have a look at:
http://www.zwillingsprojekt.de/html/bilder.htm

[FrancisF]

I understand that you do not really see the grandeur and benefit of an ultra large format print on a computer screen or even a glossy magazine. The real experience with these contract prints only comes from viewing the work in person. Are you planning any shows of your twin project in the USA? I would like to see your work in person.

I have read about Gary Adam's 20x24 contract print project, "Mojave Desert Photographic Project" from the 1990's. Gary Adams wrote about it in 1992 in View Camera magazine before he died. I do not think the reproductions in the magazine could do the photographs justice. I have tracked down prints in Indianapolis, Las Vegas and Nashville but have not had a chance to go to these places to view them.

Francis Fullam
Chicago, Illinois