Let me first say that I like Michael's, and Paula's, images very much. But I also have seen pretty much straight prints from them both. Not much change in what was there to begin with. The prints represent the tonalities that existed in the scene withoput much change in printing. I may be wrong, and please reply and set me straight if this assumption is wrong, but after looking at a whole lot of your prints Micheal, I think I understand your puzzlement of why Sexton takes longer to make a final print than you do. Where Michaels prints are fairly literal interpretations of the scene as it was, Sexton's prints are non literal, heavily manipulated interpretations of the tonalities that existed in the original scene. Having seen him make prints from new negatives, and having seen the sites he has photographed, the prints of these scenes are heavily changed. And this is even more so in his recent images in his book "Places of Power". The tonalities of the scene are changed. He uses the zone system to get a negative that will give him the information he needs to then proceed to develop the print as he wants it to be and not how it really appeared. If you saw some of the ruins in person he has photographed, and then looked at the prints that have been made of these ruins, you would see the differences he makes through the printing controls he employees to get the print and feeling he is after. The original scene and it's appearance in the print are two very different things. I think this is where Robert is coming from. Each printer has their own interpretation of a scene and all are as valid as the other. If we were all the same it would get boring quickly. I appreciate Michael's methods and how he arrives at his prints. But it is not the only method in producing a print. And I am glad of that. Keep em coming Michael. I hope to see you at PhotoLA 2002. Or at least a lot more prints. James
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