It's relative and bullshit term. Just keep at it, get some nice prints, and twenty years later
go back, look at them, and ask *@##!
It's relative and bullshit term. Just keep at it, get some nice prints, and twenty years later
go back, look at them, and ask *@##!
Re: "Master Printer" Definition?
Alot of *artsy* answers, and the predictable parsing my reference to his young age (Sure one can be a master sprinter at 31, but not a master printer
Was hoping for someone to go out on limb, ie, "A master printer should know how to do X,Y, Z and have worked with a,b,c materials".
OK, I'll be artsy with you then.
Here what I consider a master printer: http://www.uelsmann.net/
and another: http://www.christopherburkett.com/home.html
If I were going to be a master, it would be at creating the negative.
Back when I used a "Master Printer", my definition was one who could produce the print I wanted in 3 iterations and with no hassles. The printer I used the most met this definition by producing (1) a work print, that I marked up; (2) a print made to those directions, plus some options; and (3) a final print. This is all it took most of the time. I dubbed him "Master" when I realized that his suggestions in step 2 were often better than my ideas.
Why?Originally Posted by Andre Noble
If it were that simple the robo-printer in your local Walgreens could do it.
- Leigh
If you believe you can, or you believe you can't... you're right.
Does he print his own prints?
I never make "work prints" or contact sheets. Sometimes the first print off is the best, sometimes not. Never know until they're fully toned and dried. People like Edward Weston
and Stieglitz couldn't even afford "work prints". I belive the former typically allowed himself
only two sheets of paper per initial image. This is pretty silly. Some gourmet chefs use only
three ingredients, some use fifty, and there are all kinds of variations in potential cuisine
itself. But why are they gourmet and Denny's is not, if both serve steak? This is all about
nuances, and not hard formulaic rules or someone's "A" list. I'll bet half the folks on this
forum have made some pretty compelling prints one way or the other. And I'll bet 100%
of the people who display on the walls of the lab down the street have never made even
one impressive print per se, no matter how artsy they try to be.
P.P.S. I have a degree in printing too. But just to clarify... it's from Cal Poly and my career is "printing" in the graphic arts sense. It's a career path I chose because I wanted to stay in touch with photographic processes. I'm sure you've heard the advice. "So you want to be a photographer, well not many can do it so if you like the work you are better off being a dental x-ray technician or a computer chip photolithographer or a printer." So I'm a printer.
Master Printer" Definition?
Definition: No.
It's Subjective: If we can't agree what a master print is, then how can we agree on a master printer.
Good point. Master print in my vocabulary is:
1. The first print of an image that I really like enough to use in a real "professional" appliction
2. The print I consider the standard that should be used for all future reprinting of an image
3. The print that makes me more famous and rich than God himself.
In other words... even if master print could be defined, it might be a transitory title.
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