Do you have the courage to own up to the responsibilities that you owe your clients?
Do you have the courage to own up to the responsibilities that you owe your clients?
I am very sorry to report that Mr. Mark Noble passed away on January 15th 2005. My condolences to his family. Mark is a really good guy. May Mark rest in peace.
Marks work will be continued and preserved by Marks eldest son whom is studying Photography and communication on the college near Marks home. A very bright young man.
I visited with Mark 3 weeks ago and he was not well. But he was full of spirit. We held hands and talked briefly about Mark wanting to print again as soon as he was through his battle. He wanted to be carried out in the darkroom and start right away, but it was decided not to.
I spent half a day with Marks friend and his son on realigning the enlarger. The enlarger had been hung out of level, a little less than ¼ of an inch on the length of the level and approx. ¾ inch on the length of the chassis, when it was moved. Also, the head was out of alignment, which I also brought back on track. Moving such a heavy enlarger is no easy task and the head is easily pushed out of alignment if pressure is put on the camera during a move.
The enlarger was still brand new and obviously not used due to Marks illness. I promised that I would be available in the future with help and instructions for it’s use when they start printing Marks many images, some of which he shot during the first part of his illness. There are plans to scan Marks original images to preserve his burning and dodging preferences and then to plot 8x10 negatives that will be printed straight.
Mark was in good spirit and certainly not angry when I was there. We can all benefit from holding Mark as our guide.
I wish Mark a safe Journey onward….
Jens
The saying, 'too little, too late', comes to mind.
I tried to get in touch with Mark about three weeks ago, just before the new year; Mark was too enervated to reply. I feared the worst but held a prayer in my heart that he would pull through. Unfortunately, he did not. I checked his website and then found that he had passed on.
Mark is no longer with us to corroborate or refute your statements, Jens J Jensen, and I guess you can say whatever you like now.
All Mark wanted was an enlarger he had paid $9000.00 for that would work while he was still well enough to use it; he knew he had limited time left. That was not to be.
I am Luke Noble, one of Mark's sons. I was monitoring my fathers email address so I could reply to anyone who had not heard the news and I came across this thread which he was subscribed to. While Jens did come to service the enlarger, I too would like to echo Izaack's sentiment of 'too little, too late'.
One of my fathers greatest passions was photography, and he had hoped that much of his legacy would be preserved through his work. He had planned on printing a full portfolio for my brother, myself and his wife rebecca. It was only in the last 4 weeks where he became physically unable to print. Once Jens finally did align the enlarger my father was still eager to get back in the dark room despite being confined to a wheel chair, and the entire left side of his body being virtually paralyzed. Even in his last days we were looking into his requests to build some sort of ramp that would allow him to(with assistance) practice his craft from his chair.
This battle with Jens, started over a year and a half ago, and only now, after it was too late did Jens fulfill his obligations. We only have a few of his prints left. Many of his better ones only exist as 8x10 proofs as he sold some of his last originals unknowing that he would not be able to print them again. This is a direct result of Jens' lack of service over the past two years. Had he serviced the enlarger back when he originally offered to my father may have had a higher quality of life in his last days, and our family and friends would have had more of his art to remember him by.
Jens has consistently proven to be unprofessional in his business dealings with my father. In fact, while my father did sign a payment and thereby statement of satisfaction upon the day of installment, it was a week afterwards when the alignment proved to be off. This was before we raised the column. The only time the enlarger was even touched during that period was while raising and lowering the head to remove the negative carrier. This is normal operation done dozens of times a day in any lab. Yes while raising the enlarger column we may have added slightly to the misalignment, but that does not change the fact that it was out of alignment before that. We requested service, and Jens offered to give service multiple times with no mention of a fee. Until some of his most recent postings on this forum we were given the impression that his original intention was to fix the alignment free of charge and that this was mandated through the 5 year warranty. This was reinforced by the fact that he made multiple appointments with us, and until his most recent ones either called them off the day before or day of, or left us waiting for him without notice, sometimes over two or three days. I personally spent an entire day waiting for him as my father was getting an MRI in Seattle. I cleared my schedule so I could be there to help him. He never called or gave any notification that he wasn't going to show.
"We held hands and talked briefly about Mark wanting to print again as soon as he was through his battle. He wanted to be carried out in the darkroom and start right away, but it was decided not to." --Jens J Jensen, 2005-01-23 14:55:32
-I was with Jens the entirety of his stay, and they did not hold hands. In fact while Jens did place his hand on my fathers out of sympathy, it was on his paralyzed side and he couldn't have withdrawn if he wanted to. My fathers motivation for wanting to be moved into the darkroom was based completely in his doubt over whether Jens really had fixed the enlarger. He had wanted to make sure it was done before Jens had left, because of our past experience with Jens he had hoped never to have to deal with him again. I had confirmed the head alignment and though not perfect it was sufficient. He was upset that we resisted letting him personally confirm that it was fixed. (this was due to the trouble in moving him, we had not yet been able to put ramps leading into the darkroom) It took me half an hour after Jens left to convince him it was fixed. (I just this week checked it again and it already is getting worse. When he left using our laser alignment tool it was on target within a centimeter at the lens stage, now it is off by roughly 3cm. I haven't even moved the reflective plate since he placed it on his visit. I don't know if this signals some larger problem with the enlarger, but the column is level, so it must be a problem with the head hardware. I hope we don't have to request his service again.)
"The enlarger was still brand new and obviously not used due to Marks illness" --Jens J Jensen, 2005-01-23 14:55:32
- His illness while made it more difficult to work in the darkroom, was not the factor that prevented him from using the enlarger. That honor belongs only to the misalignment and Jens' failed promises to fix it.
While I thank Jens for finally fixing the problem, I cannot thank him for the manner in which he did it. I had to constantly push him to do the job right, as he tried to get out of doing operations he considered difficult, or not worth the effort. In fact, his last words before leaving were to me asking if my father would post another entry on this forum stating he fixed the problem. This left with me the impression that he only came because of the comments my father posted to this forum, possibly he saw the weakness in his own arguments and wanted to do the right thing, or just wanted the bad press to stop, I don't know.
We have not made any firm decisions yet on reproducing my fathers work, we may peruse a digital negative process made from high quality drum scans of his prints and then re-printed in the wet lab, we may simply make prints using his original negatives, or we may even just scan his negatives and make prints using a high quality ink-jet printer. In any situation a reproduction will not fully represent the level of detail he put into his work and will be of much lesser quality than his originals. I do not yet have the mastery he did over the medium, and my vision in my own work can differ from what his would have been. So even if I decide to print directly from his negatives, production quality will be of a lesser or much different value. Still the general impression would remain. I only hope that in the coming years I will find the time to undertake such a project, while still giving my own work and other endeavors the time they deserve.
Despite all of this I hold no ill will towards Mr. Jensen. I only hope that in the future he treats his other clients with more respect then he did us. I wish him good luck and thank him for, when he made them his kind comments of my father. We will all miss him very much.
Dear Luke Noble,
I disagree with almost every sentence in your posting.
I do understand that what you, your family and Mark have gone through has caused you a lot of pain and that it must cause a lot of bitterness.
I will therefore refrain from entering into a long debate with you over your response.
I can bear to be the target for a fraction of that bitterness, however unfair it may seem at the moment.
I have learned from similar personal experiences that one learn to see things as they are after some time of healing.
I wish you the best of success in the future.
Jens
(By the way you fail to mention that I sent you an 8x10” diagonal punch free of charge and that you and your father, Mark, tested it and thanked me for it. It has also slipped your mind that you were absent most of the time when I spoke to your father, you were fetching the film and the punch in the darkroom, in another building. I seem to remember that your brother was there with us, at least some of the time, you may want to talk to him.)
We HAVE been seeing things as they are for the PAST TWO YEARS that you have been ignoring us! You left my sight for only two minutes at most while we were with my father. If you remembered correctly both you and I went out to test the punch together. I went back to get our glass to show him it fit because he could not believe that you actually would have fixed the enlarger after our history, I needed to calm him down and that was the only thing I thought could preoccupy his mind long enough to let you leave. IN FACT we had to tell you to leave before he was satisfied because of the distrust you have breed over our dealings. For during the time I was absent my brother was present and he has confirmed everything I said in my previous post.
That you even gave us the condit punch at all was a miracle in itself, and yes while I did thank you for it(he did not, the words thank-you never left his mouth and everyone who was there can confirm that), it was completely out of a willingness to get rid of you without causing any problems while you were here. You have owed us much more than that for a long time, and I won't let you think that that gesture in any way vindicates your past behavior.
"I do understand that what you, your family and Mark have gone through has caused you a lot of pain and that it must cause a lot of bitterness. I will therefore refrain from entering into a long debate with you over your response."--Jens J Jensen, 2005-01-26 06:06:52
- That's good, because our bitterness over you has absolutely nothing to do with the the fucking cancer. Our bitterness with you comes completely out of our experiences with YOU. That is what 'we have gone through'.
"I disagree with almost every sentence in your posting."--Jens J Jensen, 2005-01-26 06:06:52
When did I lie? What was my mistruth? How could you possibly think that you even have ground to stand on with this issue?
Was it my statement that I had to push you to do the job right? Yes that could be seen as based in my perception of the situation, but in actuality I did. You thought moving the enlarger column would be to difficult, I had to tell you to do it. You thought a vertical variance on the alignment tool of roughly 4 cm was acceptable, I had to tell you to take the time and dismantle the head and make it better. Yes you gave me the options, but while you did you stated that they were unnecessary. The only thing we seemed to agree on was that it was not reasonable to try and get the vertical alignment even better as it would have required putting a shim between the enlarger column and the wall and the difference was so small it would have likely made it worse. In fact what did you do outside of taking the initial level readings where we didn't have to push you into doing it?
You seem to have a rare mental disorder Jens, where you can do no wrong, admit no mistake, and take no responsibility for your own actions. I have to say, you still have a lot to learn about life. In business you have to be able to work with other people, maybe it would help yours a little more if you learned how. But then again our $9000 was probably of little consideration to you, maybe it's your bigger clients who get the responsible Jens.
We are done with you Jens. We don't need this anymore. The debate is over. The healing proccess can begin, from YOU. Good bye and good riddance.
My name is Jay Overmoen. I sell pre-owned Durst Enlargers and parts. My reputation is proven by my near perfect Feedback on Ebay since 1998, I have had two complaints. I truly believe in Karma. What goes around comes around. It is not necessary to sandblast and paint a Durst enlarger for it to perform and produce excellent quality museum standard archival fibre based or color prints. As in the camera, high-end optics coupled with perfect alignment and a true Love and Appreciation of your subject, are truly the critical factors going into the Magic of Qualiy Print Creations. I have printed for over 30 years and I have logged thousands of hours printing, having owned a Custom Ciba & B&W Lab in Las Vegas, Nevada for over 15 years. I’m an alternative source for quality pre-owned and tested Durst Enlarger parts and Enlargers. I just thought this forum should know of my existence. My Phone is 702-860-9630. Have a Great Day Everyone. My email is Overmoen@aol.com
Check out broadway205 and tjaydk2fuc to see Jensen's ebay ratings.
I have refrained from involving myself in post that have turned "personal" for years, but have one comment to make.
8x10 / 10x10 enlargers aren't being produced, or sold in record numbers these days. The fact that someone is willing to fill this need is noteworthy!
I purchased a Durst 10x10 enlarger from a private individual, who had purchased it as a refurbished unit fron Jens Optical. I spoke to Jens about shipping the beast and other issues and even though Jens did not make a single penny off me, he was more than gracious in offering assistance and advice. To me that speaks a lot to a persons character and I think Jens is someone that the LF community should embrace and support.
Other than having spoken to Jens on the phone and in person (at the first LF conference) I have absolutely no affiliation with Durst, Durst USA, nor Jens Optical, but I wouldn't hesitate doing business with Jens!
Regards, Peteh
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks