What films and film developers does Paul Caponigro use?

[Mark Sawyer]

The film and developer question isn't comparable to whether Shakespeare used a goose quill or a swan quill. It is comparable however to how he actually wove his words and sentences into ideas and emotions.

I'm going to agree with Steven too, but note that the original question might be more comparable to a question on a guitar forum about what strings Carlos Santana might use. No, the strings won't make your playing sound like Santana's, no more than the film/developer combination will make your prints look like Caponigro's.

But it's still a valid question. With so many possible combinations, it gets a newer photographer into materials appropriate to the look he wants, eliminating that big question mark so he can concentrate on other things. And for some, there's an appreciation to knowing you're working with the same materials as a master whose work you admire.

[Merg Ross]

What I find missing in this thread are specifics. Which prints by Caponigro are being referenced? As a purely academic exercise, it might be interesting to make a list of all the materials that he used in his fifty-plus years as a photographer and print maker. The result would be, that the majority of those materials no longer exist. So, what real purpose is there in knowing what he used? It strikes me as being about as relevant as knowing that Weston used Isopan film and printed on Haloid paper. Try that combination today.

[cobalt]

The purpose is irrelevant. Nobody has the right to decide that the poster should not want to know what he wants to know. If you don't know, or don't want to tell him, why bother even responding?

[Merg Ross]

The purpose is irrelevant. Nobody has the right to decide that the poster should not want to know what he wants to know. If you don't know, or don't want to tell him, why bother even responding?

Besides being rude, I do not believe that you have read, or comprehend my post. Who has decided that, "the poster should not want to know what he wants to know"? Read again my response to his query, and then, perhaps you will be able to contribute something to the thread.

[cobalt]

Telling you to stick your opinion up your nose would have been rude...

My comment was alluding to the fact that all too often, threads that ask simple questions are not answered directly. Instead, they are taken as an opportunity to open debate upon a completely different subject. Like this one.

[Merg Ross]

Telling you to stick your opinion up your nose would have been rude...

My comment was alluding to the fact that all too often, threads that ask simple questions are not answered directly. Instead, they are taken as an opportunity to open debate upon a completely different subject. Like this one.

Simple questions sometimes have complex answers. I was pointing out the difficulty in answering this particular question, as it was posed.

I have a Caponigro print from 1959. It is printed on Kodak Medalist paper. That begs the qustion of what film or developer was utilized. However, I doubt that Paul could make a print with present day materials that would match his 1959 version. For that matter, I doubt that he would even care to try. Most likely he would use available materials and make a stunning rendition.

I rest my case. Back to the darkroom.

[cobalt]

Simple questions sometimes have complex answers. I was pointing out the difficulty in answering this particular question, as it was posed.

I have a Caponigro print from 1959. It is printed on Kodak Medalist paper. That begs the qustion of what film or developer was utilized. However, I doubt that Paul could make a print with present day materials that would match his 1959 version. For that matter, I doubt that he would even care to try. Most likely he would use available materials and make a stunning rendition.

I rest my case. Back to the darkroom.

I still think you're wrong.
I am not a big fan of Caponigro's work, but that is neither here nor there, i.e. not relevant to the original question.

I do like your work, however. So... I pick up the gauntlet, and offer the olive branch.

[Lenny Eiger]

I'm going to agree with Steven too, but note that the original question might be more comparable to a question on a guitar forum about what strings Carlos Santana might use. No, the strings won't make your playing sound like Santana's, no more than the film/developer combination will make your prints look like Caponigro's.

But it's still a valid question. With so many possible combinations, it gets a newer photographer into materials appropriate to the look he wants, eliminating that big question mark so he can concentrate on other things. And for some, there's an appreciation to knowing you're working with the same materials as a master whose work you admire.

It is a valid question. I was interested in the answer myself. I'm a big fan of Caponigro's work. I think there is a lot to learn there. It's an odd thread. Why people choose to answer by saying the film and developer isn't enough, or whether he should even ask the question is beyond me. Obviously, film and developer isn't enough to make a great print. However, as another suggested, materials available today may not do it. I tend to agree. The film might just not be capable. In which case, all the inner spirit and darkroom expertise won't work either.

I have been doing tests for the last 4 years and haven't gotten results that match the old FP4. (Or old Tri-x, SuperXX, etc.) Of course, the last thing I want to hear is some other poster telling me the film will do this or that. I haven't specified my criteria, and I won't in this post... all I will say is that film post-1990 is different and so far not to my liking. I am running another series of tests this month and will try again. Maybe the 40th time will be the charm.

Knowing that Caponigro used HC-110, as another poster suggested, will make it certain that I include that in my testing. (I hadn't before as I am not going for the Ansel Adams look, no disrespect to him intended.)

So thanks Stephen for asking the question, and thanks for having the depth to pick a photographer like Caponigro to emulate.

Lenny

[Merg Ross]

I still think you're wrong.
I am not a big fan of Caponigro's work, but that is neither here nor there, i.e. not relevant to the original question.

I do like your work, however. So... I pick up the gauntlet, and offer the olive branch.

Point taken, thank you for the good word, and we move on.

I did find an interview with Caponigro where he explains his approach to printing. This, in my perhaps awkward way, is what I was trying to express in my comments. No, it does not answer the original question, but it does tell us about the subject of the query and how he thinks and works.

http://www.steveanchell.com/index.ph...d=60&Itemid=98

[asnapper]

Point taken, thank you for the good word, and we move on.

I did find an interview with Caponigro where he explains his approach to printing. This, in my perhaps awkward way, is what I was trying to express in my comments. No, it does not answer the original question, but it does tell us about the subject of the query and how he thinks and works.

http://www.steveanchell.com/index.ph...d=60&Itemid=98

"PC: Alright. I may play with as many as six different paper types. I will mix LPD with Dektol, or Dektol with Selectol, in search of a combination that will give me a particular contrast or color. My photography is not black and white alone, it is very colorful. I'm talking about subtle gradations from warm to cool. Green-blacks, blue-blacks, warm-blacks."

From the 1982 Popular Photography article he used the following papers Kodak Polycontrast, Medalist, and Kodabromide, Dupont Varilour, GAF Cykora, Iflormar, Ilford Galerie & Oriental Seagull, along with the following developers Agfa Ardol, Dektol, LPD & Bromophen.

Most of the above papes have long gone, along with Ardol, but he's replaced it with Selectol and I'm not sure if Ilford still produces Bromophen.

As for the 6 current papers he uses I can only guess, but I would expect him to have freezers full of his old favourite papers, it mentioned in the article that he bought a huge amount of Dupont Varilor when it was discontinued. Thomas Joshua Cooper bought a lifetime supply of Agfa FB MC when it was discontinued a few years ago.