2018 - Project 52 Print - Manfred Mueller

[Manfred M]

Time for a family shot.

One of the shots when our grandson was visiting from abroad last year. There is a Kane in his Boy's Day (Tango no sekku) costume. This is an ancient celebration going back to the reign of Empress Suiko (reigned from 593 - 628 CE). It used to be celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, but after the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, it is now celebrated on May 5. Banners in the shape of carp are flown that day.

In 1948, it became a national holiday in Japan and was called Kodomo no Hi, or Children's Day There is also a Girl's Day (Hinamatsuri), which is celebrated on March 3.

#13 - Kane Makoto Yamamori - Boy's Day Costume




Printed on Epson Hot Press Natural paper

[Shadowman]

Cute capture.

[Manfred M]

This is a shot I took at the New Delhi Train Station as the overnight train that we were taking to Amritsar, India was being shunted to the platform. I took a burst of shots as the train rolled in and this one acts as a frame for the conductor who is sitting in the shunt engineer.

#14 - Shunting the Night Train to Amritsar





I printed this image on Epson Hot Press Bright paper.

[Shadowman]

Interesting textured look with a shimmering feel of sunlight, yet the sky area looks overcast.

[Manfred M]

Interesting textured look with a shimmering feel of sunlight, yet the sky area looks overcast.

Sunset shot. Sun is behind me (towards my left shoulder) and shining toward the engine. Look at the specular highlights on the conductor's head. Skies can be overcast in one direction and clear in the other.

[Shadowman]

Sunset shot. Sun is behind me (towards my left shoulder) and shining toward the engine. Look at the specular highlights on the conductor's head. Skies can be overcast in one direction and clear in the other.

Yes I noticed the highlights and warm colors, also the atmosphere had that desert shimmer yet the skies looked so dim.

[Manfred M]

Yes I noticed the highlights and warm colors, also the atmosphere had that desert shimmer yet the skies looked so dim.

Welcome to Delhi, India. One of the cities with the highest levels of air pollution in the world. The haze is all too common.

[Shadowman]

Welcome to Delhi, India. One of the cities with the highest levels of air pollution in the world. The haze is all too common.

Yes, you never forget the heat and weather of India.

[Manfred M]

We are going to be quite busy this Easter Weekend, with family and friends, so I thought I would post this weeks image early.

This is a shot of a woman picking tea in India's Assam State, one that is a well known tea growing area. The shot is one where I wanted to "lie" with my camera, as the scene looks very calm and peaceful with the woman carefully and calmly plucking the individual tea leaves. The shade trees add to the peaceful feeling.

Camera angles and careful setup and timing let me tell this lie; as the were literally hundreds of women among the tea bushes, working very quickly as they are paid by the weight and quality of the leaves that they pick. The trees are not there to protect the women (very few men are employed to pick the leaves), but rather to protect the tea plants from the hot tropical sun.

#15 - Picking Tea Leaves - Balipara Division of the Addabarie Tea Estate, Assam, India



Printed on Epson Hot Press Natural.

[Cantab]

Manfred, this was a definitely a picture worth printing. Visually it works very well.

As a complete aside, Assam is one of the teas I drink most regularly, so the photo has added interest on that account!

[Manfred M]

When I first started working in the B&W darkroom all of the papers that I used were Baryta stock. Baryta is actually Barium Sulphate, an opaque, white chemical that is quite reflective and gives a very nice deep black. I'm trying to settle on just a few papers for my work and want to get to know them well.

I've been primarily testing with the Epson Signature Worthy branded papers and have generally been very happy with them.

Epson Ultra Premium Photo Paper Luster - this is the paper I have been using ever since I bought my printer. It works well in B&W and colour and is my "go to" paper for my every day work.


Epson Hot Press Natural / Bright - These are heavy, premium, matte finish papers and the only difference is the the natural does not contain any Optical Bleaching Agent (OBA) whereas the bright does, so the Dmax is higher with the bright. I really like this paper for portraiture, especially for B&W ones. I'm not sure which way I am leaning to yet, but suspect I might end up going to the natural.


Epson Cold Press Natural / Bright - the comments on this paper are similar to the Hot Press line except that the paper has a very nice slightly pebbled surface that works well with landscapes. Here I am leaning to the Bright papers, but still need to test some more.

I am looking for a higher end paper that I will use instead of the Epson Ultra Premium Photo Paper Luster. A number of people suggested I try the Epson Exhibition Fiber paper. It is a nice paper, but I'm not really all that thrilled with the surface finish (reminds me of a very fine "faux" leather / Naugahyde texture) so I will run down my box of it and likely not buy it again.

I normally stick to the Epson papers, but I cannot find any of their Baryta papers from my normal photo suppliers. I would normally try to source them out of B&H in the USA, but they will not ship Epson inks and papers out of the USA. I've tried the Hahnemühle sampler packs and find that they have some of the nicest (albeit most expensive) third party papers I have worked with.

I can get some of the Hahnemühle papers so picked up some Hahnemühle Fine Art Baryta to test.

When I test I generally start off with one B&W and one colour print to see how the papers behave.

I had a shot of some old work boots that I took when I first started shooting in the studio and did my B&W conversion on it for my test print.



#16 - Old Work Boots





Hahnemühle Fine Art Baryta paper

My first impressions are very favourable in terms of the look and feel of the paper, but I am not 100% sold on the surface finish on the first prints I ran. It has a bit more pronounced texture that I am used to for a lustre paper.

[Shadowman]

Canson is another source of Baryta, I've used this many times and like the feel and look.

http://en.canson.com/digital-fine-ar...photographique

[Manfred M]

Canson is another source of Baryta, I've used this many times and like the feel and look.

http://en.canson.com/digital-fine-ar...photographique

I did look at them but the size I was after was out of stock when I was ordering. I normally test 8-1/2" x 11" size and only buy the paper if it is also available in 17" x 22". The Canson is one of the few Baryta papers that I can get in both sizes; as is the Hahnemühle Fine Art Baryta.

I know some people who love it (the instructor I had during my printing course is one of them) and others who have reported quality problems; specifically the coating delaminating in spots which leaves a visible white spot where the surface coating came off. I will likely order some when I run down my current paper supplies.

[Manfred M]

This is one of my favourite shots that I took in India in 2016. Located in the town of Badami, there are four cave temples (three Hindu and on Jain) carved into the sandstone hill above the town. The temples were built in the 6th Century and are some of the oldest Hindu temples in this part of India (Karnataka State, in Southern India). This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I had noticed this old woman wandering around the caves and took a number of shots of her. She is looking out through the large openings that lead to the temple. I took this shot when she was not looking at me.


#17 - Old Woman at the Badami Cave Temples, Karnataka, India



Printed on Hahnemühle Fine Art Baryta paper

[Shadowman]

I'm sure that Baryta really enhances the textures and colors, nicely composed.

[Manfred M]

I also printed it on Epson Hot Press Natural; with no OBAs the paper has a warm tone to it which works well with the warm tones in the image.

Frankly I am having a hard time deciding which version I prefer; it's very close.

[Shadowman]

I also printed it on Epson Hot Press Natural; with no OBAs the paper has a warm tone to it which works well with the warm tones in the image.

Frankly I am having a hard time deciding which version I prefer; it's very close.

Try viewing both with different direction of light, you probably evaluate with the images lying flat wonder if you'll change your preference if say the images were lit from above or below?

[Manfred M]

Try viewing both with different direction of light, you probably evaluate with the images lying flat wonder if you'll change your preference if say the images were lit from above or below?

I hand hold the prints in all my evaluation work; often under different light sources and often against a wall to simulate what the print would look like framed and mounted. I've been printing photos for 47 years (and colour prints for 45 years). I might know a thing or two about evaluating prints by now.

[Shadowman]

I hand hold the prints in all my evaluation work; often under different light sources and often against a wall to simulate what the print would look like framed and mounted. I've been printing photos for 47 years (and colour prints for 45 years). I might know a thing or two about evaluating prints by now.

I'm sure you do know a thing or two, I just know Baryta shows different detail and it is the direction of light that makes it appealing for me. You didn't state how your were making your comparisons of the two structures so I thought I'd try and coax it out of you.

[Manfred M]

I'm sure you do know a thing or two, I just know Baryta shows different detail and it is the direction of light that makes it appealing for me. You didn't state how your were making your comparisons of the two structures so I thought I'd try and coax it out of you.

I know Baryta papers well. All my early B&W and colour printing was done on baryta based papers. I did try the RC (Resin Coated) papers when they came out, but preferred the older papers for their various tones and surface finishes from a look standpoint. Processing time was better with the RC papers as their base did not absorb the processing chemicals like the fibre based papers, so washing time was significantly reduced.

With Baryta F papers, I could dry my prints using a ferrotype plate and get incredible high gloss finish and using the same paper without the ferrotype step, I would get a finish that looks a lot like the baryta paper I am using now. The ferrotype gloss was much nicer looking than the RC and current glossy papers.

The surface finish of the non-Baryta Epson Cold Press papers have a textured surface, so they exhibit some of the same characteristics as the Fine Art Baryta that I am using now. The structure is more related to the surface finish than the baryta coating and that is where the tilting of the paper comes in.