The Print

226 Pages·2004·34.13 MB·English

by  Ansel Adams

The Ansel Adams Photography Series I Book 3
The Print
Ansel Adams
with the collaboration of Robert Baker
LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY
NEW YORK BOSTON
In 1976, Ansel Adams selected Little, Brown and Company as the sole authorized
publisher of his books, calendars, and posters. At the same time, he established
The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust in order to ensure the continuity and
quality of his legacy -both artistic and environmental.
As Ansel Adams himself wrote, "Perhaps the most important characteristic of my
work is what may be called print quality. It is very important that the reproduc­
tions be as good as you can possibly get them." The authorized books, calendars,
and posters published by Little, Brown have been rigorously supervised by the
Trust to make certain that Adams' exacting standards of quality are maintained.
Only such works published by Little, Brown and Company can be considered
authentic representations of the genius of Ansel Adams.
Frontispiece: NorthCearns cadeWsa,s hing(thoanzs yu nlig19h60t ),
Copyright© 1980, 2003 by the Trustees of The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
All rights reserved in all countries. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or
by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval
systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who
may quote brief passages in a review.
Little, Brown and Company
Time Warner Book Group
1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
Visit our Web site at www.bulfinchpress.com
This is the third volume of TheA nseAld amPsh otograSpehryi es.
Eleventh paperback printing, 2004
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Adams, Ansel Easton, 1902-1984
The print.
(The Ansel Adams photography series ;book 3)
l. Photography-Printing processes. 2. Photography-Enlarging. I. Baker,
Robert. II. Title. Ill. Series: Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984. Ansel Adams
photography series ;book 3.
TRl 45.A38bk.3 [TR330]770s (770' .28'4] 83-950
ISBN 0-8212-1526-4 HC ISBN 0-8212-2187-6 PB
Designed by David Ford
Technical illustrations by Omnigraphics
Printed and bound by Quebecor/Kingsport
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Acknowledgments
The completion of a book of this type requires the advice and as­
sistance of many colleagues and associates, all of which is most
warmly appreciated. I am especially indebted to Robert Baker, my
most competent collaborator and editor. In addition, John Sexton,
as technical assistant, contributed greatly with the tests and in
preparing the illustrations, as well as his careful reading and advice
on the text. I also thank Jim Alinder for reading and commenting
on the general content of the book, and Mary Alinder, Chris Rainier,
and Phyllis Donohue, who were helpful in numerous ways.
My publishers, represented by Floyd Yearout, Janet Swan, Nan
Jernigan, and Dale Cotton, were, as usual, most cooperative and
helpful. Dave Ford, book designer for the Series, and Tom Briggs of
Omnigraphics, who provided the drawings, deserve high recognition.
In addition I wish to express my appreciation to:
Jim Marron and Bob Shanebrook of Eastman Kodak Co.; John
Branca and many others at Polaroid Corp.; Klaus Hendricks, Chief
of Picture Conservation of the Public Archives of Canada; Dr. Paul
Horowitz, Harvard University (designer of the light-stabilizer de­
scribed in the text); Rod Dresser, for assistance in computer plotting
of the paper curves; Henry Gilpin, photographer; Fred Picker, of Zone
VI Studios; Ed Kostiner; Saul Chaiken; and our many friends, at
Ilford, Inc., Oriental Paper Co., Beseler Photo Marketing, Calumet
Photographic, Tri-Ess Sciences, Beckman Instruments, and Adolph
Gasser, Inc. of San Francisco.

Contents
Foreword viii
Introduction ix
Visualization and the Expressive Image
1 1
Darkroom Design and Equipment
2 10
Printing Materials
3 40
Proofs and Work Prints:
4
Basic Printing and Enlarging
62
The Fine Print: Control of Values
5 88
Final Processing: Sensitometry
6 128
7 Finishing, Mounting, Storage, Display 144
Special Printing Applications
8 168
Appendixes
189
Index
205
Foreword
For Ansel Adams the art of photography and the practice of its craft
were integrally linked. The transformation of a visual encounter
with the world into a memorable photograph is the essence of what
every serious photographer wants to achieve. A successful photo­
graph is the product of a sensitive and receptive mind and a well­
executed sequence of actions in the field and darkroom.
The Print -and the other volumes in The Ansel Adams Photog­
raphy Series - is a detailed summation by Ansel Adams of a life­
time in photography. With the passage of time, many films and
much of the equipment discussed in the text have been replaced by
a new generation of materials and equipment with different charac­
teristics and capabilities.
Yet the concepts and imaginative techniques and procedures de­
scribed by Ansel in The Print generally remain as valid and useful as
they were when he first began to write about them decades ago. The
most important lesson to be gleaned from Ansel's writing is an ap­
proach to photography -a philosophy, a methodology. For this rea­
son, Ansel's trustees and his publisher, Little, Brown and Company,
have continued to publish The Print just as Ansel wrote it in its final
edition ( 1983 ). To bring the materials and practices up-to-date, John
P. Schaefer has written a modern interpretation based on The Ansel
Adams Photography Series. The Ansel Adams Guide: Basic Tech­
niques of Photography, Books 1 and 2, attempt to clarify and simplify
Ansel's sometimes difficult technical writing, and to apply his ap­
proach and techniques to contemporary materials and equipment.
We hope the combination of the two series will prove to be most
helpful and stimulating as you pursue your work in photography.
The Trustees of the Ansel Adams Trust
Introduction
Photography is more than a medium for communication of reality,
it is a creative art. Therefore, emphasis on technique is justified only
so far as it will simplify and clarify the statement of the photogra­
pher's concept. This series of books presents essential information
and suggests applications of photographic methods to practical prob­
lems of artistic expression. My objective is to present a working
approach to creative photography.
Certain controls that allow the photographer to achieve desired
qualities in his negative are discussed in Books 1 and 2. In these
volumes we considered visualization as fully as we could without
actually making the final print. In this book I shall attempt to round
out the basic procedures of the black-and-white photographic pro­
cess -from original visualization to the completed print. I will pres­
ent the technical aspects and controls that contribute to the final
image in terms of both information and creative expression.
The reader must bear in mind that what these books are intended
to accomplish is to present a concept (visualization) and a modus
operandi (craft) to achieve desired results. This is obviously directed
to serious participants in photography, but it should not be iqter­
preted as dogma; each artist must follow his own beacons and chart
his journey over the medium's seas and deserts. I wish to dispel here
any thought that my approach is rigid and inflexible. I cannot repeat
this too often! I have found that many students read descriptions of
procedures in a rather strict way, and are then consumed with the
effort to produce exact relationships between subject luminance
values, negative densities, and print values. No matter what he does,
x Introduction
the photographer cannot violate the principles of sensitometry, but
sensitometry is a tough discipline and will tolerate a good amount
of bending without breaking!
As creative expression has no tangible boundaries and is limitless
in content, space allows me only to suggest some typical concepts
with examples. It is not possible (or desirable) to tell the photogra­
pher what to "see." I can only hint at the ways and means of accom­
plishing the desired visualized image. My intention is to suggest a
fluent yet precise procedure that will provide assurance of the cre­
ative control of the image.
Ansel Adams
Carmel, California
September 1982