Another one bites the dust

On Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:51:36 -0800, David Nebenzahl <nobody.RemoveThis@but.us.chickens>
wrote:

>So I talked to the person today who I am pretty sure was the last to
>operate a commercial wet color darkroom here in the San Francisco East
>Bay, and sure enough, as I suspected since he just recently moved, his
>darkroom didn't make the move. (His business was previously called
>"Clone Art".) So as far as I know, that leaves nobody on this side of
>the bay who makes "real" color prints. (Dunno about the South Bay or San
>Francisco, but I don't hold out much hope there either.)

Sounds like an opportunity for someone to start a niche business.
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 >> Stay informed about: Another one bites the dust 

David Nebenzahl wrote:
> So I talked to the person today who I am pretty sure was the last to
> operate a commercial wet color darkroom here in the San Francisco East
> Bay, and sure enough, as I suspected since he just recently moved, his
> darkroom didn't make the move. (His business was previously called
> "Clone Art".) So as far as I know, that leaves nobody on this side of
> the bay who makes "real" color prints. (Dunno about the South Bay or San
> Francisco, but I don't hold out much hope there either.)

Darkroom work is really now a hobbyists activity, expecting someone to
try and stay in business doing it is asking a bit much.

Scott
 >> Stay informed about: Another one bites the dust 

"David Starr" <davestarr.DeleteThis@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:rdlbl3ln54uf6jk1tquqhnu4aofj7svmj0@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:51:36 -0800, David Nebenzahl
> <nobody.DeleteThis@but.us.chickens>
> wrote:
>
>>So I talked to the person today who I am pretty sure was the last to
>> [...]

>Sounds like an opportunity for someone to start a niche business.

It would seem so, and there is a place for a conventional color and B&W lab
to make its mark, but it unlikely to happen. IMHO the rare clients seek
printers who have established a reputation alinged with their own in terms
of Handmade Prints. Unfortunately, the later art directors and cliens have
all caved in to the fact that clients expect photographers (not labs) to
make the prints. The very worst part is that the clients have low
expectations for output. It's all about the bottom line. Vision, critical
requjisites, critical taste has gone away.

So the art winds down to mediocracy.
 >> Stay informed about: Another one bites the dust 

"Scott W" <biphoto DeleteThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:47563e5e$0$2296$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
> Darkroom work is really now a hobbyists activity, expecting someone to try
> and stay in business doing it is asking a bit much.

Have you seen what custom B&W printers get for their work if they are good,
and have a good reputation? Certainly, almost any bloke with bucks can open
a digital do-it-yourself shop or quickie CD lab, but so what?

Digital has liberated and elevated wet-darkroom work and film.
 >> Stay informed about: Another one bites the dust 

jjs wrote:
> "Scott W" <biphoto.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:47563e5e$0$2296$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
>> Darkroom work is really now a hobbyists activity, expecting someone to try
>> and stay in business doing it is asking a bit much.
>
> Have you seen what custom B&W printers get for their work if they are good,
> and have a good reputation? Certainly, almost any bloke with bucks can open
> a digital do-it-yourself shop or quickie CD lab, but so what?
>
> Digital has liberated and elevated wet-darkroom work and film.
>
>

The point is that darkroom work is quickly leaving the commercial market
and being left as a hobbyist activity.

The OP bemoaned the loss of the last place that made "real" color
prints. There is not much market for "real" color prints or there would
be more places doing them. But if someone feels that the old ways are
best they can set up a darkroom and roll their own, this is as it should
be, IMO.

Scott
 >> Stay informed about: Another one bites the dust 

"Scott W" <biphoto RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4756eff1$0$4986$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...

> The point is that darkroom work is quickly leaving the commercial market
> and being left as a hobbyist activity.
>
> The OP bemoaned the loss of the last place that made "real" color prints.
> There is not much market for "real" color prints or there would be more
> places doing them. But if someone feels that the old ways are best they
> can set up a darkroom and roll their own, this is as it should be, IMO.

Well, Scott, this is rec.photo.darkroom. Do you think anyone here gives a
damn about the commercial market?
 >> Stay informed about: Another one bites the dust 

On 12/5/2007 10:37 AM Scott W spake thus:

> jjs wrote:
>> "Scott W" <biphoto.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:47563e5e$0$2296$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
>>> Darkroom work is really now a hobbyists activity, expecting someone to try
>>> and stay in business doing it is asking a bit much.
>>
>> Have you seen what custom B&W printers get for their work if they are good,
>> and have a good reputation? Certainly, almost any bloke with bucks can open
>> a digital do-it-yourself shop or quickie CD lab, but so what?
>>
>> Digital has liberated and elevated wet-darkroom work and film.
>
> The point is that darkroom work is quickly leaving the commercial market
> and being left as a hobbyist activity.
>
> The OP bemoaned the loss of the last place that made "real" color
> prints. There is not much market for "real" color prints or there would
> be more places doing them. But if someone feels that the old ways are
> best they can set up a darkroom and roll their own, this is as it should
> be, IMO.

Yes, I do feel that the old ways are best--but obviously, the market has
decided that those ways are no longer viable, so I am *forced* into the
bargain that you described. But your blase, somewhat
libertarian-sounding advice omits the crucial fact that it takes not
only equipment and money to set up such an operation, but also that
invaluable component known as experience.

I bemoan the loss of this service because I had Tony (the owner of
Cloner Artworks, now reincarnated as Berkeley Giclée), previously made
some color prints for me from negatives, and they were absolutely
gorgeous. Far, far better than anything I could hope to do even if I did
spend the money (which I don't have), buy the equipment, and spend a
year or two monkeying around with color printing. He provided a valuable
service that the "market", in its infinite wisdom, has decided should
end up in the shitcan.

So, in short, your answer sucks.
 >> Stay informed about: Another one bites the dust 

On 2007-12-05 00:59:50 -0500, Scott W <biphoto.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> said:

> David Nebenzahl wrote:
>> So I talked to the person today who I am pretty sure was the last to
>> operate a commercial wet color darkroom here in the San Francisco East
>> Bay, and sure enough, as I suspected since he just recently moved, his
>> darkroom didn't make the move. (His business was previously called
>> "Clone Art".) So as far as I know, that leaves nobody on this side of
>> the bay who makes "real" color prints. (Dunno about the South Bay or
>> San Francisco, but I don't hold out much hope there either.)
>
> Darkroom work is really now a hobbyists activity, expecting someone to
> try and stay in business doing it is asking a bit much.
>
> Scott

Maybe not. Look at this website: http://www.ilfochrome.com/index.html

--
Michael
 >> Stay informed about: Another one bites the dust 

David Nebenzahl wrote:
> So I talked to the person today who I am pretty sure was the last to
> operate a commercial wet color darkroom here in the San Francisco East
> Bay, and sure enough, as I suspected since he just recently moved, his
> darkroom didn't make the move. (His business was previously called
> "Clone Art".) So as far as I know, that leaves nobody on this side of
> the bay who makes "real" color prints. (Dunno about the South Bay or San
> Francisco, but I don't hold out much hope there either.)

I haven't had any prints made there in some time, but Action Photo
Service in Concord appears to still do traditional wet printing.

http://www.actionphotoservice.com/

Dana
 >> Stay informed about: Another one bites the dust 

On 12/6/2007 7:57 AM Dana Myers spake thus:

> David Nebenzahl wrote:
>> So I talked to the person today who I am pretty sure was the last to
>> operate a commercial wet color darkroom here in the San Francisco East
>> Bay, and sure enough, as I suspected since he just recently moved, his
>> darkroom didn't make the move. (His business was previously called
>> "Clone Art".) So as far as I know, that leaves nobody on this side of
>> the bay who makes "real" color prints. (Dunno about the South Bay or San
>> Francisco, but I don't hold out much hope there either.)
>
> I haven't had any prints made there in some time, but Action Photo
> Service in Concord appears to still do traditional wet printing.
>
> http://www.actionphotoservice.com/

So that makes two (in this thread) so far. Maybe someone should compile
a list of current extant color printers ...
 >> Stay informed about: Another one bites the dust 

On Dec 5, 6:59 pm, Michael <adunc79....RemoveThis@mypacks.net> wrote:
> Maybe not. Look at this website:http://www.ilfochrome.com/index.html

I was having B/W prints done commercially something like 30 years ago
in a fairly small town. It seems like there were lots of small one
man labs that would make prints. These were for where I worked and it
worked very well for me since I would drop off the film and in a day
or two have the prints. Back then there was not much of any other way
to get prints done so if you were a company and needed prints from
time to time you would use one of these small labs to get prints
made. But I believe that during this same time frame almost all
amateur photographers doing B/W had either a darkroom or access to
one.

I sure that there is still some work for small labs making B/W prints,
but it can't be like it was 30 years ago.

Scott
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"David Nebenzahl" <nobody.DeleteThis@but.us.chickens> wrote in message
news:4758210b$0$2732$822641b3@news.adtechcomputers.com...

> So that makes two (in this thread) so far. Maybe someone should compile a
> list of current extant color printers ...

Does Gamma still have a lab in the BA?
Chicago?
 >> Stay informed about: Another one bites the dust 

On 12/3/2007 9:51 PM David Nebenzahl spake thus:

> So I talked to the person today who I am pretty sure was the last to
> operate a commercial wet color darkroom here in the San Francisco East
> Bay, and sure enough, as I suspected since he just recently moved, his
> darkroom didn't make the move. (His business was previously called
> "Clone Art".) So as far as I know, that leaves nobody on this side of
> the bay who makes "real" color prints. (Dunno about the South Bay or San
> Francisco, but I don't hold out much hope there either.)

Just a little clarification, in case it wasn't clear: There are plenty
of places around that still make "wet" color prints: they're known as
your local drugstore/"photo" store that makes quick prints. The
difference is that all these processors are "hybrids", meaning that the
front end is digital (scanning negatives), and the print is exposed
digitally (w/laser) and then wet-processed. I'm talking about all-analog
processing, making optical prints the old-fashioned way.

And yes, I can tell the difference. While the quality of the digital
prints is pretty good, I can definitely see artifacts due to
digitization, particularly in certain kinds of textures. A well-made
optical print brings it to a higher level of clarity (while a
poorly-made optical print looks mushy).
 >> Stay informed about: Another one bites the dust