I never said that the craft would get in the way.I was saying it was simply part of the whole process. I just don't understand any objection to discussing the remaining options. I am an artist first. I chose photography as my medium 35 years ago. And an important part of photography is the craft with which I express my vision. I STILL need SOMEWAY to actualize my vision.be it alt, silver gelatin, or digital. _____ From: pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mark Blackwell Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2007 12:00 AM To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [pure-silver] Re: Oriental Seagull Papers Bob Instead of looking at the losing of a paper as a door closing, I think we should be looking at it as a new opportunity to expand that creative vision. People tend to get stuck in ruts. I liked that paper, film ect combination. Instead of trying to recreate that look, why not try to expand the vision and see things that in the past were stuck in the same combo. Though many may not share the excitement of alternative processes, it may not be that long before black and white film and analog printing is an alternative process. We love it for lots of reasons. Yet I don't have the time nor desire to make my own paper or create my own film. Yes some of my favorite films are gone. Some were very old. Yet the craft of photography shouldn't get in the way of the art of photography. BOB KISS <bobkiss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: DEAR MARK, Curious, but things either always bother me or bother me from time to time, not both. ;-)) All seriousness aside, photography is both a visual art and a craft and we are both artists and craft persons. We have a vision and need materials with which to express that vision.and now we find the number of options for silver gelatin printing materials contracting. This is why I started using alternative processes (platinum/palladium, cyanotype, salt and albumen prints); I can sensitize the printing materials myself.and make the actual paper if I am sufficiently masochistic. And I may even try collodion negatives, just like Brady & Co. I find alt processes exciting because there are SO many options with which to express my vision. Now when I have a visual inspiration I expose and process the negative taking into account my previsualization of the final print including the printing medium I will use. Some things look fantastic in cyano which would look boring in PT/PD. Some glow with a rich warmth in PT/PD which look, literally, cold in cyano. And some of my visions are best expressed in toned silver gelatin. I don't consider a discussion of options for printing paper obsessing about materials when so many are disappearing. Painters need to decide; acrylic or oils, cotton canvas or linen, etc. Have you ever tried to find genuine Blue-Marine these days? I mean the kind described in the book "Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling"? It was made from (I think) abalone shells. Most modern oil paints are made from other kinds of pigments and look great but they just don't have the color you will see on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. I agree that there are some who obsess but, in the present context, I don't feel that is the case. CHEERS! BOB _____ From: pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mark Blackwell Sent: Monday, September 17, 2007 10:27 PM To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [pure-silver] Re: Oriental Seagull Papers Something that always bothers me from time to time. Do we get caught up too often in what paper we use, what settings are on the camera and what developer happens to be available at any given time? Look at some of what Mathew Brady's people did during the US civil war (1860s now) when they were not only developing but making their own plates for immediate use in either tents or wagons. A more modern example how many of you looked and saw what Becky Lynn did in a goat shed? That's not to say that we shouldn't explore all areas of the art, but maybe sometimes we get too caught up in what we don't have instead of making the most of what we have available. Mark _____ Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect. Join <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=48516/*http:/surveylink.yahoo.com/gmrs/yahoo_pan el_invite.asp?a=7%20> Yahoo!'s user panel and lay it on us. _____ Building a website is a piece of cake. Yahoo! Small Business gives you all <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=48251/*http:/smallbusiness.yahoo.com/webhosting/ ?p=PASSPORTPLUS> the tools to get online.