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David Adamson's Graciousness and Skill


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Some months ago, when master printer David Adamson posted an image of a 30X40 print he had made from an M8 DNG file, a lively -- sometimes rude, mostly informative -- thread ensued. This was in the early days of the M8's release, and David's statement about the quality of the M8's capture and subsequent file detail was met with some hoots by the skeptical. David calmly answered a number of questions, and just as calmly held his ground. At one point, he offered members of the Leica Forum to make a 30X40 print of an M8 file for $300, I think in no small part to say, You have to see it to believe it, the prints are that good.

 

I live in Washington, as does David, and a few weeks ago I contacted him to take him up on his offer. I had an image taken in Bhutan that, among the 1000 or so I had taken there in March, struck me as worth trying to optimize by a printer as skilled as David. Having just gotten the print back, I must I'm stunned by what a great job David did -- and also by his graciousness and emmense skill.

 

Here is the image:

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And here is a picture of David and his shop, taken on a day when it's 100 degrees in the shade in Washington...

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John, thanks for sharing your experience. I have made prints as large as 17x22, on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Bright White stock, from images shot with my M8 and have been very impressed, particularly with the detail and sharpness.

 

One thing that has struck me as my prints have gotten larger and larger, is how different they tend to look. Outputting an image at, let's say, 8x10", sometimes requires a very different approach than outputting something much larger. I would say generally that as you make a print larger, the flaws and problems become more obvious, and need to be addressed if possible.

 

I'd be interested in knowing a bit more about what exactly David does--do you give him a file, let him work some magic on it for the purposes of outputting such a large print (noise reduction, increase contrast, sharpness, etc.?) Or, does he simply take your file and output it as is?

 

Thanks,

 

Steve Plattner

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Steve - David asked me to give him both an unprocessed DNG file and one processed as I thought it should be. So I brought him two CDs, with one photo on each, so there would be no confusion. When I dropped them off -- he has a nice studio in an alley in the Shaw neighborhood in DC -- he showed me a couple of the prints he'd made from M8 files. The level of detail exhibited in the large prints was quite something. Now, in the photo I brought him, there's not that much fine detail: the action overwhelms it, and there's only a small plane of one of the monk's robes both in focus and stationary. But the level of ... I guess information is the word, not detail ... that you can see in the large print is really something. He told me that he used the image more or less as I processed it, though he excised a small section in the lower left hand corner that he said drew the eye to it inappropriately. It looks very much like the photo as I processed it in Lightroom, only, of course, way better. One thing is clear: M8 files can make for large, cool prints.

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  • 6 months later...

What a beautiful shot! Looks great as a large print!

 

Some months ago, when master printer David Adamson posted an image of a 30X40 print he had made from an M8 DNG file, a lively -- sometimes rude, mostly informative -- thread ensued. This was in the early days of the M8's release, and David's statement about the quality of the M8's capture and subsequent file detail was met with some hoots by the skeptical. David calmly answered a number of questions, and just as calmly held his ground. At one point, he offered members of the Leica Forum to make a 30X40 print of an M8 file for $300, I think in no small part to say, You have to see it to believe it, the prints are that good.

 

I live in Washington, as does David, and a few weeks ago I contacted him to take him up on his offer. I had an image taken in Bhutan that, among the 1000 or so I had taken there in March, struck me as worth trying to optimize by a printer as skilled as David. Having just gotten the print back, I must I'm stunned by what a great job David did -- and also by his graciousness and emmense skill.

 

Here is the image:

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What a beautiful shot! Looks great as a large print!

 

What I am wondering is this: All the images shown have been of images which are very graphic and do not contain much fine detail, but rather depend on clarity (large blocks of colour, metal mesh i.e sharp edged fairly big things). I was absolutely blown away when I saw what a photog friend (wildlife) did with a 6mp SLR in about five years ago. However, if shooting, say a forest scene or anything really with that 'walk in and explore the enless detail lure' how do the files from a M8 work out at such huge print sizes? I mean 5x4 compares very favorably with 10x8 at smaller sizes just as 6x7 does with 5x4....but with a very 'clean' graphic image, a 6x7 shot can look as good as one from 10x8 at big sizes if the subject does not have loads of super fine detail.

 

I would be interested to know if David has done any 40 inch prints off far busier subject matter where there re lots of tiny details and compared to MF/LF film scans. I have to admit, some o the material I am reading sounds very compelling and I for some time have felt that for a lot of 'less busy' subject matter, digital is incredible due to clarity somehow, but for the reproduction of outright detail I am still skeptical. Any thoughts?

 

PS you must be proud as anything with that print (presumably on your wall!)

 

 

 

Some months ago, when master printer David Adamson posted an image of a 30X40 print he had made from an M8 DNG file, a lively -- sometimes rude, mostly informative -- thread ensued. This was in the early days of the M8's release, and David's statement about the quality of the M8's capture and subsequent file detail was met with some hoots by the skeptical. David calmly answered a number of questions, and just as calmly held his ground. At one point, he offered members of the Leica Forum to make a 30X40 print of an M8 file for $300, I think in no small part to say, You have to see it to believe it, the prints are that good.

 

I live in Washington, as does David, and a few weeks ago I contacted him to take him up on his offer. I had an image taken in Bhutan that, among the 1000 or so I had taken there in March, struck me as worth trying to optimize by a printer as skilled as David. Having just gotten the print back, I must I'm stunned by what a great job David did -- and also by his graciousness and emmense skill.

 

Here is the image:

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Hello John and Happy New Year!

Thank you for the kind comments on my studio, I meet many pro photographers here using equipment that spans the gamut from high end digital to large format film and all are impressed with the results of the M8.

 

I think the size issue is a moot issue, historically we have always been programmed to accept grain in images the larger the image the larger the grain structure. This in no way takes away from the image and we gladly accept it. In digital, grain becomes an annoying digital artifact that is too clearly structured. There are now several programs that allow you to simulate this random analog grain structure along with raw development tools so you can extract maximum information from our files. Having said this of course some files lend themselves to greater degrees of enlargement than others this holds true of film as well as digital.

 

Without a doubt the M8 delivers very sharp clean images that I can work with in enlarging beyond what one would consider normal.

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I have made 20"x30" prints from my M8 files. As one reader said, large onjects without a lot of fine detail REALLY look nice this size. I used Alien Skin's "Blowup" and "Exposure" to add grain. It is a soft fog scene and looks great in a 30"x36" mat and frame. It is on display at a local Restraunt/Pub, along with 70 other prints of mine, and draws a lot of good comments. I will try to attach a copy.

Regards

Dave G

Beach Haven, NJ

http://www.modernpictorials.com/D216A%2072%20dpi%20.jpg

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I just wanted to write and thank John for starting this thread. I had read the previous set of mails on this topic a while ago and was sad at the comments David got. John, the print must make you very proud to be the photographer and David, I respect you for helping create art in ways more and more people can enjoy.

 

best wishes for the New Year,

Arif

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David - a beautiful shot

Harris

 

Thank you Harris. The M8 really does deliver beautiful files. I am expecting any day the coding template/decoder gadget from Tim, so I will hand code all of my lenses and start using the IR cut filters. I have eight Non Leica lenses waiting!

Dave

Beach Haven NJ:rolleyes:

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