Printing with Fred Picker

[ParkerSmithPhoto]

Would you like to see "an immediate and dramatic improvement in your print quality"? Fred Picker will be happy to help. All you have to do is read the attached handy-dandy pamphlet entitled, with great imagination, "Printing with Fred Picker."

This was in a pile of darkroom goodies I acquired over the weekend. I figured it would either bring back fond memories or promote the general welfare of silver prints in America and, either way, that it couldn't hurt to post it.

It's a little too big to post on APUG, so you can download it here. Enjoy! And let me know if it helps.

[fotch]

Hey, thanks.

[Chris Johnson]

Thanks for sharing. I have been printing for many years but this method looks like the best rational way to arrive at a quality image.

[pinholer]

Ahh yes, I had forgottern about Fred Picker. When I got interested in large format photography, I read Pickers books and subscribed to his newsletters. Other excellent sources of information on technique were Ansel Adams books and the article written by Howard Bond.

Picker was, I believe, first and foremost, a salesman of his products. He was always opinionated (what salesman isn't) but henerally had some good ideas and a fairly sound basis for doing what he did. If you run across his books or, better yet, a set of his newsletters get them. The information in them is timeless.

Another good source, especially for the technically inclined, are the articles that Howard Bond wrote for the old Darkroom Photography. I don't know if Howard still gives his classes or not but the articles used to be available at the classes.

[kbrede]

Thanks for posting this.

[ParkerSmithPhoto]

Another good source, especially for the technically inclined, are the articles that Howard Bond wrote for the old Darkroom Photography. I don't know if Howard still gives his classes or not but the articles used to be available at the classes.

I would love to read some of those articles by Howard Bond. His book shot in the Greek islands, "White Motif," is absolutely stunning. He made some fantastic portraits as well. You can pick up a used copy on Amazon for about $10. He has technical details for each image (lens, film, processing, etc) so it's quite educational as well.

Anyone have any of those lying around that they could scan? Maybe we need to ask APUG to set up a sticky for educational articles and so forth, things that are out of print, etc.

[jeffreyg]

Just a couple of notes of interest:
Years ago I purchased a Studio VI (Picker's brand) print washer and film washer as well as the electronic enlarger timer which I still use regularly. Somewhere along there we were in Vermont and went to Newfane thinking that was where he was located. It was a very small town so I stopped at a gas station/general store and asked where Studio VI was. I found out that Newfane was a mail drop for them and didn't really exist there. His book has good information and is very easy to follow if you can find it. The one I have is "The Fine Print".

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

[doughowk]

Its always helpful to see a photographer in action. Recommend viewing Fred's DVD, see Calumet's listing.

[ann]

Years ago in graduate school I took a class from a fellow who had studied with Fred. It wasn't a photography class, but a few of us ended up working with this guy for the next two years.

The second time we met as a class he showed us some of his work and we sat there in shock and said, can you teach us how to print like that?

He of course taught us the methods that he learned from Fred Picker and it turned my world around; learning how to control my tools and technique.

He was of course a salesman, but he made some great modification to equipment and had some wonderful tips and points about making better prints.

I have the whole set of his news letters, still sitting on the shelve at school in case my students what to take a look.

[bdial]

Just a couple of notes of interest:
Years ago I purchased a Studio VI (Picker's brand) print washer and film washer as well as the electronic enlarger timer which I still use regularly. Somewhere along there we were in Vermont and went to Newfane thinking that was where he was located. It was a very small town so I stopped at a gas station/general store and asked where Studio VI was. I found out that Newfane was a mail drop for them and didn't really exist there. His book has good information and is very easy to follow if you can find it. The one I have is "The Fine Print".

Newfane was where Fred lived, and he just kept that as the address for Zone VI, which actually operated down the road in Brattleboro. You probably drove through Brattleboro to get to Newfane