[ROL]

IMHO, in order to get to the point of "fine art printing" you must first get to the point of producing a negative that almost prints itself. Pushing your film to its optimum capability, and developing it to draw out those qualities, should leave you with a negative that you can print with least amount of work. It starts with seeing the finished print in your mind, moments before tripping the shutter of the camera. There should be a reason for the negative, not the hope that something "might" be there, is a start to the fine print.

Once you have that negative loaded in the enlarger, and see the first working print(not the contact print), you will know almost immediatly what will make it stand out. Your choice of paper and finish will have already been made before the shutter is engaged, that should have been one of the deciding factors for making the shot.

It does help to see how others print, what steps they take, what chemicals they prefer, their papers of choice. Studying books helps somewhat, that is always your interpertation of what the author is trying to get across. Ultimatly, the decision is yours as to how a particular photograph should look, to portray what you saw the moment you took the image. BTW, you do not need the most sophisticated equiptment, most expensive lenses(tho it helps), some of the finest prints ever produced are of humble origins in tiny makeshift darkrooms.

Just my tuppence worth.

Very sane and rational advice to live by.

Workshops can be inspirational and motivating (and expensive). As analog techniques recede further and further into the digital rear view mirror, and traditional educational institutions purge themselves of darkrooms, newbies may have little choice but to avail themselves of far flung workshops. There is simply no substitute for hands on training, whether self-taught or under the tutelage of master. Meanwhile, this may also be of some limited value to new analog printers.