Printing for Ronny

Lord Mountbatten by Bern Schwartz. All photographs by Bernard Lee Schwartz, courtesy of and copyright by the National Portrait Gallery of Great Britain

By Ctein

Ken Tanaka's comment to my column of two weeks ago reminded me that I've never written about my experiences printing Bernard Lee Schwartz's portrait photographs. The Bernard Lee Schwartz Foundation, guided by his widow Ronny Schwartz, has been my largest and oldest printing client; we have a relationship that now goes back 30 years. Sadly, I never met Bern; the relationship started four years after his death.

Bern's work is notable in a couple of respects. Not because he's the greatest portrait photographer who ever lived, although he's head and shoulders above most of us.

What's notable is that he exhibited that level of proficiency in a mere four years of dedicated work: portrait photography was his second career. The Schwartz family owns Sherman-Clay (the piano company). Bern died an untimely death, cutting his photographic career short. It's unusual to establish a major body of work in such a short time.

(Bern is not the only photographer to make his mark after "retirement." Bob Cameron, the author of Above San Francisco and a whole series of follow-up books, did all of that work after retiring from the marketing and import business. It's nice to know you can establish your place in the photographic world starting at the point that many people would consider hanging up their working shoes.)

The second thing that makes Bern's work notable was his access; through a combination of friendships, networking, and word-of-mouth, he had the opportunity to photograph an extraordinary array of famous people, from important artists and authors to heads of state. A massive portfolio of decent-to-brilliant portraits of A-list people is nothing to be sneezed at.

Ronny crossed my path in 1982. She'd been unhappy with the quality of the chromogenic prints of Bern's work and was looking for something better. She'd had a dye transfer done of this famous portrait of Lord Mountbatten (if it looks familiar, perhaps it's because it was used on a British stamp) but wasn't satisfied with the results. She contacted Frank McLaughlin, the dye transfer guru at Eastman Kodak, who told her, "There's this guy in California you should try out; if he can't make a print that'll make you happy, there probably isn't anybody who can."

She did. I printed that Mountbatten photograph for her, as a test of my abilities. She was happy. She said she had another two or three dozen negatives she'd like to have printed. Well, that was just the first year or so. She kept selecting more portraits that she wanted done up properly as dye transfers. I ended up printing dyes for her for a good decade or longer. When all was said and done, I'm sure I did more than 150, maybe even 200.

Ronny proved great to work with. She was just as professional as I am, and she appreciated artistic effort as much as I do. Furthermore, she had at least as good an eye for a good print. Sometimes better. She pushed me, and she never accepted a print that she didn't think couldn't be improved upon. I've never worked with another client as fussy as she. I love it.

Printing for Ronny altered my life in other ways. It not only got me out of debt, but when my landlord decided to sell my residence and I had to find new living quarters, Ronny advanced me enough money on future work to allow me to buy a house.

After nearly a decade the flow of new negatives petered out. It wasn't that Ronny had become dissatisfied with my efforts or that there weren't many more portraits deserving of fine printing. I think she simply got burned out. She was the force that turned rolls of exposures into a solid body of work. She'd sort through hundreds of individual frames of film to find the one that she thought best embodied a subject (she knew the subjects as well as Bern did and was usually there for the photography). She figured out the crop that was the most effective composition and sometimes even made recommendations on how it should be printed. She became the primary artistic force after Bern's death (I have a personal suspicion she was a major one before that; I consider this work to be jointly hers and Bern's, no matter who pushed the shutter button). She may very well have put in more time over that decade editing and selecting the photographs as I spent printing them.

My relationship with the BLS Foundation continued at a low key level for another dozen years. I'd hear from them a couple of times a year, maybe. Then they developed a series of new initiatives to distribute his work. As president of the Foundation, their son Michael had the primary duties. (Ronny is alive and well and active; she's just got other things to do with her life. She is still the final arbiter of whether a print looks right or not when Michael and I are uncertain.) At first it was several dozen more dye transfer prints. Then, starting five or six years back, we began to move into digital.

It began with the portrait of Ann Jenner shown below, the negative for which was in such poor shape that I couldn't pull a decent print in the darkroom. I suggested we try a digital print, combining my skills both as a restoration expert and a fine digital printer.

This is the best dye transfer that I could make from the negative.

This is my digital print from the same negative.

The results were wonderful. We started doing more and more work as digital prints, and that finally took over from dye transfer entirely. All of us involved are firmly of the opinion that Bern would have just loved this new technology; we feel like we're getting results that are so much closer to what he must've been after when he pressed the shutter.

Since then, major projects I've been involved with for the Foundation have been scanning and archiving hundreds of the best negatives, preparing all the images for their website, making prints and preparing digital files for the large body of work that Foundation has donated the British National Portrait Gallery and the Hoover Institute and, most recently, printing for two exhibits in Israel sponsored by The Jerusalem Foundation.

So, the relationship continues. One client shaped my career as a custom dye and digital printer, through the remarkable support of Ronny and Michael. Lemme tell ya, every artisan should be so lucky as to have clients like that.

Ctein

NOTE: The BLS Foundation does not sell prints. Prints of works that are now owned by the National Portrait Gallery of Great Britain can be ordered through their website.

Ctein's column appears on Wednesdays.

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Original contents copyright 2012 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.

Featured Comment by Ken Tanaka: "What a personal coincidence you should mention Sherman-Clay! While visiting San Francisco in April I snapped this huge neon sign, certainly somewhat of a relic, while strolling to dinner one evening.

"What a terrific story, Ctein. Of course Bern Schwartz's story is remarkable. Not only did he have talent as a photo portraitist (I understand he had some rather exceptional instruction) but he was able to gain access to so many celebrities. How'd he do that?

"But the story of your 30-year relationship with Schwartz's work and family is equally remarkable. Time and again I encounter stories in the arts world where one person—a teacher, a collector, a gallery owner, a museum curator—made a profound difference in the trajectory of an artist's life. I know there is a guiding moral to this story for young artists and craftspeople...but I'm not sure what it is.

"Thanks very much for sharing this personal story with us, Ctein."

Featured Comment by Paddy C.: "For me, Ctein, one of you most interesting recent articles. Thanks for sharing. And that restoration job on the Jenner portrait looks amazing."

Comments

[Patrick Dodds]

As a 49 year old, it is nice to hear that it is possible to make one's mark in the photographic world later in life - thanks Ctein

[Richard Tugwell]

Hmmm - are you 100% sure about that British postage stamp?

[John Krumm]

It makes one wonder how you managed to squeeze in making over 600 prints and mailing them all recently (got it, looks great by the way). I enjoyed this story, and the foundation website is extensive and fun to explore. I especially like the "arts and letters" section. He used an interesting blend of what seemed like naturalistic, mid-conversation shots and more classically posed ones.

[darr]

Bravo Ctein!

[Gavin McLelland]

If anyone is visiting the UK and London then a visit to the National Portrait Gallery is well worth the time. It has portraits (painted and photographic) from several hundred years of British History. It's easy to compare styles and techniques between the centuries and it's a great introduction to figures in british and world history. Most of the photographs are in the 20th & 21st century rooms as you might expect, and they vary the portraits on display here more regularly. It's free and just off Trafalger square behind the National Gallery.
Gavin

[ctein]

Dear Richard,

Nope. I know there was a first day cover. Thought a stamp went with it. I'm no philatelist. I'll leave that to some stamp expert here to sort out.

pax / Ctein

[JD Elliott]

@Ken Tenaka: Just out of curiousity, what do you mean by "rather exceptional instruction"? I'd love to know how he progressed so quickly.

[Simon]

"courtesy of and copyright by the National Portrait Gallery"

I'd be interested to know how the NPG came to own copyright in the image? It seems odd, usually it's either the photographer, or especially in a pre-1988 image, whoever commissioned the image.

[Jim Hart]

First day cover:
http://www.bfdc.co.uk/1982/maritime_heritage/earl_mountbatten_of_burma.html

More on the photographer:

http://www.npg.org.uk/about/press/bern-schwartz.php?searched=bern+schwartz

Regards,

Jim

[GLT Bandy]

Dear Mr. C (don't know you well enough to use your total name - yet.)

I too have started a new career at (forced) retirement age - been shooting for pleasure 30 or so years, now will try to combine some profit with the pleasure. Your column gave me a bit of extra "zetz" to get on with it - just as your bridge picture prominently displayed at my home (thank you) reminded me that it's the shooter not just the instrument.

Thank You for your skill and all the great writing.
GLT Bandy

[Ben Rosengart]

Sounds like you and Ronny are both lucky that you found each other. It's a lovely story. I'm sure you've thanked Frank more than once.

[John Camp]

"I'm no philatelist."

Philatelist -- not a word you often see in the wild. Reminds me of the story of the southern politician who charged that his opponent was a long-time philatelist and that his daughter had gone to New York and become a thespian.

[Bahi]

A story of a terrific match between a client and a provider of expert services — I love it when that happens!

[Jean H]

@ JD Elliott: Philippe Halsman was his teacher/

[ctein]

Dear Simon,

It's true that in 1978-79, the US rewrote its copyright law to establish that copyright inherently resided with the creator and that one didn't have to take exceptional measures to establish it or hold it (these rights were vastly strengthened when the US signed on to the Berne Convention in 1988-89). But a copyright is nothing more than a kind of property; the revisions to the law establish that the creator owns that property from the get go, but they're still entirely free to transfer it to someone else.

That's what the BLS Foundation did: they gave prints, the original negatives, and the copyrights to those photographs to the NPG.

~~~~~~

Dear GLT,

I presume as you get to know me better you'll work your way up to addressing me as "Ct?" Then “Cte ...?"

Who knows where that might lead? Will there be no end to the madness?

Yeah, in round numbers, both Bern and Bob were 60 years old when they embarked on their ultimately highly successful photographic careers. Bob's lasted for almost 40 years. Bern, not so lucky. It's a crapshoot, you know.

But you might as well assume the best. It's a lot more fun that way. As the James Taylor lyrics go, “Never give up, never slow down, never grow old, never ever die young.”

pax \ Ctein
[ Please excuse any word-salad. MacSpeech in training! ]
======================================
-- Ctein's Online Gallery http://ctein.com 
-- Digital Restorations http://photo-repair.com 
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[Peter Croft]

I agree, what an interesting article! And what a great illustration of what digital technology has done for us.

When looking at that first portrait, I didn't know who it was but was struck by the radiance of the personality, the patrician look, whatever it is.

I know you can't publish something like this, but I can't help wondering if another copy of that were made without the uniform, in some ordinary blue collar shirt, without visual clues and without the name. Would it still project the power and magnetism? What is it about a face that makes us look twice?

[Christopher]

Incredibly enjoyable article, thank you for sharing it!

[Crabby Umbo]

Great story! Also great to know what might be able to be accomplished with my poor professional color negs from the 1970's...we were told they were an unstable media at the time, but a decent priced and decent looking print from transparency just was not available in the era (believe me, Cibachrome, was "something", but not an easy or accurate media)...so we shot color neg film when the primary usage was going to be a display print...always wondered if something could be done with the images 40 years later...

...so different today with Ektar 100 in 120!

[David Bennett]

This is the best and most pleasing article I have read for ages - mostly because Ctein's a good guy and it is great to hear about quality winning through.

[Dennis Allshouse]

A wonderful story and a mind blowing comparsion print example.

[John Holland]

So Ctein, at that link to the NPG, I presume when one clicks on the "Buy a Print" link, one cannot expect to get an actual print by Ctein (at least, not for 35 pounds). But do you know, are they made from the digital files you scanned?

Also, what was the film format?

Echo everyone above, a great story.

[ctein]

Dear Crabby and Peter,

The before-and-after illustrations here understate the improvements digital made. Keep in mind that the before illustration is the very best dye transfer I could make from that negative and included a considerable amount of individual color curves correction in the darkroom (dye transfer lets you do that). The original negative was far worse.

Bern's negatives all went into cold storage at -20 Celsius shortly after they were made. The Schwartz's well understood the importance of archival storage. The vast majority of his negatives are in excellent shape. The ones that aren't appear to be the result of faulty processing of the film in the first place.

The negative of Jenner is by far the worst I've seen in their collection. It isn't even normal color crossover or deterioration, like you'd see with incorrect bleaching, washing, or stabilization. The curves are just completely screwed up relative to each other. My suspicion is a bad batch of developer at the lab. That can make for some crazy curves because the different color layers in the film emulsion are competing with each other for development. So, if something throws the activity wildly off, you don't get simple contrast changes or color shifts, you get all sorts of weird interactive effects depending on the relative exposure each layer of the emulsion received at a given point.

I don't keep notes on this sort of thing, but my recollection is that most of the color restoration was pretty straightforward. I picked an appropriate black point for the curves adjustment layer and an appropriate white point, and then used the middle gray eyedropper to find something that brought the overall color balance into some semblance of normality. The resulting curves look pretty nuts, graphically, but the image looked pretty good.

Lots and lots of fiddling after that, of course, but I was already in the ballpark.

pax \ Ctein
[ Please excuse any word-salad. MacSpeech in training! ]
======================================
-- Ctein's Online Gallery http://ctein.com 
-- Digital Restorations http://photo-repair.com 
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[ctein]

Dear John,

Nope, I'm not making the prints for the NPG. I don't even know if they're being made from my final printing files. I don't even know if they have copies of my final printing files. Come to think of it, I don't even know if I've made final prints of all the negatives they were given; I'd have to go back and look at all my records.

The high-quality scans in question are kind of like digital negatives. I'm scanning to capture the entire density range of the original negative, doing spotting and dust removal to clean up the scans, and doing a VERY approximate color balance on them. They're not close to final print.

They might be printing from my scans (I don't remember if the Foundation sent them discs of those or not) but they would look substantially different from the prints I made; it would be like handing the same negative to two different custom printers.

Sorry I can't give you more definitive information on the quality of their prints.

pax \ Ctein
[ Please excuse any word-salad. MacSpeech in training! ]
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-- Ctein's Online Gallery http://ctein.com 
-- Digital Restorations http://photo-repair.com 
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[Sarge]

Behind every great photographer is a ...*

Fwiw, I like the ballerina's skin tone and the "antique" look of the dye transfer print. It's probably more valuable(?)

Great personal tribute all around.

*printer.

[Peter Croft]

Yes, on the topic of scanning, I started out with a Nikon LS30 back in 2001 or so, then an LS4000 a few years later. I scanned about 1000 Fuji Reala negs and about 3000 Kodachrome 25s, 64s, Fujichromes, Ektachromes and sundry others in the next few years.

If only I'd understood what NEF RAW was all about! I didn't understand it, so I scanned to TIFF with steadily improving results as I got more experienced at it, but if I had the NEFs now, I could go back and rework them to modern standards.

I've still got the scanner and all the film, but have I got the stamina to do it again? Of course, if I chose only the very best to redo, ...

Lesson: use RAW, both in shooting and scanning.

[Peter Croft]

PS: the Kodachromes were beasts to scan, especially the K64s, even with the LS4000's Kodachrome setting. They were processed here in Australia in the 1980s/90s and I strongly suspect now that Kodak Melbourne's processing was always a bit off. I just assumed blueish/cyan slides were the norm, much to my regret. Too late then and now. If only RAW had been available in film days.

[GLT Bandy]

" I presume as you get to know me better you'll work your way up to addressing me as "Ct?" Then “Cte ...?"

Dear Ct
As an unabashed fan of your work and writing, the opportunity to correspond with you, and the joy of having a Ctein print in me 'umble abode have considerably brightened the last few months. I just wanted to echo so many of the writers in complimenting the marvelous Bern Schwartz story, and a personal thanks for all the reading pleasure. Oh yeah - and the gentle (but persistent) prodding to make me think before pressing the shutter like back in the sixties when every frame of TX was a story. 
Cheers!
Gabe (still lookin' for a classy signature like Ctein) Bandy

[John Shriver]

The picture of Ann Jenner is a totally convincing argument in favor of the "digital darkroom" workflow for color printing. The frustration level in attempting that dye transfer print must have been considerable.

What's also fascinating is that the final result still has the C-22 Kodacolor/Ektacolor "look" to it. The palette is quite recognizable, and quite pleasing. Nothing exaggerated about the colors.