True, he did not. But he had the best doing it for him, he knew exactly how he wanted his prints to look. Whether you do it or you have somebody else do it, it's necessary. Gene Smith slaved for hours in the darkroom, towers above most mere mortals. Absolute master of the decisive moment.
http://www.masters-of-photography.com/S ... mith2.htmlI'll say finally that I'm lucky to own some beautiful books of photographs, very much care has gone in to making them. From the printing to the binding, utmost care and devotion has been put in to showing the work at its best, good work deserves no less. A good work ethic can enter in to every aspect of your photography, from camera to print. A person can embrace photography's relationship to the world or they can ignore it and pervert it, that's as true now as it was in 1850. Fear not, Barri. sounds like you've come to realise that you want to embrace the former, you wouldn't be the first.
"Each venture
Is a new beginning, And what there is to conquer
By strength and submission, has already been discovered
Once or twice, or several times, by men whom one cannot hope
To emulate—but there is no competition—
There is only the fight to recover what has been lost
And found and lost again and again..."
T.S. Eliot
What uses having a great depth of field, if there is not an adequate depth of feeling? -
W. Eugene Smith