Funny how the simplest things can make a great difference and significantly contribute to improvements in our work! In a previous posting I discussed how a strip of wood might just be your most important piece of equipment.  I had read about it in what now seems like an ancient Fred Picker newsletter.  In short, mounting a strip of wood on the wall in a place where you can view your mounted prints, lit in a manner they might normally appear in, and at a height they would normally be viewed, enables you sit back over a period of time and really decide whether they are keepers or material for the circular file.

Recently I had to redo two prints after I had them mounted, matted and spotted. Why? I realized after studying them for several days under the right light that they were too dark. Ended up reprinting both and guess what … they looked better!

After what can often seem like hard fought victories in the darkroom, it can be painful to admit you could have done a better job at judging the final outcome. You have to check your ego outside the darkroom. Otherwise you are just wasting your time. And the final results will confirm that.

The worst thing I hear when discussing prints with others is “I think I could have made it better”. OK, so, why didn’t you? @#$%^&$%^&%!

Is it laziness or apathy?  In the final analysis it really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you do the best job you can. And if that means throwing the fruits of hours of work into the trash, then that’s the way it goes.

Yes, that damn strip of molding doesn’t lie. But I’m glad it’s there to remind me that sometimes I can do better.