I found a listing for texture screens in freestlye sales magazine. Has anyone used them before? Any tips? I have ordered the canvas one and the linen one. I would like to try the relic grain, and etching one next. They are fairly cheap, only about three bucks. But I can't find any other sourse for them. Is that a bad sign? thanks

-- martha goldsmith (oscar@unidial.com), November 19, 1999

Answers

I've made some of my own and the biggest drawback is that they are somewhat "gimmicky". Effects like these are best used sparingly.

-- Barry Schmetter (bschmett@my-deja.com), November 26, 1999.

I used them so long ago that my experience isn't really of any use. All I recall is that some worked better laid directly on the paper, and some worked better sandwiched with the neg in the enlarger. The texture effects - canvas pattern, brushstokes - on the paper. The bizarro effects - sunburst, motion lines - in the enlarger. This was back around 1970, when all manner of excess was considered "groovy", so take it from there...

But the previous comment about how gimmicky they look cracked me up: do the same effects on the digital side with something like Paint Shop Pro or PhotoPlus, and people fall all over themselves declaring you a genius!

(I think these effects mostly look gimmicky no matter how they're acheived, but every once in a while, used with some subtlety, they work very nicely! Worth the effort to play with, but just using them is certainly no guarantee of brilliance.))

-- Michael Goldfarb (mgoldfar@mobius.com), November 27, 1999.

I personally find texture screens stupid. There exists posibly an artistically valid application, but I sure don't know what it might be. A really interesting variation is negative reticulation, which imparts a varied pattern instead of the all-over effect of texture screens.

-- Standish Lawder, Denver Darkroom (sdl@sni.net), February 10, 2000.