A forgotten technique

One of the more fun aspects of the drudge that used to be darkroom work was making a contact sheet of your 35mm film roll. Arraying 36 snaps on one sheet of 8″ x 10″ paper made for easy selection of the winners.

It’s a forgotten technique as now we bang away, a million snaps a minute, and then examine everything on a computer screen. Every bit as valid but far less contemplative. And easier to miss a good one amongst all the noise.

Here’s a contact sheet from the great humorist with a Leica, Elliott Erwitt:

And here’s the one he chose:

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