Prints

About Prints

The ultimate tangible expression of a photographic image is the photographic print. Just as in other art disciplines like painting or sculpture, it’s the physical artwork that is important. In photography, that importance has always been the print. It is something that is tactile. It reflects the light in a certain way. It might even have a faint scent from the printing process. A photographic print is not just a pretty picture! It is the result of a labor-intensive process using the very best materials and culminating in an ultimately singular work of art!

This website showcases images that reveal the width and breadth of my work. Admittedly, that is a big reason for its existence. That said, it is also catalog of images that can be crafted into printed works. If you see anything here that interests you, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Before you consider purchasing a print, I want you to understand what a photographic print is and isn’t. So many of us are used to looking at a computer screen that we forget we are looking at what is fundamentally a light source. Think about what you see in video games. The light is emanating from the image. Most everyone’s monitor defaults are set up for high contrast, over saturated colors and to be overly bright. In contrast, a print is illuminated by reflected light. This is a more subtle experience that is affected by the print’s surface (the whiteness or silvery-ness of the paper and its texture) and how it is lit. Do not expect a photographic print to illuminate a room when the lights are out.

I make my prints to order. As part of the process, I always review the image before printing and very likely will make subtle changes during the printing process that I think will make it a better image. As such, every print is hand-made and in small ways, unique from every other print from the same master. That said, no matter what size, what small edits I make or what medium I print in, I have limited the total number of prints from any certain master to 200.

All prints come with a Certificate of Authenticity, a sheet with care instructions and are numbered and signed.

In general, the smallest I print is 16×20 inches (or 20 inches on the long side depending on the crop) and I print in 3 different mediums: Museum Quality Paper, Metal and Acrylic. All can be delivered framed or unframed, depending on the buyer’s wishes. What follows are descriptions.

Museum Quality Paper

This is the traditional medium for photographic prints. The paper is made without “brighteners” which create a very white surface but will yellow after just a few years (or even months!) Almost all less expensive papers contain brighteners. Museum quality papers are a stable medium that can last for generations! I have several premium papers that I use but I primarily prefer two. One is a textured paper (think, watercolor paper with a semi-rough surface), the Hahnemuehle Museum Etching paper. The other is a smoother surfaced photographic paper, the Canson Platine Fibre Rag. All of my papers take the inks very well and provide quality images. The inks are “archival” in nature, meaning that they will not fade or change color over time. When printing on paper, I will leave a border of the paper visible around the image area. I find that it is very pleasing to mat or frame with that border in mind. Prints on paper need to be properly framed.

Advantages: A traditional hand-crafted quality with beautiful tones and detail worthy of a work of art.

Disadvantages: Harder to clean and more affected by direct sunlight.

Metal Prints

Metal is probably now the most popular medium for photographic prints. They use a process called “Dye Sublimation”. Rather than printing on the surface, the image is infused into the coating. The result is high definition, extremely stable and durable. These can be framed or left with the metal edge unframed.

Advantages: Beautiful, detailed, bright colors and very durable to the extent that they can be cleaned with a damp cloth or household cleaners. They look great framed or unframed.

Disadvantages: Less of that hand-made quality and more machine-made. Although fairly durable, one needs to be careful to not bend the metal, leaving a permanent bend. The corners are particularly easy to bend if the piece (unframed) is dropped.

Acrylic Prints:

The print itself is sandwiched between layers of thick acrylic, creating a sense of depth not achieved by the other processes. The result is an image of very high detail, color and a sense of depth created by the overlaying layer of acrylic. These are gaining in popularity in high-end galleries and other installations.

Advantages: Most decorative presentation, durable and wonderful rendition of color and detail, They look great framed or unframed

Disadvantages: Much heavier and more costly to produce.

Other Options:

Under certain circumstances with particular images, I can print on one of 5 the other papers that I prefer. I also can print black and white in a “wet” darkroom process by converting an image file to a negative and creating a traditional silver gelatin print. This was the kind of print favored by famous photographers such as Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. These options are a case-by-case basis. Contact me of you want to discuss this further.