The Online Photographer

Resolution 2010

I've got a nice surprise. But first, a short digression about another kind of "print resolution."

Every few years, I take stock of my track record in living up to my New Year's resolutions, and it occurs to me that I could improve my wretched rate of success by setting my sites lower. So, the other day, I was sitting around in the living room with my son.

Me: My New Year's resolution is to clean up the living room.

Zander: Have fun with that.

Me: Actually, I was planning on enlisting your help.

Zander: Sorry, but that would interfere with my New Year's resolution, which is 'Don't clean the living room so much.'"

Maybe that's not setting my sights quite low enough.

Anyway, I actually do have one great New Year's Resolution this year: I've made the decision to start a photography collection. [Insert heralding trumpets, clouds parting, rays of sun, etc.]

I've never done it before. Although I've always wanted to try.

Of course, I don't have what's known as the big bucks, so there aren't going to be any Friedlanders or Erwitts or Koudelkas or Jim Marshalls in my collection. I'm not going to be haunting the auction houses in New York city or causing big-time photo dealers to beam and clasp their hands together in pleasure whenever I heave my deteriorating frame into view. Over the years, however, I've accrued some prints from various sources, in various ways, from here and there, hither and yon, and it occurred to me not long ago that a fair number of good ones actually fall neatly into a specific and fairly narrow category. So that determined my "principles of collection" (forgive me, I'm not going to share what they are) and "viola," as Phil Davis used to say*—I've got the core of a collection.

Another nice feature of this resolution is that it's going to require very little actual activity to fulfill. Because, y'see, I've only resolved to start a collection. Finishing stuff, that I'm not so good at. Starting stuff, well, that's my forte.

So far, aside from my already existing seed-core, I've contacted three photographers online and inquired about buying prints. As soon as I receive at least one that I like enough to add to the collection (sorry, The Collection)—then my New Year's resolution's fulfilled.

Viola.

The Ctein 2010 Dye Transfer Print Sale
And in a not-unrelated tidbit of news, that surprise I mentioned: I'm pleased and happy to report that plans are firming up for a second dye transfer print sale.

You'll recall that Ctein's first dye transfer print sale, in 2008, was a stunning success. (And here, I do mean stunning—after expecting to sell about a hundred prints, TOP readers ordered more than 700 in the few days the sale was active. We were both well and properly stunned—Ctein more so, because he had to make all the prints.) Dye transfer is one of the oldest and most difficult of traditional color printing methods, and the materials needed are no longer being manufactured. Never common, dyes are getting to be quite rare and are usually very expensive. Ctein is one of the few remaining masters of the craft, and when he offered to make modest-sized examples available for an extremely reasonable price (basically, a price that would be reasonable for an inkjet print), the response was amazing.

We had anticipated that the 2008 sale could not be repeated, because it would deplete Ctein's supply of materials to too great a degree. Well, for various reasons, he ended up the whole process a few months later with more materials than he started with, thanks largely to some former dye printers who contacted him and offered him their remaining stocks. 

So we're getting ready to do it again.

This time, however, the sale can't be open-ended. There will only be a limited number of prints available.

The announcement (with full details) will be made later this month. Stay tuned!

Mike

*Phil hated that joke.

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My Original Lewis

So check it out...I had my print of "Precipitation" framed. Picked it up yesterday. I chose an off-white acid-free rag mat with just a tinge of greenishness in it. The frame is a standard Nielsen #11. I didn't note the actual color, but it's a darkish gray with some green in it. (I had a hard time lighting this so it would give any sense of the color of the frame. I ended up taking it outdoors. The corners are actually perfectly aligned; that's a trick of the light. Note the barrel distortion of the Sony 50mm ƒ/1.4 lens. Sigh.... Yes, I know it can be fixed in post, but this is a quickie JPEG for the web. I'm not going to bother. Not when you can see the reflection of the tree in my back yard in the picture....)

The mat is 2" all around and 2 1/4" on the bottom. Mats that are too narrow look stingy or meager, which isn't good, but I've always considered mats that are too wide to be pretentious, which I also dislike.

The matting and framing cost me $70.59 at Gallery One about a mile down the road from me. That's $4.41 less than I paid Gordon for the print. That's yet another prejudice of mine—I did a stint moonlighting in a framer's shop a few lifetimes ago, and I was always somewhat put out by people who were willing to spend more on the frame than they paid to the artist for the artwork. Came in just under the wire on that score.

I took my Ctein dye transfer print in at the same time, but we're still working on getting unbuffered mat board for that.

My original Lewis looks modest but elegant on the wall of TOP World Headquarters. I wish I'd bought the 11x14" size. Too late now.

Mike

P.S. If you framed yours and want to show us what it looks like, here's the code for adding a picture to the comments:

<img src="http://image.jpg">

with, of course, the actual web address of your image starting with "http://" and ending in ".jpg". Make sure your image is no more than 470 pixels wide or it will appear truncated in the comments column.

P.P.S. Actually, apropos the post below, I'd talked to Juan a couple of years ago about offering a selection of his street photographs as a TOP print offer. Hmm...maybe we'd better try to reopen that discussion. There are a number of his pictures that I love and would love to have adorning the wall.

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Featured Comment by Greg Brophy: "As someone who used to work at a frame shop where we would hand guild gold frames, you get what you pay for. I framed a piece for my parents with a cheap frame and now it is buckling and the gold part is coming off. Framing is expensive. Maybe the photographers should charge more, but I wouldn't take it out on the people who work hard to make sure it is protected and looks great. I would get the people in the store who would have sticker shock and leave, but then it was a pleasure to get people who really cared about what they were framing. Sometimes it was artwork, other times it was something sentimental. The resulting work would look amazing. I have some incredible work framed at home. Everything from my grandfathers WWII jacket to fine art.

"I understand that it is expensive, but basic framing is not hard either and can be learned. Thankfully with the internet, I use places like American Framer and Light Impressions and do it myself. In 1995 they really didn't exist. They main thing I would suggest though is always use conservation mats like Bainbridge or Crescent at least 2 inches wide and us UV glass or plexi. You would be amazed at what one year unprotected will do to a picture."

Gordon's Print Sale is a Wrap

I'm happy to report that Gordon Lewis has now fulfilled all the "umbrella lady" print orders from a couple of weeks ago, so if you haven't gotten your print already you should receive it soon. If you ordered one and haven't received it by, say, two weeks from now, please contact Gordon or me.

Gordon's also written up an account of the experience over at his Shutterfinger blog. My urge to write a post about print pricing has lost its edge, and anyway I've lately been suffering a case of writer's block, a strange and mysterious malady that shouldn't even exist and yet, does. At any rate, those who cannot write, can point, so do visit Shutterfinger and read Gordon's thoughts. And thanks to everybody who bought a print. TOP's next print sale is planned for mid-winter, and we're in the early stages of planning a nice one for next Spring as well.

Mike

Last Chance Romance

I'm happy to say that Gordon Lewis's print sale (the umbrella lady, a.k.a. Precipitation) has been popular—we expected it to do well, but it has sold beyond expectations. A big success.

Just a reminder—don't forget that orders close in a matter of hours, at 12 noon on Wednesday. So if you intend to order a print for yourself, please make sure you get around to it before the deadline.

Oh, and that's 12 noon U.S. Eastern (Gordon's) time, so you might have to adjust for wherever in the world you are. Noon Eastern time, for example, is 9:00 a.m. in Seattle, 2:00 p.m. in San Paulo, 5:00 p.m. in Brighton, 8:00 p.m. in Dubai, 5:00 Thursday morning in Kamchatka, and, here at TOP World Headquarters in Wisconsin, 6:43.*

Anyway, don't forget. And thanks to all.

Mike

*Old George Carlin joke. Then again, they're all old George Carlin jokes.

UPDATE, Wednesday 12:38 p.m.: The sale has now ended and the"Buy It Now" tab has been removed from the original post. I'm happy to report that the sale was a smashing success! Thanks to everyone who participated.  —Mike

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Gordon Lewis Collector Print Offer: 'Precipitation'

Gordon Lewis, Precipitation (with virtual mat)

I'm very psyched about Precipitation, which is the actual title of the umbrella lady pic. The Fed-Ex man came up the walk yesterday afternoon bearing the proof prints from Gordon's printer in Philadelphia, and they look fantastic on the viewing board. (I've spent lots of time looking at 'em.) Gordon worked with the printer and settled on an 8x10 and an 11x14 size. The sizes are nominal; image area is slightly smaller. And, he's decided to offer just the one print this time.

There are of course many options when optimizing a print, but I think I like Gordon's and his printer's decisions; the print captures the light well. It's a striking picture. I like it an order of magnitude better in print form than I do as a JPEG, as you're seeing it here, mainly because of the better rendering of textures and surfaces. Although it still retains its lovely painterly quality. And I love the paper, Crane Museo, which I hadn't seen before—it's semi-gloss, but without much texture, and seems to get out of the way of the picture nicely while retaining a sense of richness and depth.

Would you help us spread the word about the offer? Post a link on other forums or groups you participate in, or on your own blog? And, thanks, if you do.

Here's the official stuff: it's officially the TOP Pentax K-7 Sample Print (although not subsidized by Pentax in any way). The offer is open for five days only, until Wednesday at noon, Philadelphia (Eastern U.S.) time. Payment has to be by PayPal unless you contact Gordon directly and arrange to send him a check (send me an email and I'll pass it along to him). After the offer closes the prints will be made in one run to fill the orders. (On an Epson Stylus Pro 9800 with UltraChrome K3 inks, by the way.)

Because Gordon's working with a professional lab, the prints are a little more expensive than if he were making them himself. Consider, though, that a "normal" gallery price for a photograph would be in the $500–$1,200 range, with $650 or so being a typical average; $250 was considered normal for a student print when I was in school in the '80s. Collecting orders in advance of production instead of filling orders one at a time allows us to offer the 8x10 size for $75 and the 11x14 size for $150. That's what you call a good deal. Even I would spend that much for this, and you know how I am.

Gordon will sign and date each print on the verso.

Shipping/packing/handling is $5 for U.S. orders and a total of $15 for international orders.

MUY IMPORTANTE: 
Please be sure the address you want your print sent to is on your payment page! Whether it's your official PayPal address or you write it in as a note by clicking on the link that says "Add special instructions to the seller." Don't count on emailing us separately with a shipping address...it's a real headache to track stuff like that.

Also, Gordon thinks I should mention that it would make a nice gift! It would, at that.

My sincere thanks to Gordon for working with us on this. Hope you like his print as much as I do.

Mike

UPDATE, Wednesday, October 7th: The sale has now ended. I'm happy to report that it was a smashing success. The only reason we had the sale in the first place was that the picture evoked so much spontaneous praise from readers after it appeared in the original review—which of course is no guarantee that people will actually like it enough to buy it! In this case, however, a lot of people did. I'll leave it to Gordon to write a wrap-up post about the whole experience, if he chooses to, once all the orders are filled. Thanks to everyone who participated.

And by the way, I'm having the test print framed. I've been looking at it for the better part of a week now, and I still like it.  —Mike

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Ctein Dye Transfer Print

Ctein, Competing Ferns

For about a year now, I've been after our regular contributor, Ctein, to see if he'd be willing to offer to our readership a fine example of a dye transfer print for a bargain price. Dye transfer (Ctein is perhaps the leading expert in the world today on dye transfer printing from color negatives—other specialists tend to work from transparencies) is the print equivalent of Kodachrome, the granddaddy of deluxe color techniques. Even in its heyday it was reserved for Rolls-Royce projects: advertising photography for reproduction and museum exhibition prints. It has always been expensive.

To really "get" what photographic print quality is all about, you need to see it for yourself. Words only go so far. One of my own ideal collections would be one that contained good samples of many of the great variety of photographic printing techniques. My little personal motley (you can't really call it a collection) contains tintypes, platinum prints, 8x10 contact prints, daguerreotypes, SX-70 prints, '40s snapshots, photogravures, and a lot else besides. A collection like that without a dye transfer print simply isn't complete. When museums and collectors want the absolute finest in color printing, they still call for dye transfer. Dye transfer prints have a richness and depth unmatched by any other kind of photographic print. Before the latest pigment inkjet prints on the best papers, they had the best longevity of any viable color print process. It still has the largest color gamut of any process. Dye transfer prints can show extraordinary subtlety of tone and hue, combined with a brightness range of 500:1 from blackest black to whitest white. No other print, black-and-white or color, matches that.

I'm happy to say Ctein's schedule has finally cleared, and for a very limited time (really, for reasons I'll get to in a moment), exclusively through T.O.P., we're very pleased to offer a choice of two excellent examples of dye transfer prints, "Kahili Wild Ginger" and "Competing Ferns." Large versions are available at Ctein's regular price, $1,100, but for this offer, you can get smaller (though still nicely-sized) versions for a radically reduced price—$100 for one, $180 for both (when ordered at same time and shipped to same address).

Ctein, Kahili Wild Ginger

Note that you will be making your payments directly to Ctein via Paypal, and he will be sending you your print(s). He promises delivery in time for Christmas.

To make this possible, it is necessary to take orders in advance and then print to order; it's only by printing all at once knowing in advance that each one is already sold that Ctein can make these prints for anything like this price. For that reason, ORDERS WILL BE TAKEN FOR TEN DAYS ONLY. (Last day will be Sunday, October 19th.) This isn't an arbitrary deadline; he needs to know how many to make. After that, the orders will be closed and the number of prints that were ordered will be produced.

Shipping costs are included in U.S. orders only. For out-of-country orders, shipping will be an extra $15 to Canada and $25 to all other countries. You'll need to arrange a separate payment of the extra shipping charge to Ctein. Prints will be shipped Priority Mail International, but delivery times are uncertain and he can't guarantee foreign delivery before Christmas (although he'll try).

Further details: The image area of Competing Ferns is 7.5 x 10" and of Kahili Wild Ginger is 8 x 9". Prints have at least one inch white borders around the image area and are signed and titled on front in archival ink, signed and dated on back in pencil. All prints will be shipped flat and sturdily packed, first-class mail, uninsured (Ctein will replace any that get damaged in shipping).

The image area of the large prints is approximately 14 x 19" for Competing Ferns and approximately 15 x 17" for Kahili Wild Ginger. Those will ship insured. (Note that there is no time limit on ordering the larger prints; these are regular sizes at regular prices. The time limit is for the low-cost versions.)

If you have placed an order and need to inquire about it please just email Ctein or me directly.

{SALE ENDED MIDNIGHT U.S. CENTRAL TIME, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19th}

I can say with confidence that there's absolutely no other way to get a dye transfer print at a price anywhere near this low. Just having a custom dye made from your own original (from one of the only three or four people other than Ctein who still do it) would cost on the order of $1,200 to $1,500. The craftspeople left in the world who can still make dye transfer prints could fit into one large living room. The materials are discontinued; the process is on the cusp of disappearing into history.

I'm not saying this is your absolute last chance to own a dye transfer print—not the case, yet. But the opportunities are getting scarcer (and most of them, more expensive) with the passing of time.

______________________

Mike

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P.S. If people can't see the photographs well enough here to feel comfortable ordering the prints, here are links to higher-quality JPEGs on Ctein's web site:

Kahili Wild Ginger

Competing Ferns