Gordon Lewis's Second 'Precipitation' Print Offer (Three Days Only)

Gordon Lewis, Precipitation, 2009. It looks best as a real print.

[UPDATE: Sale ended 10/6/17 at 10 p.m. Thanks to everyone who participated! —Ed.]

By popular demand—if you don't remember, here's the story—today we're reprising a print offer from 2009: "Precipitation" by Gordon Lewis. Gordon is the author of the 2015 book Street Photography from Rocky Nook and has been a colleague of mine since the days of Darkroom Photography magazine.

If you're not familiar with our print sales, we do things a little differently. First, we collect paid orders for a strictly limited time—in this case, three days, from now through Friday evening. The photographer/printmaker can then make the prints to order and do everything in one large batch, knowing the prints are already sold. What that means is that we can sell fine art prints for prices way below what galleries would have to charge, but the photographer still makes money because what we lack in profit per piece we make up in volume. It's a nice marketing model because everyone wins.

However, you have to order now. Once the sale is over, it's over. Really, and no foolin'.

The details: These 2017 prints are made under the direction of Gordon Lewis by Mike and Janine Zaikowski of Profiles in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, using an archival inkset. The image area is 8.75 x 12 inches (30.48 x 22.225 cm) on an 11x14-inch sheet. The paper is Innova Exhibition Cotton Gloss, an OBA- and lignin-free archival paper with a "natural" (slightly warm) color. The print itself is slightly warmer than last time around, reflecting Gordon's evolving idea of what the light in the picture should look like. But they're quite close. Profiles made the prints the first time, too.

All the prints will be signed, on the front, at the lower right-hand side, outside of the image area.

Price: The price is $149* plus $16 for packaging and shipping to anywhere in the world. It's guaranteed: if for any reason you don't like it once you see it, you can return it for a 100% refund not including shipping. Only one shipping charge applies per order no matter how many prints you buy. Any prints damaged in shipping will be replaced.

Payment: There are two ways to pay:

1.) Through PayPal, or

2.) If you prefer not to use PayPal and would rather mail a cashier’s check or money order (which must be in U.S. dollars), please contact Gordon directly to make arrangements.

Mailing: If you need the print sent to an address different from your official PayPal-linked address, please note it in the Special Instructions / Comment field of the PayPal order page.

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This sale also helps support TOP, but the photographer always gets 80% of the proceeds. We support photographers!

As I said when we tested the waters, of all the prints we've ever offered, this one gets the most comments like these:

Eliot: "This is the print that I've always kicked myself for not getting. I would jump at the chance to get it."

GKFroehlich: "I've missed a handful of TOP print offers due to being totally off the grid for the duration of the print offers. The one print I have most regretted being unable to buy was this one! Yes, count me in!"

Erik: "Missed it the first time and have regretted not buying it every time I have seen it again."

I've heard comments similar to these about this particular print many, many times over the past eight years. Don't miss it this time—Gordon has informed me that this is it. He won't be offering it again.

Mike

*You can thank Del Bomberger and Francis White for this. We planned to price it at $200, but Del wrote, "This is my 'retirement budget' speaking. I'd definitely buy it at $100, possibly at $150, and not likely at $200," and Francis said, "I would certainly be interested, providing that the total cost including international postage would not exceed $200 (much). I might even if it did, but would have to think harder about it...."

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
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Comments

[Benjamin Marks]

Ordered! Tell Gordon I was a fan of his blog and I really like this image. Most of my display space at home is taken up with my own images. . . it takes a while living with the prints to know whether one of mine is any good. Most aren't. But it takes my walls as a proving ground to demonstrate that fact. And that's OK.

In a sense, Mr. Lewis's print _is_ one I have been "living" with for a while. I first came across it here at TOP, saw it reprinted in "Why Prints Work" and have returned to it from time to time. Every time I think I have it "figured out" there is something new I notice -- the woman's lifted left foot, the way my mind insists on making figures out of the concrete wall repairs, the color palate that makes it appear initially like one of the monochrome images I like so well -- only to surprise with red and yellow bits where my mind isn't "expecting" it.

I hadn't thought of this before, but perhaps it is those surprises that make the picture so wonderful. I have a theory that comedy is rooted in part in the mind's intrinsic delight at a sudden, pleasant surprise. Well, this picture isn't funny in any sense, but it does give a similar sense of enjoyment -- not as a whollop, but as a series of "pings" of pleasure that add up to something really special.

Thanks to you all for sending this new series out into the world.

[Jon Schick]

Very excited....first time I've ever bought a photo print. Looking forward to its arrival in rainy England.

[Robert Dynowski]

Ordered. I regretted not buying at the first opportunity and I am grateful to have another chance.

[John Krumm]

Nice price, thanks Gordon. My second TOP print, after the Lincoln Memorial.

[William Lewis]

I _knew_ I shouldn't get excited by this sale. My new job fell through so I'm scrounging for part time hours to cover the rent... Foo. At least there will be a nice number of folks getting a gorgeous print at a wonderful price. Thank for continuing to do this, Mike, and someday, someway, I'll get a chance to take part too.

[Trevor Johnson]

I have standardized on this paper for the last few years (it was previously called FibaPrint® Warm Cotton Gloss 335gsm) with my Epson printers, currently a P800.

It is a lovely paper and works particularly well when producing monochrome prints. Colour prints are fine too, once you accept the tonal differences the paper gives you.

[chris_scl]

Thanks to both Gordon and Mike for offering this wonderful print again. I agonized over missing the opportunity the first time, so I didn't hesitate this time around.

[Scott Paris]

Is there any way to have gift prints sent to an address other than the PayPal-approved one?
If not, I guess it's no big deal to re-label them and send them on.

[Sure, just put the instructions in the comment box when you make the PayPal payment. Or just email Gordon about it. --Mike]

[Andrew Kelley]

Ordered. Thanks to TOP and Gordon for offering the print again. Now I can stop kicking myself for passing on this the first time.

[Jim in Denver]

Ordered! I'm finishing a complete basement renovation and will finally have a good place to display all the TOP prints I've gotten over the years. :)