Our Current Print sale, of master printmaker Ctein's dye transfer print archive, continues until Friday at noon Pacific Time. The sale has been remarkably popular so far [SALE ENDED and links removed 12 noon Pacific Time 12/6/19]. If you have been to the thumbnail page before, please refresh your browser page to see the latest totals concerning availability.
A comment from one customer:
To me this sale is a momentous occasion, so I thought I would share a few words on what it's like to own one of these prints. I have several Ctein prints, but my two favorites are—by far—"Fresh Pahoehoe, Mothers Day Flow HI—2002" and "Kahili Wild Ginger, Kilauea Iki Trail HI ~ 2002."
"Fresh Pahoehoe" hangs on the wall by our stairs, leading up to my bedroom. It's one of the last things I see at night, and the first things I see in the morning. The blacks are truly glorious—rich and deep and varied. Alive. I can't say for certain, but I've always assumed that Ctein used a flash to emphasize the contours and texture of the Pahoehoe. And I love the combination of the cool light from without contrasting with the warm light from within—the glow from the molten, cooling rock.
As much as I love "Fresh Pahoehoe," "Kahili Wild Ginger" is the picture I want to be buried with. It hangs in a spot in our house where I see it a half dozen times a day, and I am mesmerized each time. The light seems otherworldly. It is incredibly soft without being dull. And look at the individual (leaves? petals?) of the ferns...no really, go look at the full-size picture—you won't understand what I mean otherwise. See how each one is perfectly distinct, and perfectly, well, perfect? At first I thought this was a painting. An illustration of what an ideal fern would theoretically look like. No actual fern could ever be so well-formed. But it isn't a painting, and I have the original dye matrices to prove it. 😜 (Also framed and hanging by our stairs.) To me this picture is a wonder. A miracle of nature and photography and the craft of printing. Those deep, deep greens. I go swimming in them multiple times a day, whenever I see that picture....
Buy one. Or more. You won't regret it and you may never have the chance again. —Adam
Ctein responds: Just so everyone knows...I didn't pay Adam for that lovely testimonial. He pays me (grin)!
He guessed wrong about me using a flash to make "Fresh Pahoehoe." [Pahoehoe is defined as 'basaltic lava forming smooth undulating or ropy masses.' —Ed.] That was photographed midday under a clear-sky tropical sun. It's direct sunlight that's glinting off of the fresh, shiny black rock and making the nearly-black shadows. Yes, fresh molten lava is so hot that it glows a bright cherry red in full sunlight. I was stunned when I saw that. The print is in no way enhanced from reality.
I wish I had more prints of it. So far I've been unable to make a digital print that looks as good as the dye transfers—it's those fantastically rich dye transfer blacks that make it three-dimensional. I'll keep trying, though.
And, as is often the case, there's a story to go with it. Paula and I traveled to the Big Island so that I could complete the photography for my book project, Jewels of Kilauea. (the book never sold). When we planned that trip, there was no fresh lava flowing anywhere over accessible land. We didn't even know about the Mother's Day flow because it only started a few days before we arrived. The owner of the B&B we were renting told us about it, and of course we had to go see it, because who could pass up an opportunity to see an erupting volcano (even if Paula wasn't a former geologist)?
Not us. The next day we drove down, and I immediately saw the photographic opportunities. I got as close to that protruding tongue of lava as I could, only a few meters away. Everyone else was twice as far back. Not because it was especially dangerous—pahoehoe doesn't flow rapidly—but because it was hot! it was like standing in front of a roaring fire. But you know us photographers and what we will put up with to get a photograph.
The photograph that Adam is praising is the very first one on the very first roll of film I made on that trip. I was working with some new lenses that Pentax had lent me for review, and I wanted to be sure they were functioning properly, so the next day we drove halfway around the Island to Kona, where there was a pro lab that did same-day medium format color film processing. I dropped off the roll of film, we went off and had a fabulous leisurely lunch at a restaurant the lab recommended, and came back for the negatives.
When I laid the processed roll on the light table, that very first frame was so obviously wonderful that I knew it was going to make a fabulous print. I said to Paula, "This is it. If I don't get any other good photographs on this trip, this one will have made it worthwhile." (No, it wasn't the only good photograph I made on that trip...but I still think it was the best.)
There was an amusing follow-up. When I woke up in the morning in Hawaii, my arms hurt, and they were all red! I'd burnt myself. Very mildly, and not dangerously, but I was slightly roasted. Oh sure, I'd slathered myself with sunscreen before going out, but that's no help against infrared!
When we got back from the trip my arms had reached the pink and peeling stage. I saw friends at a party, and they said, "I see you got a sunburn in Hawaii." I grinned and said, "No...LAVA burn." And they all went, "Oooooh!"
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