How to buy prints:
You can purchase archival-quality prints of any of the photos in my gallery. Just browse to the image you want and click on the "Buy a print" link.
Payment: I use Paypal for credit card processing, but a Paypal account is not required, nor are you required to set up a Paypal account to complete the checkout process. Just enter your shipping and credit card info as you do with any typical e-commerce site. You won’t be charged until I actually ship the print to you.
About the prints
CAMERA AND FILM
All of the photos currently in my gallery were taken with a 35mm Canon F-1N. I keep a 28/f2.8 mounted on it most of the time, but I also have handy a 50/1.8, a 35/3.5, and a 100/2.8.
Film is Tri-X or APX 100, developed in HC-110 or Diafine.
SCANNING
I scan negatives into Photoshop with a 5400 dots-per-inch Minolta film scanner, resulting in a rather huge 38 megapixel file. Even though a 35mm negative doesn't actually contain this much image data, scanning at this resolution captures the actual shape of the film grain. Since film grain is one of the distinguishing characteristics of traditional black-and-white photography, working at this resolution retains all of the original texture of the negative.
MAKING THE PRINTS
I make my prints on an Epson 1280 inkjet printer. This is a six-colour printer that is normally loaded with black, cyan, magenta, and yellow dyes. With my setup, I use greyscale Ultratone 2 pigment inks in both the black and colour cartridges. The availability of six shades of grey results in very smooth tones, and the 5760x720 print resolution ensures sharp detail.
The inkjet cartridges you typically buy at the store are filled with dye-based inks. The particles that give dye inks their colour are small, get absorbed into the paper, and are vulnerable to oxidation, which is what causes prints to fade. Pigment inks, on the other hand, sit on top of the paper and are clumped into larger particles that are more resistent to oxidation. Under accelerated laboratory testing, pigments inks last 200 years before fading.
For most of my years as I photographer I made prints in the traditional manner - in a "wet" darkroom. While I first approached the move to digital printing with some skepticism, after seeing the results I am a convert. The photos I make with my inkjet printer are not only just as good, but actually better than any I was able to make with an enlarger. This is because the digital process allows for a higher degree of control and consistency and, unlike enlargers where sharpness can fall off in the corners of the print, inkjet printers give you the same high resolution from corner to corner.
That said, I still enjoy the tactility and alchemy of working in a darkroom. Unfortunately, my current home doesn’t include a feasible space that has plumbing and no windows. One day, perhaps.
IS THIS A GICLÉE PRINT?
In the context of photography, giclée is synonymous with inkjet printing. The term, which is French for “squirted”, is used by some because “inkjet” sounds too pedestrian to be associated with something being sold as art. At first it was used to specificially mean a print made with a Scitex Iris, because at one time the Iris was the only inkjet printer good enough to produce gallery-quality prints, but with the advent of low-priced, high-quality desktop printers it is now used in reference to any good inkjet print made with archival materials. I choose to not use it for my work, but the term is applicable, I suppose.
PAPER
I use acid-free, semi-gloss paper. It’s a little thicker than the prints you might get at typical photo lab, with a slightly textured surface (like matte or pearl papers).
YOUR PRINT
Your print will be made on-demand when I receive your order. By default, prints of all sizes will have a 0.25 inch white border on each side, which means that the actual image size will be slightly smaller than the stated paper size. I do this to match the image size with the window opening of the mat boards I use. If you order a matted print, it will include a backing board, and will be the next standard size up. For clarity, here’s a table:
| Paper size | Image size | Mat board size |
|---|---|---|
| 5x7 | 4.5x6.5 | 8x10 |
| 8x10 | 7.5x9.5 | 11x14 |
| 11x14 | 10.5x13.5 | 16x20 |
If you prefer to not have a border, include a note in the “Message to Seller” comment field on the last page of the order form.
I’ll send you an email when I ship your print, which will normally be within a couple days. If there’s a delay in shipping, I’ll let you know. Your credit card won’t actually get charged until your print is shipped.
I try to package my prints so they are well-protected for shipping, but if your print is damaged on arrival, just send it back within 30 days and I’ll send a replacement for free.
When you get your print, here’s some tips on taking care of it:
- Keep it dry.
- Try to handle it by the edges to avoid transferring skin oils to the surface.
- Display it in a place away from direct sunlight, because prolonged exposure to UV light will cause fading. Standard picture glass will reduce this somewhat; special UV glass is best (but expensive).
Thanks for your purchase! If you have any questions, please contact me.