Earlier this year I wrote about Certificates of Authenticity, and how they add value to fine art prints. There is an additional tool available, called the ARTtrust solution that can help track and verify the authenticity and ownership of each print.
Read more in my article on the HP Pro Photo Blog.
In Boston yesterday and today for discussions about partnerships in a number of areas. More exciting, starting to move forward toward representation from one or more galleries here in the Northeast, and the the Southern US for my work in scenics and images from the natural world. We’ll see how it goes!
Offshore Breeze, San Simeon Sunset
Today there are many new sprays and liquids that can applied to protect the entire print surface, as well as gels that can be applied either to the whole print or selected areas of the print for artistic effects. Plus, independent testing groups such as Wilhelm Imaging Research have shown that products such as Premier Eco Print Shield can extend the display life of a print….
For the rest of the story please follow this
Back home after four weeks of traveling. Been to Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, New York, and now back to California. I feel very lucky to have met so many interesting and talented photographers, artists, business people, curators and archivists, and others. The Tour 09 events hosted by a range of manufacturers (Canon, HP, Epson, Mamiya, and X-Rite, among others) and Digital2You taught many lessons, which I’ll share soon.
Pro Photo East was a bit smaller in scope than last year – but I’m sure that the number of photographers I talked with during various activities increased – and the intensity of interest in digital imaging and new developments has not diminished in the least. The HP exhibit was absolutely packed on every day – breaks were few and far between. I particularly enjoyed the evening session on Friday, where we heard presentations from photographers Joel Meyerowitz and Thomas Hoepker, and Eileen Gittens, president and CEO of Blurb.
Lot of new developments seen and experienced, and I will be posting info about these in the coming week. Some of the things in the hopper include print finishing, canvas mounting, new cameras, imaging software, a cool new printing rip, latex-based printers, medium format imaging, raw processing, and color management.
Last night our plane sat on the runway for almost four hours, waiting for a break in a very intense rainstorm. I was quite glad to touch down at the LA airport later that night, however late, and return to Santa Clarita.
More to follow!
We’ve been having a great time. We held our Tech Expo (day 1) and Workshop Session (day 2) at the Denver Studio Complex and Denver Pro Photo. This was the first of seven events planned, ranging through Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.
The Tech Expo featured wide format printers from Canon, Epson, and HP, color management tools from X-Rite, displays from Eizo, cameras from Mamiya/Leaf, papers and print finishing products from Premier, lighting from Westcott, Eizo, and more!
The Tech Expo was very well attended, and we had reps from a number of companies present.
Dennis Halley (digital2you) was the primary host. During the course of the day, we fielded questions regarding inkjet printing, color management, print finishing, art reproduction, media selection, medium format cameras, and displays from Eizo.
We also had quite a bit of original artwork on hand, and print reproductions of many of these examples.
On day 2, we held our workshop on Fine Art Printmaking and Fine Art Reproduction. The session was very well attended; we had approximately 20 students in attendance.
We not only covered the “how to” aspects of fine art printmaking, we also got into the details of the business model for fine art printmaking, using your wide-format printer to make prints for other photographers, art reproduction, color management, print finishing, and more.
We had a complete fine art printmaking setup, and of course a studio setup for fine art repro:
I encourage you to attend one of the next sessions. We will be in Glenwood Springs, Santa Fe, Flagstaff, Phoenix, Tucson, and Albuquerque.
To register for the workshop session, please go to the Digital2You web site here or CALL FOR DETAILS 303-934-2777
New Blog Announcement
Focus 09: Digital Fine Art Printing and Art Reproduction Seminars
Focus 09: Digital Fine Art Printing and Art Reproduction Seminars
Instructor: David Saffir
In October 2009, we begin a new tour and seminar series: Fine Art Printing and Photographic Reproduction. This series provides an in-depth review of the subject from several viewpoints: first, for photographers wishing to make fine art prints, and second, for curators, galleries, and other organiztions in dealing with artists and their work in the context of creating open- and limited reproduction editions of their artwork. Third, for artists who wish to expand their marketing efforts and created editions of their work for exhibition and sale.
Beginning October 2, 2009, and continuing through October 20th, the Tour covers seven cities in three states (Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico).
Designed for photographers, artists, galleries, printmakers, students, and organizations this series provides a number of learning experiences: read more.
I get a number of comments each month that ask great questions – so I thought that once or twice a month I would post the question, and a brief reply, so that we could all read them without scrolling until our fingers get blisters :)
Here’s a couple, more to follow: (I have edited to keep things space requirements manageable). The first theme this month is art, and art reproduction:
Q1:
(I have been told that there is ) software that will fix the single sheet feed problems on the Designjet Z3100-I would like to know how I can obtain this software.
Answer:
I believe the sheet-feeding issues can be solved through a firmware upgrade. It has been about a year since I looked at this issue, and I know that HP moves resources on its web site from time to time- so the best thing to do is to go to the main HP Graphics portal, and search for z3100 and a combination of parameters such as sheet feeding, firmware update, and the like. You can also contact Jack directly through his web site at duganne.com.
PS – depending on the size of the sheet – if the sheet edges are not ‘square’, you’ll have issues. It you can trim the sheet to 90 degrees on each angle, many of your issues will be addressed.
Q2
In the capture process, do you use a black surround to envelope the artwork and then direct the two lights at 45 degree angle from both sides into the inside of the surround toward the artwork? Do you use polarizing filters over the lights as well as on the lens? I have not used the surround yet but other photographers have said that I should. Maybe that’s why not all my colors are perfectly reproduced.
Answer:
In capture, I usually use a dark neutral grey, or black surround. Color bounce is a big, big, headache. The angle of the lights depends on the reflectivity of the artwork. W/ the HP Artist software, one can light the artwork from one side only. I do not normally use polarizers; however, I do not hesitate to use additional lights and change the arrangement to use a shallower angle, lighting for fill and to kill reflections, etc. Hope this helps.
PS – remember to protect the lens using flags or other barriers – lighting that spills directly past the lens shade will help kill color and contrast.
Series of Waterfalls, Near Shepherd's Dell
Instructor: David Saffir
In October 2009, we begin a new tour and seminar series: Fine Art Printing and Photographic Reproduction. This series provides an in-depth review of the subject from several viewpoints: first, for photographers wishing to make fine art prints, and second, for curators, galleries, and other organiztions in dealing with artists and their work in the context of creating open- and limited reproduction editions of their artwork. Third, for artists who wish to expand their marketing efforts and created editions of their work for exhibition and sale.
Beginning October 2, 2009, and continuing through October 20th, the Tour covers seven cities in three states (Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico).
Designed for photographers, artists, galleries, printmakers, students, and organizations this series provides a number of learning experiences:
We will have the summary business session the evening before the main seminar event. The main event, held the next day, runs from 9 am to 5 pm. In Denver, for example, we will have the Tech Expo on October 2, summary business session on the evening of Oct 2, and the full day seminar session on Oct 3rd.
The schedule:
Denver, Colorado
Friday, October 2nd Tech Expo and Summary Business Session
Saturday, October 3rd Fine Art Printmaking and Art Reproduction Seminar
Location: Denver Pro Photo Studio Complex,
235 S. Cherokee St. – Denver, Colorado
Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Monday, October 5th Tech Expo and Summary Business Session
Tuesday, October 6th Fine Art Printmaking and Art Reproduction Seminar
Location: Glenwood Recreation Center,
100 Wulfsohn Road – Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Thursday, October 8th. Tech Expo and Summary Business Session
Friday, October 9th. Fine Art Printmaking and Art Reproduction Seminar
LOCATION : Holiday Inn-Santa Fe,
4048 Cerrillos Road – Sante Fe, New Mexico
Flagstaff, Arizona
Monday, October 12th,Tech Expo and Summary Business Session
Tuesday, October 13th, Fine Art Printmaking and Art Reproduction Seminar
LOCATION : Flagstaff Ranch Golf Club Community Center
3605 So. Flagstaff Ranch Road – Flagstaff, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Wednesday, October 14th, Tech Expo and Summary Business Session
Thursday, October 15th, Fine Art Printmaking and Art Reproduction Seminar
LOCATION : Hampton Inn & Suites ,
16620 North Scottsdale Road – Phoenix, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Friday, October 16th, Tech Expo and Summary Business Session
Saturday, October 17th, Fine Art Printmaking and Art Reproduction Seminar
LOCATION : Sheraton Four Points University,
1900 East Speedway – Tucson, Arizona
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Monday, October 19th, Tech Expo and Summary Business Session
Tuesday, October 20th, Fine Art Printmaking and Art Reproduction Seminar
LOCATION : Holiday Inn & Suites Airport,
1501 Sunport Place S.E. – Albuquerque, New Mexico
For registration links, go to the Digital2You.cc here or CALL FOR DETAILS 303-934-2777.
I’ve been searching around for a clear, concise document that explains some of the more sophisticated (perhaps I should say “complex”) features of the D3 and its cousins. I came across a very good document published by Nikon, that among other things, provides useage guidelines for the autofocus options on the camera. Here is a link to the PDF: http://tinyurl.com/kmt5av
link to my web site: http://www.davidsaffir.com
David Saffir's Photography and Printing Blog 