Meanwhile, back in the Lab!

Well I'm back and it seems like all the stuff I brought has a place here in my apartment. The processor fit perfectly above the sink beside the Enlarger which is sitting on my baby posing table. It's such a sweet set up and it feels so nice getting back into the darkroom swing of things. I've had about 5 different lab setups in the last 2 or 3 years but this time I think it will be perfect for my Limited Edition plan.

I'm pretty excited about producing REAL limited edition prints I can frame, number, and seal. I've planned to do this for many years, especially now the world seems to have gone 99% digital. People can copy and download all the images, (which is stealing, same as shoplifting or break and entering or car theft), they want from my website but when the true value is in a limited edition series, with one of a kind of trademark mat and frame, your pictures become more of a collector’s item. I went to an opening in London a while back and the photog had all inkjet black and white. Really amazing photos too but I couldn't help but think they were produced on a computer and digital printer. Yes maybe some photoshop skill but most likely shot on automatic with a digital camera and then touched up in Photoshop. I believe if you are selling prints for $300 and up in a gallery they’d better be traditional because they're not worth $40 in my books if not. Now I do believe getting them sent to a lab that can produce these prints on traditional paper and then limiting them to a certain amount of prints before deleting the digital file would be a close second.

Now the beauty of it is that I can also produce digital work but sell it for way more affordable prices but let my customers know if you want the "real" thing, the value is justified.

Does this sound like an earlier post? LOL! I was reading a journal from about 1991 and it's almost exactly as written above. I figure if I keep trying, one day I'll hit the right combination and success will finally follow. I think that success will happen here in Hamilton.

Anyway I'm off to shoot some medium format film.

Another Road Trip

Last week's trip was a success in one form. I brought back my enlarger but the processor is still in London. This weekend's shoot was canceled so the money is tight but I need to go to London this time to get my Processor. And another, I got to visit Leena for a while and I also stayed in my other favourite little Hotel besides the Clifton Inn. At $40 including tax for a cozy little room with a fridge and microwave it's just too good a deal to pass up.

I never attempted to drive in to the park considering we were it by a snowstorm and my car rental was only 24 hours so there are no Deer photos to post but soon I will be posting a new series of prints I will have for sale along with my paintings. I plan on doing the NEW series in 11x14 hand printed Gelatin Silver black and white prints in 20x24 creme mats. They will be sealed in plastic so the buyer can pick their own 20x24 frames to keep the selling cost down. Framed prints will also be available and displayed.

A friend commented on my plan of traditional prints in this new world of digital and how much more work it is but the convenience of my fantastic negative scanner allows me to see my images digitally and know which ones to take in to the darkroom. I will also have smaller prints available in digital form printed in a professional lab to supplement the show and again have more affordable prints for most of my friends with limited funds.

The new series is going to be very limited edition in runs of 5 to keep their value high for the art collectors and a second run of 25 prints for those that sell. Once the 25 edition prints are made they will be sealed and the negs destroyed. I want these to be special and very limited unlike my digital images which are often copied and distributed without my permission from my websites. In this world of digital it is harder for the Art buyer to know they have an original limited print these days.

I believe another visit to Bijan's is in order especially considering there will be no bees to sting me at the counter.

It's 6am and I pick up the car at 8 but I can't sleep. LONDON, HERE I COME!

I am looking forward to dropping in to visit friends and also to see Thea who has a Christmas Box again for me this year from DUCA. It comes at a good time because this year I'm not living in an office, studio or car but a real apartment. I may have some extra cash flow problems but I feel quite thankful to have come a long way equipment wise and a real nice place to call home.

Unfortunately this is my first Christmas without my Papa and it's going to be hard to get through. I plan on having small Christmas times with my kids, friends and nephews when they come to visit so my tree might be up for a while this winter. I plan on spending the actual Christmas in my darkroom or out shooting. So for all of you reading my silly little TMI blog, Merry Christmas!

Small Road Trip

I'm renting a car to pick up my Enlarger from my storage unit in Niagara Falls. On the way I'm checking out a provincial park near Pelham Ontario where there is a huge Deer population that's out of control. I'll nap in the car during the night near there on the way home to wake up at sunrise to photograph some of the deer before they are culled by local hunters. Because it's so near the park there is quite a risk of hunters accidentally shooting hikers. I hope Friday morning is not the time they decide to do this. I've been nearly shot once before while doing nature photography on a trail in Apsley Ontario. Do I look like a deer? My mother thought so.

With any luck I'll have some pictures to show you when I get back.

I'll be glad to get my medium format cameras and my winter coat and boots as well which I'll need on the Hike.