Photography: The Fine Art of Printing
Just before the Christmas holidays, I accepted an invitation from a photographer friend to join him and some other Calgary photographers to a coffee klatch at the Blue Flame Kitchen Cafe (one of my favourite Calgary hidden gems). How could I say “No” when he offered to chauffeur me!
The Blue Flame Kitchen is in the lobby of the ATCO headquarters complex. I love not only the wooden canoe shaped ceiling, but the inviting sense of place and the grand entrance.
After about an hour of lively chat, one of the photographers brought out some photos he had just printed.
Not unlike “show and tell” when we had in grade school, only the photos were much more refined than those finger paintings.
In fact, the photos looked like lush coloured etchings, not the glossy photos we are used to. I was impressed as much by the printing as the subject matter.
Over the next few days, I kept thinking about those photos and wondering what my photos might look like printed by a professional, not just a photocopy or everyday colour printer.
Remembering the photos had been printed by Royce Howland, I checked out his website and was impressed. So, I emailed him saying I was interested in discussing the possibilities of printing some of my photos. Surely, one or two of my 100,000+ photos were worthy of printing.
He responded suggesting I send him some photos for him to look at. After a few emails, a meeting was set up to discuss what we might do.
Show & Tell: Photographer’s Travel Book
The Holidays
Over the holidays, I spent hours looking at my photo library. I dug out old camera memory cards and looked at photos from trips dating back to 2014 – Memphis, Nashville, Mexico City, Germany, London UK, Portland, Vancouver, Salt Lake City etc. I had tired eyes at the end of the many days.
I created file for black and white, for street photos, for window reflections, for stairways, as well as graffiti, architecture, thrifting etc. etc. Every day I would find more photos for possible printing.
I also began to think about themes - urban patina, festivals, street life, window reflections, etc. The list kept growing; instead of narrowing down the photos I kept adding.
I also realized how bad many of my photos are. My “point and shoot” approach often resulted in cutting out things that probably should have been in the photo. Many were slightly out of focus or the angles were bad. In some I like the quirkiness, but in others it just seemed wrong.
I like the everyday, spontaneous sense of place of the “point and shoot” photos vs the static, composed photo. I wondered if that was because in a blog you just glance at the photo for a few seconds vs a photo that I was going to enlarge, frame and hand on a wall for a long time. Doubt began to settle in.
Finally, it came time to visit the studio and Royce.
Wait until you see what is inside….
The Studio
The Studio is pretty non-descript from the outside with the front windows covered in cardboard to keep the light out, since the area doubles as a photographic studio for artwork reproduction. Once inside I was gobsmacked. Immediately my eyes were drawn to a huge (5ft X3ft) artwork that looked like something Dali might do. There were tables full of artworks and that was just the front room, the back room was full of more art and huge printers.
He showed me the work of Calgary photographer Steve Speer whom he was working with for an exhibition at Christine Klassen Gallery for Calgary’s annual photo festival “Exposure” in February. His exhibition will consist of 13 images of iconic Calgary buildings printed on handmade, Japanese Washi paper using carbon inks. The paper was precious. However, in one case a tiny flaw resulted in it being thrown away; in another case the flaw became part of the image. That is the risk you take with handmade papers.
Hot Tip: If you live or will be in Calgary during the month of February, you should plan on visiting one or more of the “Exposure” exhibitions. “Exposure” opens at Contemporary Calgary on Thursday Feb 5 at 6pm. There are 30+ exhibitions across the city featuring the work of 200+ photographers. Link: Exposure https://www.exposurephotofestival.com/
Welcome to Royce’s place…..
Large format printers
works in progress
Steve Speer’s draft photos
Fun Facts
Not satisfied with general photo lab prints, Royce began printing his own personal photography work in 2004 using digital inkjet printers. He has been creating fine art prints professionally for other photographers and artists for 10 years, with his own print studio for six years. Here are some fun facts about the studio:
He has printed 10,000+ different photos
He has two assistants
He has printed for artists internationally, but most are Canada-based
His colour inkjet printers use 11 hues and shades of ink to create infinite colour possibilities
He also has inkjet printers converted to use carbon based ink for black and white work
He has about 100 different papers in stock, with 70 being always available. He has cellulose, cotton, hemp and bamboo paper, as well as sugar cane and agava pulp papers. From Asia he has Japanese Kozo (mulberry) paper and from Korea dak paper. Canvas is often used for artwork reproduction.
After almost an hour of explaining what he can and can’t do and how paper plays a key role in the printing process, we headed to the darkroom (aka his office) to look at some of my work.
“ini mini miny moe” which paper do I choose?
The Darkroom
No longer do photographers have darkrooms with trays of chemicals to develop their photos. Today’s darkroom is a desk with a computer and photoshop to play with the photo to see how big you can make it or how can you enhance it. It is a bit like gaming, with the sliders like a “joystick” that you manipulate until you can create a winning image. The important thing is to know what can make the image complete, and in turn make a great print. Every tool is applied with intent to achieve this goal.
I was overwhelmed with what he could do with the few images of mine. Royce immediately saw things in the photos I hadn’t seen. His eye was fast and sharp as he caught how a shadow worked to enhance the image, or how something in the background was (in or out) of focus. I was in the presence of “The Master.”
The dark room, where the magic starts.
Next Step
I was pleased to find out Royce and I agreed on a lot of things about art and the process of making art. It is going to be an interesting collaboration.
I realized I have probably 10,000+ photos that will work, but ultimately, I must choose just a few. Do I want to do a portfolio of postcard size images…or do I want to print one or two large format photos say 48 by 36 inches…or a few moderate sized images.
Don’t forget to visit a couple of “EXPOSURE” exhibitions in Calgary during the month of February.
Last Word
Stay tuned. The fun has just begun.
