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Print Width Differences Privacy & Security Archival Prints	Types of Prints Collecting Photography About Haiku
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Types of Prints
cyanotype – a rather slow contact printing process (negative emulsion to paper emulsion) using iron salts which are less sensitive than normal contact printing methods which results in a bluish (cyan) colour. gum bichromate – a slow, meticulous process combining potassium dichromate or ammonium dichromate with a colloid, or gum Arabic, and a water soluble pigment. This forms a light-sensitive emulsion which can be brushed onto paper then it is exposed and developed. Because unexposed areas do not harden they can be washed off during development. The paper must dry thoroughly between applications. Ilfochrome (earlier called Cibachrome) is a silver-dye bleach process. Specially manufactured papers with three silver halide emulsion layers each sensitized to one of the primary colours and each of these with a full density of a complementary colour, for example, yellow in the blue-sensitive layer. Usually slides are used to make a print from a positive. These prints generally have saturated colours and good longevity. Iris print – sometimes called a giclee (zjee-clay), a trademark name owned by Iris Graphics, this is a sophisticated ink jet print done from large digital files. The strengths of the Iris printer are in its customizability. You can, for example, use an assortment of printing surfaces and a variety of ink combinations; you can wrap cotton or watercolour paper around the Iris printer’s drum. Adjustments for grayscale and colour resolution are possible. Using CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks) it can print outside the gamut of offset lithography. Print set-up information can be stored and reused making printing-on-demand a real opportunity. Using the appropriate archival colour inks and paper will give you a print lasting about 100 years without noticeable fading. This is the type I use exclusively. platinum/palladium print – Platinum or palladium salts come into contact with ferrous salt (a sensitizer) and are reduced to metallic platinum or palladium which forms a high quality image. Image tone is adjustable from a warm brown-black, to a cool blue-black using developer temperature and chemical additives. silver gelatin print – a contemporary print ranging in paper types from matte to satin to glossy surfaces which combine silver chloride or bromide salt in a gelatin emulsion. Contrast is controlled by using filters during the exposure process. Back to top
Print Width Differences
You will notice that the widths of some photographs are greater than the standard 11x14 prints. This is to maintain the integrity of the subject matter and the effect of the image. There is, however, no difference to you in price. Finding a premade mat/frame or having one made up will preserve the wide-view appeal of the image.
Archival Prints
All prints are crafted using the Giclee printing process with archival inks and papers tested to last approximately 100 years without noticeable colour shift or fading. Matching Epson technology is used for all prints. Highly favourable research on this technology is available at the industry standard Wilhelm Research Imaging web site (http://www.wilhelmresearch.com/index.html)
About Haiku
The PhotoHaiku section contains photographs with modern variations of traditional haiku poems. The haiku originated in Japan in the 1600's and is practiced today throughout the world. In the West it normally appears in the three line format with variations in syllable count from 10 to 17. See About Haiku for more information. Back to top
Collecting Photography
It may be stating the obvious to say that you should collect the kind of photographs that you really love, but it is a good reminder because we often get caught up in other things on our way to what we want: there was this great review; this is the latest; what a solid reputation; it'll fetch handsomely at resale; someone anonymously paid $X for the picture!; the club or group has been supporting regional nature photographers for years... for heaven's sake, buy what you love to look at. Many collectors have chosen to specialize in an area they have become familiar with due to continuing interest. Some of these could be pioneer photography, early erotic images, abstract black and whites, images specifically from a region like the prairies, rural scenes, only certain photographers, or special kinds of printing processes. To familiarize yourself with international auctions and transaction amounts paid by collectors have a look at http://www.adec.com/ based in Paris. You can search through their huge database, and, if you wish detailed picture/artist information, you can purchase "response units", 20 for $20 US. Each unit allows you to view the complete details of a transaction. Collectors new to the scene and on a limited budget often study upcoming talents who are developing a solid track record of artistic production and exhibition, are artists who question and push the boundaries of their art forms and who seem to have a personal and profound aesthetic and world view, one which they continually explore. Of course, the work must first off appeal to the collector before any further study of the artist is done. Buying from an artist at this level of development means getting in early at rates which are affordable, a situation which might see the collector pick up a few early originals with the hope that their investment value will increase with the artist's reputation and the rarity of the work. Often a limited edition of a print will escalate in price incrementally with each signed and numbered release. For serious fine art photography, collectors consider these criteria: The artist (where do they fit in the evolving history of photography?) The particular image (do you feel suddenly inside of it, or part of it? Where does the subject exist in the photographer's overall work? Is it best at representing the artist's strength and personality?) The dating of the print (what kind of print is it? Did the photographer produce the print or did an assistant do the job? Is it a fresh print made from an earlier photograph?) The medium (is the photograph in a very stable medium like platinum or giclee?) The signature or identification The condition The size The edition or known extant prints, i.e. rarity The provenance The place in the market of the artist and the particular image When analyzing a photographic print to determine its merits of quality, one must first work from within the realm in which the work was created. For example, a pictorial landscape photographer would work within certain basic criteria such as achieving painterly effects with colour, a rich and full scale of subtle tonal gradations, and exquisitely sharp focus and usually work to produce a large print. An abstract expressionist, on the other hand, works from differing criteria, looking for movement, motion, suggestiveness, freezing an elusive or transient moment, and concentrating more on letting his or her personality free on the image. Once the collector has a special focus he or she can measure the new artist's work against the traditional criteria to see how it measures up and how it pushes the boundaries of the collectively understood genre. Part of the joy of collecting is not only in building a collection, but in culling it from time to time, making adjustments, making deals, making donations of images for charitable events and so on. The whole process is very organic, a pure extension of the collector's own development. For what art gives is much more than that which is simply acquired. Back to top
Privacy & Security Policy
Highly secure PayPal looks after all financial transactions. I am sent only your order details. I keep your shipping address, email address if any, date of the transaction, transaction number, photographs ordered, shipping date and special notes or requests received from you. My production workstation is not connected to the Internet. My 2nd computer is dedicated to the Internet and uses F-Secure programming to bar viruses and related nuisances from reaching this computer. Outgoing email is also screened, so I've worked at making this as clean, safe and simple for you as I can. At no time will your email address or private information be shared, rented, or given to anyone or any organization. I am the sole proprietor of my creative and business environment to which no one else has access. Everything you receive from Roderick Stewart Photographic Arts goes directly through my hands. Thanks very much for your interest in my work, *Roderick Stewart* Back to top