Major Hang-ups; The Easy Way to Hang Your Photos

After moving to Las Cruces, New Mexico in late 2018, I struck a deal with the Southwest Environmental Center to do several photo exhibits in their gallery area. Call for artists went out to many venues, we would jury the entries, then artists would place the accepted images into a drop box and Converge Las Cruces would print them. This gave us a way to make the presentation consistent and it avoided the problem of shipping framed art. 

The exhibits ran for six weeks and at the end of the run we would have to change over to the next show in one day. Our challenge was how to present 20-25 images with frames, mats and glass and still meet the tight deadline that was required. The process would have required either having a completely separate set of frames, or we would have had to remove all the images from the frames and then replaced them with new images. 

How I Made Hanging Exhibitions Easy

Neither scenario was appealing. So I started looking around for other methods that would be easy to hang with the ability to change out quickly. After a lot of research I found my answer from PosterHanger.com, Posteranger comes with a top and bottom aluminum bar, plastic fittings that attach to the print, and rubber stoppers that finish and stabilize the aluminum bars. The top bar comes with a pre-drilled hole and a small nail that provides a perfectly balanced frame when hung. 

I wasn’t so sure on how the poster hangers would be received. But, as many of the artists came in to see the exhibits, they often told me how much they liked the way the exhibit looked. In particular, they often commented on the simplicity of the hangers, how great the show looked and then asked; where did you get the hangers?  

What Was The Reaction to the NO-Frame Look

The images were mostly printed 18” on the long side on a 16” x 20” print. This gave me clean borders on all four sides that allowed the image to “breath.” Without the glass, the mat and the frame, everyone could, and most did closely approach the photos to examined the prints. Often someone would approach the work, look at it from a comfortable distance, then move in to look at it from 12 inches or less away. Then they would move back to their original spot, to once again, take the whole image in. This seemed to increase their appreciation of the image. Some told me the lack of traditional framing made the images feel more “real.” They not only got physically closer to prints, but it seemed the viewers were psychologically closer also. I think this was because it felt less formal and the lack of the frame and the glass barriers created a sense of intimacy with the work. 

The choice of poster hangers is not right for all work, venues or situations, but in our case it was a great solution that made beautiful exhibits.

On Becoming An Artist

When I arrived in Las Cruces 15 months ago, I partnered with the Southwest Environmental Center to produced two photographic exhibitions of other artists works. That was the plan, to create an environment for photographers to exhibit. While producing these exhibits, I did not include any of my own work. In fact, over recent years I have not exhibited often or widely. 

But that has begun to change. Currently, I am exhibiting my work in the exhibit FIRE & ICE at the Unsettled Gallery here in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The gallery is small, but a really charming place to exhibit with its whitewashed adobe walls and wooden vigas across the ceiling. I got the opportunity to pitch an idea to have my photographs of Death Valley (FIRE) and my friend Alex Tullis’s work of Iceland (ICE) shown In the gallery. Each of us has one of the two major rooms in the gallery. Together the exhibit is a contrast in landscapes, colors, themes and styles.

I was recently pleased to hear that I have been awarded a solo exhibition in another gallery here in Las Cruces. The work is more current than the Death Valley work, and I believe a next creative step compared to the current show, FIRE & ICE.

So now I have to confront how I am going to present myself as an artist. How do I market my work, how do I find a wider audience for the work I do. There are a number of ways to go; I know many photographers that go to local fairs every week and they do O.K. I know some photographers are in galleries, but they only sell occasionally. And we have all heard of people in New York, L.A., or Santa Fe that have sold prints for thousands of dollars. I have a e-commerce web site, so with a lot of marketing online sales is a possibility. There isn’t one answer that fits all that I want to accomplish.

Since my latest series has not yet been shown, in fact not even completed, I have to make a decision on how I will proceed to present, market, and show my work. This requires a road map, a plan to get from where I am now to where I want to be a year or two down the road. 

So right now I am beginning to lean in one direction and with a little more consideration over the next few weeks, I will make the final decision and tell you why I chose that direction. 

Stay tuned!

Inkjet vs. C-Prints - Which Lasts Longer?

Having been in photography for nearly 50 years, I have been around a lot of photographic processes. These include alternate photographic processes (cyanotypes, lith prints, pinhole cameras, Van Dyke prints): not to mention the more well know processes of color and black and white negatives, digital photography and pre-press preparation.

I have always been concerned with the archival qualities photographic processes, especially in my fine art prints. Many of these qualities depend on the chemicals being used, the substrate the image is printed on and the way the images are processed. Some of the alternate processes listed above have archival qualities of hundreds of years. Traditional black and white images, when properly process can be good for 500 years or more. However, it does not include C-prints, our most common color photographic prints. C-prints are what we get from our 1 hour photo lab. The images are printed from negatives or digital files directly on a sheet of photographic paper and then processed in a chemical bath. The other print process is Inkjet (pigment prints, not dye based). These images are printed from digital files where the printer directly sprays ink on to a substrate, often a photographic type paper.  

As I prepare for exhibiting my work, I have researched which of these two directions I should consider for my prints. I came to a long suspected conclusion; pigment prints are more stable and longer lasting than chemical prints. There are some in art market that prefer the C-prints, they have a thing for the silver halide emulsion containing dyes and couplers that form a visible color image upon reaction with a color developer. The problem is that dye fades, and compared to some of the more traditional photographic processes, they fade FAST! According to Wilhelm Imaging Research, the leader in the testing of photographic print longevity, a Chromogenic print, under normal viewing circumstances will last only 30 - 40 years. 

Today’s inkjet pigment prints under normal viewing could last as long as 200 years. Many ask why is it so important to worry about the longevity of the work? They say: “I’m not going to be here in 200 years.” The reason is simple; the value of the work needs to be maintained. Anyone interested in buying an original photograph wants to protect their investment. Think of people buying a Da Vinci for millions of dollars. Would they pay anything if they knew the work was going to either fade away, or be significantly different in 40 years? Probably not. 

Other advantages of inkjet pigment printing include a wider color gamut, more paper/substrate selections, and considerably less environmental impact. 

My choice has solidly come down on the side of inkjet pigment printing for my fine art exhibitions.  

My New Photo Lab

How do I go about finding a photo lab, I’ve lost the one I had. From that lab I could often get exhibition prints within a day. Recently they consolidated their facilities in other states and now they are not able to deliver prints for 7-10 days - if I’m lucky. With several upcoming exhibitions I needed to find a reliable, high quality, affordable lab to get large archival pigment prints in a reasonable time frame.

While doing an internet search I came across Nations Photo Lab, located in Hunt Valley, Maryland. As a test, I ordered three prints. Since I am living in Las Cruces, New Mexico, I was a bit concerned about their ability to get the images printed and sent back to me quickly. 

I am happy (very happy) to report that my test went well. I uploaded three 16” x 20” inch images on Sunday afternoon and on Wednesday they began their almost 2000 mile trip across the country. I received them on Saturday afternoon in a flat, well protected box. 

Excitedly I opened the flat box and found the prints were protected against dents and dings by sandwiching them between two more layers of corrugated cardboard. Inside these layers of cardboard was a clear envelope containing the photographs. When I opened the envelope and spread the photographs out, I was floored!

They were BEAUTIFUL!

Nations Photo Lab only prints from digital files, they do not print from, or process negatives. They have a variety of sizes at reasonable cost, and as I indicated before, they have quick turnaround. 

I was so impressed by the quality, response, and price that I immediately uploaded 15 more images to print for my next exhibition in April of 2020. 

I am looking forward to getting these images back next week.

Nations Photo Lab
1130 Pepper Road
Hunt Valley , MD 21031

www.nationalphotolab.com

PH: 888-507-5755

FIRE & ICE Artist Talk - February 22

This image, Death Valley 9210 is on view at the Unsettled Gallery located at 905 North Mesquite Street Las Cruces New Mexico at part of the Fire and Ice Exhibit.

This image was taken at Zabriski Point in Death Valley and was one of the first images I took using intentional camera movement. You can hear the story on how and why I started this form of photography by attending my artist talk on February 8, 2020 at 1:30 p.m.