Ah...technology. My camera was recently shipped to the mainland for repair. The image sensor was malfunctioning on my 5D. I also sent 3 lenses for cleaning and checkup. Luckily Canon is honoring all of this under warranty and in the case of one older lens, they simply extended my warranty as a courtesy. Thank you Canon Hawaii!
As a result, I have stepped away from shooting these past few weeks and spent my time printing at the Pacific New Media digital lab with the large format Canon 8100. On May 1st, I met with mentor Scott Groeniger for our 5th meeting to show new prints and discuss progress. It was a good meeting on the direction of my work and we also discussed at length the printing process, handling archival prints, long-term photographic archival storage (especially important in Hawaii's tropical environment), and options for traveling with large (over 36in prints) to Boston in June. So much to consider both in the short term and long term!
Archival Photographic Paper
For the past year, I have been printing on Canon Polished Rag, 300 gsm paper and have grown to enjoy its luster, texture, and wide color gamut. It works especially well for my current horizon images. However, my boxes of this paper have run out and it is getting more difficult to find both locally and online. After much consideration, I decided it was time to make a switch. I bought a test box of Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta paper from Kaimuki Camera (Thanks Neil for your help!) and I have to say so far it is love at first sight. The Baryta paper truly makes luscious prints and because of its extremely wide color gamut, the transition from digital image (reading light projected out from a screen) to a print (light reflected off paper) is much easier than any paper I've worked with prior. The Baryta paper is extremely fragile however. In fact, within minutes of my meeting with Scott, he quickly pointed out a few bends/kinks in the test prints due to the way I was handling it. Luckily, I learned this lesson with proofing prints... archival inkjet prints on paper like the Baryta (or Polished Rag) prints are expensive to produce. One might ask why make test prints on expensive "good stuff" and the answer is (regrettably) you have to make tests using the paper/ink you plan on eventually using. There's no other way to see how the image is being translated on the paper substrate. In any event, the Baryta Photo Rag does have some glare which may be problematic depending on where the images is eventually used but overall, I think it works very well. In the next month or so, I am hoping to purchase sample boxes from 2 paper companies (Crane Museo and Somerset) to test out new options. Even if I end up coming right back to the Baryta paper for this current project, I think it is important that I become more knowledgable as to what papers/fibers are out there and how it effects each print.
Archival Print Storage
Since my enrollment in AIB's MFA program, I have been creating more and more work that requires storage. In the past, I would create work for a specific show or client. Of course, I have remnants of old projects, framed images, test prints around the house but the issue of correct, safe, and smart photographic storage is something I haven't really dealt with head on. Now is the time to get on board. After lots of research this month, I recently purchased a massive portfolio carrying case, 2 archival ph balanced print boxes, interleaving paper, and cotton white gloves to handle the fragile Baryta paper. In the long run, all of these items are smart investments in that the prints (simply the paper and ink alone) are incredibly valuable resources. It would irresponsible (both economically and environmentally) to not store them properly. Here's to happy and healthy storage.
Traveling to Boston
I'm currently making 17x22 in prints. For June's residency, I'm planning to bring around 10-12 17x22 prints and a few larger 24x30 or 36x40 prints. I'm looking forward to bringing bigger prints but these aspirations require careful planning and logistics. I'm currently weighing the cost of photographic paper, ink, shipping and handling, and the high likelihood of traveling prints getting damaged along the way or during the residency week. I have a number of options on the table but I'm still working on my final game plan.
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