Let’s not pussy-foot around here, in this hypothetical situation… YOU’RE DEAD. And being the generous gifted photographer that you were, you not only sold work but also gave images to local art institutions and museums. But now that you’re dead, who owns the work…I mean the rights to reproduce and control the release of the works, hmmm? My experience is that most institutions get very possessive of your works once they have them, even to the point of asserting rights to their use. Some art institutions (I won’t mention any names here) have the artist sign his/her life away and all usage and control of the artworks for the “honor” of being included in their collection. I got to thinking on this topic when, on a recent trip to the Clark Museum in Massachusettes, I wanted to photograph my daughter drawing a picture of Monet for fun and for something for her to remember this trip by. When I asked if it was ok (no flash, no tripod, just a picture) I was informed that photographs were NOT ALLOWED. Excuse me- but Monet is the only one who OWNS copyright to his works and he is long since dead and thus this is not an issue. It was ok of course to draw the picture but any photography within the exhibit was strictly forbidden. How nice though, that for a mere $65 dollars the gift shop has a complete book of the show (we bought it, of course). I could understand if the purposes of the image in question were for commercial uses but that aside the museum does not own the copyright to these works- the owners of the artworks themselves do not own the copyright to these works, Monet does and he is-we can all agree- dead. So all of this amounts to a whoring of dead artists works in a greedy attempt to not only get your admission dollars but also drive you to the gift dept for that must-have book. Of course the museum owns the building and the galleries so their word is final…BUT it is, IMHO, wrong.
schaub
Steel Versus Plastic…the Final Word!
I have heard old time photographers and newbies alike swear to the professional quality and unmatched superiority of both steel and plastic reels. This is just such a ridiculous argument that I will end NOW once and for all. Who is right you ask? Answer…(drum roll please) BOTH. Once again the choice (and choice is good) is yours based on your working style. Just let it be known that most mid-size labs run Jobos or similar processors for their 135 and 120 films and guess what those machines use: PLASTIC reels. Steel reels are great especially if you are willing to buy good ones like Hewes but plastic is hard to beat if you are on a budget. I personally find plastic easier to use as it does not bend and loads very quickly- cleanup is also a snap. I have both in our studio and use them interchangeably so there you have it…you pick which one you like and lets now have a discussion about something important like what your work is really about.
Another Week Goes Bye!
It’s been an exciting week here in Vermont…I have been testing a new (new to me) film by Fuji (Acros 100, 120mm) in PMK developer for purposes of scanning and the results have been outstanding! And if the almost-not-there grain and beautiful creamy highlights are not enough for you consider the amazing reciprocity failure (or lack of it) this film has…no compensation necessary for long exposures until 120 seconds (2 minutes to most of us)… and no development change to boot. WOW! I will post examples in a few days but for now go order this film so we can keep it in production! No really, go buy this film NOW!
Almost forgot to mention that the packaging and handing of this film is really sweet…no band to lick thanks to Fuji’s peal-off sealer on 120mm film…very cul, very Japanese.
Hi-Def Giclee (TM) Printing at Indian Hill Imageworks
After researching current printing technologies as it relates to scanned and digitally captured images Indian Hill Imageworks in conjunction with ErgoSoft has developed Hi-Def Giclee (TM) printing. This breakthrough allows for spectacular tonality and clarity that exceeds traditional wet processes and eclipses other Giclee printers. This ground breaking technology when married with the d’Vinci Fine Art Printer allows for unparalled preformance. Add into the equation a great film scan from a Pyro processed negative and the world is yours!
If a picture is worth a thousand words than the two posted here are an encylopedia… Picture A. represents a 1440 dpi print on an industry Pro Printer on fine art paper. Picture B. represents a 1440 dpi print on the d’Vinci Fine Art Printing Platform as a Hi-Def Giclee (TM). The printed image is only 1/2 an inch in size but look at the difference in detail….Amazing! For the first time digital printing has reached well beyond the wet process and now is using 21st century technologies to their fullest.
I’d like to thank Mark Rowe, Applications and Color Specialist at Ergosoft USA (the amazing RIP software that powers the d’Vinci Printer) for his insight, clarity of thought and help.
If the Paper is a Mess then it is Time t o Confess
When will companies learn that the cover-up is always worse than the offense? Recently I became aware of two inkjet paper companies who had significant problems with a new batch of current production paper. Instead of fessing up and having an open dialog about the problem and reassuring photographers that the problem was being corrected they stayed quiet. WTF! So here I am with a large roll of paper which is not quite as useful as a roll of toilet tissue.
We the photographers need to remember- without us they have no market. Demand more. And, when something is done right, and quality control and company service is great reward it with your money… so we can put the other ones out of business!
The World is NOT Flat….and Neither is your Film!
OK- so the world is not flat and you think your film is…NO. Film flatness has always been a concern of LF photographers but something most roll film users never give a second thought…time to wake up. Think about it…if you are shooting 120mm film which is wrapped around a spindle then it is fed through a system of rollers in your camera thats bending and flexing it, this is a serious problem…especially if you leave a roll in the camera for a while…a half “s” cuve will form and as a result that neg will most likely not be as sharp as the next (this varies from film to film based on the type of base material used, backing, ect…). If you are shooting at say f8+ for most of your works then this is much of an issue but a 2.8 or 4 it is huge. Humidity and temp also effect this…a lot! So where does this leave us….
My technique is this…load the film just before shooting and shoot the whole role, especially if it is going to be wide open at 2.8. Don’t leave half exposed roll in your camera…and Don’t expect the first or last frame to be as sharp as the middle frames…not going to happen.
Do this test…put your camera on a tripod and focus at an object say 10 feet away…then shoot 2 frames focusing at the same point at say f2.8….then do this at the same point at f8….then let the film sit in the camera for a few hours or overnight and do it again at f2.8 and f8, now process your film. What you will see is that some negs are sharper than others even tho the point of critical focus has not changed.
This is just food for thought for those of you who like myself like to shoot film wide open and sometimes get frustrated with a focus shift due to film flatness or lack there of…it is not your fault but it is a another level of variability you now need to take into consideration. By the way…one of the worst camera’s for this issue is a (drum roll please)….Hasselblad…no kidding. Look at how the film is loaded into the holder…very scary indeed!
Additionaly, don’t think this is limited to film…ever consider just how accurate your alignment is with your digital system…not as good as it could be!
I’d like to thank Bill Maxwell for of Maxwell Precision Optics for his insight into this area and for pushing me now one step closer to the edge…
Figital Revolution 