2018 - Project 52 Print - Manfred Mueller

[Manfred M]

We will be heading out of town for a few days as of tomorrow morning. I thought I would get going on my 2018 Project 52 Print today as I definitely am not planning to take my printer along. Epson had some of its papers on sale, so I picked up some 8-1/2" x 11" and 17" x 22" Hot Press Natural and Cold Press Natural. Both are long-life archival type papers. I'm also running down my last few sheets of Epson Ultra Premium Luster Photo Paper as well as some Moab and Hahnemühle sampler packs (all in 8-1/2 x 11" format). I'm printing with borders right now so that these prints are suitable for framing. All the prints are going to use the Adobe RGB colour space.

The first one is on the Epson Ultra Premium Luster paper and is the image I used to determine my print templates.


#1 Rideau River from the Andrewsville Bridge.

[rudi]

Thats a very nice picture to start your project !! I like it a lot.
Out off curiosity, I do wonder why you choose a Luster paper for it ?
Personally, and at first glance, I would be tempted to print it on a 'softer' paper to give it a more 'painterly' look.
But this is probably not the look you are after.

[Shadowman]

Nice start to the project. I've also selected a series of mediums for my project; along with portfolios for each size prints. For my 13" x 19" paper I purchased a landscape configuration but as I also will print in portrait will have to purchase another or will have that awkward turning of the folio when image ratios change.

[Manfred M]

Nice start to the project. I've also selected a series of mediums for my project; along with portfolios for each size prints. For my 13" x 19" paper I purchased a landscape configuration but as I also will print in portrait will have to purchase another or will have that awkward turning of the folio when image ratios change.

If you are going the physical folio route, a lot of people will have one for landscape and one for portrait orientation to avoid flipping the folio while viewing. I know of one photographer who does a single folio, but prints two portrait folios side by side on the same piece of paper to maintain the same orientation. Not my taste, but it works.

[Manfred M]

Out off curiosity, I do wonder why you choose a Luster paper for it ?

This was basically the image I played around with to figure out print margins, titles, etc. so I made three or four prints on the "cheap" paper I have. I find the luster finish is a good, all round paper that suits most images.

There are a lot of shadow areas in this shot, and they come out better on that paper. As time goes on, I might do a reprint of this one on the Cold Press Natural as the surface texture suits it more than the Hot Press Natural. I am just starting to figure out which of the new papers work best with what.

[Shadowman]

If you are going the physical folio route, a lot of people will have one for landscape and one for portrait orientation to avoid flipping the folio while viewing. I know of one photographer who does a single folio, but prints two portrait folios side by side on the same piece of paper to maintain the same orientation. Not my taste, but it works.

I have a 24 page folio that I was thinking of splitting into two sections, also for portrait orientation I may insert two images per slide so that as the viewer flips through gets another quick view, for the landscape side I might just insert one per sleeve.

[Manfred M]

My print for this week is a shot I took a couple of years ago at the Holocaust Memorial in Boston, MA.

The place was quite busy and crowded and that somehow did not reflect the somber and quiet mood I was looking for, so I decided to look up. By doing so, I was able to eliminate the hustle and bustle going on around me was able to get the mood I was looking for. As the day was overcast, the grey sky helped add to that feeling.

#2 - Boston MA Holocaust Memorial



This print was done on Epson Cold Press Natural paper.

[Shadowman]

Nicely composed.

[Manfred M]

Just to prove that I'm actually printing...



It's fairly easy to see the difference in the material. The shot on the right is printed on the Epson Premium Luster paper that contains OBAs (Optical Bleaching Agent) versus the Epson Cold Press Natural on the left that does not. The Cold Press Natural paper is a lot more yellow.

Also I am using TinyPic to post this image, but I went to the TinyPic website and uploaded there, rather than via the link button on the CiC website.

[skitterbug]

Hi Manfred - Both of these are beautiful. Different but unique.

I do have a question? Will you frame these or display them as they are? If you use a frame, will the information about the pictures be covered by the frame?

[Manfred M]

Hi Manfred - Both of these are beautiful. Different but unique.

I do have a question? Will you frame these or display them as they are? If you use a frame, will the information about the pictures be covered by the frame?

No, my Project 52 is a decision on my part of archive prints of my images. The issue with any electronically stored image is that they are susceptible to "digital rot", i.e. either the format or the device will eventually become unusable or inaccessible, so by having these prints stored in a safe place, I will be leaving behind a digital legacy for someone else to look at once I am gone. If I print at least 52 images year and I keep that up for a decade or two, there will be a lot of images that document some of the interesting places I have visited, including some places, practices and people that are disappearing and will likely be gone in less than a generation.

Modern pigment based inkjet inks, when used with archival papers that are properly stored can last a couple of hundred years. That is one of the reasons the bulk of my prints will be done on archival papers.

That being said, I do print and frame images that I have hung in the house.

[Artshot]

Nice photo.

[skitterbug]

No, my Project 52 is a decision on my part of archive prints of my images. The issue with any electronically stored image is that they are susceptible to "digital rot", i.e. either the format or the device will eventually become unusable or inaccessible, so by having these prints stored in a safe place, I will be leaving behind a digital legacy for someone else to look at once I am gone. If I print at least 52 images year and I keep that up for a decade or two, there will be a lot of images that document some of the interesting places I have visited, including some places, practices and people that are disappearing and will likely be gone in less than a generation.

That is the hope that we each live for - that there will be a world and someone left in it who will be thrilled to have art to enjoy and for them to see and remember what their past history looked like!

These two are an excellent start to that legacy.

Thank you for replying, Manfred!

[Manfred M]

We were in Southern Ethiopia primarily to visit some of the tribal areas in the country. No hotels, restaurants and other amenities were all part of the adventure to get to visit some of the nomadic people here. There is normally a car / truck ferry to cross the river, but flooding earlier in the year damaged the ferry dock, so the locals were very entrepreneurial and found a way to take paying passengers, albeit, without vehicles.

As I expect my shots to be of most interest to family members, I have decided to include this shot of Georgette doing the crossing. I think our descendants might be amused to find how adventurous their ancestors were... This trip was a milestone for both of us; our first major trip in over 2 years after both of us had recovered from major medical issues / surgery. In my case, the surgery was an enabler for the trip as prior to my surgery I had to use a cane to go just about anywhere and it was not practical in this type of environment.

I did this print on Epson Hot Press Natural paper. I find that the smoother texture and warmer tones lends itself to portraits like this one.


#3 - Crossing the Omo River in Southern Ethiopia in a dugout canoe.

[Manfred M]

This is a shot of the Himalayas just outside of the town of Leh in Ladakh, India. The shot was taken from the Shanti Stupa during evening "golden hour". The large building is Namgyal Tsemo Gompa (Monastery). which was founded in 1430. This picture was taken last January. Climatically, the area is a "cold desert", with little snow outside of some of the high mountain peaks.


#4 - Himalayas and the Namgyal Tsemo Gompa, Leh, Ladakh, India.



Print on Epson Cold Press Natural. The light pebbled surface works well for landscapes.

[Wavelength]

All Masterpieces!!! What else need i mention!!!

[Manfred M]

Another shot in taken in the Western Himalayas almost exactly one year ago. This is the Stakna Monastery and the Indus River in the Ladakh region of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir. The Indus is one of the longest rivers in Asia and starts in the China (Tibet), flows through parts of north-western India and empties out into the Arabian Sea, after flowing through Pakistan.

I was experimenting with different exposures and the one that seemed to work best was this 30 second one, using a B+W 10-stop ND filter. This took the edge off the flowing water and made the monastery stand out more.

#5 - Stakna Monastery and the Indus River, Ladakh, India - January 22, 2017



Printed on Epson Cold Press Natural paper.

[Artshot]

Beautiful

[Manfred M]

This is a shot of some gears on an old steam tractor that I shot at the Ontario Steam Heritage Museum. a small private museum that is located in Puslinch, Ontario Canada. The light levels in the corner of the museum were quite low, so I needed a 13 second exposure to get this shot.


#6 - Gears



Print done on Epson Hot Press Natural paper.

[Wavelength]

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