Opportunistic Shooting

Ferry and Couple

Although I anticipate many shots and execute them when conditions agree with my intentions, and I stake out some shots and wait for the light, sometimes just being alert pays off. This was the case today when a friend and I were checking out art galleries in Seattle. Returning to my car parked under the Alaskan Way viaduct near Pioneer Square, I saw a ferry approaching the terminal, some nice clouds in the sky, good side light, and a couple deep in conversation on a bench by the water.
Because I knew I'd be parked in Seattle, I had not brought my bag of "real" camera gear, instead opting to carry my infrared-converted Canon G10 in my "European shoulder bag" (not a purse). Actually it is an Ace Leather (of Whidbey) shoulder bag. Anyway, I was happy to have it and here is the result.

#@!%&* Printer!

Although I've made my living as a computer programmer and was first directly responsible for a (mini)computer way back in 1981, sometimes technology still confounds and frustrates me. Recent experience with my photo printer is a case in point.
A little background. I attempted to make my own prints with two Epson 2000 printers around 2001, one set up for third-party archival color inks and one that used several shades of black and gray custom inks. They clogged so badly I quickly sold them. I should note that clogging is primarily an issue with the printers I use because they employ pigment-based inks which are archival. Consumer printers rely on less durable dye-based inks.
Later I purchased an Epson Stylus Pro 7600, a honking printer that used 24" wide roll paper and did a nice job. Many of the large prints of my work from 2004-6 were made on this printer.
But the Epson suffered a clogged print head that had to be replaced, fortunately under warranty. This was an issue with those printers if they were not in constant use. Since the cost of a maintenance contract was $700 a year, I decided to sell it.
I replaced the 7600 with another Epson, the 4000. This one was smaller, only taking 17" wide rolls of paper. It had an improved ink system and was more able to unclog itself when necessary. It also had improved handling of sheet paper, which was a convenience. This printer went to Maine and Ohio with me, but I sold it in Ohio because I was printing less.
That's when I purchased my current printer, an HP Photosmart Pro B9180. This only handles paper 13" wide and has no roll paper handling. It works for me because I do most of my printing on 13x19" or 11x17" sheets. I have any larger prints done by one of several outside services. The HP makes very nice prints and is compact compared to the Epson's I've owned. The consumable costs are higher because the ink cartridges are smaller; everything is a trade-off.
The bad news is that the HP has sporadically misbehaved. It's probably my fault when it surprises me by scaling the image to a different size than the original file, but I blame it for truncated images. A few days ago it just stopped working. It would sometimes spit out paper and say the job was done without printing anything. It would say "printing" and do nothing. I thought I was going to have to throw it out.
The solution was one of the following, which I did simultaneously:

1. Unplug it and leave it overnight.
2. Uninstall all of the supporting software and reinstall everything.

The upshot is that the B9180 is back in action and printing just fine. But with the holiday shopping season upon us and my sales starting to pick up, I thought I was going to have to send my printing out while shopping for a replacement printer. It's a happy ending for now.

ADDENDUM as of Dec. 7, 2009
The printer started truncating images again. I now suspect the Windows Vista print spooler. I have good luck if I only print when the computer has been recently booted.

More Metal

Gypsy Girl and Her Cat

I am so happy with the first few images I had printed on metal and I just ordered a set of 12x12 metal prints of these three shots of a Romani girl in Barzitsa, Bulgaria. This is a step up from the first set of eight 8x8 prints.
The labs that offer metal prints don't fully reveal the process, but it is a heat sublimation process in which the image is printed on a white substrate and the whole thing is fused into the aluminum plate, with a very durable overlaminate. I accept the claims that this creates a print as archival as good giclee and silver gelatin prints, with the usual caveat that art should never be exposed to direct sunlight. Some vendors say use window cleaner on the surface, though I'd probably stick with a damp microfiber cloth.

Metal Prints

Here are six of eight square images that are being produced by one of my labs, printed on metal. They will have 1/8" rounded corners and be mounted on blocks to float off the wall without frames. It seems an interesting and different presentation for photographs (it is pretty new) and these will be introduced at my holiday shows (see home page of www.whidbeypanoramas.com).

About the Photos

From top left to bottom right: The grave markers in Istanbul were shot in infrared and processed with sepia toning. IR is great for clouds! I noticed the trees in the pasture where the sheep graze on the edge of Barzitsa and watched for a foggy morning to shoot them. This was infrared converted to pure black and white (the raw IR images have some color in them). The fishing boat was near Varna in an estuary that serves as an extension of the port. It's another IR shot. The outdoor sink with dish is conventional digital color. It is in the back yard of the small pottery near the village where Bulgaria Art Workshops is being established (watch for news). Though it might look staged, the blue dish was there, waiting for my eye. The orange lifeboat was moored behind a dilapidated waterfront home on the Bosporus. The original shot is in color but I desaturated everything in the scene except the boat. I spotted the staircase while walking around the same Bosporus village in drizzle and was taken with the Mediterranean colors juxtaposed with potted flowers and weathered wood.

Encaustic Endeavors Encore

"Extra Dry"

This encaustic greets visitors to my current show at Christopher's on Whidbey, my favorite restaurant in Coupeville. The Bombay label is a scan printed on kozo paper. The martini glass is cut from copper mesh and "filled" with wax to make it three-dimensional. Some glass bead sprinkles add highlights.