Got dark skies?

Star Tree from 2009 AHSPOne of my highlights for the year is getting to the highlands of West Virginia and soaking up the starlight under the best dark skies east of the Mississippi.  If you have never seen a truly dark sky or have the need to get out under one, I highly recommend checking out the Almost Heaven Star Party this coming Labor Day weekend.  

The star party is co-hosted by the Mountain Institute on Spruce Knob, West Virginia's highest point at nearly 5,000 feet above see level, and the Northern Virginia Astronomers Club (NOVAC).  Both organizations are fantastic and it is a very well run event.  

NOVAC has chosen an image I took from last year's event as the representative image for the 2010 event.  "Star Tree" was captured on a pristine night of star gazing and represents the best that the highlands of West Virginia has to offer the amateur astronomer in the early fall of the year.  

For much more information and to register please see this link to the Almost Heaven Star Party.  

Highly recommended!!!

Fine Art Booth Display at Myrtle Beach

Had a wonderful time at the Craftsman Classic Show in Myrtle Beach and continued to vacation with the family afterwards.  It was hot as you might guess and what a wonderful time to have an indoor show!  Met many wonderful people and had some great discussions about art and photography as well as the cosmos.  

One customer made the comment that I didn't expect but was overjoyed when they said that "I see God in your photographs."  That really said it all and made my show.  

I met many new customers, signed several folks up for the email newsletter, and had a registration for the Water workshop next May.  

For those who didn't make it to the show, I have posted a video where I walk through the booth and give you a brief glimpse of what the presentation looked like.  

The next show is in Pittsburgh the last weekend in August.  For more information please see the "Purchase-Art Show" page in the menu above.  

August Print of the Month

Atlantic MorningIn celebration of summer and trips to the beach, I have selected "Atlantic Morning" as the August Print of the Month.  This special offer is only available for the month of August and provides a very special 20% discount over standard pricing for a 24x28" matted or framed print.  

This print is new to the art show display and will be available at the Myrtle Beach Art Show this weekend. I love the frame selected for this print and hope to have an image of it up on the website soon.  I hope you find a place in your home or maybe your beach home for this representation of a lovely peaceful morning on the Atlantic ocean.  

Myrtle Beach Show and Inception

Well I just had about 5 paragraphs deleted and so I am going to make this short.  My apologies.  

If you are in Myrtle Beach August 6-8 please stop by the convention center to visit my fine art photography.  This will be my largest presentation to date and should look fantastic.  

A word about Inception.  Unfortunately I just had the computer delete a long dissertation on this movie and I don't have time to repeat.  Bottom line...go see the movie.  It is simply why movie theaters were built.  Many focus on the story and visuals, and while they are obviously important, it is the soundtrack that elevates this movie to the upper echelon.  Much like E.T., Star Wars, Lawrence of Arabia, Gone with the Wind, and many of the great movies, a soundtrack that not only stands on its own but complements the visuals so perfectly adds to the emotional impact of the movie like nothing else.  The Hans Zimmer score is possibly one of the best soundtracks in years and one of the all-time greats.  It perfectly compliments the movie and is a joy to listen to on its own.  I place a high value on movie ticket prices and sit through a lot of bad and mediocre movies.  While the visual impact can be approximated in the home theater, the sound impact simply cannot no matter what Dolby  system you have.  Not only that, but this movie requires your focus with minimal distractions.  If you enjoy movies at all, please see Inception at your earliest convenience.

Hope to update you from the Myrtle show.  Until then take care.  

A Day for Fine Art Photography

Today was a perfect example of what production in Fine Art Photography entails. The image enhancement does not stop at the final digital optimization for the web. I don't simply upload an image to a mass production printer and let them print the image on whatever paper using whatever profile they wish.

Today I spent hours optimizing the "Atlantic Morning" print for an upcoming art show. I was very happy with the image on the screen and the first proof prints looked fine at 8x10 and even the 11x14. Then came the 28x16 attempt and something was definitely lacking. Normally my images expand and become even more alive in larger prints, especially on the Canson Baryta Photographique paper. This particular paper has a luster finish which is more like a glossy than a mat paper.

Atlantic MorningBut there were some printing irregularities that were showing up as well as the color fidelity just wasn't there. I have seen these printing irregularities before on luster types of paper, in particular with images that have large smooth areas of fairly bright tones. It is mainly a function of the ink simply not going on the luster paper in a uniform fashion and there can be very subtle thick bands. Not like the original banding from the ancient inkjet days, but thick variations in luminosity that can only just barely be picked up by the eye at certain angles. This is a very rare event, but it does happen and fortunately through experience I know how to handle it. So after optimizing and evaluating the print as much as I could for the given luster paper profile, I decided to move onto my classic standby paper, Hahnemuhle Photo Rag.

Now moving to a new paper requires reviewing the original image in Photoshop and proofing it utilizing the appropriate paper profile. You may already know this, but there are multiple profiles for just one paper. There are profiles for daylight, tungsten, fluorescent, combined light, high contrast, phatte black...you get the picture. I have, over time, narrowed the profiles and papers down to the two I like the most. For me, it is vital to have at least two paper options, one luster and one photo rag, from which to select. It also goes without saying that the paper should meet all archival standards to guarantee years of enjoyment at the original color fidelity. It is important to have these options as you never really know what paper an image will really sparkle on and you get surprised sometimes like I did today.

Today was a perfect example of what a fine art photographer does. Sweats out the last detail until the image on paper looks the way he/she intended. It is amazing how good this print looks on the photo rag paper. I went from being totally discouraged to being ecstatic with a few minor adjustments to the original file and a switch to a more appropriate paper.

This is part of the value that a fine art photographer creates. I know that it can sometimes be hard to understand that value and my hope is that when you see my fine art prints that it becomes all too obvious that this is something more than just a file that was printed by a mass production print house.

Thanks so much for your support of Jeff Ball Photography and have a great day.