There’s no better satisfaction in photography than framing a print to hang on the wall. Creating a tangible, real-life piece of wall art is far more rewarding than uploading a file to Instagram or Flickr.
In this video I take you through my process for scanning a film negative on my Epson V750 scanner using Silverfast software, then printing it at a pro lab on Fuji Pearl paper, before framing it in a handsome float-mount frame by Larson-Juhl. My process for scanning this 6×17 negative may seem odd (using blue painters tape to secure the negative on a piece of ground glass), but the results are excellent and avoid the need for troublesome scanner fluid.
I took this photo in Anza-Borrego Desert on a solo camping trip using my Shen-Hao TFC-617A camera and Nikkor-M 300mm f/9 lens on Kodak Portra 160 film. The print itself is a C-Type (wet process) print done on a ZBE Chromira digital printer with Fuji Pearl paper.
The image featured is titled “Desert Layers 1.” It’s not your typical modern landscape photograph with super-satured colors, wide angle views, and maximum epic-ness. This is a much more understated composition with a simpler color palette, which is exactly why I chose to frame this piece. There are enough of those ultra-epic landscapes out there today and I feel they tend to be overbearing as wall art. A good fine art photography print should accent a beautiful space rather than overpower it, and that’s what I tried to achieve with this piece.
Printing by Pro Photo Connection in Irvine, CA:
Frame by Salamon Art in Fountain Valley, CA:
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Awesome job. Really. Real piece of art. But i have a question. Where is the point of scanning negatives, than postprocessing in lightroom? If it is only about satisfaction, than i passed. But technically? Just do not get me wrong.
Beautiful words and craft
Enjoyed this- well said 🙂
i had this video on watch later for a long time but this have benn one of the best content on youtube about landscape photography. agree 100%. and its not only about a photography as a piece of decoration, this kind of less impressive, saturated, photos are more pleasant to eye. you dont get tired or bored to see it. that not happen with an over saturated – retouch photo, you see it a few times and get tired of it. it works more like advertaising than a piece of art.
Right on! Well done.
Can I ask about cost to create this? I’m looking at creating my first fine art prints done. Aprox 140 CM wide and 100 cm wide. I’m getting Costa mounted on acrylic for around $500. Is that way too much or about right? Thank you.
I would frame, but I recently found out that my tastes gravitate more towards portrait photography, and I don't think having frames of random people (although they may look very nice) around the household would be best. But I totally get it for pretty much any other type of photography.
Fascinating. It's completely motivated by commercial considerations ie somebody's room color. That is NOT what photography is really about, it's what selling product is completely about, BUT if you want to practice the art form, you do need to unload the prints. Great presentation, very interesting happy to see this.
Nick Carver, Fine Art photographer, printmaker, creator with the patience of a Diamond Cutter.
When dust removal meant spotting your prints by hand with a fine sable brush? You quickly learned that dust removal can be cut way down if you start with a "clean room". Positive pressure filtered air, all the time. Special floor pads to grab the dust from your shoes as you walk in. And five minutes before you start, a mist of plain water or air freshener, to pull dust down before you get started. Tyvek bunny suit optional, but clean non-fuzzy clothes, too. The positive air pressure makes a huge difference.
Lots of work and attention to detail but the rewards are subtle sweet and very very nice.
That shot is 100% epic! 🙂 Totally agree with everything you said. Great video!
This is what I call a picture. Much much better than the liquor store print.
agree 100%
-nice to shoot some pictures and see them on the screen-cool to develop your own pictures and taking them out of the tanka-wesome to contact print/enlarge your fotos and hold them in your hand-frame your own (developed) prints and hang them on the wall – priceless and super awesome! – gives me chills every time!
Love your advice on subtle, complimentary tones in regard to designing a homes look.
thanks for that end pitch about the satisfaction! so true! i dont post any of my pictures to social media really
Very true words my friend. This is why i deleted my IG Account. I have recently made the very first print of one of my shots and its the best feeling.
Again a beautiful video – I think nobody does something like this and record it in this fashion with such high quality – thank you very much for your approach and sharing it!
I love your print, especially on the dark grey background. Also love your attention to details!
I LOVE IT NICK, can you come to Australia?
Hi im new to your videos but just curious why bother going though using film and then scanning it and adjusting it in lightroom, why not use a digital camera? Is it just the enjoyment of using film?
Couldn’t agree more about getting prints made
"The stuff I want hanging on my walls is the subtle understated stuff". I think you just changed my approach to photography with that one sentence.
Great job with this vid.
What camera do you use?
You could have divided the large file into 8 sections, edit them, and finally merge them together again. No data would had been lost, and the operation would had run smoothly.
I love what you say, I now understand what was blocking me. I was kinda frustrated seeing all the low quality over saturated stuff on social media being appreciated. I LOVE details and zoom into my photos, I don't want crappy noisy stuff so I think I'll go for prints and enjoy my shots chilling without the need of 100k likes from who knows who. I'm still young and I don't have much money so I only have an entry level dlsr, I can do great stuff but it's soo difficult to keep quality to the top level I like. Seeing the quality and the huge dimensions of a negative I think some day I'll go for this instead of a Ferrari 😉
You might gonna be big 🙂