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Sandy brings to the photography the perfect finish through her choices of mat and frame colors for finished presentation. Together Erskine and Sandy continue to photograph full time, participate in over 12 major arts and crafts shows annually, and sell their images through their own gallery, and on the internet. All phases of work, from print processing to cutting and assembling mats and frames are produced by Sandy and Erskine.
Large and medium format view cameras were our standard for forty years. Erskine used a Linhof Master Technica (4"x 5") camera with five lenses and a backpack full of sheet-film holders. Later a medium format Fuji GX680 (6x8cm) {shown above}, covered the balance of work. The distinct advantage using each of these view cameras is the ability of the lens to swing, tilt, and shift to increase depth of field and control perspective while the larger format films also increased sharpness. Recently added to those reliable film cameras is a Nikon DX3 25 megapixel camera which is making amazingly sharp prints beyond 32x40" when multiple shots are merged together.
A basic selection of a polarizer and a 2-stop graduated neutral density filter was and still is used as needed to balance existing light conditions. The exceptional color and brilliance of the photographs are accomplished at the time of exposure through the photographer's choice of optimum light, mood, and season for each image. Printing of each photograph is done by the photographer. The introduction of digital printing from the high-resolution film scans (also by the photographer) permits even greater control over the final print with greater detail in highlights and shadows, removal of unnatural colorcasts, and exceptional sharpness.
For film, Fuji Velvia has always been a favorite. Our photographic prints beginning in 1993 were printed with Fuji Crystal Archive paper. Prior to that, industry testing for lightfastness proved to be unreliable. Currently all photographs are either digital or scanned from film. Both are printed on an Epson 9800 with Epson Ultrachrome K3 inks and Premium Lustre paper. This paper/ink combination is selected for its reproduction accuracy and lightfast stability of displayed color prints. These newest prints are conditionally tested for up to 200 year lightfast.
These photographs represent many miles of travel, many hours, even days, of waiting for the right moment. We hope you will share and enjoy these moments with us.
Erskine and Sandy |
