Display Options - Let your Work Shine!

So now that you have created these amazing digital (or film) images...what do you do with them? I mean sure you have the files stored on your hard drive somewhere collecting digital dust, but what do you do with them to REALLY enjoy them?

A lot of photographers, freelance, professional, amateur, grandma with a point and shoot, tend to fall into this rut of being fine with just having the file. But doesn't photography need to be seen? It is my humble theory that photos were meant to be printed, something tangible, something you can hold in your hand and love forever. So, what are our options to make them that way?

Prints:

Ahh...the time tested, most simple way to display your photos. Safe, in an album, on the wall in a frame you picked up from the local craft store...y'know...easy. Take a look at online services to see what sort of options they have for mounting prints, canvas printing, all those fun options. There are also fun ways to transfer your print to other surfaces...check out acrylic transfers (earlier post in the blog, or just google it) there are also sunprinting kits if you are so inclined to do it yourself with a historic alternative process. Moo.com also offers a series of photo cards (moocards...love it!) that come with a frame to display. They are little tiny things, but when put together can equal one major work of art! So don't settle for 4x6 prints anymore!

Books:

Now we're getting a little more interesting...iPhoto books are exceptionally cost effective. They have a WIDE range of sizes, bindings, templates/themes, and are fantastically easy to create. There are also other options for those living in PC'dom...zookbinder is a favorite, they too offer a wide selection of sizes, bindings, as well as other framing options. Regardless of where you go, or how you get them printed...photo books make awesome gifts and what could be better than having a whole library of your images?!

Or, if all else fails...there are a plethora of digital photo frame options on the market right now. They may set you back about $100.00 but will give you lots of options with regards to look, file resolution that they handle, or even movie playback. So if you find yourself with not a lot of wall space (like a lot of us do in real life) this may be a space economical idea for you. Perhaps get a set of 9, put them on the wall 3x3 and have a wall of slide shows? Could be fun!

The point is, get your files off your computer and start sharing your art. You took the photos you have there for a reason, so let your creativity shine and let others see it too.

Geek Hardware: The Toy Cameras

If any of my college professors are reading this post, please return to my webpage and enjoy the pretty pictures...you will not like what you are about to see.

Everyone ready?

Here goes...

I like blur...

There, I said it. I can't take it back now..it's out there. Everyone knows. Even though it flies in the face of everything I learned as an undergrad...that everything must be razor sharp, so sharp in fact that to run your hand down the front of the print would cause it to bleed. It's true...I have developed a love affair with blur. I feel better now.

Of course you can create blur with Photoshop or any other decent post processing software when it comes to your digital files. But I have found that blur looks the best when it comes from film...just like everything else in life. *coughGOFILMcoughcough*

With that in mind there are a whole slew of cameras out there whose lives are built around the blur...many of which are coupled with my other love...the vignette. The darkening of edges to create a dark and ominous mood....mmm...vignette. These cameras are generally plastic in nature and tend to leak light like a sieve. The time tested favorite of these cameras is the wonderfully dynamic Holga.

Holgas are easy to find and super easy to use. The cameras can be found online at Amazon.com and B&H Photovideo. Many local stores also carry them as they have become a big part of what I would like to think is a film revival. I know that digital has become the way of the photographic world,  but I think that there are a large group of photographers that still enjoy the look and feel of film and will be hard pressed to give it up for some applications.

They take 120 film which can be purchased at any decent photography shop. They also generally require copious amounts of taping with duct tape to cover all the loose seams and light leaks.

Focusing the Holga (as well as many of it's sister and simlar cameras..the Diana, the Woca, etc.) is notoriously simple and requires some guess work. They are also a fixed f/8 ('ish) aperture. So that gives you a good amount of sharpness with a good fall off to the blur.

Everyone, go out and get a Holga, a Woca, a Diana Camera, or any sort of cheap 20.00 plastic camera and get out shooting. The results are awesome and everyone will KNOW that you're cool when they see you shoot one of these monsters.

Selections from "Trash the Tranny" Shoot

What happens when 3 photographers and a plucky Graphic Designer get together with an open minded guy/model who is up for anything?

I give you...Trash the Tranny.