The Wandering Photographer

Photo Printing: A Test of Luster Photo Papers

I would like to start making some fairly serious prints of some of my best photographs, so I decided to get my hands on a selection of papers from a couple of manufacturers and run some test prints.

I ordered an 8.5x11 sample pack from Red River Papers, as well as a small package of Ilford Gallerie Gold Fibre Silk.After a quick test of the Letter size sheets, I followed up by ordering 13X19 versions of the paper to make bigger prints for better comparison

So Here is a list of the Papers tested (Prices based on 13x19 sheets)

My Current Papers

• Epson Ultra-Premium Luster - Resin Coated - $1.54 / sheet
• Ilford Gallerie Smooth Pear - Resin Coated - $1.92 / sheet

New Trial Papers

• Ilford Gallerie Gold Fibre Silk - Baryta Coating - $4.40 / sheet
• Red River Arctic Polar Satin - Resin Coated - $1.18 / sheet

Here are the photos I used for comparison purposes. These are not great shots but I thought they brought something to the test.

 

I chose these because I thought they would give a good representation of what I want to see in a paper. The shot of the Grand Tetons is dark and foreboding. I thought it would be difficult to render. I was right, it gave slightly different results on all papers. Mount Rushmore is a nice standard tourist shot that combines color with the beige rock. The butterflies are intended to see how the papers render bright saturated colors. The Lighthouse is one of my favorite B+W shots and I wanted to see how neutral the papers rendered grayscale images.

I print on an Epson R1900 printer using Epson inks. I have calibrated my display with the i1 Display 2 from XRite. I used printer profiles supplied by the paper manufacturers to do the printing.

Results

Tests of the Semi-Glossy Papers

The Resin Coated (RC) and Baryta papers are of the semigloss or luster type. All four did a very nice job of rendering the saturated colors of the butterfly picture. The Epson Luster, The Ilford Pearl and the Red River Satin were almost identical and either would make fine prints for display. The Ilford Gold Fibre Silk showed slightly less saturation but its lack of a resin coating might contribute to more longevity.

The Mount Rushmore shot showed more differences between the papers. The Ilford Gold Fibre Silk rendered the scene just a bt warmer than the RC papers did. It was note an unpleasant warmth, almost like a slight warming filter was added to the camera. The RC papers were, again, almost identical and slightly cooler than the Fibre silk. It was not bluish but more neutral. All papers did a great job and again I would base my choice on use (sale, or home display) and price.

The Grand Teton Shot showed the differences more starkly.The Epson Luster and the Ilford Gold silk presented an off-putting, slight green tinge to the clouds. The Ilford Pearl and the Red River Satin rendered the clouds as I saw them. It also showed more definition in the dark fir trees and foreground grass. The clear winner here is the Red River Arctic Polar Satin Paper.

The Black and White rendition of the lighthouse also showed the differences in the papers.The Red River Satin gave the most neutral and pleasing version. Second best was the Epson Luster with a very slight pleasing warmness to the shot. The Ilford Gold Silk had a sickly yellow tint and was entirely unacceptable. For black and white glossy photos I think I'll stick with the Red River Paper. If I need to add a tint I will do it in Lightroom.

Conclusion

While there was no clear winner. I will probably keep the Epson Ultra-Premium Luster in my cabnet and will add the Red River Arctic Polar Satin to my repertoire. If the quality of the Satin holds up its cheaper price will make it my everyday media of choice. I will also keep a quantity of Ilford Gallerie Gold Fibre Silk on hand for those special prints where its attributes shine. Ilford Gallerie Smooth Pearl just doesn't stand up to the rest and when my supply is gone I won't be buying any more.

Thanks for Reading my take on Photo Papers. Remember that YMMV and the best way to find a paper you like is to test a batch. Also, it is critical that you use the printer profiles from the paper manufacturer and that you calibrate your monitor with appropriate equipment.

I also tested three Matte Fine Art Papers -- Buts that's another post.

Until next time.

© 2011 Time Marks

The War of 1812 Militia Muster

Always photogenic, military encampments and battle re-enactments are a fun way to learn history and get some great pictures for the photo album. We are likely to see many Civil War battles re-enacted over the next four years in celebration of the 150th anniversary of America's nation defining conflict.

Another war, oft forgotten, is soon to celebrate it's 200th anniversary. In 1812 the fledgling United States again went to war with Great Britain over a myriad of disputes. I had the opportunity to attend an 1812 militia muster at Greenfield Village. Greenfield Village is a living museum that is part of the Dearborn Michigan attraction "The Henry Ford."

Part of every re-enactment are soldiers dressed in the uniforms of the era. The military of the early republic still retained the colorful military style of earlier years. The bright colors were often necessary for the troops to recognize friend from foe.Especially in the "fog od War."

Imagine this smoke multiplied by hundreds of soldiers.

The re-enactment included weapons demonstrations, crafts and a fashion show. This gives the observer a good idea of what life was like. somewhat simplistic but a great starting point.

Firing a mortar in 1812 required a crew of five to six men.

Men's civilian fashion very much mimicked military dress.

Women's fashion began to evolve and become "less proper" I can here the dad now "you can leave the house dressed like that!"

The War of 1812 has been often ignored. It was important and widespread however. Detroit was surrendered to the Canadians without the firing of a shot. The new Americans attacked and ransacked the city of York, Upper Canada (now Toronto), while the British attacked the District of Columbia, burning the White House before they left.

If you get a chance to visit a re-enactment of an encampment do it, and don't forget your camera.

© 2011 Tim Marks

2010 Detroit Concert of Colors Recap

Well this year's Concert of Colors is over and a great time was had by all. The Concert of Colors is the annual Detroit diversity festival that brings together music and people from all over the metro area and the world. This year's show included the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, an All-Star Latin band from Southwest Detroit, The Detroit All-Star revue put together by producer and Oak Park native Don Was, and Kenge Kenge presenting music and Dance from Kenya.

Chelsea Tipton II conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the Detroit Institute of Ats on the first night of the Concert

 

The DSO also performed on Sunday afternoon on the Main Stage in Orchestra Hall. Orchestra hall is the DSO's home.

 

Tien-Huicani from Veracruz Mexico performed traditional Mexican folk music Friday night.

 

Kenyan Performers Kenge Kenge brought a piece of Africa to the show.

 

Local native son Don Was put together a show highlighting Music and performers from Detroit's musical past and present.

 

House band for the Detroit Pistons, the Sun Messengers have been entertaining Detroiters with home grown R&B for 30 years.

 

The dapper Andre Williams knocked the crowd out with a rendition of his 1957 hit "Bacon Fat".

 

One of the greatest guitarist to come out of Detroit, former member of the famous Funk Brothers, Dennis Coffey wowed the crowd with his magic fingers. (Notice Don Was in the background on bass)

 

The Southwest Detroit Latin Super Session brought music and dance from south of the border to the concert.

 

Sunday night ended with an inspiring and inspirational 90 minutes by gospel legend Mavis Staples.

Every year the Concert of Colors outdoes itself bringing the world to Detroit for three short days. There is no better way to celebrate the wonderful diversity of the Detroit area. And no better way to see a wide variety of music and dance.

Later on this year you can check out video of the performances of the Don Was Detroit All-Star Revue (including earlier year's shows) on his web site, The Wasmapolitan Cavalcade of Recorded Music.

Looking forward to next year.

© 2010 Tim Marks all rights reserved

A Photo Walk around Grand Valley State University

I attended Grand Valley State for the 1972/3 and ‘73/4 academic years (back then it was called Grand Valley State Colleges). I left in ’74 and didn’t finish my BA until the 90s at Wayne State but I have a soft spot in my heart for the GVSC (oops GVSU) Lakers.

 I had a chance to return to campus this past summer. Took an hour or so to walk around, make some images and bask in nostalgia.

Lake Michigan Hall was one of the original 1960s buildings on campus. I had a number of classes there.

The original dorms were built to conform to the shape of a ravine that traversed and split the campus. Navigating the halls of this squiggly building after returning from the bar was difficult.

The ravine bisected the campus. You had to cross this bridge to get from the dorms to class.

Not all of the buildings are old. This is the Student Services Center. It wasn’t there when I was hangin’ out.

There are a number of sculptures on campus.

I spent way too much time lying in the sun next to this pond and not near enough in the library just beyond it.

As I walked to the far end of campus I was dismayed to see that they were tearing down my apartment from my first year there. Probably not a bad thing though, since I seem to remember that it was condemned when I lived in it.

 Well it was good to be on campus again and see all the changes. GVSU, You’ve come a long way baby.”

 © 2009 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Hockey fights Cancer: Whalers Wear Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness

On October 24^th the Plymouth Whalers hockey team joined the fight for breast cancer awareness by donning pink jerseys for their regular season game against the Bellville Bulls. Even the referees joined in the action by wearing dapper pink striped shirts and pink laces on their skates.

A new design for hockey official’s uniforms

Matt Hackett, Whalers Goal tender.

Tyler G Brown lines up the big check.

A. J. Jenks shows that wearing pink doesn’t relieve aggression.

The Plymouth players also dyed their hair pink for the occasion. The hockey club was able to raise some funding for cancer research and stand with those fighting this horrible disease.

Thanks to Debbie at Delicious Baby for sponsoring Photo Friday

© 2009 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Going Back to College: Update

I promised I’d write occasional updates about my adventure returning to graduate school at Wayne State University after all these years. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am returning to finish a Masters in History that I started about ten years ago. Well, it’s been about two weeks now and there are things to report.

You may have noticed that I didn’t write a blog post last week. Frankly the workload is larger than I expected and I just didn’t have time to write anything. It appears that this blog is going to drop to one or two posts per week, most likely a post on Wednesday and, with any luck, a Photo Friday post. The blog will still be photography centered but I will try to write a monthly blog post about my experiences at school. 

 Getting back into the academic world has been both interesting and a bit frightening. The first thing that happened was that one of the classes that I registered for was cancelled and I had to find something else to take. Fortunately I found another course that, it turns out, should be very interesting and valuable. Originally I planned to take a course in “Colonial America” and a second course in the “Early American Republic”. The Early Republic course was cancelled but I was able to replace it with a class in “Women in U.S. Life and Thought.” I’m really excited about both classes.

The “Women” class is particularly interesting because it is from a field of study (Women’s History) that barely existed when I first went off to college in 1971. Certainly if there was such a class available it would not be near as rich and complete as this one seems to be so far. The “Colonial” presents a lot of new scholarship and a brand new way of looking at the colonial world. Far from being stagnant the study of history is rich and diverse. I especially enjoy being able to study a subject in-depth instead of in a rushed survey that are common at the undergraduate level. 

The one thing that gives me pause is the need to get back into very serious writing. Between the two courses I have to write six short papers and two quite extensive ones. All together they will likely total in excess of 10,000 words. It has been a long time since I have written a long and serious paper and I know these papers are going to take some time, if for no other reason than that I am out of practice (you can probably tell from this run on sentence). I’m actually happy that I have the six short ones to do first, since they will allow me to get back into the real writing mode.

I am really pleased to be on campus during the day as it allows me access to opportunities for more informal educational experiences. Many free lectures and presentations are available and both students and faculty take advantage of them. Last week I had the chance to attend a mini-seminar presented by Rogers Smith PhD. of the University of Pennsylvania. We had the opportunity to discuss Dr. Smith’s paper delving into Equality and Differentiated Citizenship. Being able to sit around a table with fellow students and faculty from different departments having an intelligent discourse about important issues is a gratifying experience.  I intend to take advantage of as many of these opportunities as I can.

All in all it has been a pretty good start. I am thoroughly enjoying myself, and I am feeling pretty good about this adventure.

© 2009 Tim Marks all rights reserved

The First 100 Years: Photography Exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts

Unknown to many, the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) has an extensive and extraordinary collection of photographs dating back to the Civil War. For a number of years the museum did not mount a exhibition of purely photographic works. Recently that has changed.

In the Spring and Summer of 2009 the museum presented the moving exhibition “Of Life and Loss.” This show highlights photos of the Jewish Ghetto in Poland in 1935 and compared and contrasted them with photos in the same area from 1996. The artists Roman Vishniac, in '35, and Jeffrey Guskey, in '96, told the story of Jewish life and loss in the prewar years and how much of the old ghetto has remained the same. The Exhibition closed on July 12, 2009.

Now comes an exhibition surveying the first 100 years of photography utilizing the museum's extensive collection. “Photography - the first 100 Years: A Survey from the DIA's Collection” opened on September 2, 2009 and runs through January 3, 2010.

The Show includes photographs from the mid 1800s into the middle of the twentieth century. Highlights include a 1860s tintype portrait of African American soldier and his female companion, and images from such photographic luminaries of the twentieth century as Edward Weston, Walker Evans, and Dorthea Lange.

Following “The First 100 Years” the DIA will present an exhibition of 180+ fashion photographs from the great Richard Avedon. That exhibition opens October 18, 2009 and closes January 17, 2010. More is promised throughout 2010.

Want to see some great photography? Head down to the DIA and catch these amazing exhibitions.

• Photography - the first 100 Years: A Survey from the DIA's Collection
• Included with museum admission
• September 2, 2009 – January 3, 2010

• Avedon Fashion Photographs 1944-2000
• Separate ticket required – on sale September 30 (Sept 23 for Members)
• October 18, 2009 – January 17, 2010

© Tim Marks all rights reserved

Photo Friday: Wrestling a Cannon in Quebec

Earlier this week I presented some photos of Canada Day in Quebec City.  Today I have a fun scene that we came across as we were walking back from La Citadelle de Quebec.  We came across this row of old cannons that once protected the city.  As you can see a young boy and girl (his sister I presume) are showing their climbing prowess while their mother looks on.  The Citadel was built between 1820 and 1850 and currently houses the Royal 22e Regiment, an official residence of the Governor General of Canada and an extensive military museum.

Have a good Labor/Labour Day weekend everyone!

Thanks to Debbie of Delicious Baby for organizing Photo Friday and spreading such wonderful images across the Web.

© 2009 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Back to School

If you’ve read my “about” page (you do read those, don’t you?) you know that I am about to embark on an educational journey that will hopefully lead to a Master of Arts in History.  The question of course is what could possibly have made me decide to return to school at 56 years old and to study history of all things?

Circumstances dictate strange things these days.  I was a “non-traditional” student in the past and it appears I am going to be one again.  Seventeen years after dropping out of college, I returned to Wayne State University to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in 1997 at the age of 45 (all the while working full time as an automotive engineer).  Within a year or so, I found myself bored, so I decided to start working on a MA in History “just for fun.”  It turns out that working full time and completing a MA is somewhat incompatible, so I put aside school figuring I might go back after I retire.

Page forward about nine years to October 2009, I find myself downsized, along with several thousand other engineers, with few prospects for reasonable work. 

I stopped in at my local community college and met with a counselor.  Under the Trade Readjustment Act I am eligible for training money, but only for specific jobs such as health care and truck driving.  None of those hold much interest for me at this time in my life.  The counselor recommended that I return to Wayne State and complete that MA. 

The more I thought about it the more it made some kind of weird sense.  No, the state would not pay for it, but I have enough saved to cover tuition myself.  No there aren’t a plethora of jobs in history out there, but by the time I finish, we will hopefully be well on our way out of this crisis and I will find some meaningful work.  This will also give me the opportunity to do some part-time teaching in my retirement which is fast approaching.

I do face this new challenge with some trepidation.  I finished my BA in a program that was largely made up of older (40+) student so I fit right in.  My earlier work on the MA was at night, so at least some of the students were close to my age, mostly working high school teachers.  Attending classes during the day means that I am likely to be one of oldest students in class.  In fact I might just be older that some of my professors. 

I am really looking forward to getting started and back into the academic world.  It will feel good to be doing something intellectual and worthwhile, at the same time working hard to accomplish something that as a mediocre high school student I never imagined doing. 

My major area of study is Early American History (to 1877) with an emphasis in the early republic.  My minor area is African History.  I completed the course work in African History during my time at Wayne last decade and hopefully most of those credits will carry over and I won’t have to repeat very much course work.  I have always had an interest in history and historical figures and this will give me a chance to explore that body of knowledge in a more formal way than I have in the past.

The focus of this blog is still going to be photography but look here for occasional articles about topics in history and my new educational adventure.

Wish me luck!

© 2009 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Detroit Photo Exhibition at Bean & Leaf Café

flyer design by Rebecca_Mich (flickr)

The local photography group Exposure.Detroit is presenting an exhibition of member photographs at the Bean and Leaf Café on Main Street in Downtown Royal Oak.  I am honored to have one of my images included in the show.

The exhibition, entitled "Detroit, Let Us Show You Around," is meant to highlight the character and value of the city of Detroit.  Each picture will be accompanied by a narrative that will showcase something about Detroit that is worthwhile and worth seeing.  Hopefully the show will inspire people to head into the city and enjoy its amenities.

The opening party is this Friday, August 7^th from 7:00pm – 10:00pm and the show will run for about 3 months.

All are welcome to the party to help to celebrate the D!

© Tim Marks all right reserved