Staso / Gray Print

It started out as an extra image for my Lakefill 2011 series, a photo to add context to the project and capture the essence of a complex place. It's part of the Artist's Statement that's included in the complete portfolio, but isn't one of the 8x10" prints that are available singly.

Long after Lakefill 2011 was complete "Staso/Gray" continued to be a favourite, so it was time to put it on paper and let it stand on its own.

The finished print has an image area of 14 x 7" on 19 x 13" 'ultra premium luster' paper. It's signed with the print edition information on the bottom of the page. This first run consists of six prints, and they are priced at $150.

Due to its unusual size, I have no plans to make "Staso/Gray" available through any print-on-demand services.


Comments, questions, thoughts? You can find me on Twitter or via e-mail.

Other Factors

There are certainly times when I don't know what I'm doing.

I've been working on a few prints recently, but one in particular has been vexing me. I've had to make three different versions of it, all identical except for their size.

I started with a print that was 16" across simply because I could – it fits nicely on the paper, and there are plenty of pixels to reproduce it properly. I looks the way I want it to, with no problems in the reproduction, but it didn't grab me. I put it on the wall and lived with it for a week, and it didn't grow on me.

I suspected that the size was the problem. It was reproducing as slightly larger-than-life, so I tried it as a 14" print. The result was immediately better, and spending another week with both photos side-by-side made it even more obvious.

Since a little smaller was a lot better, I took it one more step and tried it as a 12" print. This would let it fit a standard 11x14 frame with only a custom mat, which makes the whole package more affordable than a bigger – or custom – frame. I wanted it to work, but it just didn't. Those two inches left the print weak and uninteresting.

I can't explain much of what I do, and don't understand everything that goes into making decisions. In this case the photo only works as a print of a specific size, and while I could probably rationalize it, it would only be trying to make myself feel better. This is the way it needs to be, so I'm just going to let it stay that way.


Comments, questions, thoughts? You can find me on Twitter or via e-mail.