I am asked to do an exhibition...need advice

[Patrik Roseen]

So this time it happened to me :) . I showed some photographs and 4x5" color slides to someone who rapidly asked if I would be willing to do an exhibition in the beginning of the summer. I will be back with more details when things get better planned.

I need advice regarding the printing of the color slides.

I think I will have them scanned and printed by a professional digital lab here in Stockholm. What would be the optimal size for an exhibition if one wants to show the possibilities with a 4x5" slide in terms of resolution and yet not go too large so that the details get lost due to grain showing up or due to too few DPIs. My aim is to differentiate myself from any other color photos from Digital cameras.

I am tempted to do 80x100cm enlargements but only if the quality still can be seen in the print. Any suggestions and comments are much appreciated.

[Ted Harris]

Scanned with a high end scanner you won't lose anything at that size BUT remember how much larger it will be when it is framed and matted. I usually print 4x5 at either 20x24" or 24x30" for shows thus allowing plenty of space to matt with a standard size mattboard. Of course, if you do something like clip mounting without a matt you can go larger. Finally, it depends on the subject matter,

[Joanna Carter]

80cm x 100 cm is a reasonable size, that is what I used for two images in my first ever exhibition. I had them printed borderless, mounted on 3mm foamex board and matt laminated to avoid reflections, due to the peculiar lighting in the venue. I could not afford to do all the prints at that size then, so the rest were done on my Epson A3+ printer, image size 12" x 15"; they were meant to go into 16" x 20" frames with matts but the gallery goofed and they got put into 20" x 24" frames instead; wow did they look small!

I now have a better price for the larger prints, as long as I have 6-8 minimum, so the next time I will more than likely look to doing most if not all at 80cm x 100 cm.

Provided you have done as sharp a scan as possible at around 2400dpi, a 4x5 image will definitely look marvellous at that size.

[Ed Richards]

Get the lab to do a test print and use it to decide. There are lots of variables that only a print will resolve. You will want a good drum scan for that size.

[Kirk Gittings]

Congratulations! A bit of advice. You didn't say how large the exhibit is, BUT the beginning of summer will come very very quickly!!!! You have allot of decisions to make in a very short period of time.

[Bruce Watson]

I think I will have them scanned and printed by a professional digital lab here in Stockholm. What would be the optimal size for an exhibition if one wants to show the possibilities with a 4x5" slide in terms of resolution and yet not go too large so that the details get lost due to grain showing up or due to too few DPIs. My aim is to differentiate myself from any other color photos from Digital cameras.

I am tempted to do 80x100cm enlargements but only if the quality still can be seen in the print. Any suggestions and comments are much appreciated.

I've printed a handful of images at 100 x 125 cm from 5x4 negatives (color and B&W). I had them printed on canvas and stretched over stretcher bars. I print a wide black boarder (3 cm) and then gallery wrap (staples in the back where they don't show). This makes a good presentation without a frame, and it's easy to transport (light weight, no glass to break or acrylic to scratch). If you are going to show without glazing, do give the image a top coating with a UV blocking varnish of some kind -- people are going to walk right up to the prints and touch them.

As to image quality, printing at this size from 5x4 is perfectly doable. Sharpness is good, and my prints are basically grainless (traditional darkroom prints would probably show a small amount of grain at this size), but this is only an 11x enlargement or so -- about the same enlargement as making a 20 x 25 cm print from a 35mm negative. That said, printing at this size will show any mistakes you make, such as focus errors, motion blur, dust spots, etc.

If you are going to conventionally frame, then I'd keep the size down to 100 x 80 cm as you suggest just for practical framing reasons. It's difficult to find mat boards the size needed to frame bigger than this for example, and there are transport problems and the frames are awkward and heavy to hang.

However you do it, good luck to you, and congrats on the exhibition!

[Patrik Roseen]

Thank you all for your good suggestions based on experience.

Kirk is right of course that I am in for lots of decisions. Looking into all the different alternatives for printing, mats, glass, frames, hangers, apart from size ...

Joanna and Bruce both make good suggestions I think considering the lighting, i.e. not going to glossy. Glossy prints are very nice but only if the light is right.If there are reflections they are just a pain to look at.

I was thinking of doing the B&Ws in the wet darkroom myself and leave the color printing to a lab as I said. Canvas sure looks good but the difference to the b&W paper prints could be a challenge. The cost for digital printing is making me hesitate doing the b&W digitally too?

Ed, Kirk and Ted, I will follow your advice and ask the lab what they think and what it might look like. It's not easy to understand the price lists on their web pages or to compare one lab to another.

Here is another question - using a too small image circle on 4x5":
I took some really nice photographs this autumn out in the weather islands north of Gothenburg. I was using my Xenotar 80mm on 4x5" which means that the photograph is partly circular with a black frame around it. Some people seem to like the black frame with the circular picture within but I am not so sure myself.
Does anyone have experience of framing/matting this type of photograph? Do you suggest leaving it as is, or to reverse the black frame to a white frame, or crop it completely making it all rectangular?

[venchka]

Is Ilfochrome/Cibachrome really out of the question for your slides? I'm not trying to be difficult. I just don't know myself. I have thought seriously about having some of my slides, 35mm & 6x7, printed on the Ilfochrome/Cibachrome material. Is the best available scanning and digital printing better? Cheaper? Will your scans be printed on photographic paper or an inkjet printer?

[Ted Harris]

Here is another question - using a too small image circle on 4x5":
I took some really nice photographs this autumn out in the weather islands north of Gothenburg. I was using my Xenotar 80mm on 4x5" which means that the photograph is partly circular with a black frame around it. Some people seem to like the black frame with the circular picture within but I am not so sure myself.
Does anyone have experience of framing/matting this type of photograph? Do you suggest leaving it as is, or to reverse the black frame to a white frame, or crop it completely making it all rectangular?

Interesting question and we'd have to see one of the images to make any really useful comment. Having said that, I know the area reasonably well and think that the vignetting might work well to increase the mood for sunrise or sunset shots.

[kay tokugo]

Congratulations, Patrick.

The first thing you have to do is to check out the lighting of the venue. Take a framed print there and hang it there if possible and look at how the lighting affects the photograph. I have seen too many wonderful (Adams, Evans, Weston and R.Frank)images ruined by dreadful lighting.

Don't worry about showing the imgaes with small image circle as they can look very interesting. Many photographers have shown images that way, including Emmet Gowin and Jeff Wall. Best of luck.

[Patrik Roseen]

Thank you all again for helping me out here.

Venchka, I have definitely given Ilfochrome or similar a thought but somehow come to the conclusion that for the color slides the digital technique would be cheaper in the long run as I can reuse the digital information for as long as I want, i.e once done there would be very small amount of human labor to produce the next batch of prints.

Ted, I went to the professional lab today and they convinced me to keep the black frame. I have had problems with my computer at home and can therefor not show what they look like. They were shot just before sunset so the lighting within the circle is very warm and the sky is dark blue with light clouds. The light fall of towards the edges of the image circle almost give them a 3 dimensional look. (This is almost as difficult to describe as trying to sound like a symphony orchestra.)

Kay, the lighting seems to be the most difficult thing of all and I have very little influence of this. I will go there and check it out.

[Patrik Roseen]

With all suggestions and assistance from you here is what I have concluded so far.

I am leaning towards having both the color and b&w slides scanned and printed on canvas.
That way I will not have to consider any frames and mats, just hang them as is stretched on top of a rectangular frame. This will also make the 'circular' black frames around the photographs from using the xenotar 80mm look good, i.e. become a part of the total experience.

As for size I will have at least one or two photographs (normal 4x5") in the 80x100cm size. For cost reasons (and possibly commercial) I will have the rest of the prints 50x70cm size or so.

Something I learned in the lab was that paper will take different shapes and size depending on humidity which is another reason for going with canvas. The venue is out in the Stockholm archipelago and many tourists will pass in and out all day. In wet weather they will bring the humidity in with them...

I am also asked to write a description of myself and the camera technique for their summer add.
This is more fun than I could ever imagine!

[Patrik Roseen]

So I am back from utopia where time and money is unlimited and where everything goes according to plans.

I have been so busy thinking about my coming exhibition that I have not had any energy left for taking part in the discussions on this forum. The tragic news about Ted Harris also struck me, especially since he asked to see the photograph I was discussing earlier in this thread and which will now be one of the main photographs in my first exhibition.

With only two weeks to go the plan is to show fifteen B/W prints (wet darkroom) of the size 30x40cm on 40x50cm paper of which eight are already done.
I will also show 3 color prints on canvas of the size 80x100cm. The digital lab asked me to do the 'photoshoping' but I have realized I do not have the computer power, skills etc to do it myself and agreed with the lab they do do it for me.

I still have not decided which frames to use for the B/W but since I am keeping to standard mat size there are plenty to choose from.

I talked to another person a while back who was doing an exhibition with Pt/Pd prints if he was done already when there was a week left. He answered "I have not started yet!" I am nolonger surprised he answered that way. As was stated in this thread some time ago "you will have many decisions to make". I know what that means now.

Hope to be back with more good news as the exhibition is opened June 15.

[Patrik Roseen]

It's 2 o'clock in the morning and I and my girlfriend are home again after successfully having framed and hung the photographs for the exhibition starting later 'today'.

I am very glad to say that the response from those having seen it already is fantastic. The gallery owners said they would cry the day I returned to remove the photos. I can't believe it is finally in place. Wish you all could see it, I have learned so much from all of you (my friends) on this forum.

Good night, Patrik

[Bruce Watson]

It's 2 o'clock in the morning and I and my girlfriend are home again after successfully having framed and hung the photographs for the exhibition starting later 'today'.

I am very glad to say that the response from those having seen it already is fantastic. The gallery owners said they would cry the day I returned to remove the photos. I can't believe it is finally in place. Wish you all could see it, I have learned so much from all of you (my friends) on this forum.

Good night, Patrik

That's what a digicam and a website are good for. It would be wonderful if, in your copious spare time ;-) you could post some pictures of the exhibit so we could see the images in the gallery context.

And good on ya Patrik. Enjoy the experience and the recognition (and I hope, the print sales!).

[Patrik Roseen]

That's what a digicam and a website are good for. It would be wonderful if, in your copious spare time ;-) you could post some pictures of the exhibit so we could see the images in the gallery context.

And good on ya Patrik. Enjoy the experience and the recognition (and I hope, the print sales!).


Bruce, I am very happy for your reply and I hope to be back with digital photos from the gallery setup.

Probably not in this thread though since it seems to have developed into a one way communication...

[Struan Gray]

Grattis Patrik.

I'd love to see some shots of the exhibition. Where in the archipelago is it?

[Patrik Roseen]

Grattis Patrik.

I'd love to see some shots of the exhibition. Where in the archipelago is it?

Thanks Struan, the exhibition is on the island of Arholma in the northern part of the Stockholm archipelago and will be open until July 14th 2008.
For more details about the location and how to get there you can look at this webpage:

http://www.arholmanord.se

The exhibition includes:
- 3 color prints on canvas (100x80cm)
- 8 black and white wet darkroom enlargements (40x30cm)
- 1 black and white wet darkroom enlargement (50x20cm)
- 5 black and white wet darkroom contact prints (17x12 cm)

The theme of the exhibition is the swedish archipelago and water/seaside.
I have deliberately used different techniques for the creation of the prints so that people have an opportunity to see what is possible to do with a large format camera.

The photographs have not been published in any media before (including this forum).
I have removed my link to my old website since I do not think my earlier photographs represent what I managed to create for this exhibition. I actually impressed/surprised myself this time.

Hope you get a chance to see it Struan. Give me a shout if you have the opportunity to go to Stockholm and we might be able to arrange a trip up there together.

Cheers!