Moments of Truth

This morning I am thinking about judges, judgments, hearings (and feelings) with lots of talk about papers.

I wanted to weigh in: I will officially go on record: I love my ILFORD Galerie Prestige fine art printing papers. Yes...Papers. I have many of them; each one chosen with care to enhance a given subject, style or specific image.
And yes, they have all been released to the public. I will willingly share them with all who are interested. No secrets to my papers. Oh no. Never.
Of late, I’ve come to genuinely love ILFORD Cotton Artist Textured. This 100% Cotton Rag paper with no optical brighteners has a wonderfully textured surface yet maintains a level of clarity and detail missing in other papers.
There is a feeling you get when you hold something labored over to achieve the finest articulation of a creative vision…with no motives or hidden agendas. When you hold a print in your hands, it should leave you smiling (marveling at and respecting the author’s decision, not questioning it.) It should stand the test of time and be something you return to again and again as it is made with nothing but respect for the craft of fine art printing and with no other bias.
For those of you who print your own work, I will let you be the judges.
For those of you who don’t…I highly recommend it as a trial.
I find it has improved my overall skills as a photographer.
It goes without saying that I color manage my entire capture to edit to print workflow (with the i1Studio from X-Rite). This saves me hours of time and greatly reduces the cost of wasted ink or paper. When I start from a neutral place, I am able to get to my "creative place" quicker and with no worries that what I am seeing is what I will ultimately be sharing/printing.
In conclusion, I have supreme confidence in my choices.

Remember: It’s not done ‘til it’s printed