In this age of computers and mobile phones, photographer Chris Ceaser underlines the importance of turning digital photos into physical objects we can treasure for years to come.
With billions of photos taken around the world and available at the click of a button, photography is not dead but rarely enjoyed for more than a few seconds. Creating memories requires images to be available in a more permanent form advises one of Yorkshire’s most accomplished photographers.
On Friday February 2, professional Landscape photographer Chris Ceaser gave a highly informative talk to Ilkley Camera Club. He is an award winning photographer at both national and international level, and is an ambassador for the Canson Infinity range of fine art papers.
The focus of Chris’s talk was on the art of photographic printmaking and what has been described as a “dark art”. Chris urged members to give some thought about what to do with their photographs and said that making a print to hang on the wall was very rewarding.
There are many ways to do printing – you can either make a photo book using one of the many online services, send off to a specialist printer, or print your own using a printer designed for fine art printing.
Although printing at home might seem complicated, he said that in essence it was quite simple once you understood the technical settings required. However, printing to a high quality does require investment in a computer, decent printer and high quality paper. Good quality printers use an array of different coloured ink cartridges. Ensuring that the colours on the screen match the finished print can be done by calibrating your screen using a special device and installing what’s called an ICC profile. It sounds complicated but Chris gave a very encouraging demonstration of the process.
Most of Chris’s talk was devoted to demonstrating the importance of understanding the qualities of the papers used for printing. Prints were made on the night using his recommended printer, the Canon Pro 300 pigment ink printer. Members were able to see prints being made on different papers to demonstrate how the choice of paper is an important part of printing and how different surfaces can affect the look and feel of a photograph.
Chris talked specifically about one of the oldest paper manufacturers, Canson of France, whose history goes back more than 400 years and was favoured by many famous painters. Chris brought with him an impressive display of prints to show members and win them over to the art of printing.
Ilkley Camera Club is currently meeting on Friday evenings at 7.30pm. Some meetings are held at St Peter’s Church Hall in Addingham and others on Zoom. For more information visit the Club website at ilkleycameraclub.co.uk or their Facebook page, facebook.com/ilkleycameraclub