Q & A

Q:      Your photos are all different sizes. What's the deal?

 

A:      I believe that every image has a unique size and crop that shows the subject in the best light and composition. It looks a little strange in a web slideshow, especially when you fade from a horizontal to a vertical image, but in this application the photos need to stand alone.

 

 

Q:      Do the prices include framing?

 

A:      Frames are not included in the print price. We don’t offer framing (see the next two questions.)

 

 

Q:      Why don’t you offer framing services for your prints?

 

A:      Framing and matting are specialized skills that are best handled by your local frame shop. They can advise you on the correct material, style, and color choice for the artwork and your decor. Frames are also heavy and easily damaged in transit.

 

 

Q:     I really don’t have time to deal with framing and matting. Can I pay you to do it for me?

 

A:      Arrangements can be made, but there will be a significant handling charge to cover my time. A better solution is to contact an up-scale frame shop in your area. Some offer their customers personalized services that may include coming to your location with samples, delivery and installation.

 

 

Q:      You have PayPal e-commerce buttons for your Digitypes, but not for your photographs. What gives?

 

A:      My Digitypes come in one size, so it's easy to apply e-commerce links. Photo prints can come in many sizes, different paper textures, or can even be printed on metal plates, or canvas. There are too many variables for an e-commerce button. It's also important to know where you intend to display the photos. Some prints can hold up to UV radiation and moisture better than others. I also know the best maximum size for a particular image. This is why I don't use "print farms" that allow you to order a print yourself, without my oversight. I want to be sure that you have an image that we can both be proud to hang on your wall - hopefully for generations. A couple of e-mails, or a phone call, will assure you of the best image for your application.

 

 

Q:      What makes you think your work is worth passing down from one generation to the next?

 

A:      Wow, what a rude question, but it still deserves an answer. I have no delusions about my images. Frankly my subjects do most of the work for me, I just catch them at it. Whether my contribution to the final image is worth passing from one generation to the next is not the issue. I've taken photos of animals and plants that are now extinct. Our amazing world is disappearing fast. In another generation the creature, or scene, in a photo that hangs on your wall today may no longer exist. That's a good enough reason to pass it along. Plus I take a lot of photos, and there is too much stuff in our land fills as it is.

 

 

Q:      I see a photo that is almost perfect for a book I'm working on, but the animal is facing in the wrong direction. Do you have alternatives?

 

A:      I have many thousands of images, so there may be a photo that fits your needs. I can supply you with a selection. If I don't have what you need I can often direct you to someone who does. There is never a charge for this service.

 

 

Q:    I'm a photo researcher for a book publisher. I sometimes have a problem dealing with independent photographers. They don't always understand the licensing needs or business model of publishing. Do you have that experience?

 

A:     I worked for five years as a photo researcher for an international textbook publisher. I worked an additional five years as that company's photo acquisitions manager, negotiating contracts, and training researchers in the use of the company's digital rights management system. I know the industry well.

 

 

Q:    What are Giclee prints?

 

A:     Giclee (pronounced Zee-clay) is a fancy name for an inkjet print made from a digital scan of original artwork. Contemporary Giclee prints are archival (200+ years in the absence of bright and/or ultra-violet light - although hiding artwork in a dark place defeats its purpose.) A Giclee prints are one of the best ways to reproduce the colors, tones and range of the original medium (someday they will include texture as well, but we're not there yet.)

 

 

Q:     What the heck is a “digitype?” I’ve never heard that term before.

 

A:     Digital art suffers from a confusing lexicon. The term Giclee covers digital prints made from optical scans of conventional artwork, but there is no corresponding term for artwork that began life as a digital image. A digital photograph is still a photo, but what do you call it when its been manipulated, filtered, redrawn, or otherwise tweaked? What do you call an image that was built from scratch using a computer as the medium?

        I coined the term “digitype” to represent digitally manipulated artwork (including photographs.) Digitype is derived from the word “monotype,” a form of printmaking where the artist creates an image on one surface, and then before the pigments can dry, transfers it to another via hand rubbing or etching press. Successive prints from the same original “plate” will have a similar design, but different color densities or other variables that give each copy a unique appearance. Digitypes can appear identical to each other or wildly different. The artist can chose to make only one or keep making identical copies indefinitely. The corollary between digitypes and monotypes isn’t perfect, but it’s better than calling the final print “digitally modified image values on a fiber based analog surface.”

 

 

Q:     What is computer generated art?

 

A:     Computer generated art is an oxymoron. Digital artists start with a blank screen, just like a painter begins with a blank canvas. The computer is merely a toolbox full of color and light values, texture options, paint brushes, layers, palettes, rulers, coordinates, and geometric objects (two dimensional and three dimensional.) It is a jar full of ones and zeros, yes or no’s, open or closed gates, and empty data fields that is incapable of spontaneously generating anything.

 

 

Q:     According to James Cameron the characters in Avatar are computer generated. So who’s right Cameron or you?

 

A:     First off, I’m always right - this is my website. Second, James Cameron is a gifted Director and Producer, but he’s wrong. The characters in Avatar are computer "rendered," not generated. Computers are given detailed parameters (by actual humans) and render a final image based on that input. In some cases hand made sculptures are scanned to create the framework for a creature or character. A digital armature is created from the scans and added to virtual sculptures built by skilled animators and modelers. Despite computer and software advances Cameron’s crew had to glue ping pong balls to actors bodies to track and accurately simulate human movement. The animator tells the computer that the character needs to move from point A to point B, and the motion capture data tells the computer how it should look. The computer then takes the place of the artists who once re-drew each frame with slight changes in the position of arms and legs. Each subsequent frame is rendered and when projected in quick succession we perceive the illusion of movement. The confusion is largely the result of semantics. The computer "generates" the intermediate stages, between the starting point of the character, or object, and where it finally ends up in the scene. When you call an image “computer generated” you give too much credit to the computer and not enough to the programmers (i.e., the artists.) Sorry, James, but keep up the good work.

 

 

Q:     You have copyright notices on all the images at this site. Do they also appear on the prints?

 

A:     No. There are no printed copyright notices on the artwork. However, my signature, edition size, copy number (if the print is a limited edition), and the image title, appears at the bottom of the image. I include copyrights on all the images at this site, along with embedded metadata, because I’m serious about protecting my artwork from pirates and those well meaning citizens who have their own interpretation of the “fair use” doctrine. There are no free images at this website, but you might be surprised at how affordable they can be. We can work something out. I sometimes "donate" the use of images for a good cause. So please ask. Thanks.

 

 

Q:     What is the "Fair Use" doctrine?

 

A:      According to United States copyright law, the fair use doctrine permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holder(s.) Some things considered fair use are commentaries, internet search engines, critiques, parodies, news reports, use for teaching, library archives, or research papers. The law is intentionally vague, so most "fair use" court cases are decided on a case by case basis. It is best to contact me, if you're unsure about the "fair use" of my images, or blog entries, we'll figure it out together. Fair use does not mean you can use the material without giving credit to the source. I will be happy to let you know what credit line I prefer. Thanks.