I’ve never printed a single one of my photographs…
That thought hit me hard about a week ago. I was at my friend Evan Bogart’s house, admiring his lovely photos. He and his girlfriend Sam had just moved into their new apartment and, already, he had all of his photos hanging on the wall. He’d had his photos hanging on his respective walls for years, at that. I’ve been in my apartment for 9 months and I still haven’t hung anything that didn’t come ready to mount, much less any non-existent photos of my own. I’m not certain what has taken me so long to print any of my images. Maybe it was hesitation? Hope for something better? Fear of rejection or costs? I’m not sure, but when Erika Milage, the manager at Third Planet, asked if I would hang my art for June’s art walk, I was speechless and giddy. No one had ever asked that of me and it was the perfect kick in the proverbial ass to get me to finally see what my photography looks like printed.
Fearful that my images would come back looking like a sopping mess of paper machete newspaper collages, I was hesitant to shell out too much for a first printing.
Maybe, I’d been doing everything wrong for years and my photos just wouldn’t print well… Before the order, I spent an evening fine tuning and combing the photos I had slowly curated. I chipped away at a list of 300 or so and finally narrowed down to these 11. I started by looking for dualistic imagery or meaning. I quickly found my strongest suite to be composition, however, opinions were all over the board on which images were best for this. And frankly, a retailer based in hippy and outdoor aesthetic, probably wouldn’t have a huge interest in portrait work. With that, I focused on landscapes and nature imagery. After some intense back and forth with some of my most respected “fans” I picked my ten. Only ten because prints are pricey and space was limited. For a mounting, I wasn’t ready to purchase a full-blown glossy metal print. I also didn’t care for matting or framing. Wrap-around and canvas proved to be too expensive and so, I was left with prints on Photo paper attached to a 1/4″ gator foam back, which I hear doesn’t warp.
I sent the order and restlessly waited my two days to see. When the day came, I unwrapped my babies like my gifts on my first Christmas-over zealously eager, yet careful, lest I ruin anything. How shocked was I when I saw them in all their glory. They didn’t suck! Actually, I only had two issues with all of the prints. One, image of Seattle traffic needs darker darks and, two, my green flora photo wasn’t centered. I was a little saddened about the last one. That centered image was the heart of my dualism theme and now it simply wouldn’t fit. Too late to order a new one and, no doubt, I wouldn’t be able to get a refund, I resigned myself to hanging the insufficient piece and learning for next time. But none of that matters. I printed my “art” and it will be hanging in a space for all to see tomorrow. That’s never happened to me. What if someone buys something? What if I actually made a smidge of money off this? I’m not thinking about the haters. Let them. For now, I’m just too giddy to have anything at all.
Take a look. I’ve posted all ten of the images below. What’s that? You count 11? Well, that’s because I printed a special one just for Third Planet, a special marijuana themed image that’s never been in my top 300, but was requested by Third Planet and, honestly, I think it has the highest chance to sell, call it a hunch.
