Make your friends look scarily fabulous

With Halloween only 12 days away (yes, I counted) I am sure everyone is wracking their brain and the goodwill for the ultimate showstopping and previous-year-topping. costume. The 31st is the night when everyone looks their very best, their very worst, or, my personal favorite, their most ridiculous.

It would be a shame to let all that imagination once in the year bizarreness go unrecorded. This year could supply you with photos that will warm your hear for years to come.

Party shots and night shots are not easy to take, so I thought now might be a good time to get a little help from the pros on how to capture the mayhem.

Kim Vallee has some great, simple advice. Two tips she had that I always use is to take unposed shots and to skip the flash. find the rest of her advice here including tips on more technical things like ISO.

Beyond Photo Tips has some other advice. They recommend flash, and explain how to use it well. They also suggest you take photos with your lens zoomed all the way out to reduce shake, and trying slower exposures for intentional motion blur. the rest of what they have to say is here

i highly recommend checking these tips out. Do all of your friends a favor and help them remember the night.

Vancouver Sights and Sounds

The end of July... Summer is quickly coming to an end, but since this is Vancouver, it's going out with a bang. Literally.

Saturday night marks the end of the exceptional Celebration of Light fireworks competition showcased in English Bay; the event, which has an annual attendance of around 1.4 million, will culminate in the highly anticipated finale hosted by China. Huge crowds are expected to descend upon the usually laid-back West End, causing the streets to look as they did during the 2010 Olympics.

However, the fireworks are not the only place you will see a rainbow of colors this weekend; there will be Pride flags as far as the eye can see in preparation for Vancouver's Annual Pride Parade on Sunday. The parade, which will consist of floats, marching bands and various community groups, strives to educate the public and highlight the positive impact LGBT groups have on Vancouver. In addition to being a great cause, the parade itself is a treat for the eyes and ears; so bring your cameras, enjoy yourself and take lots of pictures (to be turned into Canvas Art, obviously) in the summer heat - that way, when the winter comes, you can reminisce about the dog days of summer.

Firework Photography

Watched the Celebration of Light last night, USA were the first to compete with their fireworks working in tune to music from the 40's such as Fever and Mambo Italiano. It was really spectacular.Fireworks at Festival of Lights show by USA at English Bay in Vancouver, B.C., on July 21, 2010.

As I was watching the fireworks from an apartment overlooking English Bay I was able to see the crowds of thousands lined up along the beach and parks watching the performance. At one point the crowd resembled that of a concert when the ballad comes on and everyone holds up their lighters, with the light from their display monitors on their cameras illuminating them. This got me thinking about the thousands of photographs that would be taken that night and firework photography. Below are some photographs I found online and really love (think the silhouettes really make some of the images):

35mm Film Scanner

Today I came across a scanner that solely scans film negatives and slides. These scanners have clearly been around for years but having just heard about them I must say I think its a great idea. As a photographer who likes to focus mainly on film, dark-room access is not always available and finding scanning facilities can be a bit of a hassle too. These scanners would allow me to play around with my photographs and decide which ones are worth further work in the dark-room. From reading up on the scanners it appears that the affordable ones (around the $100 mark) won't give the best quality but if you are comfortable with photo-shop you should be OK.

VuPoint Solutions offers the FC-C520-VP digital film and slide scanner, a device that allows you to convert your old 35 mm standard negatives and mounted sliders to digital images.

The scanning devices can be connected to your computer or you can use an SD disk to store the scans. they appear to be less fidgety then using a film adapter on normal scanners and the majority of them claim that the scan of a negative will only take a few seconds. From there you will have digital images of your previous film negatives that you didn't know what to do with. You can go on to having them printed, maybe even trying the growing trend of printing them on canvas, http://www.canadaoncanvas.com/.

Definitely worth further investigation and a possible purchase! if your interested Amazon appears to have a good selection of them and I found the reviews very helpful.

Lomography and the Diana F+

Lomography emphasizes casual, snapshot photography. Lomographic cameras are lightweight, plastic film cameras with many accessories from fish eye lenses to attaching flash with colour filters. Characteristics such as over-saturated colours, blurring, "happy mistakes" and alternative film processing are often considered part of the Lomographic Technique. These unusual and exciting effects are what draw me to the world of Lomography.

Just over a year ago I purchased a Diana F+ camera in the hope of documenting life through the wacky images it produces. However college and life took over and before I knew I it my camera was gathering dust. On the few occasions I did take it out my friends were convinced that it was a fake camera! Now that I'm out of college and have a good job with regular hours my original interest in the camera has surfaced and my friends will have to get used to seeing the toy camera pout and about.

If your interested in lomographic cameras the best website I've found is http://canada.shop.lomography.com/. Granted the cameras are practically the same price as a cheap digital plus you have to buy the film but that's what so great about it, with film your images will always be printed rather than being forgotten on your computer.







Below are some images I found on-line that were taken by the Diana F+. Enjoy!

Portrait Photography

I find something so fascinating about portrait photography, its as if through the these up close images you are getting to know the subject of the portrait without ever meeting them. Portrait photography has the ability to display the personality and even the mood of the subject. It can show the vulnerability of people as they are not able to hide from the camera lens.

One of my favorite portrait artists is Diane Arbus. Diane Arbus was an American photographer, known for her black and white square photographs, mainly portraits, of people on the outskirts of "normality". She was fascinated with the abnormal and would photograph anyone from a dwarf to a nudist, she would also go to Freak shows in search of her subject matter. Arbus believed that "there are things nobody would see if I didn't photograph them." She took portrait photography to a new level by exploring what society chose to ignore (examples below).
































Diane Arbus was before the digital age so she printed up all of her photographs in her darkroom, they weren't left in a file on a computer being forgotten. Although the digital age has been a blessing for photography, pushing it beyond what previously couldn't be dreamed of. I feel that it has also been a slight curse to photography, with all the mass production around us people have stopped treasuring photographs as they used to. This snap happy society documents every moment for the images just to become lost amongst the thousands on a hard-drive, I am the first to admit that I fall into this category.

We should start admiring the photo's we have. Go through your computer and re-discover the photographs you once loved. Get them printed and decorate your home with your own art. the popularity with printing on canvas is growing everyday, through this process you can turn your image files into a 3D piece ready to hang. For some ideas and to see how easy this process is visit our website on http://www.usaoncanvas.com/.

Photo-Montage

Looking at the Starn Twins work in my last blog post got me thinking about photo-montage and the endless possibilities. Just through taking a lot of photographs, either all of the same subject or photographs of a common theme or really whatever you want, and collaging them together like a jigsaw you can achieve the most amazing/original works of art.


below is a photo-montage created by David Hockney. He is a great example of the experimentation and fun you can achieve through photo-montage! The portrait subject is actually his own mother.
Another approach to photo-montage is taking photographs along the same theme and putting them together to create something completely different. I've noticed an increase in the popularity of collage work we do here and think that its a great way of taking digital images and through giclee on canvas turning them into something completely different. To check out some of the collage compositions we offer follow the link:
http://www.canadaoncanvas.com/include/canvas_photo_collages.php

Liquid Light

One of my favorite aspects of Darkroom photography is its experimental side, in this case experimentation with liquid emulsion, also know as liquid light. Liquid emulaion is a process through which you can transfer photograph's onto almost any medium. It allows you to set no limits with your photography, exposing onto fine art paper, wood, fabric, metal, glass etc. You could even expose onto canvas over a painting or digital Giclee printing (for info on canvas printing see http://www.canadaoncanvas.com/.

The Great Picture, seen below, is the result of a 9-month project involving 6 artists and 400 volunteers. The negative image is 3,375 square feet and dominates the aircraft hanger in Southern California where it was shot. It required more than 80 quarts of Liquid Light emulsion. This project displaying the limitless ends to liquid light.
You can order liquid emulsion form plenty of different websites and compared to the cost of photography paper it is not that unreasonable. Here are some rough guidelines for the liquid light process:
- first you will need your film negative or alternatively a pin hole camera.
- in the darkoom melt the emulsion by placing the bottle in a hot water bath, should only take a few minutes to melt.
- using a brush or sponge evenly coat your medium with a thin layer of emulsion, remembering to coat test strips in the same medium too as the exposure time will differ from material to material. Allow to dry, best left to dry in the absolute dark as opposed to under a safe light.
- once dry use your test strips to determine the exposure time and expose away! I found when working on fabric that the exposure time was greatly increased.
- develop as you would photographic paper except give it extra time in each tray. As the emulsion will soak into the mediums it will need to be in the developer longer to fully develop and if not left in the fix for long enough will keep developing once exposed to light.
- leave to dry





My favorite artists who use liquid emulsion in their work are the Starn Twins. Left is a piece their “Attracted to Light” series in which they turn bug close-ups into large scale photo-montages.

Wedding Photographers: Capturing Your Clients' Special Day on Canvas

A canvas print is a unique way to preserve the memories from a very special day in a couple's life.

When wedding photographers sell prints to their clients, it's now quite easy to offer them prints in a medium other than the usual photographic fine art print: Giclees on Canvas.

A stretched canvas print has a different kind of presence than a framed image. It creates an image that stands out from the wall and demands to be observed. With no need to frame and the Canvas's produced ready-to-hang, giclee on canvas is a easy way to turn images into works of Art.

Many of the orders we receive here at www.CanadaOnCanvas.com are of Wedding photographs. The orders differ immensely from large scale prints of the bride and groom, collages of moments throughout the day, group photographs of the bridal party to symbolic images celebrating their joyous day.

We also provide free shipping for orders over $99 to all of Canada and USA. To get an idea of our prices please follow the link to our canvas price calculator: http://www.canadaoncanvas.com/include/prices.php

Woodworking for engineers

Cool Woodworking projects including:
Woodworking machinery, Joinery jigs, Furniture projects, Wooden machines, Home improvement projects, Wood shop tricks, Gear template generator & Eyeballing game





I like this one too:


For more projects visit:
http://woodgears.ca

Taking old tresured photograph's and turning them into works of Art

The new trend of printing photo's onto canvas is a great way to turn your favorite images into works of art, whether it is a digital image that never made it out of your hard-drive or an old photograph you would like reproduced. We offer a scanning service that would allow us to scan and enlarge an old image, giving it a new lease of life.


Our finished products are gallery wrapped and ready to hang—that is, the canvas is wrapped around the sides and back of a wooden frame, then stapled to the back where it's hidden from view when the artwork is hung on a wall for display. A wire is also affixed to the back, and we package the hooks and nails for you to use for wall hanging.


Need a gift idea for paternal figure in you life? We are offering a 10% Fathers Day discount. Since we accept orders online, and offer free standard shipping across Canada and the US for orders over $99, that makes things a little more convenient for those of you outside our locale (we're located in Vancouver BC).

Check out our other facilities offers on http://canadaoncanvas.com/.

Heffel Gallery: Spring Auction of Fine Canadian Art

On Wednesday, May 26, 2010, Heffel Fine Art Auction House will be holding a live auction of Canadian art at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

The 1st Session at 4:00 pm will feature Canadian Post-War and Contemporary art.
The 2nd Session takes place at 7:00 pm and will feature Fine Canadian Art.

Edward John (E.J.) Hughes
1913 - 2007
The West Coast near Bamfield
oil on canvas
25 x 32 in

Artworks by renowned Canadian artists will be up for bidding:

Daphne Odjig
E.J. Hughes
Jack Shadbolt
B.C. Binning
Takao Tanabe
Lawren Harris
Helen McNicoll
Mary Pratt
Bill Reid

William Ronald (Bill) Reid
1902-1998
Haida Art (Killer Whale and Humans)
sterling silver brooch circa 1957 on verso signed and titled Haida Art
1 5/8 x 2 1/4 in

Rodolphe de Repentigny
Kathleen Morris
Mabel May
William Goodridge Roberts
Alexander Colville
Anne Douglas Savage
A.Y. Jackson
Emily Carr
Paul Rand
Edwin Holgate
J.E.H. MacDonald
Albert Henry Robinson
Arthur Lismer

and others.

Jack Leonard Shadbolt
1909-1998
Arthur Erickson, Happy Xmas mixed media on paper signed twice, dated 1954 and 1957 and inscribed variously
14 x 26 in

Takao Tanabe
OC 1926
Untitled
acrylic on canvas
signed and dated 1961
34 x 24 in

Collectors and admirers of artwork by and ephemera from artists of the Beaver Hall Group and Group of Seven would not want to miss this.

You can view the complete auction catalogue of paintings, carvings, mixed media work, jewellery, and more at http://www.heffel.com/auction/Lots_E.aspx?Search=0&ID=0&Page=1









Henrietta Mabel May
1877 - 1971
Entrance to the Garden
oil on canvas circa 1915
signed
22 x 18 in

Heffel Gallery
Spring Auction of Fine Canadian Art
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Vancouver Convention Centre West
Burrard Entrance, Room 211
1055 Canada Place, Vancouver
1st Session at 4:00 pm
2nd Session at 7:00 pm

Fine art giclees on Daguerre Canvas from Hahnemühle

We received a delivery of rolls and rolls of canvas we just began using. The Daguerre Canvas from Hahnemühle is a 400 gsm acid-free poly-cotton canvas, excellent for archival quality fine art giclees, particularly when combined with our large format pigmented inkjet system.

Hahnemühle has been producing fine art paper since 1584, when Merten Spieß established a paper mill, Relliehäusische Papiermühle, in Solling, Germany—so you know their quality is renowned in the business!

Information from the Hahnemühle website:

Applications
Photographic and fine art reproduction complying with highest archival standards, digital art, black & white and colour photography, limited edition prints, presentation prints for display purposes and exhibitions, albums, greeting cards etc.

Specifications

• 400 gsm

• 56 mm thickness

• Bright White

• 98% opacity

• pH value of 7.6

• acid-free

• high water resistance

• instant-drying

• matte finish

Contact us at info [at] Canada On Canvas [dot] com if you'd like a sample of the Daguerre Canvas from Hahnemühle mailed to you!

Make limited edition fine art prints on archival paper and canvas

Artists looking to print a run of limited edition prints can take advantage of our volume discount.

Many artists offer prints of their original paintings, photographs, or prints to provide clients with an additional, more affordable option to own their artwork. With the growing popularity and accessibility of digital media, giclees are becoming increasingly easy and cost-effective to create.

We offer a selection of archival, fine art papers, cotton rags, as well as our PremierArt Generations Canvas to print your limited edition giclees on. You can visit our Fine Art Prints page for more details.

An overview of our fine art papers:

Hahnemuhle - Photo Rag Bright White 310gsm

Hahnemuhle's new Photo Rag Bright White 310 gsm paper offers the same smooth surface as the other very popular Photo Rag Papers. This 100% rag, acid free fine art paper provides a brighter white base and is designed to give extra brilliance and depth to black and white images. It is also ideally suited for color images where extra brightness might be desired.

- Acid free to preserve fine art and photos
- 100% rag for long term durability
- Bright White 310gsm 44"x39' roll
- Photo Rag Bright White 310 gsm

Moab Paper - Entrada Fine Art 190gsm 15.5 mil

The award winning ENTRADA Fine Art is what makes Moab Paper Company stand above the competition. All of the Entrada Fine Art papers are made of the highest quality 100% cotton rag. The Bright White version has been designed to offer maximum contrast and whites that really pop. This paper utilizes multiple receiving layers which equate to a superior ink load capacity allowing for features unique to Entrada, including water resistance, instant drying times and prints with incredible detail and excellent tonality. Entrada also features a maximum color gamut and exceptionally deep blacks.

This paper is designed specifically for archival pigment inks and works remarkably well with the latest Epson Ultrachrome inks. The 190gsm Bright White version is a double sided mid to heavy weight which will still load in most desktop printers.

- Designed specifically for archival pigment inks
- Acid-free, buffered
- Semi-smooth Matte Surface, 100% Cotton rag
- Bright White, Dual Sided
- Photo Rag Bright White 190 gsm 15.5 mil

Epson Textured Fine Art Paper by Crane®

- Acid free to preserve fine art and photos
- 100% cotton rag for long term durability
- White surface for vivid color reproduction
- Rich black images for prints with exceptional contrast
- Textured surface for a true artistic appearance
- 425 g/m basis weight for museum quality prints (sheets)
- 225 g/m basis weight for maximum versatility (rolls)

Epson UltraSmooth Fine Art Paper

- 100% cotton hot press for long term durability
- Acid free and pH buffered to preserve fine art and photos
- Natural white, ultra smooth surface for incredible detail and accurate reproduction
- Outstanding D-Max for prints with exceptional contrast
- Dries instantly for easy handling with Epson inks

PremierArt Generations Canvas

- Highest resolution canvas coating for outstanding reproductions
- Medium gloss surface for easy spraying
- Unique texture for true artistic look
- Heavyweight for quality feel
- Acid free 100% cotton archival quality base
- Stretchable for framing

QUICK LINKS
http://www.canadaoncanvas.com/include/fineart_prints.php

Plaque mounting: not just for your graduation certificates

Looking for a display solution for your posters that's durable, but without the formality of a glass-and-moulding frame? Plaque mounting may be a good option to consider.

Plaque mounting is also a good choice for organizations and businesses with information panels, photographs, and diagrams to display at offices, outdoor or indoor fairs and festivals, speaking engagements and presentations, fundraising events, and more. The MDF board mounted and laminated plaques are very portable, water-resistant, and sturdy enough to withstand frequent packing and unpacking.

Visit our website to find out more about our plaque mounting services: http://canadaoncanvas.com/include/plaque_mounting.php

The page also includes a handy price calculator based on plaque dimensions!

Inkjet printing on fabric: LexJet Water-Resistant Satin Cloth

We recently acquired some new material to print on!

In addition to canvas, cotton rags, photographic paper, and other art papers, we now have a lightweight fabric to add to our list. If you're an artist or photographer who uses lightboxes to back-light your artwork, you might be interested in trying this out.

The LexJet Water-Resistant Satin Cloth is a polyester fabric that serves as a great substrate for giclees—the test prints we've made with the archival pigmented inks from our Epson 9880 44” Stylus Pro inkjet printer have shown fantastic rendering of fine image details.

Want to see some other uses for it? Check out this informative article on Studio LexJet's website on the landscape photographs of Leslie D. Bartlett, printed in scroll and folding screen format on the Water-Resistant Satin Cloth.

Here's some more information about LexJet's Water-Resistant Satin Cloth, taken from their website.

LexJet Water-Resistant Satin Cloth is a lightweight, water-resistant, wrinkle-resistant, tear-resistant polyester fabric that produces excellent image quality. It has quickly become a popular option for photo exhibitions, trade-show graphics, P-O-P displays, and décor art.

LexJet Water-Resistant Satin Cloth has been used in retractable banner stands, art-gallery exhibitions, table skirts, window shades, flags, privacy screens, and dozens of other applications. This cloth is a great alternative to traditional backlit films, because the colors really pop when prints on Water-Resistant Satin Cloth are lit from behind.

It also feels soft and luxurious and is easy to hang and transport. As its name implies, this cloth is highly resistant to water (particularly with pigment inks).

The coating can hold high levels of ink saturation for richer, more brilliant color on the ultra-white base polyester cloth.

LexJet Water-Resistant Satin Cloth works with dye or pigment inks.

Overview:

• Ideal for retractable banner stands, table skirts, window shades, gallery wraps, and art tapestries
• Lightweight, easy-to-hang, frame-free alternative for exhibition prints
• Smooth, bright-white, wrinkle-resistant fabric that provides excellent image quality

We already know that Jeff Wall's large format photographs look fantastic on lightboxes.

Jeff Wall, After "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison, the Prologue (2000)
via C.K.H.

Photo by Underpuppy

Do you wonder how your artwork would look on backlit LexJet Water-Resistant Satin Cloth?...

Giclees On Canvas: A Great Mother's Day Gift

Mother's Day is fast approaching! If you're looking for a gift for a “mom” figure in your life, one idea is having one of their favourite photos printed onto canvas.



Since we accept orders online, and offer free standard shipping across Canada and the US for orders over $99, that makes things a little more convenient for those of you outside our locale (we're located in Vancouver BC).

You can place your order by visiting our website CanadaOnCanvas.com, doing a really quick set-up of your online account, uploading your image (or images), and completing the order details and payment information on the forms. We'll send you a confirmation that we've received your order and have your order ready in 3-5 business days. We'll send you a notification that your giclees are ready for pick-up, or that we've shipped them to your shipping address. Simple!

Upkeep for giclees on canvas are quite simple and low-maintenance. We use archival, water-resistant pigmented inks, so your prints will last a very long time. The Epson inks we use are projected to last for 80 – 100 years. We also apply a finishing to the canvas after printing. This additional coating further protects your print from UV rays, and makes it easy to wipe-clean with a damp cloth. You can also help prolong the display life of your canvas print by keeping it out of direct sunlight, heat, smoke, &c.


Our stretched canvas prints come ready-to-hang. The canvases are gallery wrapped—that is, the canvas is wrapped around the sides and back of a wooden frame, then stapled to the back where it's hidden from view when the artwork is hung on a wall for display. A wire is also affixed to the back, and we package the hooks and nails for you to use for wall hanging.


So if you've got a photograph you'd like a maternal figure in your life to have, as a gift to celebrate your relationship with one another, maybe a canvas print would be just the thing to bring a smile to their face.

Be sure to take advantage of our Special Mother's Day 10% discount code on the main page of our site!

QUICK LINKS:
Our price calculator and chart for giclees on canvas: http://www.canadaoncanvas.com/include/prices.php
FAQ: http://www.canadaoncanvas.com/include/canvas_faqs.php

Fine art canvas stretching

Attention: folks in Vancouver BC!


Do you have an artwork on a sheet of canvas that you'd like stretched onto a frame? A completed fine art masterpiece that's finally ready to be hung on your—or a client's—wall?

We also offer canvas stretching services.

Here's a link to our handy online price calculator for you to calculate how much it'll cost to have your canvas stretched, based on size.

http://www.vancouveroncanvas.com/include/custom_stretch_services.php

We gallery wrap our canvases, which means that the sheet of canvas is wrapped around the side and back of the wooden frame it's being stretched onto. Staples and fixtures are attached to the back, so that they are not visible from the front or side of the artwork when it's hanging from a wall.

Since we make our stretcher frames in-shop, custom sizes can be done. We just finished stretching a huge textured oil painting for a customer! Its final dimensions were 94” x 48”, stretched onto 1 3/8”-deep stretcher bars.

If you're considering having an artwork of a similar size stretched, but are unsure about how to transport something of that size to your destination, we do offer a delivery service for a fee. Contact us by phone or e-mail to get a quote.