This is going to be a new series of films. I would describe this as a spontaneous film-a blizzard of odd moments and events, followed by a few pages being glued into my notebook. Throw in the burro races, two new Canon printers, frustration at not being in the field enough, and you get is this odd little monkey of a film. I keep thinking that simpler is better. Stills and copy are what I love the most. Add in a little motion to destroy any chance at harmony, and there you have it. I kept the best photographs for later. They are not showcased in this film. There is a chance I can use them elsewhere.
Although I use the digital space daily, I’m a print guy at heart.
Have been since the late 1980s when I first began venturing into the wet darkroom. Silver prints, onto inkjet, thermal, and beyond. The idea of doing a shoot and NOT printing it is beyond comprehension. I don’t need to print all of it, just the sharpest pieces. Choosing those pieces is where importance creeps in. Which ones do I print? Ahh, the eternal editing question. Memories sending chills down my spine. Older photographers saying, “Show me the take.” No one cared what camera you used, or if it was film or digital. Nobody. The image was all that mattered. This is why I love print so much. It forces me to ask, “What is good enough to end up in that book?”
One of my new printers is this baby, which comes with “Megatank.” Imagine a capacity for 6,000 black and white prints and 14,000 color. I’ve only begun to play with these printers, although I’ve had an older version of the TR160 for years. The Megatank GX6120, however, has scan ability too, which means I can scan, print, scan, reprint, scan, reprint, etc. Layer upon layer of whatever I can dream up. I love the app-based, wireless capability, allowing me to shoot from my phone or iPad while in the other room. Sometimes I need to get the Hell out of this office. The TR160 might become part of my travel life. Wireless and battery-operated. Print anywhere, anytime.
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God, I. love burros….if you pet a burro, if you hear its cry, and still think there’s no god, well, I can’t help you.
They are so smart and so bonding.
Daniel-san: Best 10 minutes I’ve spent today. Love the visceral thrill of seeing something analog – paper, scissors, glue, pens. More of these please!
Glad you liked it. Love putting things on paper.
Those printers look super nice, im sure the price is pretty nice, too.
Also, does your wife have a website for her jewelry? Id love to take a gander. I’m a jewelry wearer so I appreciate anyone that makes jewelry.
The journaling part at the end was totally zen. Journaling = peace.
I’ve saved enough by riding my bike instead of driving the van to buy both of these three times over. Neither of these printers is super pricy, especially compared to dedicated photo prints. Yes, AdornReborn is her business!
I enjoyed this, thanks.
It made me happy to watch you print a photo on plain paper and paste it into a journal, then write on it. That’s what I’ve been doing, but it felt chintzy, somehow. I’ve been meaning to ask how you do it, and I see that you do the same thing, at least some of the time. I feel validated, so thanks.
Now if I could just figure out what brand/model that white marker/pen is. I can’t find one I like.
Cheap pens. There are many at most grocery stores or office supply places. I love printing and pasting and then working over. Been doing it for decades now, but it never seems to get old.
Even knowing that people will race anything, the very concept of a burro race had not occurred to me. Clearly I need to get out more often.
And printers. Mostly what I’ve heard from people with home printers about them, is swearing. I’ve managed to do without all these years. For text I’ll take it to the library to print for free. For the really nice prints to be framed and hung on the wall I’ll take the file to one of the bespoke printers in town, which is surprisingly inexpensive and worth every penny. Some images go into books. Yes, Blurb. Some images get printed in a darkroom. So far so good.
So true about the printers, Keith. I got one for Christmas and couple years ago….it now says there’s no printer paper in the tray when there’s plenty. It hasn’t worked right since I got it. Lol.
Both of these printers were up and running in minutes. Download app and start printing. Neither is a high-end, dedicated photo printer. I have one of those two, but that is reserved for ONLY the few portfolio pictures I might make.
If you go down the dedicated photo printer route with profiles and high end papers and all that, sure, you can go down the rabbit hole. Neither of these printers comes close to that. With these you turn them on, download the app and start printing. It takes a matter of minutes.
When I think burros I always think of Butch Cassidy and the burro chase scene with the great music soundtrack.
Great flick. One of my favs.
Two things I never thought I would live to see…Trump being re-elected and Dan making an unboxing video!! 😉
Two complete and total disasters.
I’ve got a Canon G6060 Megatank and it’s a bloody ripper. I hadn’t printed any images on it until recently; figured it’s not exactly a photo printer and I didn’t want to butcher a good shot… well, “good shot” might be a stretch but let’s roll with it for the sake of my ego, lol. But cheers to you, Dan, because your influence finally nudged me to give it a crack.
After years of digital journaling (you know the drill, crap handwriting, convenience of tapping stuff into a phone app, chucking in a photo, yadda yadda), I’ve finally started a proper photo journal. Like on actual paper. I printed my first black and white image, glued it in with some old school enthusiasm, and to my surprise, the Megatank smashed it out of the park. No complaints at all and it actually looked bloody decent. Turns out, this analog journaling gig, even in its simplest form gives me a bit of a breather. A moment of peace from all the screens I’m normally glued to like a koala on a gumtree. There’s something quietly satisfying about physically printing, cutting, gluing without notification pings going off like a pokies machine, no pop-ups etc etc……just me, the paper, pen and a bit of glue stick magic. Who would’ve thought, hey?
Fortune favors the brave! Love that I was the spark that turned your book into a firestorm. And I agree about the physical aspect being such a fun part of the experience.
Yes Dan! Loved this! Strangely enough the unboxing too! Can’t wait to see the next edition of a On Paper.
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Fingers crossed…