I like to use this image in my teaching to discuss three important photographic issues.
First, careful choice of lens position is crucial to the structure of many images. In this image, if the lens had been even a touch lower, the picket tips would have come into contact with the window on the left. If the lens had been higher, two of the picket tips would have blended in with at least one window frame. If the lens had been just a touch to the left or right, the symmetry with the door and frame would have been lost. Nearer or farther would also have upset the relationships.
Second, the adobe on the building was quite reddish, so I chose a green filter to darken the adobe relative to the brightness of the fence.
Finally, this scene was only about 10 minutes from my house, and I could easily have told myself, “I have a bunch of things that need tending to… I’ll come back and do it later." Well, I might not have been able to do that. A few months after I made the photograph, the property was sold, the fence torn down and replaced with an above-eye-level wall! If you see something, do it! You might not get a second chance!
Gate and Windows, Galisteo, NM 1996
4x5 negative
General Edition and Sizing Information:
Limited Edition Prints signed and numbered in an edition of 100. Each print is made personally by me, printed either on Ilford Multigrade Classic fiber paper and selenium toned, or on Canson Platine paper using a Canon Pro-1000 printer and my personal printing profiles. Mounted and over-matted on 4-ply or 8-ply museum board using the most current industry standards for archival permanence. Note: Three images are in editions of 150.
Open Edition Archival Pigment Print made personally by me on Canson Rag Photographique paper using a Canon Pro-1000 printer and my personal printing profiles. Mounted and over-matted on 4-ply museum board using the most current industry standards for archival permanence. Digitally signed.
Sizing:
Open Edition Pigment Print – Image size approximately 8x10, over-matted to 14x17 with 4-ply museum board
11x14 Limited Edition Print – Image size approximately 9x11.5, over-matted to 16x20 with 4-ply museum board
16x20 Limited Edition Print – Image size approximately 14x18, over-matted to 22x28 with 4-ply museum board
20x24 Limited Edition Print – Image size approximately 18x22, over-matted to 26x32 with 4-ply museum board
24x30 Limited Edition Print – Image size approximately 22x28, over-matted to 32x40 with 8-ply museum board
30x40 and larger Limited Edition Print – Over-matted to 40x50 or larger with 8-ply museum board. Call for pricing.