I love the art of photography and have been collecting work from other photographers for over 40 years. My biggest regret is not buying an Ansel Adams “Moonrise over Hernandez New Mexico” print when I had the chance back in 1980. It was selling for about $US 2,000 at the time. I knew I should have bought it, but I allowed a photographer friend to talk me out of it. He thought it was too expensive. But if I tried to buy that print today, it would cost hundreds of thousands of US dollars. After that mistake, these days when I see a print that’s special to me, I will stretch to add it to my collection if I possibly can. Over the years I have come to know the collectability market better than many. I believe my work is actually very reasonably priced, as it is produced to the highest standards. For something to be truly collectable it must be produced to last. As a collector, I now only collect prints produced to the same high standards as we deliver. Unfortunately, there are many photographers selling work that is not printed to a high enough archival quality to last. Some of them are selling – or claiming to sell – their work at higher prices than we do.
For me, a photo is not a photo until it is printed. There are many great landscape photographers in our world at present and I believe true professionals should produce prints to the highest archival standards possible. Part of my journey has been to educate the general public – and other photographers – on what we believe the standards should be for Limited Edition Photographic prints.
The cost of any product doesn’t just come down to the price of the materials – many other costs must come into the equation. For example, the cost of camera equipment, years of training, travel, vehicles, staff wages, rents, website and social media costs, and numerous other expenses that anyone in business understands. In short, our products are printed to the highest standards and quality comes at a price. As the saying goes, “you get what you pay for”. We have won numerous awards nationally and internationally for our prints and other products. When it comes to Limited Edition prints – our premium products – we spare no expense in producing these to the highest standards. They are printed on Hahnemühle 100% Cotton Rag, using Epson Ultra Chrome Pigment based inks. Then each print is inspected, signed and sprayed three times (by me, personally) with Hahnemühle print spray. When it comes to framing, we do not use cheap glass or acrylic. We use high-end optical clear, museum grade acrylic, acid free materials and plantation timber for our frames. Then they are packed and delivered worldwide.
Time will tell what is collectable and I believe many of our classic pieces will last the test of time.
