PPS has added greeting cards and Press products to it’s ROES  product lineup- just in time for the holidays!

In addition to ordering your photographic printing  needs thru PPS’s ROES  ( Remote Order Entry System) , you can now place orders for greeting cards, folded specialty cards, or design your own to upload  to us!

click the link below to get started!

PPS and ROES

This is one of my favourite Francesca Woodman photographs.

According to the Tate website, heralded as the 5th site of the Tate (get real Serota!) the inscription on the photograph reads:

‘Bunny bun I’m in the photograph come fetch me if the mood or a rock should strike you’

Please see: http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999788&workid=93182&searchid=11045

This isn’t rocket science. The inscription actually reads:

‘Bunny bun I’m in the photolab come fetch me if the mood or a rock should strike you’

The author of the little blurb of this photograph goes on at length to describe this little ’secret message’ left by Woodman to her boyfriend. SECRET MESSAGE? Woodman basically is in the photolab – yep you guessed it – developing photographs!! No shit sherlock. She wants her boyfriend to come and find her if he feels the need!

In a slightly drunken stupor over said event I sent the following e-mail to an unknown Tate entity:

RE: error on your website

to whom it may concern

the inscription attached to one of francesca woodman’s photographs on your website I think needs double checking.
http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999788&workid=93182&searchid=11045
it doesn’t read ‘Bunny bun I’m in the photograph come fetch me if the mood or a rock should strike you’
but ‘Bunny bun I’m in the photolab come fetch me if the mood or a rock should strike you’

i don’t know who you have researching these things but there are far more capable art historians out there (namely myself) who can actually read plain english. i apologise for the tone of this email but I am frustrated by the general lack of jobs in the art sector and have to whittle my time away sending completely inane emails such as this.
i hope an amendment is made

kind and drunken regards
caroline greenidge

© gaijineye photography

© gaijineye photography

Gaijineye Photography は、2010年4月より、日本国内に拠点を移し本格的に活動を開始いたします。

イベント、結婚式、パーティーなどの撮影のご依頼・お問い合わせは、Comment Formよりお願いいたします。

From April 2010, Gaijineye Photography will be based in Japan;

If you have an event, a wedding, a birthday party to be documented please contact me using the comment form.

Gaijineye Photography

Howdy folks,

Today I have five links, two for camera news and two for new online photolabs and one cool app.

First, Nikon has released info on their new D300s,  you can find a review on Scott Kelby’s blog “photshopinsider”

Second, There is pretty good chatter about the Canon 60d (it  was rumored to be announced after the unveiling of Nikon’s new D300s).  You can find a link to the most believable specs I’ve seen so far on the blog “CanonRumors“

Third, I’ve mentioned mpix forums before as a great community to get answers for photography questions.  Now they have a pro site for more advanced photographers, appropriately named MpixPro.com .  There is a review from Scott Kelby on his blog in one of his regular Thursday News articles.

Fourth, Kodak is dipping it’s toes into the “pro” arena with a subtle addition to the Kodak gallery.  If you go to the kodakgallery.com main page there is a button marked professional print ”beta”. That is the link to their “pro” ordering that is currently in testing.  The link does work and you can order prints.  Last time I checked, they were offering 50% off 8×10s.

Finally, item number five.  It appears that OnOne software (they make some great photoshop plug-ins) has created an iphone app that allows you to remotely trigger your Canon or Nikon DSLR with your iphone.  In addition, if your camera has a live view mode, you can supposedly view it through the iphone also.

Howdy Folks!

I recently had the opportunity to watch a few videos from the shoot smarter collection.  In case you haven’t heard of them, Shootsmarter.com is an online photography education site with alot (and I mean alot) of free content -called smarticles (all text and graphics – no video that I’ve seen).  It has pretty good advice as long as you can find the topic you are looking for.  You do have to register to access the info, but membership is free.

Back to the subject at hand.  The videos that I’ve seen range from brilliant to decent.  Most of the advice is sound – especially when concerning the importance of metering and “face mask histograms” (a concept created by Mr. Crockett).  He does give a few bad tips like “it’s okay to mix digital and film – your lab won’t mind”  or  ” Exposure control is hands down the number one problem with digital files” (these aren’t exact quotes but cover the idea of what he said.  To clarify, mixing media type is a surefire way to have problems in color and consistency between your images.  Also, although he is correct that exposure is probably the number one problem, white balance comes in at a very, very close second,  followed by file size and file type issues and unclear or impossible customer instructions (that’s neither here nor there – just thought I’d throw those last two out on the table). 

All in all, I would definitely recommend the Digital Exposure Control video (keeping my critiques in mind). I have seen the digital portrait lighting series (videos 1-3). The first is a great primer for novices. The second video covers various shooting scenarios and is a little boring.  The third issue felt like short attention span theatre with the content jumping back and forth so often, it felt like a commercial without any products to sell.  I think all four of these videos have pretty solid content as long as you disregard any advice about photolabs.  His advice may work well for the lab he uses, but I can’t help but cringe at the thought of one of my lab’s customers trying his suggestions.

I also thought I should mention that he appears to be heavily biased in many gear or software choices (probably due to sponsorship deals).

By the way, Mr. Crockett doesn’t host all of the videos on shootsmarter.com.  From what I’ve seen,his videos are the best in the series. (for some reason he kind of reminds me of Chris Farley -don’t know why, he just does).

Starting May 1st, 2009 PPS will be closed on  weekends.

Regular business hours will be weekdays from 9:00am til 5:30 pm

Photo Courtesy of the Southern WV Photovoice Project; Photo by Vernon Haltom

PPS has been working on the printing and mounting of the display images for the Southern West Virginia Photovoice  Exhibit ( at the Clay Center, Charleston- April 17, 5-9 pm)

For the past seven months, 40 women from five communities in Southern West Virginia have been participating in a Photovoice project to “tell the story” of their communities. This project is an effort to increase civic engagement in rural communities and to give voice to residents’ concerns and ideas for change.
Want more infor mation on the Southern WV Photovoice Project?   CLICK HERE

PPS is pleased to announce a special introductory offer for purchasers of photoDUDS new line of DUDdrops !
DUDdrops are HUGE graphic files that let you design custom backdrops. Simply colorize, print, hang, then start shooting!

PPS will print out your DUDdrop background as a 4′x8′ large graphic print for only $115.00 +shipping
( regularly $160.00-that’s a savings of  $45.00! )

don’t have a dudDROPS product yet? CLICK HERE

After you’ve purchased your DUDdrop , make any changes you need then utilize PPS’s FTP site to send us your file to print!

To take advantage of this special offer, you will need to contact PPS to access your FTP account.
You may either call 1-800-579-2464 or email us at support@photoproduction.com with DUDdrop in the subject line *please include your contact information in the body of the email.

Hey Gang- On Friday evening  February 6th, 2009- PPS will be upgrading our existing power grid to serve you better.

This means that our servers and online ordering services will be off  from Friday evening til Monday morning.

We apologize for any inconvienence this may cause our cutomers.

We finally got the last piece of equipment  for our new Digital Press Printing Department delivered yesterday- Techs are starting to come in and set things up!

Big things are starting to happen at PPS- Make the jump!

PPS will be at the Professional Photographers of West Virginia’s   Spring Convention tradeshow held at the Lakeview Resort in Morgantown WV,  February 6,7,8 2009.

 we’d like to invite those attending to come and say “hi” – we always look forward to meeting new people and seeing old friends!

PPWV members are like family to us at PPS and we look forward to this every year- If you are a professional photographer or aspiring to be one; I would urge you to look into becoming a member of your local state Professional Photographers chapter.
Not only will you get to see the latest industry offerings and talk to those who are behind the scenes ( Like PPS !) at the state and national conventions, you also  get the benifit of talking to photographers who are willing to share their experience and knowledge.

Our new machines are still being delivered and we still have a few pieces yet to come in; so it goes without saying- we’re off our schedule of getting things up and running .
But the cool thing is that it’s happening and we’ll be sure and keep you in the loop!

January 15, 2009

Dear friends and clients,

We hope that you had enjoyable holidays. We have had incredible growth since our staff change last summer. Our staff now includes many Dawson College graduates (in photography). These talented individuals help us provide you with tremendous prints due to their skillful colour correction abilities.

Since December, we have had many more clients walk through our doors than we could have hoped for or expected. Therefore, we are making some simple changes and adding some tools in order to serve you better. For example:

You will be able to track the status of your order on line. Each order will now be identified by a number.

Our delivery service will be available 5 days per week for the island of Montreal. All other orders will be shipped by Fedex Ground. In order to effect delivery, orders must have been completed (printed) the day before. Delivery charges are now $8 for Montreal and $12 for everywhere else in Canada. All delivery orders must be paid for by credit card before leaving the lab.

In the future, all orders will be boxed in cardboard boxes made of recycled material and are recyclable (when possible). This is to minimize the use of plastics and is part of our effort to become even more ‘green’. In order to implement this program, we now have a mandatory $1 surcharge per order. Thank you for your understanding. (Even with the surcharge of $1, our prices are still the most competitive in Montreal)

In addition, we are proud to announce the arrival of our 4th minilab. This machine will be used to print 4×6 proofs in an even more efficient fashion for walk-in clients who use are workstations. The machine should be operational in Feb. 2009.

We have upgraded the paper we use for large format printing to Fujifilm type PD Luster. This thicker paper yields amazing images, just like all the other professional Fujifilm papers we use. ‘PD’ is Fujifilm’s top paper.

Lastly, we would like to announce our spectacular 20% OFF all prints sale until in effect until Jan 23, 2009. Details at the lab.


Hope to see you soon!

Mike Salonin

Provisia

4420, ch. Côte de Liesse, suite 102

Montréal, Québec H4N 2P7

514-907-3344

P.S. : We are NOT affiliated with any other lab. Only PROVISIA has our custom innovative technology!!

Today we have an electrician running new circuits for some Very Cool Machinery coming to PPS.

We are gearing up to have a PRESS PRODUCT DEPARTMENT here at Photo Production Services and it will be installed  by the 15th of this month( Jan) ! YAY!

There will be more information on capabilities and pricing a little later on; just wanted to share the good news with everyone a little early!

PPS is introducing Lab Works Web Access ( LWWA ) a new  service that will allow our customers  to check the status of their orders online!
  LWWA  allows access to your order information with a secure user name and password. After logging on, you will be able to check any outstanding orders, order activity, invoicing and much more all at your convenience.
 Your username will be your PPS Account ID ( located at the top of your monthly statement) and your password will be your zip code.( You may change your password after logging in )
You will find the  log in on PPS’s website : http://www.photoproduction.com or type this address into your internet browser:
http://pps.ftpaccess.cc/
 As a precaution- never share your account or login information with anyone else.
 If you need help with this service or have any questions, please contact Clayton Spangler at clayton@photoproduction or call 304-342-7547 or 800-579-2464 

Chances are good  you got here because of the eNewsletter PPS puts out and the new link directing you to our blog. That’s great- welcome!
Just a few things for your consideration:
Look over to your right. See the catagories? We’ll be putting more tips and tricks you can search thru as we go along, as well as new topics we haven’t even started to cover yet.

That’s why we have a “subscribe” button over there too- so you can either “check back often” or be fed new content as it happens; it’s your call.
There are lots of  choices out there- we want this to be an easy one-
Choose  PPS.

Thought I’d introduce some of the people who make it all happen at Photoworks. Starting with our youngest employee who frankly is lucky to be getting paid. I tried to sucker him into an intern program, but he demanded to be compensated monetarily. Normally I have little respect for anyone born in The Eighties, but Alex is a solid citizen with a “big” future, despite the fact that he fabricated his resume. The only truth below is that he was born in Simi Valley in 1985. The rest is bullshit, he’s actually a runaway who I found sleeping in the alley behind Photoworks. Meet Alex….

Name: Alex Martinez
Born: Feb 1st, 1985
Birthplace: Simi Valley, CA
Worked At Photoworks Since: July, 2007
Before that? Getting my BA in Anthropology at San Francisco State
University, with a focus on visual anthropology and documentary
photography.
Film or digital? Film, 35mm mostly, but just got a medium format
camera and have been enjoying 120.
Gear: Nikon F100, Fuji GA645, Yashica T4. For film I shoot Kodak
Portra NC, and Ilford HP5+.
When Not At Photoworks: Interning at Hamburger Eyes Photo Epicenter,
exploring the Bay Area, spending too much time on the internet.
Most important question, matte or glossy? Any borders? Matte, clean
white borders. Always.
Website: http://www.stopinternetromance.com/

You take a dream vacation, take lots of photos, bring them to a photolab, and never pick them up. Seems odd, but it happens all the time. About 10% of film and digital images ordered never get picked up. There are lots of reasons: people forget, don’t have money, lose interest in the subject matter, leave town, die………. Sometimes these photos are market “urgent” or “rush” because at the time it’s a freakin’ big deal. I have photos of babies being born, kids parties, Bar Mitzvahs, weddings, funerals, naked people, dog portraits, burning man crap, actor headshots, artwork, and everything under the sun.

I can see losing interest in a digital order since it’s on someone’s computer. But negatives and prints??? This is not dry cleaning! And by the way, we make every effort to contact the owners of the photos, and some people do eventually collect their property, but I have pictures here from The Eighties.

So, here’s my idea: I’m thinking of putting together a photoshow of a bunch of the ‘left behind and abandoned” photos. A random collection of the stuff people decided was once important enough to photograph, but not important enough to pay the proprietor of the photolab for his developing services. Is this an invasion of privacy?? Hell yes, but obviously someone doesn’t care enough to protect themselves.

Maybe you will see someone you know on the walls of my shop and let them know that they have film waiting to be picked up. Maybe it’s a picture of you on the beach, or in Paris, or getting stoned in the park, or maybe it’s a shot of an ex-girlfriend from a happy time in your life, or maybe it’s a photo of your old cat, or your old Mustang convertible, or even your Mom and Dad……….

Heard the above cry today from someone dropping off 5 rolls of film. I get this comment from people who feel some kind of obligation to create art from this plastic camera know as THE HOLGA. Or sometimes people will say, “these are from my Holga so they will probably suck.” Most of you know the deal with The Holga. They are basically toy cameras with random defects that have become a virtue for photographers, with photos winning awards and starting a whole industry based on light leaks and blury images. I had a Holga that I was very attatched to, as it yielded consistently cool vignetting that made me look like a genius. I lost the camera, and have been unable to find another with the same “attributes” thus I’m now one of the many lost Holga users searching for the perfect flaw to make my images interesting again. If I can’t find the right Holga, I might give up and go back to actually composing an image and exposing it properly. Yikes.

The Holga does fuuny things to people. It makes them wrap up their film in aluminum foil before they bring it to the lab. Strange, because the whole idea is for the film to be light struck, but people think they can control the amount of light, or that there is some science to this. Today, someone brought me film stuffed into a sock. Then there are those photographers who get upset at me when the Holga lets them down. It’s a very sensitive issue, the whole Holga thing, so I try to show compassion, suggesting that the photographer use thicker tape on the edges, or no tape at all.

There are countless websites with advice, and instructions on how to operate a Holga, but trust me you don’t need a manual to have fun. Just a sense of adventure, patience, a complete lack of pretense (please), and maybe an old sock.

I don’t want to sound like a winy photolab owner, but I am a winy photolab owner, and I’m sore about this subject. Why don’t we make prints like we used to? Now, I get the whole idea with digital photography is that it encourages self-reliance, but I’ll agrue that printing at home does not do good images justice. I’ve got the greatest printing technology in the world, right here on Market St, and yet there are billions of images out there stuck on hard drives. I’m worried without a physical record that these important images will be deleted not just from computers, but from memory (brain). Hey, this is why we keep shoeboxes! To me, unearthing an old photo from the closet beats finding something on a subfolder, within a subfolder. Do we only want to leave a digital record behind?? There is nothing like the tactile sensation of holding, and touching a photographic image. I don’t want my son rubbing his fingers on an image of me on a laptop 50 years from now. Besides electronic images don’t fade, and where’s the fun in that?