Fine Art Photography Archives - London Drugs Blog

Fashion Editorial Photographer Farrah Aviva Showcases Her Capture Photography Festival Exhibit on London Drugs Photolab Prints

Vancouver-based actor and photographer Farrah Aviva is one of the latest talents to step into our photolab and work with our passionate team of Photolab Technicians. Farrah was chosen as a featured photographer as part of the Capture Photography Festival, and was given the opportunity to showcase her photography project The BANGBANG at the Opus Hotel in Vancouver, with prints provided by our London Drugs Photolab.

Playing off the work of Helmut Newton, Irving Penn, and David Bailey, Farrah’s work takes a fresh look at fashion editorial-style photography, using it to spark a discussion on contemporary sociopolitical culture. The BANGBANG is meant to re-examine sartorial images, which not only represent beauty, but also represent topics that engage and spark a greater conversation.

We caught up with Farrah in the photolab as she worked with Photolab Manager John Goldsmith to print her collection of 6 fashion editorial images for the Capture exhibit. All of her images were printed using our Epson P9000 large format printer, with high quality Epson inks that have an archival stability of 200 years.

“The printing process was the thing I was most nervous about. As a photographer in the digital world you don’t often get to see your work printed. Everything is on a computer screen,” Farrah explains. “I really didn’t know if the colours were going to translate the same onto paper and carry the same power, but the London Drugs Photolab Manager, John Goldsmith, was a dream to work with. Everything turned out better than I could have hoped.”

After the prints had been given a good once-over by Farrah, they were packaged up and sent off with Farrah for framing. The framed prints were then installed on the walls of the OPUS Hotel, where they would be showcased for the duration of her Capture exhibit.

This was Farrah’s first photography exhibit and she was thrilled to have her prints on public display, after spending over a year working tirelessly on The BANGBANG.

“I had imagined it for months so when they were finally hung I was relieved and excited, but it really didn’t hit me until the next day. I went back to the Opus to drop something off and suddenly I was standing in a room full of my images. It didn’t seem real. I had to do the iconic eye rub to see if I was dreaming. A flood of pride surged in and the fantastic feeling of hard work paying off really set in.”

Farrah has been back to our photolab a number of times since we printed her exhibit, to order more prints to sell during her official exhibit launch and through her website. We’re over-the-moon, knowing that Farrah’s prints will be showcased in homes and offices all over North America!

You can order prints of your own photos, in gallery quality just like Farrah’s, by visiting our London Drugs Photolab.

London Drugs Photolab Prints the Best in Canadian Photojournalism for Capture Photography Festival Exhibit

We’re used to seeing photos accompanying online news articles and newspapers, but you may be surprised by the talent and skill that goes into capturing those incredibly candid moments. The annual National Pictures of the Year Awards, presented by the News Photographers Association of Canada (NPAC), celebrates the very best in Canadian photojournalism, and for the 4^th year, our London Drugs Photolab has had the pleasure of printing their entire exhibit as part of the Capture Photography Festival.

To prepare all of the finalists’ images for the gallery exhibit, our Photolab Technicians worked one-on-one with NPAC’s coordinators Ric Ernst and Ali Ledgerwood. We were careful to take into account each photographer’s specifications, ensuring their colours printed exactly as they should. Using our state of the art Epson P9000 large format printer, we printed each of the photos in gallery quality, on our Epson Lustre paper. The quality Epson inks used in printing will ensure the prints have an archival stability of 200 years.

Ric and Ali visited the lab to see a test print of one of the composite multi-picture category finalists, and had the opportunity to watch the full process, from sizing and checking the image’s colouring on the computer, to seeing the image printed on the Epson P9000, to cutting and inspecting the final print. They also looked over each of the single prints for several other categories in the exhibit.

Left print: International Finalist Jim Young (Agence France-Presse) 2017 Picture Story. Right print: Social Issues Category Finalist Photo by Ben Nelms (Independent)

“I was overjoyed when I viewed the prints for our exhibition for the first time. I knew our featured photographers would truly appreciated seeing their original files accurately reproduced in both tone and colour and on such high quality paper,” said Ric.

Along with Ric, Ali has coordinated the printing of the National Pictures of the Year Awards exhibit with our Photolab for the past 3 years, working directly with Photolab Manager John Goldsmith. “Working with John at the London Drugs Photolab is always a pleasure. The professionalism and understanding of our needs, particularly for such a large project, keeps our minds at ease knowing that the work is going to be completed quickly, but without compromising quality,” she said.

After being framed and installed at the Pendulum Gallery in Vancouver, the National Pictures of the Year Awards exhibit was opened to the public. For the many photojournalists featured, it’s a special experience for them to see their work displayed in a gallery setting.

“Most of our photographers only see their work on computer screens or reproduced in newspapers and magazines so when they see them printed professionally, it’s an eye-popping experience for them,” Ric explains.

Fourteen categories of photojournalism are represented in the exhibit, including news, sports and social issues. Of the nominees featured, a winner in each category will be chosen, along with a 2017 Student Photographer of the Year, 2017 Student Multimedia of the Year, 2017 Photojournalist of the Year and a 2017 Photograph of the Year. Considering over 2,000 photographs along with 25 multimedia productions from across Canada were entered in this year’s competition, being selected as a National Pictures of the Year winner, and even as a nominee, is certainly an honour.

Left print: Sports Feature Category Finalist Photo by Tijana Martin (Lethbridge Herald). Right print: Social Issues Category Finalist Photo by Ben Nelms (Independent)

Photographer Ben Nelms was chosen as a Pictorial Category Finalist, for his photo of salmon trimmings. Taken at St. Jean’s Cannery in Nanaimo BC, the photo highlights the family-run operation which was founded by Armand St. Jean in 1961, but who recently sold a majority stake of the company to a group from Nuu-Chah-Nulth First Nation.

Ben shared his appreciation for the quality work and effort that went into printing his photo for the gallery exhibit.

“Having your images shown in a gallery show is a great feeling for a photojournalist. Not only because it’s great to see the caliber of Canadian photojournalism but because the high quality prints draw an audience to them which ultimately brings a spotlight to the story you are trying to tell,” he explains. “It is always great to see your photos printed, especially when it’s professionally. As a news photographer, I am use to seeing my photos printed on lower quality paper so when I get a chance to see high quality prints it’s a real treat. The support from London Drugs is fantastic, their photolab is one of a kind and the professional products they produce is second to none.”

While the images for the National Pictures of the Year Awards exhibit were printed for professional photographers like Ben, our Photolab uses the same innovative photofinishing equipment to print gallery quality images to hang on your walls at home, too! Head over to the London Drugs Photolab to see our full selection of fine art print surfaces.

Q&A with Photolab Technician and Capture Photography Festival-Featured Photographer, Gabriel Martins

Photos by Kai Mallari

Ever wondered who prints your photos for you, after you submit your order to our Photolab? Especially if you’ve made an order like a fine art print, or a photo that’s particularly near and dear to your heart, you might be a bit nervous about who will be overseeing the printing, ensuring the sizing and colours are just right, and that the print comes out flawless.

Luckily, many of our Photolab Technicians are photographers themselves, which means they fully understand what it’s like to be in your shoes. Meet Gabriel Martins: a relatively new addition to the London Drugs Photolab team, and a local photographer in Vancouver. Gabriel has a passion for photofinishing and photography, and uses his experience as a photographer to ensure every print order he works on receives the same attention to detail as he would give his own work.

During the Capture Photography Festival this year, Gabriel was chosen by a panel of judges to be a featured photographer with not one, but two gallery exhibits in Vancouver. As part of this opportunity, Gabriel was provided space for his gallery exhibits, Rues de Montréal Part 1 & Part 2, and had his fine art work printed by the London Drugs Photolab. It was a unique and special experience for Gabriel, to be on the other side of the Photolab counter, as a photographer ordering prints for his gallery exhibits. To share a bit more about his experience, we sat down with Gabriel for a short Q&A:

Q: Tell us a little bit about your exhibit, Rues de Montréal.

A: Rues de Montréal portrays the streets of Montréal through 13 photographs taken during the summer of 2017, when the city celebrated its 375th anniversary. The images show the vibrancy of Montréal and question our use of public spaces and how people interact with them.

Q: What kind of print surface did you choose for your exhibit, and why?

A: All photos were printed and mounted on Metallic Canvas Gallery Wrap. I chose this media and finishing because it makes the colours pop out and creates more of a 3D effect.

Q: What was your first thought when you saw the final prints up on the gallery walls? How did the print surface look and feel?

A: I got tears in my eyes. It was the outcome of 7 months of hard work to make it happen. The texture of the canvas definitely made me feel almost like the photos were paintings.

Q: You had a particularly interesting print that’s caught the eye of gallery visitors. Tell us about it.

A: That’s the “Black Moon”. Before I went to Montréal, I knew about the revolutionary work of INSA, who’s a renowned British muralist, and his project called “GIF-TI”, which consists of photographing each layer the artist paints by hand. These images are then uploaded and overlaid to create the final piece, a looping GIF file. The viewers can download his app and point their smartphone camera towards his mural, which scans and recognizes the mural and plays the animation, bringing the piece to life. I wasn’t expecting that his app would work with my print and I got really stoked about it. The augmented reality effect is definitely an extra attraction in this exhibit.

Q: What was it like to be on the other side of the Photolab counter, as a London Drugs Photolab customer?

A: It was a great experience from the beginning to the end. All the Canvas Gallery Wraps were packed separately, which made the logistics easier and safer. Besides that, the colours, contrast, and sharpness turned out exactly how I was expecting.

Q: Do you find it important to build a trusting relationship with your Photolab Technician?

A: As a professional photographer, I believe that this relationship is extremely important because we put so much love and effort into the execution and post-production of all photos, so the printing and finishing processes have to be high caliber. The delivery is as important as the medium.

Q: Has this experience helped you with your own interactions and work as a London Drugs Photolab Technician?

A: Absolutely. When I’m printing, mounting, framing or doing anything else in the lab, I always treat the customers’ photos as if they were mine.

Gabriel (left) pictured here with his Photolab Manager, Bill Storey (right), who came out to support the opening of Gabriel’s exhibit

You can see Part 2 of Gabriel’s exhibit, Rue de Montréal, at Dunn’s Famous BC Restaurant in Vancouver from April 16^th to June 16^th. For more details on the exhibit, visit Capture Photography Festival.

National Pictures of the Year Award Nominations Printed at London Drugs: Exhibition Recognizes the Best in Canadian Photojournalism

London Drugs has been a proud supporter of the Capture Photography Festival in Vancouver since its inauguration in 2013. The festival features both local and international lens-based artistic talent through high-profile gallery exhibits throughout the city of Vancouver. For the second year in a row, London Drugs printed the festival’s entire National Pictures of the Year Awards exhibit, displayed at Vancouver’s Pendulum Gallery.

London Drugs Photolab Technicians worked closely with the News Photographers Association of Canada (NPAC) to print the exhibit, which features finalists for the largest photojournalism competition in Canada. Thirteen categories are represented, including news, sports and social issues.

Photo of Superhero window cleaners outside Kingston General Hospital by Lars Hagberg with The Canadian Press. Printed on Epson Professional Lustre paper by London Drugs Photolab Technicians.

London Drugs Photolab Technicians collaborated with NPAC and the 2016 National Pictures of the Year coordinator Ric Ernst to print each of the finalist’s photos in gallery quality, to each photographer’s specifications.

“This is our second year having the London Drugs Photolab print our exhibit for the Capture Photography Festival and once again the quality of our exhibition prints are superb. I have to admit, the first year I was somewhat skeptical about London Drugs printing our images but was blown away by the quality of work they produced for us. I had no doubts this year and was not disappointed,” says Ernst.

Among the photos printed by the London Drugs Photolab was an image of CrossFit athlete Lindsay Hilton, captured in her element by Canadian photographer Darren Calabrese, as part of a series he was working on for ESPN. The photo was selected as a Picture Story Feature finalist for the National Pictures of the Year Awards.

“The project with Lindsay Hilton began after I had seen a local story about one of her workout videos going viral. That story was a straightforward news item, but I was interested in learning more about her as a person rather than just an athlete,” explains Calabrese. “I shot the series over a span of five or six months. At first, I rarely shot any pictures. I would show up at the gym with just one body and a lens, but would just chat with her and the coach/gym owner. I would help with the weights sometimes and every once in a while I would jump in and try the same workout or exercise out of curiosity.”

Photo of CrossFit athlete Lindsay Hilton by Darren Calabrese. Printed on Epson Professional Lustre paper by London Drugs Photolab Technicians.

Ernst appreciates the trust that the photojournalists, including Calabrese, put in him and the London Drugs Photolab team to ensure the photos printed are as true to the original as possible. The goal is to maintain each personal art aesthetic which helps to convey the photo’s story.

“The most important part of printing our images is getting the tonal qualities and colour balance correct and as close to what the photographer achieved with the original file. The quality of the paper is important and the stock London Drugs Photolab used for our prints was premium,” says Ernst.

Ernst believes the Photolab Technicians’ own passion for photography is what makes working with London Drugs an exceptional experience. “They know what we expect and they speak the same language which makes it very easy to communicate our needs.”

Photo of Fort McMurray wildfires by Cole Burston with AFP. Printed on Epson Professional Lustre paper by London Drugs Photolab Technicians.

London Drugs Photolab Technician John Goldsmith, who worked with Ernst to print the exhibit, used London Drugs’ new Epson P-9000 printer for many of the finalists’ photos. Authentic Epson inks will provide a lifetime of enjoyment, with an archival stability of 200 years. These new printers can now be found in every London Drugs Photolab, and will be used to print customers’ photos in gallery-quality, whether it’s for an exhibit or to hang on their walls at home.

London Drugs Photolab Prints Fine Art for the 3rd Annual Capture Photography Festival

For the 3^rd consecutive year, London Drugs is proud to be a sponsor of the Capture Photography Festival, celebrating local and international lens-based artistic talent in Vancouver. The festival is devoted to exhibiting challenging and thought-provoking photography at over 50 esteemed galleries and public installations.

This year, the London Drugs Photolab printed the works of several high profile Capture exhibits, including LA-based photographer Aline Smithson’s exhibit Self & Others: Portrait as Autobiography, and the News Photographers Association of Canada’s National Pictures of the Year awards exhibit.

Using the best in photofinishing equipment and innovative materials such as our Hahnemühle Fine Art Bamboo Paper, our passionate, experienced Photolab Technicians printed flawless fine art pieces hung in galleries across the city.

These fine art printing services aren’t just reserved for professionals, either. Amateurs, freelancers, and professionals alike can get museum-quality prints, using the London Drugs Photolab’s cutting-edge printing services.

Visit our Photolab in-store or online to find the right print for your photography project!

Happy World Photo Day: Meet Professional Photographer & London Drugs Photolab Technician, John Goldsmith

As part of our World Photography Day celebrations, we’d like to take you into the lab and introduce you to a very important member of the Photolab team. Meet our Photolab Technical Specialist, John Goldsmith. A photographer himself, John understands the trust involved between photographer and Photolab when printing fine art photography. His passion for photography is what allows him to build that trust with each and every photographer he works with, resulting in beautiful images in the best quality possible.

John knows firsthand the importance of working with an experienced lab tech. He was one of a handful of photographers commissioned to showcase his own photography exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver during the inaugural Capture Photography Festival. He worked with the London Drugs Photolab to print his museum-quality images for the exhibition. Today, as Photolab Technical Specialist, he takes his experience as a photographer and applies it to each and every image he prints in the London Drugs Photolab, building trusting relationships with the photographers he works with.

Speak with one of our expert Photolab Technical Specialists in-store today to find out how you can produce your own museum-quality prints for your walls at home!

Fashion Editorial Photographer Farrah Aviva Showcases Her Capture Photography Festival Exhibit on London Drugs Photolab Prints

London Drugs Photolab Prints the Best in Canadian Photojournalism for Capture Photography Festival Exhibit

Q&A with Photolab Technician and Capture Photography Festival-Featured Photographer, Gabriel Martins

National Pictures of the Year Award Nominations Printed at London Drugs: Exhibition Recognizes the Best in Canadian Photojournalism

London Drugs Photolab Prints Fine Art for the 3rd Annual Capture Photography Festival

Happy World Photo Day: Meet Professional Photographer & London Drugs Photolab Technician, John Goldsmith

Archive

Categories

Pages

Newsletter

Fashion Editorial Photographer Farrah Aviva Showcases Her Capture Photography Festival Exhibit on London Drugs Photolab Prints

London Drugs Photolab Prints the Best in Canadian Photojournalism for Capture Photography Festival Exhibit

Q&A with Photolab Technician and Capture Photography Festival-Featured Photographer, Gabriel Martins

National Pictures of the Year Award Nominations Printed at London Drugs: Exhibition Recognizes the Best in Canadian Photojournalism

London Drugs Photolab Prints Fine Art for the 3rd Annual Capture Photography Festival

Happy World Photo Day: Meet Professional Photographer & London Drugs Photolab Technician, John Goldsmith

Archive

Categories

Pages

Newsletter

Tags