FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

Digital fotografi er helt uforligneligt til mange typer af opgaver og er nu så godt at det kan overgå mindre filmformater mht. skarphed og opløsning. Imidlertid er alle billederne på dette site indtil videre optaget på analog film, som efter fremkaldelsen er scannet i ultra høj opløsning på en Imacon scanner. Processen med at optage på film, fremkalde dem, scanne dem og efterbehandle dem digitalt er en meget tidskrævende proces som kræver stor opmærksomhed på selv de mindste detaljer. Alle billeder der er vist her kan printes ud i næsten enhver størrelse og billederne sælges i begrænsede serier på mellem 25 og 50 kopier, hvor jeg forbeholder mig ret til at lave 7 ekstra kopier til museumsbrug og 5 til eget brug, deriblandt min portfolio. Alle print der sælges er nummererede og signerede samt akkompagneret af et certifikat der autencificerer billedets ophav.

SHOOTING FILM OR DIGITAL?

When someone asks me about the film vs. digital discussion going on its quite simple to me, film is "matter" - you can feel it in your hands and look through it, and digital is somehow therefor a whole different story! A file consisting of 1-0 in hope to be developed best possible way by some computer program or app. Well when it all comes down to it, the one who shot on film has the negatives - something tangible and very physical in this world! I'd much rather have my work recorded on film, mainly for the "look" of it but also because film is something that can be stored and duplicated or "recalled" any time ahead. That said I am a fan of simplicity in the art of MAKING the actual picture. And with that I may be very old fashioned but I really love that all I have to concentrate about when photographing is when the motive is in right focus and expose it right. The film - depending if its a color (slide/neg) film or a black and white, the image can be worked upon in different environments and processes! The "matter" of EXPOSURE THROUGH a MEDIUM, which is then recorded, will be, in its essential, different than a file that has been recalled to life. And this duplicating process happens even twice when using film, because the meer exposure on a film yields some quite different characteristics than a capture by a CCD.

The vast majority of my photographs at www.mikkelgrabowski.com are captured on film. The images are ailable for purchase in limited editions.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE AN EDITION?

I define a print edition based on medium and scale. For instance, a 16"x20" color pigment print constitutes the scale and medium that would define a print edition for a particular image. If the same photographic image is produces in a different scale, utilizing a different printing method this would potentially constitute a new edition. Each print is being numbered, signed and embossed as well as it is being accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. The certificate is printed on archival paper with an estimated longevity of 75 years.

HOW MANY PRINTS ARE IN AN EDITION?

I typically offer prints in editions of 25-50 with a reserve of 7 museum proofs and 5 artist proofs. Only the numbered prints are for sale in Galleries and museum proofs are available in museums, public collections or private collections that have some future public purpose at the time of purchase. Artists proofs are usually not for sale as they allow me to have prints available for proofs, reference, exhibition, and portfolio use. Ultimately they might be given away to friends, family and associates and may later appear in galleries for resale just as numbered prints may be resold by the original purchaser at some point.

ART AS AN INVESTMENT

By keeping my editions small ensures the purchaser they are acquiring a work of art that is not mass-produced or mass-marketed. Prints can be treasured as a rare piece of art which not only is a joy to look at time and again, its value is likely to increase with time and thereby photographic prints may also be a good investment seen from a purely monetary point of view. The most expensive photographic print ever sold was Andreas Gurskys "99 Cent ll Dipthycon" which was sold at Sotheby's in London in 2007 for $ 3,346,456 and Edward Steichen's "The Pond, Moonlight" taken in 1904 was sold in 2006 for $ 2,928,000 at Sotheby's New York. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for my clients, the prices for my work doesnt even come near such huge amounts but this is also why buying images from my limited editions might become a good investment in the long run.

WHAT MEDIA ARE YOUR PRINTS OFFERED IN AND WHY?

As a photographer I work with both color and black and white. In color work is available in color pigment prints as well as Lambda prints made on photographic paper made from digital files created from my negatives being scanned in an Imacon high resolution scanner or directly from a high resolution digital camera. Some of my black and white work is available Baryt fiberbased photographic paper made directly from the original negative though most often I use quadtone pigment prints made from my digital camera or from scanned files directly from my negatives. I utilize digital technology for my printing because it allows a greater level of creative control over the final print than traditional dark room processing do.

DO YOU USE DIGITAL OR FILM AND WHY WOULD ONE BE BETTER THAN THE OTHER?

The colors in analog film often supercedes the colorreproduction taking place in a CCD sensor though nowadays it is possible to simulate the look of a particular fllm (eg. Fuji Veliva, Kodak Kodachrome, Ektachrome, Kodacolor 200 - and many other). Basically the difference between digital and film is the difference of an electrical coupled charger and a chemical reaction, the latter incorporating film grain as another visual "quality" that is also debatable if it is wanted or not. For some scenes analog captures on film is my favourite though unfortunately being a far more time consuming and therefore quite costly process and digital captures, when done properly is sometimes even better than film. For some assignments I use film and for some I use digital capture and as with most professional craftsmen I use specific tools for specific assignments.

GRABOWSKIPHOTOGRAPHY