Enter Hahnemühle’s Student Photo Competition

Hahnemühle, the world-renowned fine art paper manufacturer, is hosting its international Student Photo Competition, accepting entries through April 30, 2019.

Students from around the world, who must be enrolled at a state-recognized university, college or photography school, will submit a series of five photos in the style or theme of their choosing. The competition will be held in two rounds, with the first round selecting 50 finalists, and the second round whittling it down to first-, second- and third-place winners. There is no fee to enter.

The 50 finalists will receive a set of Hahnemühle sample packs to help them choose the best paper to print their work onto. The finalists will then receive a box of 25 sheets of their favorite paper.

The international jury, made up of photographers, photo journalists, gallerists and other photo industry experts, will judge the photo submissions based on artistic quality, technical quality and quality of content. Winners will receive cash prizes: EUR 1,500 for first place, EUR 1,000 for second place and EUR 500 for third place, with the intent that the money will be used to support the winners’ further photography work. Also, the top photo series will be displayed at Photokina 2020 in Cologne, Germany.

Registration and photo submissions must be done online using Hahnemühle’s portal — find it here. All entries must comply with the competition’s terms and conditions, also listed on the portal. Good luck!

 

LexJet Welcomes National Sunset Print Award Winner Kari Douma

LexJet’s headquarters in Sarasota, Fla., welcomed 2015 National Sunset Print Award Winner, Kari Douma, to our offices and home town as part of her first place prize for her image, “Aged Gracefully.”

The Grandville, Mich., photographer posed with her husband, Vince, pictured in center above, with LexJet’s Tom Gruss and Rachel Gamberg.

Prints That Win: And They Left Their Boats in Search of Him

When New Orleans photographer Yvette Ponthier first learned about print competitions, she was initially turned off by what seemed to be subjective judging and nitpicking. “I saw these beautiful images just being picked apart,” she says. “So I said, nope, not doing that. That was the biggest mistake I ever made.”

yvette Ponthier And They Left Their Boats In Search of HimFour years ago, she changed her mind and began competing with images like “And They Left Their Boats in Search of Him,” at left, which won the Sunset Print Award at the 2015 Southern Pro Exposure Competition sponsored by Professional Photographers of Louisiana.

“Print competitions totally make you more creative in every aspect,” Ponthier says. “I should have stuck with competition because being an active participant has taken my photography skills to levels I never thought possible.”

Prints That Win: Samson

poltorzycki_04_29_15 samsonPlymouth, Mass., photographer Stephen Poltorzycki may have only gotten serious about digital photography over the past few years, but his knack for it has certainly come into focus, as he recently won the Sunset Print Award in the “The Fine Art of Photography” show, organized by the Plymouth Center for the Arts. His winning image, “Samson,” is pictured at left.

“I took photography somewhat seriously in college, but life took over and I didn’t pursue it,” says Poltorzycki, a self-employed management consultant. “When the digital age dawned I decided it would be fun to get back into.”

He joined a local camera club and started studying photography technology and judging criteria. Once he stared entering competitions, he saw the best success with still-life images like “Samson.” The image was part of the club’s challenge to capture images that showed symmetry.

Introducing: Even Richer Images with Next Generation Sunset Select Matte Canvas

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Printers and artists turn to Sunset Select Matte Canvas for projects as varied as unique, industrial-themed indoor art canvas wraps in Pennsylvania to weather-resistant fine-art photo banners in Idaho. The smooth texture, unsurpassed white point and crisp, rich photo production make it an easy choice for a multitude of projects and finishing treatments.

Versatile and durable, Sunset Select Matte Canvas was selected as one of 2010’s Hot Awards from Professional Photographer Magazine in the inkjet media category. And now, LexJet has released its next generation of the poly-cotton blend Sunset Select Matte Canvas.

The new Sunset Select Matte Canvas has a slight texture change and a higher Dmax, which means photos are even more detailed and vibrant. These improvements, however, haven’t altered the price, which remains the same for this 18 mil acid-free, pH neutral archival canvas.

Sunset Select Matte Canvas is available in standard roll widths from 17-inches to 60-inches in 40-foot rolls. It works with both dye and pigment inks and is compatible with current and legacy model printers from Canon, ColorSpan, Encad, Epson and Roland.

Call a LexJet print specialist at 800-453-9538 for more information and to try Sunset Select Matte Canvas for your next project.

For Peters Photography Studio, Kodak’s Dry Lab Paper Delivers

Photo by Peters Photography; London, Ohio
Photo by Peters Photography; London, Ohio

 

Last summer, when Peters Photography Studio lab manager Matt Baxter could no longer count on the delivery time frame and quality of the photo paper he’d been using, he turned to a name he’d trusted for years: Kodak.

His former supplier had become unreliable, so he switched to Kodak’s PROFESSIONAL Inkjet Photo Dry Lab Paper with a lustre finish.

Photo by Peters Photography, London, Ohio
Photo by Peters Photography; London, Ohio

“We’d always used Kodak when we had a wet lab,” Baxter says. “I was used to Kodak from way back.”

As the photography industry has evolved from film and chemical photo development to digital images and inkjet printing, Kodak has created resin-coated paper with an e-surface finish, ideal for the type of rich, detailed portrait work Baxter polishes up at the London, Ohio-based studio.

“I touch every single image that comes through here,” says Baxter, who’s been with Peters for 15 years. “All of the color correction, processing, digital image prepping … and printing is included in that.”

He runs the Kodak dry lab paper on an Epson SureLab printer, which is an ideal match, he says. Working with 8-inch and 12-inch rolls, he explains that the paper calibrated easily and “fell right into place really quickly. There were no big adjustments to make.” The paper also works well with Peters’ signature linen-like textured coating that sets the studio’s prints apart.

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A look inside Peters Photography’s gallery, showcasing Kodak PROFESSIONAL Inkjet Photo Dry Lab Paper, lustre finish. Photo by Peters Photography; London, Ohio

Kodak’s logo, printed on the back of the paper, adds an immediately recognized symbol of the long-trusted brand. “We like it,” Baxter says. “We were used to having that for all those years. Now, it feels like we’re printing on quality … it makes it feel like we’re doing it the right way.”

And because Baxter orders paper as needed, rather than storing a lot of inventory, he says he’s pleased to get delivery just a day or two after he places his order with his LexJet sales rep. “With our other supplier, we never knew when we were going to get it,” he says. “But now we get it right away. We order as we need it. I don’t give myself much leeway, and LexJet makes it so I can do that.”