Prints that Win: Elevating a Popular Setting

Award winning inkjet prints

It takes a special talent to uniquely reproduce a scene that’s been photographed thousands of times. Think Ansel Adams’ shot of the Grand Tetons. Now a scene that’s a staple of photographers of all abilities, it’s difficult to capture a unique perspective on that particular scene.

So it is with the grist mill in Babcock State Park. This iconic West Virginia scene was the LexJet Sunset Award winner at the recent Photo Pro Network expo and print competition in Covington, Ky., as well as the Southeastern PPA District competition.

This shot of the popular grist mill location in the park also won the Inkjet Print category, and for good reason. The capture looks similar to HDR photography, but it’s not. “What you see is what I got,” says Stan Jones, owner of S & N Photography in Cave City, Ky., who captured the scene and rendered it in black and white.

“I heard about it from other photographers so I wanted to check it out for myself. It’s a beautiful place. When I arrived, there were already about 15 other photographers set up and ready to go,” recalls Jones.

The key to this version of the grist mill scene was in the exposure, which Jones set up at around six seconds at ISO 100. The picture was perfect, as you can see in the extreme detail Jones was able to pick up in the capture.

Of course it doesn’t end there. Jones is also a professional print maker, producing his own competition prints as well as those for other photographers with his Epson Stylus Pro 7900 and ColorBurst RIP. With a spray booth for finishing and competition lights so he can pre-judge the prints himself, Jones’s prints provide the needed fidelity for award-winning prints.

“The judges commented on the print quality, presentation and subject matter, especially the black-and-white print presentation; it looks really good under the lights,” adds Jones.