Stephen Kerner, the Woodstock, N.Y.-based fine artist (www.stephenkerner.com) and fine-art printer (www.stonerivergiclee.com) profiled here at the LexJet Blog about this time last year, is no stranger to the abstract. Nor is Kerner a stranger to complicated, outside-the-lines projects that challenge and perplex.

Ann Naugher, owner of Hopkins Fine Portraits in Tulsa, is sought after far and wide for her artistic portraits of children. They bridge the gap between the realism of photography and what can be the surrealism of painting.

It’s rare to find someone from the next generation of photographers who prefers to shoot film over digital. This year’s LexJet Sunset Award winner for Best Quality Print and Presentation at the Plymouth Center for the Arts competition and exhibition, The Fine Art of Photography, is more than just a throwback to traditional photography.

A couple of days ago we posted a video that shows how to do a nozzle check on a Canon large format inkjet printer, which is the same process for the Canon iPF5100, iPF6100, iPF8000S, iPF9000S and iPF9100 printers. After you perform a head cleaning, always follow up with a nozzle check to make sure it worked. If it didn’t, repeat the process. If you go through the nozzle check/head cleaning process about five or six times there’s likely something else wrong. However, this is very unusual and the printer will almost always let you know if the printheads need to be replaced (click here to see the video on how to replace printheads). Most of the processes detailed in the videos, including the nozzle check and head cleaning, are not quite the same for the latest generation of Canon printers – the iPF6300, iPF6350 and the iPF8300. They use the same menu options, but the path to get there is slightly different. We’re working on these and will let you know when they’re available. If you...

Ghost Town in the Sky, located above Maggie Valley, N.C., is a themed amusement park that’s preparing to re-open to the public. As part of that, the “ghost town” needed some publicity shots and turned to veteran photographer Jeff Gulle.

Award-winning photography is often a fortuitous combination of skill and luck as was the first-place winner of the Commercial division and LexJet Sunset Award winner at the 2012 Professional Photographers of North Carolina print completion, Gregory Georges.

One of the great ironies of photography is that you can turn a certain weakness in the original capture into a strength that sets the tone and separates it from the usual. Such is the case with Bob Klein’s LexJet Sunset Award-winning image at the Photo NorthEast competition called Walking the Lonely Street, which was captured in a village near Vienna. The image has just the right elements that evoke an Old World scene. Or, as Klein puts it, “You can project yourself walking down the street in this scene.” Perhaps that’s what caught the judges’ eyes, but much of the beauty of portrait – aside from the framing of the street, the lone figure with an umbrella slightly off center walking away from the camera and the way the buildings come to a satisfying point on the horizon – is in its weakness. Klein explains, “It was overcast with poor light and light rain, but I loved the way it looked. At the time I considered it unfortunate, but in retrospect it was fortunate. That camera I used...

David Jeffery’s eye for photography comes naturally. Having grown up in a creative, artistic environment (his father was a painter, his mother a musician) he was naturally drawn to the arts. Jeffery’s creative outlet is photography and the artistic ethos he absorbed growing up shows in his award-winning work.

Award-winning studio photography deserves to be front and center, and when appropriate, larger than life. And so it is at Peters Photography, a family-owned studio with three locations in Ohio – in Dublin, London and Centerville – and a national reach through the recognized expertise of its photographer crew.

Andrew Jenkins’ The Man in the Mirror has all the elements of award-winning photography: A compelling and unique design that tells a story and draws viewers into the scene, capped by Michael Timmons’ renowned printing expertise. Timmons used Sunset Photo eSatin Paper to print The Man in the Mirror, laminated with LexJet 3 Mil Gloss UV Premium Low Melt laminate. Timmons and his wife Tina own and operate The Portrait Gallery in Vasser, Mich. The Portrait Gallery’s printing has become a mainstay of competitions across the U.S. “Sunset Photo eSatin is our print material of choice for competitions; it’s a stronger, more durable paper and the colors, tones and hues reproduce much better than most other materials,” says Timmons. “The print is mounted to foam board and then laminated with the LexJet gloss laminate to give it more pop at competition. The high gloss laminate really adds a three-dimensional look to the image. It’s completely amazing when it’s all finished.” Obviously,...