(Before we begin, just as last week's column went to print, it was announced that the royalties placed on Internet broadcasters (webcasters) was suspended for a few more weeks. My Internet radio stations are back. Stay tuned...)
My wife and I are digital photographers, although my wife still does some 35mm film work also. I naturally tend to display my work in a format that is considered standard for digital images. I use an excellent program to store and catalog my digital photos, called Thumbs Plus, available from www.cerious.com. When we want to view photos, we can view them individually or as a slide show on the computer screen. I have organized some of our better photos into galleries, which are available at a web page on the Internet.
If you don't have a personal computer to dedicate to this purpose, you can now buy standalone LCD screens that look like picture frames, which display a limited number of digital photos in timed sequence. The photos are either stored directly in the "frame" or by using standard digital film memory cards (Compact Flash (CF) or SmartMedia (SM)) or can be downloaded from the Internet. These look nice, but the image is usually smaller than the image on a computer screen, and the number of photos you can store may be limited.
For those times when a printed photo is needed, I do have a photo quality inkjet printer and stock photographic quality paper. The results are excellent photo prints, but most of what I print is either sent to relatives or just end up on the refrigerator. You can also get digital photo files printed and sent back to you in the mail from companies such as Ofoto (www.ofoto.com).
But I was still not pleased with what I was doing. Although the photos looked very good on the computer screen, they still didn't have the "professional" touch I was looking for. I decided that what I needed to do was a more formal presentation of our work, either on the walls of our home or elsewhere. Since we didn't want to use scotch tape to hang them, we obviously needed to get some frames.
After searching on the Internet, I found a few websites that you can order frames from. I settled on www.americanframe.com. They sell what is essentially a frame kit, cut to order. You specify the frame type, dimensions, mat boards, backing, Plexiglas, etc. and they ship it to you as a bundle of parts. I thought the prices were reasonable, so I ordered some frames, complete with mats, backing, and UV Plexiglas. Note: since digital photo prints can sometimes fade, UV glass is mandatory. They were shipped quickly and everything was as specified. Assembly was straightforward, after completing the first one.
But what struck me as soon as I had put the photos in the frames was how much better they look. What was a simple snapshot was now something worth displaying and commenting on. The frames focus your attention, and the mats complement and enhance the photos tremendously. The improvement was stunning. In addition, it shows that you care about your work.
The lesson here is something that photographers and artists have known for a long time - the frame is part of the presentation. So, even if you are a digital photographer, give frames a chance!
(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport / Oak Island area. You can visit his website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail him at bsc@bobseidel.com).