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"When
Time Stood Still" by Larry and Monica
Safko
Like
many of our winning photographers, Larry printed
his own shots and provided custom black and white
and cibachrome prints for clients starting in the
1970's.
As
a professional photographer, he has shot weddings,
portrait, glamour, commercial/advertising,
concert, scenic and a variety of stock
photography.
Several years ago, Larry sold all his
medium format equipment, jumped into digital
photography and "never looked back". We hear that a
lot here!
He
prints 16"x20" with a 3800. ( Hawk
Mountain makes 17"x25" specifically for the
3800).
Larry also uses his 2200 a lot, especially
for printing his panoramics.
“
Choosing the right
paper for “When Time Stood Still” was
difficult. Larry chose Sharpwing Luster. "We have done variations
on this type of photo before ..but never in
such a great setting as the lobby of LaJitas
TX: The Ultimate Hideout."
"We had been
shooting photos from both ground level and from
the balcony.. when we saw that the light lent
itself to something special. Positioned on the
stairs, we asked (the couple) to just look at each other and
talk, but not move. 'Dragging' the
shutter allowed us to freeze them, yet let
movement occur with the other guests. I knew
if the movement of the other guests wasn't quite
enough. I could make some minor adjustments in
PhotoShop."
'Dragging the shutter' is
simply using a flash, with a slow shutter speed to
pick up detail and or movement in the
background. It reduces/eliminates shadows
and you don' t have to worry about the background
going dark."
Larry
has an impressive resume including: The official
photographer at the Grandfather Mountain Highland
Games, The Tennessee Old Time Fiddlers
Championship and recently at the Bonnarroo Music
and Arts Festival in Manchester TN. I was
curious too so I looked it up.
http://www.bonnaroo.com/
But
he only received major recognition after he
released his Toadal Vision photography show,
(http://www.toadalvision.com/). If you
glean nothing else from this interview, you HAVE
to check this site out. It
received an Art Builds Communities Grant from the
Tennesse Arts Commission and appeared on Public
Televisions Tennessee Crossroads. Galleries
throughout his area have hosted the show and he is
hoping some of the readers of this newsletter can
help him get the show into their area. Contact Larry
directly if you would like to help.
Larry
keeps busy by offering photography workshops
around the country. See his
website for more information:
http://www.larrysafko.com. He also
hopes to publish a book of his Toadal Vision
exhibit and to return to Bonnarroo.
Larry
is really excited about discovering Hawk Mountain
Papers.
“I was in a hurry to print some photos and
did not download the profiles...I was amazed at
how great the quality was just using my Epson
profiles, but we're now updating our profiles to
get the maximum results from the papers. The different
paper surfaces allow a completely different
feeling for a subject. Three of my favorite papers
are Sparrowhawk, (12mil double sided
alphacellulose) Sharpwing Lustre ,
(11mil photorealistic luster) and Merlin Bright
White, (15mil double sided
cotton).”
“I had been printing on the
Sharpwing Luster. It replaced several other
brands of luster paper, but I've become hypnotized
by the Merlin. The Black and White
Images we are printing on it with the Epson 3800
get a lot of attention, due to the tonal range and
great blacks, but for some color images it's almost mystical…The image
doesn't seem to be 'on' the paper: It's just a
part of it…”
Thank
you Larry!
http://www.larrysafko.com
http://www.toadalvision.com
http://www.thirdeyephotography.net | 
