Are
Prints on the way out?
A
bit of history. Quite a few years ago KPS (and most other camera
clubs) image evaluation night consisted of Prints and Slides. Along
came EDIs and slides started to dwindle. We got to the point where
there were less than half a dozen slides entered each month. The
decision had to be made to abandon slides.
The pandemic has really
challenged prints more than EDIs, but are prints really reaching the
end of the road. Most images we see are still prints, magazines,
newspapers, flyers, bill boards, etc but they are quickly being
overtaking by phone screens, tablets, and computer screens etc. Will
people go to photo exhibitions if the images are only displayed on a
screen?
At KPS there is much more work involved in dealing with print
evaluations than EDIs. For a start, someone has to collect the
prints, and drive to the judge to deliver
them. We have to set up boards to display them. Much easier with EDIs
and email and projectors. The question really is, is the print
really a very important part of the photography art form?
Will we
miss it if it goes extinct? (I will). There are some clubs, (not
many) that have already dropped or limited their number of Print
competitions. It is a bit more trouble to take an image, tweak it,
get it printed, mount it, upload the EDI version, and put the image
in the collection box. Even harder to remember to get it back later
on.
There
are at least 12 KPS mounted (and framed) images hanging at Boronia
Library. They enhance the look of the library as well as show off the
maker's art. We hang prints around our house, those electronic photo
frame thingy things really didn’t stand the test of time. KPS may
have a photo exhibition at Millers homestead later in the year.
It’s
up to you. If we don’t have the numbers to make the Print section
worthwhile then phasing them out will be inevitable.
Note:
we are working with a Printer to get good prints made at a very
reasonable price.
Remember
after you get your print back you can display it in your house, every
time you look at it, it will bring back memories.
Rob
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