*This is a response by Al Weber to David Vestal’s article, “Preparing a Show” in the May/June 2010 issue of photo technique*

In answer to David Vestal about loose print display

David’s Photo Technique article, in which he tells why he chooses to have his photographs shown un-mounted, caught my eye.

Having just delivered 73 mounted prints to Lumiere Gallery in Atlanta, dry mounting prints and cutting overmats was on my mind.

His points, as usual, are well taken. For instance, buying museum quality boards has become costly. Back orders are common. Consistency has become an issue. When you pay $22 for a 32X40 sheet, and it has flaws, that hurts. Mat board appears to be going the way of plywood. It’s called crap, the product of a company that doesn’t care.

But cost isn’t the only issue. It takes time to do finish work, and time is the one commodity those in the arts cannot waste. We don’t work 40-hour weeks and retire with a pension at 65. Of course that is no ones fault but ours. It goes with the territory.

David mentions that cost isn’t a factor when dealing with a gallery as they do the finishing…..sometimes. But who really pays for that? You, the photographer, that’s who. It’s just not up front.

I’ve run a few numbers regarding all this, and if a photographer farms out the finishing, which gives him/her more time, that’s a plus. However, I find if I do the finishing myself, it’s like earning $100 an hour for my labor. So sometimes I make more money finishing a photograph than I do making it in the first place. Take the time to add it up. You might be surprised.

And what about just plain laziness? Why do something if you can avoid it? I like lazy people, I’m one of them. They do a lot of non-physical work while thinking, just to avoid work. In the process, they frequently come up with something worthwhile. Gee, showing un-mounted prints is sounding pretty good.

But now, let me tell you the good side of doing your own finishing.

You have total control, positioning the print on the board in good light and not at the easel or on some stinky little monitor. Then you can decide the size relationship, print to board, you can play with big boards or little boards, cold white or cream white, smooth or textured, the choices are many, and if you take your time, it can be satisfying and rewarding. The small things add up. When you’re finished, it’s personal, and it feels good. This is the time when I do my own evaluation of the photograph, with no external influence.

Far from being drudgery, I find print finishing relaxing. It’s not hard work. No one is yelling at you. It’s a solitary time to be with your work, understand it to the fullest and then enjoy it. Photographers always seem to be in a hurry. Take (or make) the picture, do the processing, and get it out there for everyone to see, as quickly as possible. Not enough time is given for self-exploration and evaluation. The reasoning behind a photograph is rarely discovered if it is subliminal. Finishing a print affords this time. Methodical study often reveals additional needs and potential changes in process that make the photograph speak more clearly. One gets to know their work. Applying a loose print to a mat board protects the print. Many of today’s papers are fragile. It’s easy to crimp, bend or otherwise damage a loose print. Like white space in newspaper advertising, the mat also sets the print aside from surroundings that can visually intrude on the viewer.

So, David and all those of you who choose not to mount your photographs, you have good reason for what you do, but I don’t agree. One more time, the old cliché, “there is more than one way to skin a cat.”

You can buy all the necessary tools by selling that lens in the bottom of your camera case that hasn’t been used in a while, and have a whole bunch of change left over.