We have been working with them on another project and you can see a larger image of their latest in the update on their post.

We have decided to take a break from our featured artist articles for the summer but already have the next one in the pipeline. Keep your eyes on this space around the middle of September to see who will be our next ‘Featured Artist of the Month’!

The Enlightenment - Ron Hayes

Ron was the very first artist who asked us to make giclée prints for him. Before we hear how that came about we asked him for a bit of background history.

I worked for many years in Toronto art-directing and producing graphic design for Ad agencies. My business focused on creating art for print. Magazines, newspapers, brochures and Corporate identity packages. My other life was painting. I painted whenever I could and exhibited my work annually since finishing Art School in1976. The dream to move to Nova Scotia became a reality in 1996. My brother took over my graphics business when I left Toronto. Nova Scotia is now my home.

We knew Ron as a part of the community and saw the work that he was producing, including some very interesting paintings that incorporated all kinds of materials to add texture and depth - including sand, shells and even a t-shirt! We found his work very interesting and enjoyed going to his studio to see his newest creations. We also displayed his work in our gallery that we have open during the summer months.

From Field to Shore - Ron Hayes

I opened ArtCan Gallery in Canning in the fall of 2001. I met Steve and Ellie Kennard around this time. The idea to reproduce some of my paintings came to us one day over coffee in their kitchen. The early results were very exciting.

We, too, found the process to be an exhilerating experience, particularly the way he wanted to be very much a part of the process. He was very particular in what he wanted to see in his prints and we enjoyed this close collaboration between Ron and ourselves. He appreciated our input regarding the technical sides of the work and there was an easy communication that grew out of that close working relationship that helped us to produce what he was looking for.

From South Mountain - Ron Hayes

We wondered what it is that Ron most appreciates about working with us at Innovative Imaging Studio:

They have a special talent for capturing the feeling of my work using digital technology. This was what forms the foundation of our ongoing collaboration with giclee printing.

We are aware of the fact that Ron is such a close neighbour and that this does make working with us very convenient. If this were not the case, would he see distance as a barrier to working with iiStudio for fine art reproduction of his work. His thoughts?

I’m fortunate to be their neighbour. If they were located elsewhere I wouldn’t hesitate to use them anyway for my prints.

The River - Ron Hayes

Ron’s most recent work, including the images that you see in this article are all available in limited edition Gicl�e prints. Visit his website and see the work of this exciting local artist. Ron’s Art Can Gallery has now grown to incorporate a wonderful Caf� with lovely views over the Habitant River as well as a studio where Ron teaches painting.

Thanks for entrusting the work of creating your reproductions into our hands, Ron. It has been a real pleasure seeing your work develop over the years and having a part in it.

Guillermo Ramas, our featured customer of the month travels a lot and currently lives in Texas.

Our first contact with him was an email he sent:

I bumped into your website and am very excited because it seems you do exactly what I was looking for: fine art / photography printing / matting, etc. I like the attention to detail I see in your website and your process.

He explained in his email that he lived in Florida and so…

“Walking in is not an option”.

After we spoke on the telephone he sent us some of his beautiful images to print. He asked us to chose the substrate we thought would be best for each one.

After we sent him his prints, he sent us an email saying:

I am extremely happy with the prints and the quality. I spent some time this weekend looking at them, and then rushed to get the large one framed (double matt, spacers, museum glass, etc.) because this one, I have decided, will hang in my office…

I thought the papers you guys picked were fantastic, and actually, I thought the specific selection for each print, was absolutely perfect. For example, the print with the window had the perfect paper for it, because it showed some texture, making the wall almost “pop” at you… While the smooth very white paper used with the flower and the lady bug brought out the white accents in the petals…absolutely perfect!

You are now officially my printers of choice

For our feature we asked him to give a bit of background history prior to coming to Innovative Imaging Studio.

I had tried in the past to work with several local printers but found that either they did not specialize enough to have a quality that met my requirements, or they were not flexible enough with their printing options; I am not new to digital photography, but definitely need to rely on a good, experienced printer when it comes to turning the images into prints… I consider myself a photographer, not a printer. Also, due to my constant travel, I found myself looking for someone who could handle most requests either via web or phone. I had a terrible time trying to find someone that would really cover all aspects well. I decided to start looking outside of my local area for someone who could cover all my requests.

We then asked him how he found us and what made him decide to try our services:

I found Innovative Imaging Studio while browsing the web and the amount and depth of information included in the website told me I had likely found what I was looking for. I have to say that seeing that the folks at Innovative Imaging Studio seemed to clearly understand we are not all savvy when it comes to printing, and that we might need some hand-holding definitely was a factor in deciding to try your services.

But what really made up my mind was the initial phone call I had with Ellie and Steve. It was clear to me they would take the time to really understand what I needed, and would approach each one of my requests as a special project.

We are always interested in which of our services are of most interest to our clients and so we asked him that question:

Definitely being able to submit my files electronically for printing, as well as the fact that the Studio takes care of final approach to optimal sharpening and proofing. Having the shipping and excellent packaging also being taken care of was a great thing as well!

Guillermo travels a lot and between our first contact with him and when the prints were ready for delivery, he had moved from Florida to Texas. Texas is a long way from Canning, Nova Scotia, so we asked him if this distance was in any way an inconvenience to working with us.

Not only it wasn’t an impediment, but for me, it was actually a requirement (as I travel a lot). The communication with Ellie and Steve has always been perfect and constant.

We selected four different papers to print his images on. They were Hahnemuhle German Etching Board, Hahnemuhle Photo Rag, Hahnemuhle William Turner and Innova Smooth Cotton High White paper. All are archival acid free heavy papers, each with slightly different characteristics that suited the chosen images best.

Guillermo also had some comments to make on the service provided by Innovative Imaging Studio and the quality of his prints.

Not only were the prints of perfect quality, but the wrapping and presentation were absolutely incredible. I know I can have the prints sent directly to any client with no doubt they will be satisfied with what they get, and that the prints will get there in perfect shape. I can’t emphasize enough how much care and attention goes into the packaging of the prints that the studio ships out. I don’t see how you could improve on that…. I could not ask for anything better.

He had one last comment that he wanted me to include in this interview - for everyone who is wondering how the title fits this feature:

One last comment: Someone once told me that photographers tend to keep the info on printers they like a total secret… In a way, it becomes a competitive advantage…. After what I went through trying to find the right guys, and the joy of finding them with Innovative Imaging Studio, I feel it’s “good karma” to let others know…

It was a pleasure working with your beautiful photographs, Guillermo. We look forward to working with you soon again on some of your projects.

Please visit his website to see some of his beautiful photography and you will understand why we consider it a privilege to be his ‘Printers of Choice’!

The first thing that impressed me about Innovative Imaging Studio was your experience, your eye for detail and how professional you are in what you do.

We recalled that after that first work on Heather Alexis’ website images, she visited us to show us a print she had had made for her.

Is this the best that can be done, making a print with this image? Could you do better?

We knew that we could and asked her to let us try to see what we could do. This first print was a success and since then we have reproduced several of Heather Alexis’ paintings, the most recent ones on a special canvas media that we import. Heather Alexis takes these large canvas prints one step further by ‘embellishing’ them. This means that after the print is cured and coated and stretched on a frame, she paints over it, making each print unique. The print is part of the process to create the final image. The archival inks and museum quality canvas ensure that these pieces will be heirlooms for their purchasers. Each print comes complete with a certificate of authenticity, signed by Heather Alexis and the printer and documenting the information relating to that specific print.

We asked Heather Alexis what was most important for her in her work with us.

What matters most to me is that the vibrance of the strong colours in my originals should be faithfully reproduced. I want prints that are true to the originals which I sell.

Our capture of her paintings is done using our special medium format capture device, so that the colour information and detail is perfectly documented for us to work with.

When she wanted a new website, one that would show the relationship between her two great passions - Visual Art and Therapeutic Art, she turned to us. We created her website specially to complement both these in one site “The Art of Relaxation” which is the Website of Valley Massage Therapy Clinic and a Virtual Gallery for the Artwork of Heather Alexis.

We always enjoy working with Heather Alexis on her different projects as her natural energy comes out in her work. Finally we asked her what she appreciates most about working with us.

I know that whatever I do with you, the end result will be the best quality possible, as you are such perfectionists. And, something that is not usually the case with people that are OCD is that I find you both very easy to get along with.

Thanks for chosing us to do this interesting work with you, Heather Alexis!

The featured client this month is Tony Deveau, a Nova Scotian photographer who has spent a lot of time in the Arctic many years ago and has some wonderful photographs to prove it.

Tony had a number of 20 year old + Kodachrome slides that he wanted scanned into digital format for archiving and then printed on special archival media. Some of them needed quite a bit of careful restoration in the digital format as water damage had deteriorated the originals.

Tony has been working with photographic printers and service bureaux for a number of years in different parts of the county. I was interested to hear of his experiences working with some of these in the past and the present.

When I lived in Manitoba I used the services of a small owner-operated business. He processed the photographs in the methods available at the time and had skills with the airbrush that he used, for example, on my Arctic Wolf print. I also used the services of a Winnipeg company that were fairly good.

Recently I took my work to a local commercial photographic processing bureau. It seemed to me that there were always limitations. For the print sizes, for example, I only had the choice of set sizes - 8″x10″, 10″x14″ etc. They also told me that my negatives were damaged and that I had two choices - either crop the damage out or keep the flaws in the print.

This photograph of a Jaeger is the first image of Tony’s that we printed for him. We first of all scanned the slide on our professional scanner, at the highest resolution. Then we repaired the damage and carefully worked with the image to highlight the delicacy of this bird and the feeling of freedom we get from seeing this creature soaring - giving the impression of being weightless. It was important to chose the right paper for the print and together with Tony we chose the archival Innova smooth cotton - a natural white 100% acid free cotton (rag) material. Its silky smooth surface made it ideal for his photographs and it has a satisfying weight at 315 g/m2. This has been our paper of choice for all of his prints so far.

Then I asked him what it was that made him try us to do his work.

I did a search on the internet using different terms - digital, imaging etc. Innovative Imaging came up and I went to the site. At first I thought that Canning was a bit far to go, but I found nothing else more local that would want to deal with an individual.

When I went through your website I found everything that I needed to know - the services you offered, who you were - even a map to get to you. It didn’t seem to be so far after all and I decided to come out and see you.

This regal Arctic Wolf was photographed as he lay surrounded by a pile of garbage. Although this is a poignant reminder to us of the results of mankind’s presence in the wilderness, the setting did nothing for his dignity. Tony originally had had the print airbrushed to hide the garbage, but the ravages of time had discoloured the print and made the corrections stand out. We knew that with the technology and expertise we have, we would be able to show the wolf in surroundings that befit his dignified pose. When this was printed using archival inks on the lovely watercolour medium, he knew that the print would finally last for generations without deteriorating.

We asked Tony what particular aspects of our services and skillset he most appreciates with respect to the work we do for him.

The whole consultation process that you offer helps me a lot. I appreciate the way you explain the different options available to me. There are always more than one to chose from and I like that. I like the way I can explain to you, as an amateur, how I want the image to look and you can understand and translate it to get the effect I was after.

I also really appreciate the fact that in scanning these images, I will always have them preserved in a digital format. I want to leave a legacy of these photos for family members into the future - so that they can say ‘your Uncle Tony took these… or your Great Uncle Tony…’.

Now I have them on archival acid free paper, so they will last, but, should anything happen to them, I have the images preserved on a CD. The work that you did on these is not lost the way it was in the old days when all the airbrushing work was lost when it deteriorated. My legacy will be preserved.

Tony took advantage of our matting and framing services that we offer and, working closely with Steve, carefully chose materials that would best display his beautiful prints as well as preserve them from pollutants. He chose to use the museum glass to protect what he has described as:

My most prized possessions

It is always a pleasure to work with beautiful photographs, especially when it is our privilege to preserve and restore these works to their former glory. We also really enjoy the challenge of getting the best from these works so that they will be preserved for the generations to come.

Thank you for your confidence in us, Tony. It’s a pleasure to work with you. We are looking forward to working with you on your future projects.

Ellie

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The designers asked the artist to find a suitable company to provide them with the high quality files they wanted, but he was not satisfied with what he was able to find locally. Searching the internet, Cameron and his partner Ryan found Innovative Imaging Studio:

You guys were a great find !
- Cameron Smith

David brought us out his three paintings and we prepared the files to the specifications of Cameron and his team. This involved capturing the art on our high resolution medium format digital device. This records incredible detail and colour information. Steve’s experience in this work together with precise and balanced lighting and a fully colour-managed workflow produces a file that will be suitable for all types of output including the highest spec required for fineart printing and reproduction. Next I took the files and prepared them for the output according to the specifications supplied by the designers. These images were then burned onto archival CD media and shipped out to California by courier.

We asked Cameron what made him decide to chose us to do this work for them:

First of all we were impressed by the way you were prepared to talk to us at length on the telephone and were so helpful with explaining the technical aspects. This really helped us in the design process. As well, you were so focussed on customer service.

It is very hard to find someone who specialises in fine art capture as you do.

You can see some of the work that was made possible in bringing together East and West coasts - thanks to the internet.

Thanks so much once again for helping us. Please give our regards to Steven - tell him the files have really worked out great! We’re looking forward to working with you again.

Thanks Cameron, Ryan and David. It was a pleasure working with all of you and we, too, look forward to working with you on the next project which is in the pipeline!

Update July 4, 2007:

Speaking of the next project… here it is! The image is also by David King and is entitled Mysterious Woman. The files are now winging their way to California. Thanks again, Ryan and Cameron (and David, for the great paintings to work with).

Ellie