Beyond technique – which anyone can learn – photography is a bit like a language. To be any good at it requires a lot of practice which is best achieved with complete immersion in the subject. That means a lot of looking. Constantly looking, looking, looking. Not just at other photographs but at everything, other art forms, theatre, cinema, painting, sculpture etc. And of course at the immediate world around you. Then, if you are lucky, really lucky, you may start to actually see. When and if that occurs, it is as if the internal noise, the constant dialogue that we all have, has somehow momentarily stopped and you feel incredibly present in the moment. To be able to capture that fleeting moment with a camera is nothing less than pure magic.
Also known as Giclee prints or bubble-jet prints, pigment ink-jet prints are generated by computer printers from digital or scanned files using dye-based or pigment-based inks. A series of nozzles spray tiny droplets of ink onto the paper surface in a precise pattern that corresponds to the digital image file. In dye-based prints the ink soaks into the paper, whereas in pigment-based prints the ink rests and dries on top of the paper surface.
Whilst the term is broad, pigment ink-jet prints have come to be associated with prints produced on fine art papers. They are the most versatile and archival method of printing available to photographers today. A wide variety of material on which an image can be printed with such inks are available, including various textures and finishes such as matte photo paper, watercolour paper, cotton canvas or pre-coated canvas.
