Recently in Douglas' New Prints Category

There's an art, and a lot of love to making a good looking pizza. There is a lot to a photo of a pizza that's home made, no food stylist, no Vaseline, a real pizza.  Vaseline is just one of the things used to make food look picture perfect.  This pizza was made by a woman in a small pizza shop in Lakewood, Ohio, the real pizza, no Vaseline.

This was another of my commercial photography clients.  A small suburban pizza shop that wanted to advertise.  We all know the pizza you get from one of the national chains never looks like the one you saw in their ad.   For a small shop it can be better not to compete with the big chains.  Be special, home made, made with care and probably by the owner.  There is something special about seeing a photo of a pizza in an ad that not only looks home made but looks like what you get.  There's something special about not being one of the national chains where the kids slap together pizzas as fast as they can.  If your pizza is good that starts buzz, free advertising.  Your customers will be eager to tell their friends about this pizza shop they found.

That's the story behind my newest print "pizza".  In my search through my images I saw this one.  Back when I was stuck on stark black and white I tried this as a print but it, well, sucked in B&W.  I invested some time but this time using color.  I hit an "Oh wow!" moment and here it is.

You can see an even larger view if this print.  CLICK HERE.

July 3, 2010 - Cleveland, Ohio - "ah..." says it all.  At the end of a tough week, a tough month or when you've reached your goal is what I thought of when I titled this newest print.  Maybe the champaign, the martini or the brandy with a cup of coffee.  They all work.

This print originated as one of several photos I did for a commercial photography client.  This one a 4 star restaurant.  With my propensity for black and white this image has just enough color to enhance and be a focal point in the image.  I also liked the formality.  Personally I find this image somehow calming.

For an even larger view of this print...CLICK HERE.

Although this print, as do all of my prints, originated from a photograph what you can't see in even the largest view of this print is the artistic detail this print has giving it the look of a painting.  I wish I could provide larger images for you to fully appreciate the work but, as we all know, they would end up being stolen and printed.

All of my prints are 100% gallery archival quality.  They will not yellow, fade or disintegrate for over 100 years if displayed properly.  The prints are all produced at the time of the order and I hand sign each one before it ships.

DOUGLAS Art Prints® - DOUGLAS Photography, Inc.

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July 2, 2010 - Cleveland, Ohio - "oberlin college" is another of my newest DOUGLAS Art Prints®.  This is an aerial view from a series of photographs I did for the college.  The print itself is not just the photograph.  It is enhanced with an artistic quality giving it the feel of an art work.

Again, investing time away from my commercial photography in my other passion, contemporary art, I reviewed the aerial photos I did of Oberlin College and found the colors of the roofs as well as the surrounding sports facilities points of interest for an art print. Obviously my favored black and white would not work for this print.  An aerial view of anything is always of visual interest.  With the center piece of this aerial being downtown Oberlin, Ohio as well as Oberlin College I thought it worth the investment of time and effort to make it a new print.

For an even larger view of this print...CLICK HERE.

This print, as are all of our prints, is 100% art gallery archival quality. They will not yellow or fade for over 100 years if displayed properly. The prints are all produced at the time of the order and each print is hand signed and by Douglas.

There are more than 350 original Douglas contemporary art prints to select from.

DOUGLAS Art Prints® - DOUGLAS Photography, Inc.

July 2, 2010 - Cleveland, Ohio - This new contemporary art print, "the village" brings to over 350 the total number of DOUGLAS Art Prints® now available from the catalog.  Back to my using color this is a scene from an 1800's European village.

This print originated again from one of my commercial photography assignments.  This client is a store specializing in Christmas all year.  Taking some time away from my commercial photography during this 4th of July holiday I turned my creativity to searching for possible additions to my art prints.  After investing some time manipulating the original photograph I was pleased and added it to my collection.

For a guy that has a propensity for stark black and white "the village" is but one of the several new color prints announced or will be announced soon.

For a larger view of this print... CLICK HERE.

This print, as are all of our prints, is 100% art gallery archival quality. They will not yellow or fade for over 100 years if displayed properly. The prints are all produced at the time of the order and each print is hand signed and by Douglas.

There are more than 350 original Douglas contemporary art prints to select from.

DOUGLAS Art Prints® - DOUGLAS Photography, Inc.

July 1, 2010 - Cleveland, Ohio - In a return to my favored black and white I am pleased to announce another new contemporary art print, "practice". I love the concentration of this young man as he practices.

I didn't shoot this photograph with a new DOUGLAS Art Print® in mind either.  Having some time during this 4th of July holiday week I went through some of my files and found this shot from a series of family photos I had done.  With the parents permission it became my newest DOUGLAS Art Print®.

You can see an even larger view of this print... CLICK HERE.

June 29, 2010 - Cleveland, Ohio - "nap time" is my newest contemporary art print.  This is a switch for me to using color and a switch for me to use animals, in this case a dog, as my subject.

My model's name is Scarlet and she lives with my sister and her family in Solon, Ohio.  If your going to photograph Scarlet chances are it will be napping.

I didn't shoot this with a new contemporary art print in mind at the time.  In fact I shot this months ago and only recently began to look at it as a possible new print.  I really attempted to produce a black and white in my usual and much preferred style but found it had to be in color.  This for me was a challenge but it ended up being a great creative experience.

You can see an even larger view if this print.  CLICK HERE.

October 12, 2009 Cleveland, Ohio - "the dormer" is my newest contemporary art print in my much preferred stark black and white.  This print is of a dormer surrounded by a classic tile roof.  Almost Hitchcockian.

 

This is another example of my finding a subject for one of my attempts at contemporary art while working on a commercial photography assignment.  Actually the home itself was surrounded with trees and shrubs almost obscuring it from sight even from the sidewalk but it was this dormer that caught my attention.  

One of the reasons I like to remove much of the detail and use stark black and white is because I like to leave much of what one sees in my prints to their imagination.  To me it's what you don't see that I like.  In this print of the dormer I couldn't help but wonder what the view would be like from that small roof level window.

In the third and final change in my recent additions to my series of prints based on the belief in "There but for..." I have converted my original Home Sweet Home print from the bold colors to this, my trademark stark black and white.  

 

If you would like to learn more about what was behind this decision to go black and white you can read "The Power of Color to the Imagination of Stark Black & White" that I posted on my commercial photography blog DOUGLAS Photography, Inc. News.

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June 17, 2009 - Cleveland, Ohio - In a second unusual move commercial and fine art photographer Douglas Konkol has replaced an originally released print with a new version.  This new "Ken from Mars II" print replaces the original color version again with Douglas' much preferred stark black and white.

The report from the original version…

June 11, 2009 - Cleveland, Ohio - Ken from Mars II, this is part 3 in a series of DOUGLAS Art Prints® based on "There but for the Grace of God go I"  After working with the homeless on a photo project for the Salvation Army Douglas, contemporary artist, commercial photographer and owner of DOUGLAS Art Prints®, met many of the people we see and ignore every day in large cities across this country.  The experience left him wondering if it was the alcohol that led them there or was it being born without the God given tools most of us have and take for granite? That the alcohol is a coping mechanism and one of the only pleasures available.  

June 17, 2009 - Cleveland, Ohio - In an unusual move commercial and fine art photographer Douglas Konkol has replaced an originally released print with a new version.  This new "Ken from Mars" print replaces the original color version with Douglas' much preferred stark black and white.

The report from the original version…

Ken from Mars, this is part 2 in a series of DOUGLAS Art Prints® based on "There but for the Grace of God go I"  After working with the homeless on a photo project for the Salvation Army Douglas, contemporary artist, commercial photographer and owner of DOUGLAS Art Prints®, met many of the people we see and ignore every day in large cities across this country.  The experience left him wondering if it was the alcohol that led them there or was it being born without the God given tools most of us have and take for granite? That the alcohol is a coping mechanism and one of the only pleasures available.  

The print shown as it would appear in a 22.5 in. X 16.5 in. frame.

Larger View

In this print I do not see a wino or an alcoholic or a bum.  I see the pleasant man I met when I saw him pushing his life's possessions in a shopping cart down a street near downtown Cleveland and stopped and asked if I could do some photographs of him.  He was just as pleased as the people in the Fortune 500 company offices are when I show up to take their photos for a newspaper or magazine.  He very politely introduced himself, "I'm Ken," he smiled.  He offered me some of his beer.

Just like the folks in the Fortune 500 companies he asked me to wait while he changed his shirt. He wanted to look nice for the photos.  He was embarrassed because the shirt he had on had stains on the front.  "I drool  when I sleep and the chewing tobacco stains my shirt," he explained.

Ken and I chatted while I took photos.  In a very pleasant conversation Ken explained that he was sent here from Mars to report back about life on this planet.  He explained this in exactly the same way someone you meet explains they're from Michigan or Wyoming.  If I'd have met him about anywhere else and he said he was from Michigan and not Mars this would have been no different than 1000's of other conversations I have had with about anyone.

There was something else about Ken that impressed me.  He was proud of what he had.  Exactly like any other American who is pleased by what they have accomplished.  The fact that others have bigger homes or more expensive cars doesn't diminish the value of what they have accomplished with the tools God gave them.  It seemed clear that Ken was pleased with what he had based on the tools he had to cope in life.  In fact living on the streets is something many if not most of us could survive but Ken has.  

The other thing that impressed me about Ken was that he didn't ask for money.  I offered him a few bucks and he accepted it with a thank you but he didn't ask.  While I am sure he knew which church or shelter to be at for meals he didn't depend on begging for money.  It was no different than you or I carrying a heavy box and having a neighbor ask if he could help.  We could likely get the box where it was going but we appreciate the help.  There was an independence to Ken.  He appreciated the few bucks when I offered it but somehow I knew he would do fine without it at least in Ken's world living on the streets of Cleveland.

When I look at this print I see a man that is pleased with what he has accomplished with the tools he was given.  When I look at this print I realize that "there but for the Grace of God go I."

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