A frame is necessary for any picture because it stops the movement in the lines of the picture. The frame also provides the transition between the picture and the wall on which it is hung.

The size of a picture, the subject matter, movement, color, and the medium in which it is done all affect the choice of a frame. One general rule applies to all frames: they must not attract attention away from the pictures. That eliminates at the start all highly ornamented, glittery, gilded frames such as adorn many of the oil paintings in our museums, in our homes, and in dealers' shops. It is difficult to understand how such vulgarity in framing has been accepted so generally. The Whistler frames, still obtainable, are the result of the revolt of a great artist against pretentious frames.

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Minneapolis’s Orchestra Hall will soon be partially covered with large-scale photographs of the Minnesota Orchestra and music director Osmo Vänskä, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

About a quarter of the hall’s exterior will be covered in computer-generated images nearly 65 feet high for the opening of the orchestra’s season on September 14. The murals will be in place for at least a few months, and perhaps for the whole season.

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What a great idea for using large digital prints. Try pitching this to an arts group in your area. Dancers, Symphonies, POPS Orchestras... even local rock bands... who knows, could go over, ahem, big!

Framing a Photograph:
Important Decisions to be Made

The frame, mount and mat are a picture’s “home,” meaning somewhere that it belongs. There are three reasons why we want our pictures to have a home. Two are practical and one is based on esthetics.

Support for ease of viewing - At its simplest, framing acts as a support system for optimum viewing of a picture. It keeps the image flat and permits it to be easily placed upright on a wall or other support at a suitable viewing height.

Protection - This is an even more important consideration. Quality photographs need to be protected from dirt, grime and other environmental factors such as light, moisture and contact with poor-quality paper products that have high-acid content. No matter how careful you are, every time you handle a photograph with direct touch, you risk transferring harmful materials. The natural acids in your hands can act to break down the surface of your photo.

Artistic - The third, a very important consideration, is the artistic and esthetic value proper framing can add to your photograph. Framing should (1) celebrate and enhance your picture, even glorify it; (2) set the boundaries so the photograph doesn’t overwhelm its environment, or the environment doesn't impose on the picture; and (3) act as a transition between the wall and the image. Framing can also draw the eye to the picture, emphasizing the more subtle elements and colors, and even increasing the apparent size of the image.

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The Gigapixel Project
Really big digital images

Defining the upper limits of large-format photography, digital scanning and image processing, custom-built Gigapxl™ cameras capture images with unprecedented resolution.

It would take a video wall of 10,000 television screens or 600 prints from a professional digital SLR camera to capture as much information as that contained in a single Gigapxl™ exposure.

The Project's near-term goal is to compile a coast-to-coast Portrait of America; photographing her cities, parks and monuments in exquisite detail.

A longer term goal is to create for future generations a world-wide archive of vanishing cultural and archaeological sites.

More at the GigaPixel Project

DIY Panoramic Camera

Our project this month is a procedure for turning a 4x5, 5x7, or 8x10 view camera into a panoramic model that makes two or three images on a single sheet of film. Specialty cameras that produce these expansive views are available, but they are costly and generally useable only for panoramic photography. This project is fairly inexpensive and, as no internal changes are made, allows the modified camera to be returned to regular, full-format use at any time. The use of standard-size sheet film gives a wide range of emulsion choices, eliminates the tedium of hand-cutting raw film to fit "mongrel" holders, and does away with the surcharge sometimes placed on odd-sized film by processing labs.
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