During my trip to France last month, I was given permission to photograph the Canson paper mill in Annonay France. This has never been done before, so I was really thankful and grateful for their trust.

During my tour, it was fascinating to learn how paper is made, and how difficult it is to create just the right texture, feel, color, and finish that will appeal to painters and photographers. To learn that artists such as da Vinci, Monet, Picasso, Degas, and Van Gogh used Canson paper, and that many of the originals in the Louvre Museum in Paris were painted on Canson paper is both impressive and speaks volumes about their quality and legitimacy. I came away with a deeper respect for the pride they take in paper making, as well as their commitment to being green and environmentally friendly.

Because Canson does not allow any photography during public tours, I couldn’t take any photos but kept wishing I could after seeing how impressive the mill was. I thought it would be great to show my blog readers (you) some behind the scenes images, so after some friendly negotiation, I was allowed to return to the mill camera in hand, with full clearance. I promised to let them approve all photos first before I made any public. They will also be using some for their own promotion.

I hope you enjoy this inside look at paper making, and learn something in the process about the value of quality in all of our creative materials and tools.

Quick Facts

• First papers made in 1557 for writing and books
• 1809 – first tracing paper
• 1947 – Canson supplies all paper for school students in France
• Raw materials used to make paper: wood pulp, water, bleach pulp, fillers (calcium), starch, dyes, sizing agents, steam (to dry paper)
• Fourdrinier – machine used to make the paper
• Capacity – 1 roll per hour (each roll is 3 tons , 2.6 meters wide)

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Raw materials used for paper making

Raw materials entering the manufacturing process

Paper pulp ready for the "Fourdrinier Machine"

The huge and loud Fourdrinier machine where the paper is rolled out to exhaustive quality standards.

The "wire" where the water is separated from the pulp

The “wire” from overhead – moves very fast and I had to make sure not to drop anything, otherwise the whole plan would have to stop because of me!

Canson Technical Director Philippe Noblet explaining how the texture of the paper is tested daily for consistency.

Then final roll which weighs 3 tons and is 8 feet wide – ready for testing and cutting into proper sizes. These papers are used by artists as is. Inkjet papers are then sent to another processing plant to revive the inkjet receptive coating. Otherwise, the papers are the same in quality and feel.

Cut sheets ready for boxing

Rolls ready for the converting plant

And here’s how the machine looked 100 years ago – these images from the Canson Museum.

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Annonay, France

I’m finally back from my trip to Annonay France, where I spent 10 days working with Canson at their bi-yearly customer appreciation event. As a Canson ambassador (more info to come), it was a fantastic experience to learn both about the history and heritage of Canson, as well as the French culture itself. To say that I enjoyed wine, cheese, and great food would be an understatement, so I am definitely spoiled now when it comes to a good dining experience.

Customers from around the world were invited to spend a few days at a beautiful resort learning about Canson products, the paper making process, and the history of the company. They were then given tours of the various Canson facilities, including the paper mill, the world wide distribution center, and the museum. It was interesting to learn how paper is made, all of the quality standards that are used, and how how they strive to make the process as green as possible. In the digital paper seminar, I spoke about which papers I use and how I chose them, my printing workflow, and my photography business in general. This gave customers an artist perspective as well as ideas for working with photographers in their own local regions.

Speaking to Canson customers in the digital seminar

Customers came from around the globe, and I really enjoyed meeting them and learning about their culture and way of life.  Represented countries included Norway, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, Dubai, Pakistan, Chile, Czechoslovakia, Turkey, Korea, and others I may have forgotten. This was truly an eye opener for me as someone who has never traveled abroad.

Conference Center and Golf Course

2 days later...

I was asked to make a portrait of each guest which was then printed and matted (on Canson paper of course), and given as a gift of appreciation. While I do not market myself as a portrait photographer, it is one of my personal passions, so this was a great chance to practice and have fun with the guests. I used a combination of my Canon 60D with a Sigma 30mm f/1.8 lens, and a Panasonic GH2 with the 20mm f/ 1.7 lens. Both lenses are fast and perfect for natural light portraits, so it was just a matter of finding great window light and experimenting. BTW- with the crop sensors in each camera, that works out to 47mm and 40mm respectively, a decent focal length for portrait work.

I also visited Lyon, the largest city in the area, which is rich in history, culture, and architecture. While my time there was limited, I did visit some of the key areas of the city including the largest cathedrals and old neighborhoods which date back hundreds of years.

Rhone River

City Square

St Johns Cathedral

Classic Lyon courtyard

Lyon cityscape

I’ll have more info and photos on the rest of my trip in part II – stay tuned!

Canson booth – PhotoPlus Expo 2011

Tomorrow I am heading to southern France as an invited guest of Canson Infinity for their “Customer Appreciation Days” yearly event. Basically they invite their best customers from around the globe to join them in a week long educational conference where they learn about all of their newest products (mostly fine art papers and canvas’) and how best to use them. As an official evangelist, my role is to talk about why I use Canson papers for my own work, my fine art printing workflow, and my landscape photography in general. I’ll also be taking many photos of the event, and Canson will be using these for promotion and web use.

While I’m taking my full gear bag with me, I’ll be using my Pansonic GH2 with a Lumix 20mm f/1.7 panacake lens for the event photos. I haven’t used this camera much for still photos (using it mostly for video), so this will give me a chance to put the camera to work, and also dive into the new Lightroom 4 beta.

I’m deeply honored for this opportunity, and also really excited about traveling to France for the first time. I’m not sure how much free time I’ll have to shoot some landscapes, but I’ll keep you updated here with photos and updates. I’ll be there for 10 days so hopefully I’ll find time to sneak away into nature!

Fundy Tide, NS

One of my goals on my recent  trip to Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy was to try and make more black and white images, since it has always been a great way for me to study and work on compositional skills. Along the Bay of Fundy,  the large variation in the tide is constantly changing the landscape, and the more time I spent along the shore, the more I became fascinated with the limitless lines, shapes, and forms along the coast. Learning to focus in on areas of contrast, and how they lead the eye is a skill that may take a lifetime to master, but is so vital to creating successful photographs.

In both of these images, I have tried to lead the eye to what I found most interesting in the scene, but they get there in different ways. “Fundy Tide” above primarily uses highlights to bring out the accents in the image – brighter rocks, flowing water, and the beautiful clouds lingering on the horizon. “Rocks and Tide” below uses the shadows and the rich darkness of the large rocks in the foreground to create interest, and help focus the eye on the tiny shells clinging to the rocks. The sky helps to balance the brightness of the water and keep the viewer moving back to the foreground.

Rocks and Tide, NS

In “Trees, Irving Nature Park” below, lines created by trees always excite me visually, and the patterns and repetitions they create are what always draw me into spending as much time as I can in a forest like this- serene, majestic, yet intimate. While I photographed just the vertical trees, this version with the horizontal tree in the foreground helps to anchor the image a bit more in my opinion, and create some tension, especially with the two other horizontal trees moving the eye up towards the middle of the image.

Trees, Irving Nature Park, NB

The photographic possibilities along the Bay of Fundy are not only truly inspiring, but limitless in terms of where your interests lie, whether that is landscapes, wild life, macro and intimate scenes, or the maritime experience of boats, people, fishing, etc,. I will be returning this October during the fall season to explore so many areas that I visited yet did not have the time to photograph.

I have written here in the past about how familiarity is so important to really capturing the character of a place, as well as your emotions and feelings. Every time I visit Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy I learn a little bit more about myself and why I continue to return. The whole point is to share those feelings with others, and of course remind inspired to be creative. I hope this gives you some food for thought and helps you find your way in your own work. Thanks for reading!

Below are a few examples of areas that were inspiring and are on my list to return to in October.

Delap Cove, NS

Pot Rock, NB

Brier Island, NS

Hemlocks and Hardwoods Trail, Kejimkejik National Park, NS

I’ve been traveling in New Brunswick and southern Nova Scotia over the last two weeks on a much needed family vacation, so that’s the main reason for my lack of activity on the blog recently. I typically try and take some time off in August before the busy fall schedule starts, both personally and professionally. It’s been a very busy first half of the year for me so far, and the remainder looks no different. I have no complaints, and can only be grateful for the opportunity to spend my time doing what I love to do – for me that is the essence of humility.

Exposed Rocks, Bay of Fundy, NS

The Bay of Fundy in northeastern Canada is world renowned for it’s amazing tides, up to 40 ft in some places, and this creates some very unique landscapes to photograph. I spent most of my time on the peninsula of Nova Scotia, which is southwest of  Cape Breton Island which I visited and photographed last year. I also had a chance to visit Kejimkujik National Park  which has great canoeing and biking trails, plus offers amazing photographic opportunities.  I was specifically interested in a section of the park that contains a rare stand of old growth hard wood trees, and a rainy day provided great light and mood- perfect for image making.

Tidal Pools, Bay of Fundy, NS

We also visited Bay of Fundy National Park and Fundy Trail in New Brunswick, places I definitely plan to visit again in the future. I enjoyed mountain biking with the family, as well as visiting many of the ports and harbors in the area. Of course my main interest was the amazing seascapes along the coast, so I’ll be uploading more images over the next few days as I get more time to process my raw files. I also plan to create some Lightroom videos showing how I processed the images. Stay tuned…

Parker Cove, Nova Scotia

In addition to photography, I also shot HD video on my recent trip to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia with the intent of combining the video and stills into a short film. I shot video with my hacked Panasonic GH1, the stock 14-140mm lens and a Canon FD 20mm lens. The hack enables much higher bit rates than the factory firmware, which results in much more detailed video, cleaner shadows, and better files for post editing.

DSLR’s cameras that shoot video have opened a whole new world for those who want to explore new creative possibilities, and I really enjoy the challenge and rewards of experimenting and finding new ways to convey a story. I’m learning a great deal each time I work on these projects, and have a bunch more planned for the near future. In addition, my commercial clients are excited about the new possibilities it brings to communicate their message in the digital age. Enjoy this short film, and as always, please feel free to leave feedback and/or leave any questions.

Tech Notes

I shot this film at 1280×720/ 30 fps (Motion JPEG) and the slow motion shots were 60 fps (AVCHD). Both were converted to 24 fps using Apple Compressor. I edited in Final Cut Pro and color graded using Magic Bullet Looks (an incredible plugin). All filming was done on a tripod, and I used a Zoom H4N for field audio.

Now also available on the Beyond the Lens Video Podcast!

Canon 1Ds Mk III, 4 min @f/16, ISO 100, 19mm (17-40mm f/4 L)

Having scouted this beach the day before, I was up at 4am to get to this spot before sunrise. Noticing there was probably not going to be much color given the clouds on the horizon, I decided to work with long exposures and the strong blue color of twilight. It took some time to work out a composition that was pleasing to me given all of the rocks along the shore. I am always looking for simplicity, and I struggled quite a bit to come to terms with the the patterns here. But I just couldn’t get away from the beautiful rhythm these rocks create and how the balance the sky so well moving from left to right. Telling a story is the point of it all, and I was in awe of how these rocks were formed over millions of years and how they are constantly shaped by the forces of the sea.

CREATIVE NOTES:

For this image, I used my 6 stop ND filter to cut down the light significantly and allow me to use a 4 minute exposure. This enhances the blue color as well as create a more surreal effect with the water and rocks – nothing new but I still love the effect! Using an ND filter this strong can be tricky since I can barely see what I’m looking at once it’s on, so I set up the composition and exposure beforehand, then put the filter on and calculate the new exposure based on reducing the light 6 stops. For example, at f/16 the exposure was 4 sec, but once I add the 6 stop filter, the exposure becomes 240 sec, or 4 mintes. Calculating exposures in the field is critical for this type of work, but the calculator in my iphone works great, and there are also iphone apps (Photo Buddy) that will calculate this as well.

So far I am in awe of this place, so much to experience and photograph, it is a paradise for nature lovers and photographers. I have been spending 14 hours plus in the field scouting, hiking, and trying yo get a feel for the area. It is beautiful and the scenery is very enjoyable, but it is hard work nonetheless. Here are a few images from the trip so far, as well as a video I posted on Facebook. More soon…

I’m on the road today to Cape Breton National Park, Nova Scotia for a week of hiking, cycling, and of course landscape photography. I’ve never visited this part of Canada, so I’m really excited about exploring the coastline and mountains in the region. I’m looking to add more images to my collection of seascapes, and will also be working on star trails and time lapse videos.

I’ll try to post updates and photos here on a regular basis, but it will depend on internet access in this rather remote part of Nova Scotia. I’ve driven 12 hours today, and I have another 5 tomorrow before I arrive at the cabin I’m “borrowing”. More to come soon including what gear I packed, and how I process and backup my RAW files remotely.

Unfortunately the August Desktop Wallpaper will be late due to the fact I just plain forgot with all the preparations and packing for this trip.  Sorry for the delay!

Farmland in Columbia County NY preserved by Scenic Hudson

I’ve been on the road quite a bit the last few weeks, and I’m off to the Adirondacks for six days starting tomorrow. When I return I’ll be preparing for a long drive to week in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia for a week, followed by a two week stay in northern Maine. Overall, I’m trying to take advantage of the summer months since I have a very busy art show and workshop schedule in the fall. The fact that my family gets to accompany me on some of these trips is something I am always grateful for.

While in town, I’ve  been working on many photo shoots for Scenic Hudson, as well as the 2011 calendar , the new edition of the Photo Journal, and other marketing projects. Let’s just say I  haven’t had much time for writing as of late, but I am motivated and committed to continue to provide valuable info for you as often as possible. A few of the articles I have in the works include how I stay motivated on and off the trails, a review of my current favorite backpacks, and how zen and nature photography make a powerful combination.

In the meantime, look for new images from the northern Adirondacks in the days ahead!