It was probably Peter McKinnon who reintroduced me to the idea of printing pictures. It could have been Thomas Heaton. It was most likely one of them. In any case, I sent some pictures to the photo lab this afternoon and I’m really glad that I did.
I was almost giddy while pulling the pictures out of the envelopes. They were pictures that I had taken and edited. I’d seen them on my screen several times. I zoomed in on them, touched them up, adjusted levels and curves. In short, I made them look pretty. But, the satisfaction of seeing them in print was unmatched by anything I had looked at on my computer.
The printed pictures have substance. They are tangible. I taped them to the wall. You can run your fingers over them if you want to feel the image on the page or trace the colours. They don’t protrude out at you as beams of light but wait silently for you to admire them quietly. When you turn off the lights they become invisible but remain right where they are, waiting for you to see them again. They don’t scroll away.
The pictures look different. They’re better than I imagined them being. Everything about them is richer. They’ve become embodied.
I like it. I really like it. I’m going to do it again. And, I encourage you to print pictures.
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