ABOUT THE ARTWORK
All photographic images were shot exclusively by Howard on location throughout North America. Most were done utilizing conventional 35mm or medium format film cameras and more recently, through digital capture. The film is processed using traditional methods into either small prints or contact sheets.
Enlarged photographs are then printed using one of two techniques. In the traditional approach, the photograph is individually printed by hand in a darkroom onto Kodak Professional paper. For many, including Howard, this is becoming an obsolete process. The alternative method is to print the photographs by way of the “digital darkroom”. In this approach, the negatives of the most pleasing images are first scanned at the highest resolution with a Nikon scanner. (With digital capture, this step is avoided as the image files are downloaded directly from the camera into the software program.) Then, they are digitally “developed” utilizing Photoshop software and the resultant file output onto Kodak Endura or Fuji Crystal Archive Paper using RA4 chemistry. However, during this workflow, it should be stressed that only those techniques characteristic of the traditional darkroom are utilized such as cropping, dodging, burning, color or contrast adjustments. In other words, Howard does not participate in the creation of any photograph (digital or otherwise) which adds elements to an image that were not part of the original shot. To him, the most alluring aspect of photography is the ability to capture a moment that is a credible interpretation of the scene as it took place. He derives no pleasure in manipulating an image to the point where it no longer represents what was there. That, he will leave to the purview of others.
After each photograph is printed, it is dry mounted in a vacuum press onto a rigid PH-neutral foamboard. The photograph will be smooth, flat and will not ripple, bulge or warp. All photographs are double matted in white. Each mat is cut leaving a beveled edge from acid-free museum grade rag board supplied by Bainbridge, an industry leader. This higher grade matboard helps preserve image quality by not exposing the artwork to the acid present in substandard matboards which can eventually burn the image. Howard then hand signs each photograph.
He completes the archival framing using superior materials from exceptional companies such as Nielsen and Larson Juhl. This framing includes the use of conservation glass, a premium glass designed to protect the image from the excessive UV exposure it would likely experience under fluorescent lighting or in direct sunlight. Such exposure can have the effect of fading or washing out the artwork. These raw materials are of a higher quality and cost than what others may choose to use, but they will help preserve the artwork for many years to come. To a discerning buyer, it is a prudent decision.
Howard’s award-winning images of nature have been sold to galleries, greeting card companies, corporations, hospital systems, retail establishments and while on display at some of the finest art festivals throughout the country. They have garnered awards in numerous states where they have been exhibited including the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, PA. They represent purely the God-given beauty that endures across this great land. What you are viewing is what the photographer observed and it is ours to embrace and enjoy for a lifetime.