There are answers here to as many popular questions as possible. Click on a question in the list below to see the answer. If your question isn't listed here, please feel free to Contact Me – if many people ask it, I'll add it to the list.
Ethical Questions Photography as an art form gives rise to some minor ethical debates. These are questions about where I stand.
Do you enhance your photographs with Photoshop?
Can I download your photos onto my computer?
Do you arrange a scene before you photograph it?
Why don't you review products on your website?
Print Related Questions These questions are included to clear up some finer details about Lightjet prints and my personal approach to printing.
Why does my print have a thin black line around the edges?
How detailed are your prints?
What's so special about a Lightjet print?
How do you make your black and white prints?
Will my print require a custom sized mat / frame?
Technical Questions These are technical support and equipment related questions to do with this website and photography in general.
Why do your photos look strange on my computer?
Why do you still use film? Isn't digital better?
What kind of camera do you use?
General Questions These are questions about my overall approach to photography, and questions that don't fit into the other categories.
Do you display your photography in galleries?
Do you have any tips for beginning photographers?
Do you take pictures of people?
Top Q: Do you enhance your photographs with Photoshop?
A: No. Nothing has been added, removed, or enhanced in any of my photographs. They are all full frame (uncropped) "straight" shots.
Like most photographers, I use Photoshop to post-process my image files, be they from a slide scanner or a digital camera. Scanners and cameras attempt to capture a maximum amount of image information, not an accurate representation of the original object. For scanned film photography, I match the digital file to the original slide. For digital capture, I have no such reference – I have to rely on my memory of the scene and knowledge of how my camera reacts to different subjects.
For my black and white photographs, I use Photoshop like traditional photographers use darkrooms. I digitally adjust the tones and contrast of a photograph, starting with a colour image for more control over the finished product. As with the rest of my work, no objects are ever added or removed.
My photographs are not digitally enhanced, but that does not mean they are an accurate portrayal of reality. While photographing in the field, I use different shutter speeds, aperture settings, lenses, and camera positions to make the photograph look like I want it to. This is all part of the art of photography – I'm showing you what I think about my subject by changing how it looks.
Top Q: Can I download your photos onto my computer?
A: Absolutely! I encourage you to download photographs and documents from my website. I also encourage you to share this material with anyone, digitally or otherwise, as long as you tell them where you got it.
I don't want you to alter or take credit for any of the material on my website. Don't crop, resize, or change any of the photographs, and do make sure that any forwarded text is taken in its original context and is properly credited. If you are displaying any of my material on your website or blog, a link back to MarkRaymondMason.com would be appreciated.
To download a photograph, right click (two-button mouse) or click and hold (one-button mouse), then choose to save the image. Feel free to email the photo, copy and paste the photo into documents, or use the photo as a background on your computer's desktop.
To download photography tutorials, artist's statements, or other documents, click the "Download" button to open a printable pdf version. You can then save the document to your computer and read it later. Feel free to copy it and distribute it to others.
My photography articles are free to copy and distribute. If you enjoy them, please consider making a small donation to an environmental or social charity, such as the World Wildlife Fund (www.wwf.org) or the Red Cross (www.redcross.org).
For more information, please visit my Copyright Information page.
Top Q: Do you arrange a scene before you photograph it?
A: No. All of the photographs on my website are of undisturbed subjects – that is, I didn't change the scene in any way before I made the photograph. That isn't to say that all of the scenes occurred naturally, but none of them were created or altered for the purposes of photography.
I like to photograph accidentally occurring shapes and patterns. I dislike making photographs of things that have been created to look attractive – it feels like I'm plagiarizing someone else's art. Similarly, I don't like setting up scenes for photography – inflicting my influence on a subject would take away some of the imperfection that I'm trying to portray in the photograph.
This is not to say that I disagree with posing scenes when it's done honestly. Still life or portrait photography usually involves posed subjects, and the pose is an extremely important part of the work. However, I find posing a normally "found" object (spraying a flower with water to make it look "dewy" for example), to be dishonest and distasteful.
Top Q: Why don't you review products on your website?
A: From the beginning, I wanted this website to be an advertising-free zone. Advertising, and the resulting pressure to spend money and consume products, has become a huge part of our daily lives. It is not welcome here.
Product reviews are useful, but they're too close to advertising for my personal comfort. Discussion of products can prod the reader to buy things – the same result as an ad. Additionally, I can only recommend what works for me. The best camera for you is the one you can afford and are comfortable using.
Because I don't make money from ads or product reviews, people sometimes ask if I accept donations. I don't – instead, please donate to an environmental or social charity of your choice, such as the World Wildlife Fund (www.wwf.org) or the Red Cross (www.redcross.org). If you would like to support this site, please sign the Guestbook and leave your thoughts for future visitors.
Top Q: Why does my print have a thin black line around the edges?
A: I leave the edges of my film photographs untrimmed after scanning in order to save as much of the image as possible. The edges of a 35mm transparency are not always perfectly crisp, and the scanned image corners are not always perfectly square – this means most images will have a very thin (1-2mm), slightly uneven black border. Print sizes include this border.
Cropping the border would create a clean edge, but would erase some information and remove some of the "character" of the print. If you like, you can cover this black border during matting.
Digitally captured photographs don't have a black line around the edges.
Top Q: How detailed are your prints?
A: My prints are very detailed. Even my large (2 foot by 3 foot) prints are sharp, and hold enough detail to satisfy close inspection.
During every step of the imaging process, I take pains to ensure that my final prints will be as sharp, detailed, and colourful as I can make them. This usually means taking a lot of time for each photograph. It also means rejecting all but the best photographs – out of the many thousands of photographs in my archives, I only choose to show the few that meet high technical standards.
For more information about prints, please visit my Print Information page.
Top Q: What's so special about a Lightjet print?
A: At first glance, a Lightjet print looks similar to other fine photographic prints produced by either traditional or digital methods. On closer inspection, however, a Lightjet print will reveal finer details, better colour accuracy, and more highlight and shadow detail.
To create an image, the Lightjet 5000 digital printer uses fine coloured lasers to expose archival photographic paper. Since the process exposes the paper's emulsions instead of printing with dyes on its surface, the print will resist fading better than many digital photo prints.
A Lightjet print is one of the most accurate, vivid and archival available. To see sizes and prices of Lightjet prints, please visit my Print Information page.
Top Q: How do you make your black and white prints?
A: Somewhat counter-intuitively, I start with a very high quality colour photograph. Using a colour image allows better handling of tone and contrast than capturing a black and white photograph in the field.
Instead of simply desaturating the image, I selectively filter it using techniques similar to traditional black and white photography, brightening tones from some colours while darkening tones from others. This allows me to exercise more control over the photograph than if I were to record in black and white using coloured filters.
Converting a colour image to black and white results in a high-contrast print that suits my photographic style. Like colour prints, black and white prints are made using the Lightjet process.
Top Q: Will my print require a custom sized mat / frame?
A: Some of my photographs have a 2:3 side ratio, and others have a 3:4 side ratio. While printing an image, I maintain these ratios, leaving the image uncropped at its original proportions. Depending on the size, this can produce a print that will not fit in standard picture frames.
Most prints will require custom matting. Some standard frames will fit well – for instance, an 18" x 24" frame looks very natural around a matted 11" x 16.5" print. Alternatively, dry-mounting a print sidesteps the matting problem while producing a very sleek, modern-looking work.
Top Q: Why do your photos look strange on my computer?
A: I prepared my photographs for the web on a typical flat-screen monitor with a typical colour profile. However, computer monitors vary a great deal in the way they display colour, detail, and tonal depth. Unfortunately, my photographs may look quite different on your computer than they do on mine.
The good news is that this website will look roughly the same on most newer monitors if you go through a rough visual calibration routine. To roughly calibrate your monitor please visit my Monitor Setup page.
Top Q: Why do you still use film? Isn't digital better?
A: I'm using a digital camera now, largely for convenience, but much of my work until 2010 was captured on film. When used carefully, film is capable of retaining as much detail as the best digital camera bodies. It was more difficult, frustrating and time-consuming to work with film, but the results were excellent.
I moved into digital photography for a change of pace and to make my photography more spontaneous and creative. Though to my eye the photographs have a slightly different character, the results are still superb.
Top Q: What kind of camera do you use?
A: I like to use small digital cameras with interchangeable lenses because they're portable, lightweight, and capable of excellent results if used carefully. However, these photographs could have been made with using many different types of equipment from many different manufacturers.
Top Q: Do you display your photography in galleries?
A: I have in the past, and I probably will again. However, setting up gallery showings is a time consuming process, and I don't always have the hours to devote to it. Any future gallery showings will be posted on this website. To view prints privately, please Contact Me.
Top Q: Do you have any tips for beginning photographers?
A: When people ask me for photography advice, one of the first things I tell them is to avoid using any kind of formula to create a photograph. Always try to create a photograph from scratch, not from a conceptual template. The results may be less impressive at first, but the style you develop over time will be all your own.
I encourage photographers to appreciate other art forms as well. Many of my favourite visual artists (Claude Monet, Andrew Wyeth, Salvador Dali, Francisco Goya, and Pablo Picasso, among many others) are painters, not photographers. Painters spend more time on a piece, and so spend more time thinking about its style and expressive elements.
I have written some articles, tips and tutorials on a range of subjects relating to photography. To read them, please visit my Photography Tutorials page. Subscribe to my Daily Photo Tips RSS Feed to receive a brief photo tip every day.
Top Q: Do you take pictures of people?
A: I've started to. Since the beginning, I have usually photographed abstract scenes from nature or out-of-the-way urban areas. However, I've always been a little curious about photographing what is arguably the artist's most common muse: the human body. I've created a little work, but the learning curve is steep and I hope that the best is yet to come.
I've also compiled a small collection of lifestyle photos in my More Photos page, showing my family and friends on various adventures. I don't concentrate on this type of photography, but once in awhile I like to make photographs of the incredible environments we find ourselves in.