Technical

THOMAS WELLS PHOTOGRAPHY

Great Britain 2009

The Edge of the Sea
Tall Ships
Small Ships
Connecticut
Lands in Trust
Things Small
The Orient
Paradise
Great Britain
Of Light
Black and White

Shows and Exhibits

Technical Notes
Biography
Contact Info

Technical Notes

The images on this site were taken over a period of over 40 years. Prior to 2003 most were taken with a Nikon EL2 SLR 35mm camera with 20, 28, 50, 135 mm lenses and a 70-210 mm zoom. For many years I used Kodachrome 64 slide film, but I switched to Fuji Provia slide film several years ago because of its very fine grain and wider exposure latitude. I also used a home built 2 ¼ x 3 ¼ and 4x5 field cameras made from Graflex camera parts for color and black and white work with Schnieder and Nikon lenses. In 2001, I started to use Kodak High Speed Infrared black and white film in the EL2 with a #29 red filter. In 2003 I bought a Fuji S2 digital camera and haven't used film since! Now I use a Nikon D300 DSLR, and a Panasonic DMC-G1. The Panasonic has been converted so it can do infrared photography as well as color. When traveling light I use a Canon G-10 that fits in my pocket.

Early on I did my own black and white printing. When I started to do color, printing them myself was no longer an option. I sent transparencies out, but was never satisfied with the results printed by traditional photofinishers. In 1999 I discovered the Giclee print and endeavored to learn the technology and craft to make fine art prints myself. The advent of digital imaging and the Giclee print has created a new avenue of personal control and precision in bringing images from film to paper. For my early images, transparency and negative film was scanned into a digital file using Nikon and Minolta scanners. Since 2003, images are captured in a digital format. The image files are then processed in a computer using Adobe Photoshop to be faithful to the original scene and experience. When printing, I use Epson inkjet printers. For color, I use an Epson 7600 printer with pigmented inks on heavy Hahnemuhle watercolor papers. For black and white, I use an Epson 2200 printer with MIS Hextone pigmented inks.