On Wednesday, Aaron, Alex and I made a trip to the Central Coast to have a look at Ken Duncan‘s gallery. These panoramic images have to be viewed on large prints to be appreciated well enough. So much detail is captured that even while standing right in front of the print everything still looks pin sharp! The crappy jpeg’s for viewing online does nothing in terms of representing its true quality and grandeur.
After spending some time viewing Ken’s work and chatting with the friendly staff, our next stop was the Created for Life (CFL) framing studio which happens to be owned by Ken too. All of his work is done exclusively by CFL(naturally) with perhaps the best in printing and framing technology. Prints are done with Fujiflex Crystal Archival paper which are then mounted using Archival Gold to ensure maximum longevity.
I wanted to make a stop there to enquire about the products they offer and to see first hand the range of frames available. I had a really great time picking out the frames I will be using for my landscape prints. I felt like I was a kid in a candy store and I was so happy that they had everything I had in mind. Here’s the 6 frames I chose 
You can probably tell i’m biased towards wood with the aluminium frame left out in the first 2 pictures. Anyway, I posted these 3 different shots to show how they’d look like under slightly different lighting conditions and angles. I particularly like the 2 darker ones as they look almost black but actually have a very subtle shade in brighter conditions. The mahogany one looks really sexy too 
I can’t wait for my own samples to arrive so I can match them to my own work.
It was already almost 5.30pm and the print lab was closed when we were done at the framing studio so we’ll have to come back another day – hopefully it will be to pick up some of my work! By the way, CFL does both printing and framing although they’re at 2 different locations.
With the help of our British accent GPS lady we decided to head to Norah Head Lighthouse to catch the sunset, about 30 mins from where we were. Got there ahead of time so we scouted the area for the best location. The sky was clear without much clouds which resulted in a pretty bland sunset.
I shot mostly with the 617 and X-Pan but I did get to squeeze in a digital proof on the 40D. I’m hoping the ones on film will turn out better. Here’s the shot.
We stayed on till the sun was down and made our way back up to the car. It was quite a long climb up the stairs and man did my thigh and calf muscles burn! My camera bag loaded with 3 cameras and accessories didn’t help either. You think taking photos is an easy thing to do, think again! 
Eventually we got back to the car, relieved of the muscle burning and back to the luxuries of air conditioning, only to find the gate LOCKED on our way out! We then noticed a sign that says gate will be locked an HOUR after sunset! Luckily there was a number we could call for help to open up the gates but at a price of $55. Eventually someone came after the call and according to him the gates actually close at 6.30pm. Great job of putting up a useless sign post fellas, perhaps a fixed time would be better??? When I paid him the unlock fee the guard actually said “Just $50 will do”, which really makes me wonder if he just pocketed the money. No forms were filled and not even a receipt was given.
Anyway, we got back to Sydney around midnight and we were starving by then! Superbowl came to the rescue as usual for any late night chomping.
I have shot about 16 rolls of Velvia to develop so i’ll be dropping them by the lab tomorrow. I really hope the shots turned out great otherwise the trip to Norah Head Lighthouse would’ve been a huge waste of time and money. Do check back in a couple of days as i’ll be uploading those shots as soon as I get them scanned.
Lesson learnt: Make sure to take note of any gate closures before parking inside or park somewhere else!