Holiday Print Sale 2013 (Updated)

This year's print sale is now over.

All prints will be shipped on Dec. 10.

It’s time for my annual Holiday Print sale. The goal is to get prints under some Christmas trees which will eventually make their way onto the walls of some photography lovers. As always, this year’s selection is half priced, but this year the shipping is also free. The prints are made with pigment ink on archival paper. Signed on the front, signed and dated on the back, and come with a certificate of authenticity.

This time I’ve widen the selection a bit. There are a couple old favorites as well as some new pieces. Orders will be accepted until December 9th. All orders will be shipped no later than Dec. 10th. I won’t be accepting or shipping international orders this year. The costs and hassle is just too much (I’m sorry to say).

SPECIAL UPDATE:

Thank you all for the great response to this year’s print offer. It gives me great joy to deliver these collectable prints at such a great price. To express my thanks, here’s a holiday surprise to wrap things up (you’ll have to supply the actual gift wrapping yourself).

Two of my most popular prints, together for less than half price. 

This offer ends promptly at noon (MST) on December 9, 2013.

I’m trying to create a win/win situation, so please don’t call me after the deadline because you hesitated and missed out. As of this writing you’ve got less than seven days so make your order today.

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images © 2013

“Bathers” was made in New York City during the summer of 1990.

Like “Under the Boardwalk” since originally appearing in Time Magazine, this image has been widely reproduced over the years since. It too is a favorite of collectors and also a personal favorite of mine (I have both prints hanging in my home). 

 

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images © 2013

“Trombone Santa” was made in Philadelphia in December of 2001.

This image was made for U.S. News & World Report a couple months after 9/11. I traveled around the country for the magazine and attempted to capture the mood of the country at the time. I included this image in last years sale and not a single print was ordered. I think it’s a powerful image which transcends the documentary nature and speaks on a number of levels. I’m not going to dissect it here, but if it speaks to you then it should be in your collection.

 

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images © 2013

“Tonapah Range with Cow” was made in Nye County, Nevada in April of 2008.

Yes, it’s a cow not a bull. I made that mistake, misidentifying the gender of a bovine, in the very first image I had published and I’m not about to make it again (long story). This is big country and a cow might just have use for her horns now and then. The print just sings. Graphically it’s very strong and the black & white tones are gorgeous.

 

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images © 2013

“Montana Sweat” was made near Wyola, Montana in December of 1991.

Towards the end of a Sports Illustrated assignment to document Native American basketball on the Crow Reservation in Montana I was honored to be invited to a family’s sweat. It was brutal. Thankfully, they advised me to get out after the first three rounds before things got really hot.

 

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images © 2013

“Under the Boardwalk” was made in New York City during the summer of 1990.

This image has been widely reproduced over the years since it was originally produced for Time Magazine in their “Rotting of the Big Apple” cover story. It is a fan favorite and also a personal favorite. I love the idea of making it available at this price. 

 

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images © 2013

“Beach Jump” was made in Maputo, Mozambique in October of 2004.

I was in Mozambique doing a piece on former child soldiers with legendary writer Joe Galloway (if you haven’t already, or you need an excuse to be thankful this holiday season, you gotta read his book). Moments don’t get too much more decisive then this. If a single element was out of place, the entire image would fall apart. The layering happening in this image is sweet too. To up the ante, the image was made on Tri_X with a genuine Leica M6.

 

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images © 2013 

“Stick Woman” was made in Ethiopia during the winter of 2002.

It’s a classic, and another healthy reminder to constantly count our blessings. This woman (along with others) carries a load of sticks like this eight miles everyday. If you look at the image and squint, you just might be able to see a (cartoonish) head of a lion formed by her silhouette. It took the eyes of a child to reveal that to me, so I can’t take credit for it. I chalk it up to the magic of photography.

 

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images © 2013

“Fromberg Lover’s Lane” was made in Fromberg, Montana in October of 2013.

I wanted to raise the level of difficulty a bit by trying to make five images that work together as a single piece. I call it the “Five Series”. The single images are strong, but together they’re stronger and work to create a fun narrative.

 

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images © 2013

“Wire Ball” was made in Carbon County, Montana in October of 2013.

The ball of wire was found “as is” in the high country of Carbon County, Montana (not to far from the Pryor Mountains). Whoever left it there wasn’t trying to create art. It’s cool and makes an interesting form study which works on a wall.

 

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images © 2013

“Boys and Hogs” was made at the Montana State Fair in August of 2009.

I love making pictures at the fair. There’s no better place to hunt for images of classic Americana. As they’re waiting to compete in the finals, you can see how these boys have bonded with their animals.

 

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Images © 2013

“Grabbing Air” was made during the Beijing games in August of 2008.

This was not an easy image to make, but I think being strapped to a catwalk for a couple of hours in 105 degree heat was totally worth it. Moments like these are why I love to photograph sports. It’s eye-candy to be sure, but it’s also captures a peak moment of athletic ability.

If you don’t like using the buttons, I will also accept a personal check. Please email me at,

ken(at)kennethjarecke(dot)com

Many thanks, and please have a blessed holiday, a Merry Christmas and a Happy Chanukah!

New Work

Kenneth Jarecke / Contact Press Images © 2013

It's always fun to start working on a new body of work. That is, until you actually pick up a camera and start shooting. That's when self-doubt tries to make a special guest appearance. It should have it's own theme music. Like Bob Hope strutting onto the Tonight Show stage to crush the dreams of the young comic who just saw his three minutes evaporate, never to return.

Fair warning, I'm going on about five minutes of sleep here (had to make a 30 second TV appearance early this morning). I'm trying to talk sense about these images, but really there's no telling where this piece will end up.

The idea behind this work was a challenge, but also practical in nature. I'm not known for my vertical work (just ask any photo editor who ever hired me to make a cover for them). I've always figured life was a mostly horizontal event, so my pictures should follow suit. To me, shooting vertical was also another variable, and when you're shooting real-life, which is nothing if not varied, eliminating the variables you have control over seemed like a plan.

At the same time, to avoid becoming stale or predictable, I've always worked to push the envelope (I love pushing envelopes as much as buttons).

Young photographers take note, pushing the envelope is probably not the wisest career move in an industry that considers stale and predictable a good thing.

Kenneth Jarecke / Contact Press Images © 2013

Staying on task...

Shooting vertical, as well as forcing me to see a little differently, also allowed me to do something fun with the printing of these images. The idea was to make big prints on my 17" wide Epson. Putting five separate images in a row allowed me to make a 54" print... roughly the length needed to fill the space over a photography collector's couch.

That'd be my entrepreneur side showing.

A big print, actually five biggish prints, from a smallish sized printer on one sheet of paper... genius. The added bonus is the quality of each image is roughly the resolution needed to turn Ansel Adams green with envy (there's a mathematical formula available to calculate this resolution, but I'm not able to find the link at this time).

There's the practical side.

Kenneth Jarecke / Contact Press Images © 2013

Finally, five images in a row give me the chance to tell a little story. The print equivlent of Vine. Sometimes the story is interesting, at other times the story is quite literally "barbwire art", which is how I refer to much of the artwork available here in Montana.

And that was the creative side.

Nailed it.

This new body of work will debut tonight at the Toucan Gallery in Billings, Montana. I cannot promise you that I'll make anymore sense when you see me in person this evening.

Now, speaking of horizontal life, I need to get in some nappy time.

 

Old Cowboy #5

© 2013 Kenneth Jarecke / Contact Press Images

 

Is this a cliché? It certainly feels like one. Not because of anything I did (or failed to do). The light was what it was. The cowboy is who he is. So, what do you want me to do, not shoot it? Still, at this point it has about as much freshness to it as those Twinkies I've got stored in the root cellar.

Like the zombies I'm waiting on before digging into those golden, cream filled beauties, there's just no life left in this picture. That's the problem with clichés. By showing it you're telling the world you've got nothing new to add to the conversation and you probably kill your chance of getting a new client. Or do you?

I looked through a ton of professional photographer's websites today and my eyes feel like they've been clichéd right out (not that there's anything wrong with that, we've all got bills to pay). These are busy, successful folks, shooting big jobs for big clients, so what gives?

Listen, I've got no answers to this one. I'm just starting the conversation. Do you show the expected stuff to prove you can do that kind of work? Do you show your favorite work and hope the art buyers can make the visual leap? Do you show the stuff you love and would like to get paid to make?

These are the type of questions that always come up when it's time to buff up the website. Personally, I like to show what I like, but I'm not sure that's the wisest business plan.

Then there's the actually editing part too. When it comes to editing my own work, I'm my own worst enemy. Not fun and I always show too much.

At the end of the day, I've got no place on my soon-to-be-updated website for this image. That's where I'm at.

For the record, I use aPhotoFolio for my website needs. The best design, admin, and support by far. They give me one less thing to worry about.

As far as the above image goes, it was made on a first generation EOS 5D with Canon's 85 f1.2. The metadata tells me a stopped down to f1.8 (at 1/80th of a second) and it shows in the bokeh. No need to do that again (live and learn), as I'm not sure the extra 1/16th of an inch of depth of field was worth it.

Now, I think I read that somebody was going to start making Twinkies again... I know, I promised. No zombies, no Twinkies, but now might be a good time to "rotate" the stock.