I now have available the first of some very high resolution pictures
suitable for printing up to poster size, these can be downloaded at modest cost
or professionally printed as prints, posters as well as on mouse mats, place
mats and even puzzles.
Visit my Zenfolio
Galleries to view and purchase.
Introduction
For 6 months using Photobucket for image hosting was a pain, frequently 50% of up loads were failing, then 50% of
reloads failing etc. loading images had become tedious and there were also
a number of outages. I gave Google Photos a try but there were issues there as
well. So I bit the bullet and, at some cost, moved to
Zenfolio, a site
used by professional photographers to host and sell their pictures. All of my
pictures previously on Google Photos have now been moved to
Zenfolio, all new
pictures will go there and I will gradually migrate photos from Photobucket to
the new service.
 |
| Coasters, mouse mat and a large print. |
One of the facilities provided by
Zenfolio is a
direct link to various photo processing laboratories, of which I am using
Photobox, the largest processor in Europe. Photographs can now be purchased on
line in various sizes – up to large poster size for high resolution images – as
well as some specialist items such as coasters, place mats and mouse mats.
Images can also be downloaded for personal use (for professional use please
contact me directly). However this service needs to be used with some caution as
explained below.
I have set up three sections on the
Zenfolio site,
the largest initially is the “Active” section which will host all higher
resolution pictures used on my website accessed by clicking “more pictures” or
similar. When watches are deleted from the main web site the photos will be
moved to the “Archive” section. Thirdly there is a section described as “Hi-Res”
where selected high resolution pictures will be stored to support printing up to
45” x 30”.
Pricing
Pricing is largely driven by Photobox with a service fee
going to
Zenfolio and a modest royalty coming to me which I hope will
offset some of the cost of the image hosting service.
“Hi-Res” pictures.
A limited number of photos will have some degree of
print optimisation and will be loaded in high resolution (up to 24 Mega Pixels)
to allow very large prints to be made.
Given the price of each print in
large format it is not possible for me to get professionally printed samples of
each picture for quality control purposes so instead I have purchased a few
sample prints in large and smaller formats plus some coasters, a mouse mat etc.,
so as to get a better understanding of what is required to get a good print
using this technology. I have also printed the same pictures on my office
printer for comparison and will “proof print” new photographs locally for some
degree of quality control.
But please remember I am an amateur
photographer of landscapes and other “non-watch” subjects and despite picture
credits from the BBC and Vanity Fair, I do not class myself as a professional
photographer so, especially with the photos not in the “Hi-Res” section, it is
down to the buyer to satisfy him or herself as to the suitability of the image
for the purpose intended.
“Active” and “Archived” pictures.
Photos in these sections are
supporting my main web site selling watches, as such they are intended to show a
fair representation of what the watch looks like and so have not been retouched
or optimised for printing. Photoshop has been used to adjust exposure, to remove
colour casts and for cropping but not to otherwise manipulate the
images.
As images prior to June 2016 have been stored at around 1 Mega
Pixel resolution and tightly framed they will generally not be suitable for
printing in all formats or in larger sizes. Optimisation of the exposure has
been biased towards showing detail on the watch which in many cases has resulted
in the white background looking grey or blue / grey to avoid “washing out”
detail on the watch.
From the end of May 2016 I increased the image size
of new photos from the previous 1024 pixels per side and will not frame as
closely to give more flexibility in cropping for different print formats and to
support larger prints.
However due to the number of pictures they have
not been proof printed, either by me or by Photobox so the service is used at
the buyers risk.
I still have photos at 1 Megapixel for almost a thousand
watches that I have sold over the last few years and most can be upload if
requested by the purchaser of the watch.
Photo Prints
On high quality FujiFilm “Crystal Archive” photographic
paper from 6” x 4” and 5” x 5” through to 45” x 30” (cropping required) for the
highest resolution images.
Showcase Items
- Mounted Acrylic Prints.
- Canvas Wraps.
- Aluminium Mounted Prints.
Speciality Items
- Coasters & Place Mats.
- Mouse Mats – note that due to the textured surface of the mat, required to allow an optical mouse to work correctly, pictures do not appear as sharp as when printed on paper.
- Puzzles.
Digital Downloads.
Pictures can be downloaded for personal
non-commercial use only:
-
Individually for high resolution pictures.
- Any 15 in low / medium resolution from “Active” or “Archive”, up to 3 Mega Pixels but mainly 1 Mega Pixel for pictures prior to June 2016 and around 2 Mega Pixels in 3:2 format or 1.4 Mega Pixels in square format.
For commercial
use, please contact me to discuss.
The buyer of the watch will, on
request, receive a 75% discount voucher for a digital down load for personal
non-commercial use (Coming soon).
Once purchased
Zenfolio retain
the images and order for 30 days in case downloads fail.
I was therefore rather surprised to find that the movement
was by the Lancashire Watch Company, whilst the CWMCo entered into an agency
(and pricing) agreement with the LWC to make good the CWMCo's lack of capacity to
meet demand, this was for ebauché to be finished by local makers such as
Yeomans. But this movement is a standard LWC product.
