Contact prints are universally valued for their remarkable qualities of optical sharpness, fine detail, and sensual textures. Contact printing has evolved to a forceful aesthetic today, one of purity and perfection that is actively practiced by Guild members. The decision to make hand-made contact prints reflects a method of working that necessitates contemplation. It is a time-consuming process that records each detail in the print quality to achieve the unsurpassed graphic and textural form present in each print.

Above is an example of this: “Couple of Stones, Alaska,” by George Provost, just one of the gallery of fine prints available in our Store. Because we understand the difficulty of seeing the true beauty of a contact print from a scanned image on your computer, we offer an unconditional guarantee. If you are not satisfied with any photograph you have purchased from the online Store, you can return it for a refund. We currently have well over 250 photographs available for sale. Just click on the link below to quickly and easily view our catalog. The Store is a secure site that allows you to purchase using your credit card or PayPal account.

Click here to visit our Store.

Two Guild members, Matthew Magruder and John Wimberley, have gone multi-media recently. Last month the Texas Country Reporter interviewed and filmed Matt, along with his colleagues on the Texas Church Project (Mike Castles, Lee Carmichael, Jeremy Moore, and David Brown) while they were out photographing churches near Waco. The Texas Country Reporter is a regional TV program aired all across the State of Texas on Sunday mornings. The show featuring them is tentatively set to air sometime in the month of April, to help promote the TCP group’s first exhibition, opening May 7. For the latest information on the specific air date for the interviews, please visit the Texas Church Project web site.

In addition, John Wimberley’s work is the subject of a one-hour, PBS style film to be produced by a documentary film maker. The project begins filming soon, and John promises more details for us later.

Susan Huber

Susan Huber describes a recent trip to the California interior and her impressions and experiences there.

“After taking a workshop in the American Southwest earlier this year, I joined my friend Jim Noel, a photography professor at Grossmont College in San Diego, for a trip to the nearby Salton Sea and Anza Borrego Desert areas. After safely navigating a mountainous pass in the fog and near-freezing conditions, we reached the Salton Sea and attempted to find the locations of Richard Misrach's lifework Desert Cantos, which deals with the ebb and flow of human intervention in the landscape. Sadly, much of his iconic subject matter has disappeared due to real estate development, which seems to continue apace despite the noxious smell of the sea from the scores of small, dead fish floating everywhere.

“Despite the general barrenness of the land, I was intrigued by remnants of the mid-20th century social milieu. Examples of this were Harry’s Cat House (for actual felines), the Spa, and the Ace of Spades Nightclub. The last, shaped like a ship's prow and complete with a pool covered in graffiti, was once a "hot spot" for the North Shore area. My favorite site was the "Mudpots," a geothermal oddity in the middle of a farmer's field. I was sprayed many times while leaning over to capture the mud with my 612 camera.

“Our visit to the Anza Borrego Desert was a much different experience, although once again I was struck by the amount of development. I was fascinated with the ocotillos and palms, particularly one lone ocotillo we found in a subdivision as we were leaving for San Diego. I liked its spare beauty against the backdrop of the mountains on a clear, cool morning. All in all, this short visit to the desert provided me with a memory of exotic fauna and a welcome relief from winter in the wet, heavily forested areas of the Northwest.”

Above is Susan’s image of the solitary ocatillo in Anza Borrego that so captured her attention. To see her images available in the Store, please click here.

Dhananjay Nayakankuppam

DJ Nayakankuppam recently visited the vast wonders of Death Valley and writes about the trials and the triumphs that so frequently mark a photographic journey.

“In the theater of my mind, Death Valley has always reminded me of Mordor, the land of shadow in J. R. R. Tolkien’s book “The Lord of the Rings.” Like Mordor, Death Valley is ringed by mountains. Mordor was encircled by the Ered Lithui or Ash Mountains to the north, the Ephel Duath or Mountains of Shadow to the west and the Ered Glamoth to the south. Death Valley is flanked by the Funeral Mountains and the Grapevine Mountains to the east and the Panamint Range to the west. Owlshead Mountain in the south and the Saline and Last Chance ranges in the north complete the encirclement. Mordor had ominous-sounding places like Mount Doom, Minas Morgul, and Barad-dur. Death Valley has places like Furnace Creek, the Devil’s Golf Course, and Badwater. Mordor had a volcano, Orodruin or Mount Doom. Death Valley has Ubehebe Crater. Mordor had the inland sea of Nűrnen; Death Valley has Badwater Basin and ancient seabeds.

“So Death Valley had a lot of romantic appeal to me. My single previous trip there, many years ago, was a short one during the height of summer that defeated me with the stifling heat. I spent a brief time in the south of Death Valley around Badwater Basin; and while the heat proved oppressive, I was fascinated by the visual experience and have always wanted to return. So I looked forward to my trip with great anticipation.

“A storm blew through the first morning – the rain and wind howled. While the rain eventually departed, the wind stayed on. I was plagued by technical problems and by the screaming winds. The airline had unloosed the usual gang of gorillas on my gear – three of my dark slides were cracked, in spite of my careful packing – and I was glad I had taken the more sensitive things in my carry-on. My tripod leg split on the second day. I used some wood glue to put together a makeshift joint; but given the lack of sufficient long grain, I worried constantly about the integrity of the joint afterwards. The sting in the tail was getting a flat on my last day, one that was sufficiently damaged that it required replacing the tire. This necessitated a long, limping journey, eventually to Vegas, trying to find a shop that stocked the off-size tire.

“Death Valley is an experience in vastness of scale. The mountains are not particularly tall, but they sprawl. Their flanks run for miles, and it is strange to see apparent glacial features in an area that does not see much ice. The land has a brooding quality to it, as though it were contemplating some immense swath of time that one could only faintly comprehend. There is a sense of held breath. It is also very exciting visually. There are lots of interesting stimuli: dark flanks set against light on the Panamints, ambiguous figure-ground relationships among the debris of Mud Canyon, folding undulations in the canyons, stripes of light defining edges of water runoff, ribbons of white salt deposits on the floor of the valley, curving organic shapes on massive scales, scarred and burrowed earth, calderas and volcanic landscapes, blurred watercolor washes of massive rock forms seen through an aerial haze, subtly echoed shapes.

“I’m not interested in making portraits of places or in giving viewers of my prints a second-hand experience of some far-away place – Death Valley reinforced that idea. Death Valley has to be experienced in the flesh – looking at a land laid bare to the sinews needs to be experienced for oneself. However, I am grateful for the inspiration provided by the land – for the spark to look deeply and mindfully, to attend to visual connections, and to continue along paths that I am right now only dimly aware of treading.”

Above you see one of the stunning images DJ brought back from Death Valley, “Manly Beacon from Zabriskie Point Overlook.” To see more of his work, please visit our Store.

John Wimberley

John Wimberley writes of his latest excursion to photograph pictographs in Nevada.

“I recently returned from 12 days photographing in the area of the Pahranagat Valley in Nevada. I exposed nearly 140 5x7 negatives of landscape and First Nation rock art. I worked at a number of beautiful sites in the region. At left is a picture of my camera hanging onto a ledge on a cliff in front of a panel of animal figures estimated to be about 3,000 years old.

“On my previous trip, I encountered very cold weather, but this time the excursion coincided with a heat wave! Once again I camped in 'Luna', my VW van (more accustomed to being off-road than driving on pavement). Most of the new images are part of my evolving 'Ambush Canyon' series."

“Ambush Canyon #153, 2007” (right) is from this latest trip.To see John’s work available in our Store, please click here.

Be sure to check out the changing gallery of specially priced prints offered by Guild members through this newsletter. Using this link, you can buy selected photographs that Guild members have discounted for a limited time.

At left is Patrick Kolb’s platinum/palladium “Joshua Tree NP” one of several prints available in our Special Offers section this month. Some of the prints are also featured in the current B&W Magazine advertisement. Please visit this issue's special-offer prints on our website.

Matthew Magruder

The long-awaited "Texas Church Project" exhibition runs May 7-24 at the Union Gallery on the campus of University of North Texas in Denton, TX (north of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex). This group show features the images of Matthew Magruder with the other Project members’. An opening reception is scheduled for Tuesday, May 8 from 7-9 pm. For more details, please go to the university's web site.

Matt has been part of the Texas Church Project for about 18 months and writes this about his experience: "I’m honored to be a part of such a meaningful project and to be working with such a talented group of photographers/artists. All of us have the common trait of enjoying exploring and photographing the multitude of rural churches scattered throughout Texas. Early last year, we made the project 'official' and fine-tuned and finalized our mission statement and overall intent. The project centers on the numerous churches founded by Europeans who immigrated into Texas through the Gulf Coast. They traveled up into the state, mainly along river channels, establishing communities throughout central Texas. More often than not, the first indicator of a community’s establishment was that of a church congregation and/or the building of an actual church structure. We have concentrated primarily on churches built and founded between 1850 and 1930 along the I-35 corridor.”

Matt invites all who happen to be in the Denton/Dallas/Fort Worth area during May to stop by the exhibit and share your thoughts. His photo above, titled "Mt. Olive Primitive Baptist Church, Bastrop County, TX" was taken with a Folmer & Schwing 12x20 banquet camera, using a 16.5" Goerz APO Artar lens. It was printed as a platinum/palladium contact print. To see more of Matt’s work in our Store, please click here.

Guild Group Show in Sacramento, CA

The Curatorial Committee of Sacramento's Viewpoint Photographic Art Center has invited the Contact Printers Guild to exhibit our work this year. The show has been scheduled to run from August 10 through September 1, with an Artists’ Reception on Saturday, August 11. The Center is located at 551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd in Sacramento. For more information about Viewpoint, please visit their web site.

Guild Group Show in Portland, OR

The Contact Printers Guild will have a second group show this year, set for October 20-November 23 at Portland’s Camerawork Gallery. An Artists’ Reception will take place on Sunday, October 21. The gallery is located in the lower level of Peterson Hall at 2255 NW Northrup. You may check on hours or directions by calling 503.245.1784.

Paula Chamlee

The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas, is showing Paula’s images from her book High Plains Farm through April 15. To visit the museum’s web site for directions or more information, please click here.

Michael A. Smith and Paula Chamlee

Through April 15, Michael and Paula will have a joint exhibition at Point Light Gallery, in Sydney, Australia. The gallery is located at 50 Reservoir Street in the Surry Hills community.

From June 15 through July 19, Camera Obscura Gallery, 1309 Bannock Street, Denver, CO, will feature Michael and Paula’s photos. (For information, phone 303.623.4059.)

John Wimberley

John’s work will be part of an exhibit at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, scheduled for May 1-31. The show’s theme is the incarnation of spirit in physical matter, and features prints by Aubie Golombek and Frank Roddick with John’s. The exhibit will take place in the School of Image Arts. For directions, please go to the Ryerson University web site and click on the "Campus Maps" tab.

The Paul Paletti Gallery will exhibit John’s work during September, October, and November this year. The gallery is located at 713 E Market St., Suite 100, in Louisville, Kentucky. You may call 502.589.9254 for hours and directions. And from November 24 - December 31, John will have a solo show at Camerawork Gallery in Portland, Oregon. The Gallery is located in the lower level of Peterson Hall, 2255 NW Northrup. Phone 503.245.1784 for hours and directions.

July 20-22, Vancouver, WA

John is conducting a workshop entitled “Light and Silver—Techniques for Film Exposure and Development.” This workshop is open to anyone with a film camera, from 35mm to 4x5. Tuition is $140 and the class is limited to ten students. For more information, please email John at tjwimberley@ashlandhome.net or telephone Robert Brummitt in Portland at 503.614.0161.

September 21-23, Medford, OR

“Sight and Insight” is a workshop that examines seeing from a number of perspectives, including peripheral vision and the intuitive “third eye.” It is open to anyone with a camera, film or digital. As this session is nearly full, please contact John immediately if you are interested in participating.

October 3-8, Virginia City, NV

An expanded five-day "Sight and Insight" workshop will be held at the St. Mary's Art Center. The center has lodging available for workshop participants in newly renovated rooms. In addition, a darkroom with eight enlargers and a print-finishing room will be at the disposal of students. The workshop will include both classroom instruction and field trips to beautiful and fascinating locations in the area.

Above is John Wimberley’s image entitled “Solar Reflection, Crater Lake.” For information on this and other contact prints John has available in our Store, please click here.

Platinum Printing Workshop with Ray Bidegain and Patrick Kolb, October 12-14

Platinum/palladium prints are valued by photographers, collectors, galleries, and museums for their inherent beauty and archival stability. This workshop will demystify this process and give students the basic skills necessary to produce very fine platinum/palladium prints at a reasonable cost. As with February’s class (see right), we will meet again at the Washington State University campus in Vancouver, WA. Space is limited to only ten students for this very popular workshop. Cost is $295, all-inclusive (price covers chemistry kits, paper, etc. for hands-on lab sessions). Contact Ray or Patrick via the workshop page if you have questions or wish to sign up for this workshop.

Michael A. Smith and Paula Chamlee “Vision and Technique”

Michael and Paula offer weekend workshops several times a year in varying locales, open to intermediate and advanced photographers. Their next scheduled workshops will be June 14-17 in Denver, CO, and October 12-14 in Tuscany. Please check their web site for the latest updates to their schedule and for further information. To enroll, call them at 610.847.2005 or email them at workshops@michaelandpaula.com.