Ordering and Other Information

770/682-3666

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About the Prints

I have made every effort to provide high quality scans of the art work on this site, however regardless of the quality of a monitor or of the quality of the image shown, no 72 dpi digital image can begin to show the quality of a finely finished original photographic print. Therefore the images shown on this web site are intended only as samples of my work and in no way come close to the richness and depth of tonal qualities of the original paper print.

For more than fifty years I specialized in traditional monochrome (B&W) printing in a wet darkroom. I've taught processing and printing, made special order custom prints and exhibited my results in art galleries and juried salons since the late 1970s. In other words, I know a bit about traditional silver gelatin printing. But things have changed. I suppose, as they say, technology marches on, or in other words, I now understand buggy whip manufacturers experienced. With that in mind, about two years ago I began to offer high quality digital enlargements to my private commission clients. As a test, I offered those clients their choice, showing them both digital and silver gelatin prints and offering their choice of media. During the test of three months in which I offered clients their choice (same price), either traditional silver gelatin or digital prints, to my surprise and a little to my chagrin, all of them chose the digital enlargements. I honestly didn't expect that.

But technology moves forward very quickly and that process is, in my opinion, now obsolete. I acquired a state of the art Epson R2400 printer which blows all I was doing before away. Both inks and papers offer a print lifetime of up to 80 to 200 years, (confirmed by third party testing) depending on whether color or monochrome and on methods of storage. The quality produced by this new technology easily meets or exceeds that of traditional silver gelatin prints, especially with the soft matt papers I prefer. When I took the first print out of this new printer, I was stunned. I handed it to an old friend, a graphic designer with more than 30 years of experience in design and working with photographs, her immediate response was "WOW". In my opinion, the images I now produce with this new process meet and in some ways exceed the quality of my former traditional process prints in both beauty and longevity. Properly stored in a closed archival album or in a frame behind glass, these new monochrome prints will last a century or more. As a final test, I have several enlargements hung on my living room wall, both silver gelatin and digital enlargements. To date, no one has been able to tell the which is which, including several other photographers.

In fact, I'm so pleased with this new technology that I no longer offer traditional wet process prints.

Standard sizes are 8x10, 11x14 and 13x19 inches in size. The actual image size may vary for artistic purposes. For example an image described as 11x14 may range from an actual size of 11x14 to 9x14, depending on composition needs of the specific image, but all will be mounted to fit standard frames of the next largest size. A print listed as 8x10 will be mounted and matted to fit an 11x14 frame and an 11x14 print will fit a standard 16x20 frame, regardless of the actual size of the print. The longer dimension will always be the basis for the size, it's the shorter dimension which may vary.

As only a portion of my body of work is shown on my web site, a complete digital catalog showing my entire collection, including some which due to agreements with the models can never be shown on this or any other web site, is available on CD at $19.95. This CD catalog contains more than 400 images.

The image you select will be a custom enlargement which will be prepared specifically for you and forwarded within five work days. You will be advised by email of progress at each step of preparation. For the serious collector, a page has been recently added to this site, showing my exhibition history. You will note that many of my images have been successfully exhibited in juried salons and art galleries 15 states, plus Italy and a few times in Canada.

Aside from looking great on a wall, these prints can increase in value. They say an artist's work increases in value after the death of the artist, so bear in mind I'm old and don't feel all that well!!!

Ordering a print:

To place an order, simply mail your order with a check or money order payable to Doug Lester, 1302 Daniel Lane, Lawrenceville, GA 30045.  Include the image identifier which can be found at the top of the screen, ie  distinctiveimages.com/bodyscape/192.html. The underlined part is the information I will need. Be sure also to include the mailing address to which you would like the print sent.  If you send me an email head's up notice of your order, I'll let you know when the print is prepared and when it is shipped to you. If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask. I'm always available by email  or phone, 770/ 682-3666. 

Unmounted prints

8x10 - $85 

11x14 - $105

13x19 - $165

 
Order a mounted and matted print

8x10 mounted and matted to 11x14 - $130 

11x14 mounted and matted to 16x20 - $190 

13x19 mounted and matted to 20x24 - $300 

Order the CD Catalog - 19.95 

Order my Book on CD, An Introduction to the Art of Photography - 19.95 

Multiple Print Orders

On occasion art collectors, wholesalers and others express an interest in orders for several images or prints in largr than standard sizes. For orders of more than three enlargements, deduct 10% from the total. Some images are available in larger sizes, up to 24x30. Email me with the specifics of your interests or telephone me at 770/ 682-3666. 

Returns: Yeah, it happened once about ten years ago. Seriously, if for some reason you are not satisfied with the art you purchased, satisfaction is fully guaranteed. Just let me know by either email or phone within five days of receipt. Your purchase will be replaced or it can be exchanged for another selection or a refund will be provided upon return of the item to me.

Many of my images are available for commercial use, either as paper prints or in high resolution digital form. Inquire about availability, uses permitted and fees. Note however that no commercial use license is obtained through the order or possession of a print without a specific, written license for its commercial or other use. No image purchased for personal use may be scanned or placed elsewhere on the internet.

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