Fotoviva Art Prints

Fotoviva now has a new search facility built into the site so you can find your ideal canvas wall art quicker than before. This is a nice addition to the store which has already received positive feedback. 

With a collection of prints that grows every week there is more to look through and this search function will help you pin-point the ideal picture faster, making the Fotoviva experience a lot easier for you.

There’s lots more to come this year so keep watching this space!

Nearly 25 years have passed since a new type of Ansel Adams photographic reproduction has been offered. Now, digital reproductions of photographs made by the artist are being introduced by The Ansel Adams Gallery. These new “Archival Replicas” have come about because of recent advances in printing and imaging technology.

“To display an Ansel Adams photograph, people have had three choices until now: an original print made by the artist, Yosemite Special Edition photographs limited to 8 by 10” or fine art posters,” said Matthew Adams of The Ansel Adams Gallery. “These new Archival Replicas expand the selection of his work available to the public in a range of sizes, and do so at affordable prices,” Adams continued.

The ability to offer high-quality digital reproductions of photographs made by Ansel Adams was first considered three to four years ago when Matthew Adams and his staff started seeing printers with the capability of producing neutral black and white images with deep blacks. He explained, “We were disappointed then that neutral, gray-ink-only reproductions rarely came close to Ansel’s photographs. However, in the past two years, technology has advanced to the point that we’re now able to make reproductions of my grandfather’s originals to extraordinarily exacting standards.”

The imaging process employed is so advanced that, other than The Ansel Adams Gallery, only the Getty Museum and Smithsonian Institution are now using it. That technology, coupled with digital printers that use 12 inks, including four shades of gray, gives the Archival Replicas the full range of tone and hue of gelatin silver prints, according to Matthew. “We believe these are the best large-format reproductions of Ansel’s work yet made,” he said.

The Archival Replica program draws from the combined collections of the Adams family and the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, where Ansel Adams’ archive resides. Seven images that he created between 1930 and 1955 were chosen, including photographs made in Yosemite National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, Canyon de Chelly, at Point Sur and of the Marin Headlands.

The Archival Replicas range in size from 7 by 9” to 30 by 38” and cost from $79 to $999, depending upon size, mounting, matting and framing. Each year, additional photographs will be made available. Ansel Adams Archival Replicas are offered exclusively from The Ansel Adams Gallery. They can be seen in Yosemite Valley and online at http://www.anseladams.com

Our canvas prints make the perfect present for Christmas and with a choice of either our breathtaking gallery images or your own digital photos you can’t go wrong this season, unless you miss the last post!

The 17th December is our last day for taking canvas orders that need to be guaranteed to reach you before Christmas, so order your work of art as soon as possible to ensure your walls have a very happy Christmas

This date also applies for our acrylic and art prints. If you need a print delivered abroad please do hurry as this will take longer so we will need a few more days to make sure the delivery is on time.

This month’s award for Photo of the Month goes to a new recruit to the Fotoviva Team, Paulo Lopes and his stunning shot entitled ‘Behind the Sun’.

Paulo is our second member of the team from Portugal and joins Pedro with some incredible photographic work, especially seascape images. This picture shows the sunset over Adraga’s Beach at Sintra Natural Park in Portugal.

Paulo spent almost all his youth in the rural part of the country, so nature soon became a very familiar environment, making part of his everyday life. However, it was only around his 26th birthday that he got enough money to buy his first camera, a new Canon 300D – since then he has never stopped taking photographs.

Years later, photography still makes part of his daily life. His passion for nature and landscape take all of his time so, when he is not working, he is driving, seeking for the best place, the best light for the best shot. It’s a quest for perfection, that needs to be worked with passion, effort and lots of dedication. Sounds like he has the right ingredients for the Fotoviva team!

His work has been recognized in Portugal but also worldwide, such as in magazines, competitions and photography websites. He now sports a Canon 5D with several lenses and often uses Lee filters, including a 105mm Circular Polarizer and Neutral Density Grads.

You can purchase this winner as a panoramic seascape print from our online collection in either poster or boxed canvas options.

Just a quick post to say we have just launched a new-look for Fotoviva Art Prints which we think not only makes the site look tastier but also helps with navigation and ease of use for customers. Take a look at our new branding at the Fotoviva Art Store and let us know what you think!

Don’t forget we have the excellent Photos 2 Canvas service now which is great for Christmas gifts and also an ever-growing collection of prints from our photographic team!

Nearly two years after the introduction of the D80, Nikon has announced its successor, the D90. This new DSLR camera inherits its older brother’s outer dimensions, power source, 11-point AF module and most of its external controls, but adds a newly developed 12 megapixel CMOS sensor, EXPEED image processor, and a bigger, much higher-resolution rear LCD screen. The D90 also features a slightly improved viewfinder coverage, 3D focus tracking, ultrasonic sensor cleaning, 50% faster burst shooting, a larger buffer, Active D-lighting, in-camera raw development, an expanded ISO sensitivity range, HDMI connectivity, geotagging and Live View with Face Priority AF. On top of all that, it’s the first DSLR ever produced to offer an HD movie mode.

The control layout of the D90 is also very similar to the D80, with only the dedicated Live View button and an info button to the bottom right of the screen being completely new. The OK button has moved to the centre of the four-way pad, and the focus selector lock has been changed from a slider to a switch, but that’s it really – the other changes are cosmetic only, affecting the shape of buttons well known from the D80, and the colour of their labels. The similarities extend to the power source and the recording medium as well. The D90 runs on the same proprietary EN-EL3e Lithium-ion battery as the D80, and records images on SD/SDHC cards.

So, what’s new then? Quite a lot, actually. For starters, the D80′s ten megapixel CCD has been superseded by a 12 megapixel CMOS chip capable of providing a Live View feed, recording video and capturing full-resolution stills at 4.5 frames per second, up from 3fps in the D80. Even more importantly, the sensor can now clean itself, by way of high-frequency vibrations that will, at least in theory, shake off any non-adhesive dust particles that may have settled on the low-pass filter during a lens change. You can specify, via an option in the Setup menu, whether you want sensor cleaning to take place at shutdown, startup, both or neither, with the default being ‘both’. The cleaning process had no practical impact on startup times, which were near instant. The new image sensor is complemented by a more powerful processing engine and a larger buffer as well.

While the above changes remain invisible until you put the camera to actual use, there is one development that will be very hard to overlook for anyone taking even a casual look at a D90: the rear screen. The D80 already had a nice, big 2.5” TFT LCD with a resolution of 230,000 dots, but it pales in comparison with the D90′s three-inch, 920,000-dot monitor. On the new camera, the screen is used not only to navigate menus and to review pictures, but can also act as a secondary status display, facilitating the transition for former D50/D40/D60 owners who are not yet used to having a top-mounted status LCD on their cameras. And of course it’s also the rear screen that provides live view for capturing both stills and movies.

One of the extras the D90 offers over the D80 is Live View off the main sensor. While other manufacturers have been implementing this feature across their entire DSLR line, Nikon has, until now, reserved it for their higher-priced models, including the D300, the D3 and the D700. With the D90, Live View has arrived to less well-heeled Nikon fans as well. And while on their other cameras, LV was one of the drive mode options, it now has its own dedicated button. Live View is either delivered on the high-resolution rear monitor or on any LCD panel or plasma screen connected to the camera via an HDMI cable. There is a red rectangle in the middle, which you can move practically anywhere in the frame. When in manual focus mode, you can magnify into this rectangle in five steps simply by repeatedly pressing the button marked with a loupe icon, but this magnification seems to be interpolated rather than real.

Live View is also what’s used for the feature that has arguably generated the most interest in the Nikon D90: its movie mode. The camera records high-definition, wide-screen video in 1280×720 pixel resolution, at a frame rate of 24fps, in AVI format using the motion JPEG codec. The maximum size of a single video clip is 2 gigabytes which, given that movies occupy about 100 megabytes of storage space per minute, would theoretically translate into about 20 minutes of continuous recording, but – apparently because of certain legal regulations in the EU –, Nikon decided to limit the clip length to 5 minutes for high-definition movies. By offering video capture in a DSLR, Nikon has made it possible for filmmakers to play with depth of field the way they never could, taking advantage of the relatively big sensor and the wide assortment of Nikkor lenses.

Nikon D90, with its self-cleaning sensor, excellent meter, sophisticated multi-point AF system, large viewfinder, 4.5fps continuous shooting speed, wireless flash options and great degree of cusomisability is hard to beat, especially at its price point of around £679 for body only.

Read the full review over at PhotographyBlog.com

Our favourite photograph this month comes from our team member Don Tiffney and is entitled Safe Haven. Despite a very early morning start in the summer and a tricky combination of light sources Don has expertly worked his magic to make such a great image. A three minute exposure meant a steady tripod was required to keep the photograph nice and sharp!

He tells us “A flat calm North Sea reflects the beam from the Flamborough Head lighthouse & the sodium lights cast a comforting glow over the weathered stonework on the harbour wall. This was photographed at 2am but it’s not always as quiet as this!”.

Camera Model: Fuji S5 Pro
Lens: Sigma 18-50EX
Focal Length: 18mm
Shutter Speed: 3 Mins. 9secs.
Aperture: f14
ISO: 100

This stunning and original image can be purchased in a range of sizes and finishes such as our quality canvas wall art, the sleek acrylic prints or as an art poster ready to frame. The image can be found in our Fine Art Scenes section. It works wonders as a three part triptych canvas but there are many choices to suit your room and decor.

Great work Don

Whether you are a professional photographer who wants to offer your clients a new print solution or you just have some great photos that you want to hang on your walls, our new Photos on Canvas service is going to be very handy indeed.

This new feature to the Fotoviva site is so simple – just a few clicks is all it takes to have your own image printed onto canvas. You can upload the digital file, choose your preferred size, finish and details, then we will do the rest.

Everyone has holiday snaps, lovable pet photos or family pictures – so why not show them off in style by letting us print your photos to canvas so you can hang them on your walls in all their glory! And with Christmas coming up they make unique presents for friends and family.

Yes you can save a few pounds getting them printed onto canvas elsewhere, but why risk having sub-standard frames and print quality? We use professional materials, our wooden frames are from sustainable forests, all our canvases are made in the UK and they are still great value for money.

As with the main art collection, we can also print your digital photos on non-standard sizes or as triptych canvases so if you would prefer this please contact us and we will provide you with our best quote.

Uk born photographer Michael Veerasingham is the latest to join the Fotoviva Team and we really like his work! Inspired by nature and open spaces, photography has followed Michael closely throughout his life and his travels. Starting out as a child with a ‘hand me down’ box camera and black and white film, he was introduced to the basic skills of capturing images and their subsequent development by his father. With the advent of the digital age, Michael now uses digital equipment to both take and process his images.

His landscape photography work is subtle yet stunning with a fine collection of additions to our Black and White section. His composition skills and fine exposure help create atmospheric images that will bring a serene feeling to any room.

He is currently based in the rolling foothills of the Basque Pyreneean mountains. British born and of Basque descent he has been familiar with the Basque Country, ‘Euskual Herria’ since early childhood. To this day he remains in awe of this outstandingly beautiful area, which covers parts of both North Eastern Spain and South Western France. He tries to capture the essence of its hills, forests, mountains, lakes, beaches, and rugged coastline. Spoilt for choice in terms of the photographic opportunities the Basque Country provides, he also ventures further afield to maximise the variety of locations and material he is able to shoot. Generally working in low light conditions, he endeavours to bring out the best in his images through the use of both monochrome and colour mediums.

Michael has a selection of his prints available to purchase on Fotoviva and also has his own website at www.koko-images.com

So the Fotoviva Art Collection continues to grow from strength to strength and we have just reached our 300th image. No prizes to him but Martyn Starkey’s equestrian picture ‘White’ is the photograph which happens to be the 300th – and what a shot it is!

A truly magical atmosphere was created with the sepia toning and elegant composition of the horse that shows the grace and beauty these magnificent creatures possess. If you like horses this is an art print you really must own! It is available printed on canvas, acrylic or poster art in a range of sizes to suit your walls.
Congratulations to Martyn and to the rest of the Fotoviva team who continue to help build the ‘quality not quantity’ collection with stunning photographic art that makes your jaw drop!