Ultraprint Edition 2 sale: The Cars of Havana

Everybody loves cars, and especially old cars. And Havana – well, it’s full of them, in various states of repair; a veritable photographic paradise. The mixture of textures, colours, shapes and an elegance of an age past make for some very interesting images indeed. The selection of cars may appear random, but those participants who were with me on the Havana Masterclass will know that there was often quite a lot of waiting involved for just the right car to come along to complement the scene and mood.

Following the success of the previous run, it is therefore my pleasure to open the next limited edition Ultraprint run for orders: The Cars of Havana. Read on for details, and to buy.

Beyond the obvious faded beauty of the cars though, I specifically selected these images because I believe that each one captures a little bit of the story and essence of Cuba: there are the obvious cars; the subtle hints at socialism/ Eastern Europe, either in the form of later cars from those regions, the architecture, or the statuary; there’s the nationalism in flags and colours. Overriding all of that is the spirit of the people: positive, happy, easygoing, intense but non confrontational – whether it be in the omnipresent drape of an arm over a window, grabbing on to the roof rails, or even the posture and position of the cars.

I’ll be offering the images in two sizes again – 8×12″ or 10×15″, depending on the resolution of the source file. Prints will be limited to 30 the lesser of prints per size or whatever is sold at the close of this run, whichever is fewer – as per the previous runs. In addition, there will be 10 sets of a 8-image portfolio including all of the images and packaged in an acid-free Moleskine A3 Artist’s Portfolio for storage. I’ve decided to offer a few more this time because that was the first thing to sell out in the last run.

The 7-image portfolios will include a magnifier to better examine the prints. All prints and portfolios will be signed and accompanied with a certificate of authenticity. We’re using Canson Infinity Platin Fiber Rag baryta and Epson Ultrachrome inks with 100+ year longevity; print master Wesley Wong of Giclee Art will be once again be responsible for the printing, with yours truly performing final QC on signing. For more information on the Ultraprint process, including some high magnification forensics of the proof prints from the previous Autumn in Tokyo edition, click here. As with every Ultraprint run, these are the best prints we know how to make – no time or effort is spared in proofing and ensuring that the output is as perfect as we can achieve given current limits of technology. The impression given is one of transparency; being there and looking at the object rather than through a print at a representation of one.

The sale will run for a month as usual and close on 20 June, after which we will produce and ship the prints; this is a time consuming process so please expect delivery around the second half of July. All prices include DHL Express shipping to anywhere in the world. If you would like local delivery or wish to order multiple items, please email me for details. Please use the links below to place your order – I take credit cards via Paypal (click on the links below the images to check out):

Important note: DHL requires your phone number to ship, so please add it to the comments section at checkout 🙂

8-image portfolio (all images at 10×15″), including Moleskine folder and magnifier – $2,250

Freedom
Freedom – 10×15″ – $320
Freedom – 8×12″ – $160

1957* (As people have pointed out, the car is a ’56, but I’m sure there were still some around in ’57. The title is a commentary on the general state of affairs rather than the specific vehicle.)
1957 – 10×15″ – $320

Green inclinations
Green inclinations – 8×12″ – $160

Blue hour
Blue hour – 8×12″ – $160

The hand
The hand – 10×15″ – $320

Style
Style – 10×15″ – $320

Tribute to Edward Hopper – this is my personal favourite from the set because of its tonal qualities that bring to mind both the era and sensation that you’re looking into a painting of the past.
Tribute to Edward Hopper – 10×15″ – $320
Tribute to Edward Hopper – 8×12″ – $160

Tete a tete
Tete a tete – 10×15″ – $320

A big thank you in advance for your support! MT

Selected testimonials and feedback from the Autumn in Tokyo Ultraprints:

Jan Martin: What a nice surprise.  It is beautiful!  It is perfect.  It is my inspiration!  This and the Swan are my two favorite photos of yours. It is going on the wall directly in front of my desk.  I can’t wait to figure out how to frame it — any suggestions of what might be best?  Do I need special archival mat boards, etc? The packaging was perfect — nary a dent — so I hope this worked for all your customers. I took the print to the best local framer I could find and I must say, he was very impressed with the image and the printing.   He took out his magnifying glass to examine, and spent a lot of time thinking about framing options.  We opted for matting (otherwise it’s against the glass and that didn’t seem right!) and a thin black frame.  I didn’t do a dry mount because that also seemed damaging, so we are doing photo corners and I hope that will work well enough.  If not, I can always have it dry mounted later. You guys rock!

Andre Yew: I got the Ultraprints today, and they are amazing! Anyway, the detail and tonality look great. I especially like the highlights off the tree trunks in the color picture. I feel like the paper’s texture almost detracts from the detail because it can get in the way of the actual detail. I also have to be careful with my light source so the specular reflection of the light doesn’t obscure detail. Looking at it through a 4x loupe, I feel like I could zoom in forever and still see more detail. It’s certainly a unique and special offering that no one else is even attempting, so it’s very valuable for that alone, despite the many other considerable qualities of the prints. Thanks for offering it again, and I for one hope you don’t get the Pentax, because I wouldn’t know what to do with bigger Ultraprints!

Marcos Hatada – Just received the ultraprints. They are incredible! So unbelievably beautiful!!

Harsh Agrawal: Forest II is the finest print I have ever laid my eyes on in my entire life. My vocabulary doesn’t have enough superlatives to qualify or quantify the magnificence of this art piece. It is beyond stunning.

Matthias Gaiser: The Ultraprint has arrived – and it’s everything I expected it to be. In fact, I’ll have to rearrange the pictures on my walls to make room for it in order to appreciate it fully, i.e. it’ll get the best spot available! Wonderful work – in all respects! Thank you both very, very much!

Bob Prangnell: Received the Ultraprint – very nice thank you. Beautiful colors and amazing detail and 3-d effect. I said to my wife that I could lock you in a bathroom and you’d come out with a dozen great shots – and you proved that today with “Towel”

Junaid Rahim: Very nice prints Ming, really enjoying them. Looking at forest II I kind of rue not getting the bigger prints for the tokyo set. But the colours are lovely and definitely some lovely detail in them. I think Forest II will have to be framed. Forest II is one of those shots that really grows on you with time as you start seeing more and more detail in it. So happy at least that one is the more ‘native’ size!

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H2 2014 workshops now open for booking – Making Outstanding Images San Francisco, Chicago and Venice; Masterclass San Francisco and Venice – click here to book or for more info

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