# Travelling Portfolio



## ksmattfish (Nov 28, 2003)

I want to see your *prints*.  Let's start a portfolio of thephotoforum.com members' work that gets mailed to all the participants.  I almost posted this in "General Photography" because this sort of thing would be great for everyone, whether they do their printing in a darkroom or at the computer or even send it to the lab.  

I want to organize one for folks who are doing their own BW printing using traditional means, in other words with chemistry and a darkroom.  Three prints each.  Prints should be matted (doesn't have to be fancy, even just taped or photocornered to a backmat is fine), and have some sort of protective covering (paper envelope or plastic bag).  Everyone mails their prints to me with shipping $, I pack them up and start them on a predetermined route.  You receive the prints, enjoy them for a week or two (14 days max), and mail them on to the next person.  

We can try to plan the route to reduce shipping costs.  I think that the only fair way is to try and figure all shipping costs in advance and divide it evenly.  Then we can either set up a Fed Ex account, or I can mail everyone checks for them to ship it on to the next person.

Anyone else interested?  Folks who are doing other things than BW darkroom work should set up travelling portfolios too.  Anyone have any good tips or ideas on how to do this?  I've seen it on other art forum sites, but have no experience with anything like this, so all input is welcome.


----------



## photoman (Nov 28, 2003)

Im intrested in doing this.

What kind of work are you looking to send?
Sizes to send in the mail?
Do you just want the prints to have a backing to improve its strength so it doesnt bend.

Sounds like a good idea

Maybe when you receive the prints you can provide some feed back on how the print works or doesnt. 

Include data of how it was printed.


----------



## ksmattfish (Nov 28, 2003)

photoman said:
			
		

> Im intrested in doing this.  What kind of work are you looking to send?  Sizes to send in the mail?  Do you just want the prints to have a backing to improve its strength so it doesnt bend.
> 
> Maybe when you receive the prints you can provide some feed back on how the print works or doesnt.  Include data of how it was printed.



I want to organize a portfolio of BW hand prints; BW prints that are done by the photographer in a darkroom.  It would be great if other folks would organize other portfolios.  Themes might include:  color, digital, manipulated, alternative processes, portraits, landscapes, macro, etc...  Of course, the folks who are organizing the particular travelling portfolio can make up what ever rules they feel are necessary (such as max print size, quantity, etc....)

I would like the prints to have some sort of matting, even if it is very simple for two reasons.  1)  Prints should be viewed as a finished work.  This includes proper presentation.  Mailing framed materials wouldn't be practical, but I think that matting would be fine.  2)  To protect the print from bending in the mail, and to make them easier to handle when viewing.  If the mats are cut to conventional frame size, I may hang some in my living room for my two weeks.  

I've been debating about maximum overall size.  personally I might want to include some 11x14 or 16x20 prints.  With matting these are sort of big.  I guess for the one I'm organizing I'd say that the matted photograph should measure less than 30"x30" (my 16x20 are 22"x28" when matted). 

Up to three prints per photographer.  I think that more than three prints per each might make the package too big. 

Every print should be labeled on the back of the matting with the photographer's name and address.  Information about the photo would be great also.  If people want their work to be critiqued, they could let the other participants know.


----------



## ksmattfish (Nov 28, 2003)

Hmmm, well I was just checking out Fed Ex international shipping rates.  Wow!  This may all be more expensive than I imagined.  Anyone have any experience shipping packages internationally?  What's the cheapest way to ship a box of photographs 30"x24"x6"?


----------

