Larry Bullis
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I was a really good color printer (I might still be but I'll never know), worked as a custom printer making 30x40's, made prints on 20x24 paper with 1" borders of my own work in my own lab... but I prefer making Epson color prints now. It is far better, really, and much more versatile. C color had problems that were beyond the value of the effort it took to make it work just right. Tri-masking was practiced by a few crazies. We used to tell people that they could have any color look just the way they wanted it, but just one. The other colors might look funny. Since a lot of it was food, color was critical. I like color negatives scanned and printed on the Epson, because you can fix all of that much more easily.
However, I prefer black and white on real silver paper made in the darkroom.
I have my reasons for making small prints.
So you have big prints on the wall. Someday, you'll get tired of them and want to replace them with others. What are you going to do with the ones you take down? Who has room to store a lot of big prints?
In one day of printing I can make a bunch of prints. A week of printing big ones would swamp me. I have no idea what I'd do with them.
I can't print enough big prints to satisfy my own need to print, either, because the materials compete with other essential needs - like food, health care, housing, fuel.
I love to look at photographs. That's the main reason I print anyway. Small ones are as good for that, for me, as large ones, and the fact that I can look at more of them makes the small ones much more attractive.
What are you going to do with those big prints that don't fit on your walls? Sell them? Who has room to display them, or has the money right now to buy them? Not in the current economic climate! People will still buy art, but the art needs to be affordable, and, preferably, not take up too much space. Current conditions are forcing more people into smaller spaces. In the region of around $100 + or - is practical right now, as are smaller pieces. Yes, there are people who will spend a lot more, but do you know them? Even if you do, and you can sell prints, you will have to deal with a surplus. How do you feel about throwing your work away?
Smaller prints can satisfy all those criteria. I used to make 2x3's. Not a bad idea at all, but it is challenging in the graphic sense! They can look fantastic, especially displayed to their best advantage (as someone has mentioned). 5x7's! Fantastic size. With small prints, you just need to make the image simple enough that it attracts the eye - or hand someone the matted print so they have to look at it. That takes real visual skills. It's a challenge. Harder to make a small print draw the viewer, by far, than a big one that one can't help looking at.
If you live in a 4000 square foot house, you can make your prints fairly big. If you live in a 25,000 square foot house, you can make them REALLY big. If you have buyers who are secure in their expensive homes, well, go for it.
Happy birthday. You are one and a half years older than my oldest daughter. I suspect that your real reasons are much more practical, and have little to do with your age. Are you being honest with yourself about why you are making the choices that you are making? I could be wrong. Maybe only idealistic factors are at work here - but am I out of line to doubt it?
Now, at 67, I already have much too much stuff, and things like the inadequacy of social security and other retirement income enter the picture in a very compelling way.
I still love to make photographs, love to print, love to look at them. For me, 8 or 9 x 12 inches on 11x14 paper is just right, but if I want to sell, 6x9 on 8x10 paper does the job.