Paul Raphaelson Ups His Price

dancqu · Sep 11, 2006

Paul sells silver gelatine prints up to 9 1/2 x 11 1/2. All
sizes, $1200. Up from last years $1000. He prints on Forte
Fortezo Grade three. Big news is his going digital. He claims
he can no longer secure any of that paper. He has used
it for many years.

So, there won't be any more silver gelatine from Paul.
When they are gone they are gone. If you've been
yearning for one of his on Forte prints now is the
time to send in that $1200 bucks. Dan

Ray Heath · Sep 11, 2006

Paul who?

he must really 'love' his mono work if he can't adapt to another paper

Lachlan Young · Sep 11, 2006

RUBBISH!!! Fortezo G3 is still available from JandC as 'Museum Normal'

Lachlan

payral · Sep 11, 2006

Who is that Paul ?

arigram · Sep 11, 2006

Sounds like a marketing trick:
"I am going digital but to help sell off my last of silver gelatin work I will claim that the paper is no longer made or I cannot for some reason print on other paper so those prints will also be more valuable"
Two birds with one stone.

Shane Knight · Sep 11, 2006

Why is it that when photographers switch to digital capture or digital printing that they always follow up with some lame excuse as if they were forced into their position.

Anyway:

Who's Paul and why would anyone would want to invest in a photographer that is not in it for the long run.

david b · Sep 11, 2006

Why should I care? Who is the person?

jmailand · Sep 11, 2006

No thanks, I've never heard of him. I can buy a lot of film and paper with $1200. Or for that mater a nice 4x5 camera, now that I got Omega D2 for almost nothing. Sometime's it can be nice when people switch, more cool stuff for the rest of us.

James.

argus · Sep 11, 2006

Google him: http://www.paulraphaelson.com/

G

Claire Senft · Sep 11, 2006

Only $1200.00. I guess we better get them before they are all gone.

Bromo33333 · Sep 11, 2006

arigram said:
Sounds like a marketing trick:
"I am going digital but to help sell off my last of silver gelatin work I will claim that the paper is no longer made or I cannot for some reason print on other paper so those prints will also be more valuable"
Two birds with one stone.

Having exposure to the art world as an onlooker (wife is artist), the only way to get higher prices than even *that* would be to fake one's death.

Might want to have 2 levels of work - paper printout on a inkjet ($1k?), and "hey whaddaya know, I found some more" prints once in awhile for $2k.

blansky · Sep 11, 2006

Every time I open a new box of paper I up my prices.

There's extensive testing, storage issues and trying to tear the package down that perforated line, which by the way I've never been able to accomplish.

That alone, due to the mental stress, is reason enough for a price increase.

Michael

paulr · Sep 11, 2006

Hello,

a friend sent me this link and I've been reading it with great interest. I thought I'd reply to clear up a few things.

It's true that the paper I used to print on is available again; Chemoforte went under a few years ago and I assumed they were gone forever. But since then Forteinvest Ltd. rescued the factory and brought the products back. I haven't had a chance to use the papers since I found out about the resurrection, but i hope they're the same.

In the mean time, I will absolutely change the information on my website about the papers no longer being available. It's not my intent to deceive anyone. It still stands that no more gelatin silver prints will be made of those images. The editions are closed, and for various technical reasons the editions are very small (two to ten prints).

I agree with everyone who thinks the price of the silver prints is steep. The price was set for personal reasons. I have very few of those prints, I like them very much, and I'm not interested in letting them go for less than that. If they sell, great; if not, that's ok too.

That being said, anyone who thinks they're priced out of the normal range for a living artist simply hasn't visited a gallery in New York or Chicago or San Francisco in the last ten years. $1200 is on the low end of what most major galleries are even interested in selling.

My ink prints (assuming it's not forbidden to mention them on apug) are priced much lower, to reflect the larger editions.

I'd be happy to elaborate more on why I'm printing my new work in ink, but only if people are curious. For what it's worth I'm very happy that Fortezo is back, and I hope it stays around forever.

blansky · Sep 11, 2006

Never apologize for your prices. If you say it's $1500 or $15,000, if you sell them that's exactly what they're worth.

Michael

blansky · Sep 11, 2006

roteague said:
Sounds just plain lazy to me.

Robert, with all due respect, you don't have the right to make other people's business decisions for them.

Michael

Bromo33333 · Sep 11, 2006

Snotty reply by me?

paulr said:
Hello,
...
That being said, anyone who thinks they're priced out of the normal range for a living artist simply hasn't visited a gallery in New York or Chicago or San Francisco in the last ten years. $1200 is on the low end of what most major galleries are even interested in selling.
...
I'd be happy to elaborate more on why I'm printing my new work in ink, but only if people are curious. For what it's worth I'm very happy that Fortezo is back, and I hope it stays around forever.

Despite my somewhat snotty reply - I do not think that you should have to apologize for your prices as an artist - especially if you are getting the sales you believe you deserve. And pricing gallery representation and so on is a black art.

2 levels of work for sale offer a lot for customers, too, and it might spur sales of your higher level work.

And glad you aren't abandoning "proper" analog prints!

roteague · Sep 11, 2006

paulr said:
I agree with everyone who thinks the price of the silver prints is steep. The price was set for personal reasons. I have very few of those prints, I like them very much, and I'm not interested in letting them go for less than that. If they sell, great; if not, that's ok too.

I have a couple of images like that myself, and I feel the same way about them as you do. Sometimes, people forget that photographers have emotional attachments to some images.

bill schwab · Sep 11, 2006

paulr said:
a friend sent me this link and I've been reading it with great interest. I thought I'd reply to clear up a few things.

One of my favorite things about the Internet is how it levels the playing field.

B

jimcollum · Sep 11, 2006

roteague said:
I have a couple of images like that myself, and I feel the same way about them as you do. Sometimes, people forget that photographers have emotional attachments to some images.

i'm always amazed that painters sell their work. I've often thought how different it would be if you could only get a single print of given image, and after selling it, never really seeing it again.

smieglitz · Sep 11, 2006

jimcollum said:
i'm always amazed that painters sell their work. I've often thought how different it would be if you could only get a single print of given image, and after selling it, never really seeing it again.

Try making ambrotypes.

Joe

jimcollum · Sep 11, 2006

smieglitz said:
Try making ambrotypes.

Joe

Just looked at your work. gorgeous. do you sell it? do you have problems giving up your favorites?

Bromo33333 · Sep 11, 2006

jimcollum said:
i'm always amazed that painters sell their work. I've often thought how different it would be if you could only get a single print of given image, and after selling it, never really seeing it again.

My wife is an artist (mixed media, painting, plexiglass and so on) and she is VERY attached to some works - and wouldn't sell them even when offered. She said it is a bit like beloved pets or children with ones that she really connected with.

Nice thing is, that with the ones she'd part with, she was happy if they went to someone who would appreciate them.

Terence · Sep 11, 2006

Bromo33333 said:
My wife is an artist (mixed media, painting, plexiglass and so on) and she is VERY attached to some works - and wouldn't sell them even when offered. She said it is a bit like beloved pets or children with ones that she really connected with.

Nice thing is, that with the ones she'd part with, she was happy if they went to someone who would appreciate them.

You can't sell children? I'm going to have to rethink my business plan . . .

Ray Heath · Sep 11, 2006

argus said:
Google him: http://www.paulraphaelson.com/

G

yeh, thanx, i already did that, wasn't particularly impressed

Bromo33333 · Sep 11, 2006

Terence said:
You can't sell children? I'm going to have to rethink my business plan . . .

Last time I checked that would bring out all kinds of awkward questions from law enforcement officers.

Paul Raphaelson Ups His Price

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