How to make an artist sweat, just say {{Ektachrome}}

Remember slides?  Calm down, they're gone...

I've just been going through mine, packing them away in fact. I think the days of sending in laboriously labeled slides in plastic sheets may be over, thank goodness. When I think of the boxes of slides I threw away because they came out too reddish, or bluish, or yellow. And I DON'T want to think about all the money I spent.

Here's what I hated about taking slides:

THE PROCESS

• Finish your work at least a week before the deadline

If taking in natural light....

• Buy special ektachrome daylight film ($$)
• Plan the perfect day -  sunny with shade, not too cold. (If in the winter, wait till the weekend since it's dark when you leave for work and return home)
• Prop the painting somewhere in shade
• Break off blades of grass that are sticking up in front of the picture
• Pick it up when the wind blows it over

If taking slides indoors...

• Buy special ektachrome tungsten film ($$)
• Find a neutral wall
• Set up lights and stands
• Check special color balanced bulbs ($$)
• Go to store to replace bulb that's burned out. Buy two so they match ($$)
• Angle lights to eliminate glare (ha!)

Then...

• Set up 35 mm camera on tripod
• Adjust camera so picture is perfectly square
• Notice glare on picture
• Put on polarizing lens
• Adjust aperture
• Take several exposures of each image
• Repeat

The next day...

• Leave early to take film to 1-day ektachrome lab ($$) before work
• Fight rush hour traffic to pick up slides after work
• Look at them on their light table
• Throw away the box (too-blue, too-yellow, too-dark, too light, too-skewed, too-glarey)
• Start over

Finally...

• Decide a slide is acceptable
• Mask out background with special silver tape ($$)
• Take the one perfect slide in to lab to be duped
• Estimate how many you'll need ($$)
• Wait 3 days then pick up dups
• Find out exactly how venue wants you to label slides
• Print tiny little labels good only for that venue
• Arrange in slidesheet
• Put them in a 9x12 envelope with a return postage 9x12 envelope inside
• Go to the post office to get it weighed
• Mail 3-4 days before deadline

Things I love about sending jpgs...

• Finish work up to 1 hour before deadline
• If it's small enough—scan it. Or...
• Prop up painting indoors or out (too blue? too yellow? No worries, Photoshop to the rescue! Glare? Take photo on angle, de-skew in Photoshop)
• Take photo with little digital camera
• Check it on your computer
• Adjust as necessary
• Bring into Photoshop
• De-skew it, color correct, crop
• Save original
• Resize version for venue
• Name it
• Attach to application and hit send

I had a whole filing system for my hundreds of slides, sorted by master copies, dups, titles and quality. Endless hours of organizing...but I suppose many of those packets I mailed out did return some great opportunities, so those little square calling cards had their day.

Anyone still using them? Anyone miss them?