Printing your first shots - what were yours?

Anton17

Anton17

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Anton
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For a long time I didn't want anything to do with printing my photos. I suppose part of it is because of the digital age and being able to store your photos on a hard drive while also being to upload them to the internet whenever displaying or feedback is sought. The real reason I told myself I didn't want to print is simply because I didn't think I was good enough. I've only been back into taking pictures since Easter and the purchase of my 40D and I still have a long time to learn, practice and improve. There are many toggers with many shots on this forum that have several dozen perfect pictures that would look outstanding on canvas, but when your parents and grandparents say they want your images above their fireplace you kind of take it with a pinch of salt.

Yesterday I found some 4x6 photo paper we have had for a while and now we have a better printer I thought I would give it a shot. I had experimented last weekend by taking a set of photos from an abandoned dairy farm that really ended up being a labor of love and I was proud of the results, as well as also dabbling in floral photography that day. I tried printing off a couple of test images I particularly liked and it was such a satisfying feeling. I know photography is something done in stages and before the final move was to upload my shots to Flickr and here on TP. Even though they're only 4x6 prints I feel like I have finally capped the last stage of photo production and it's a great feeling to have something in your hand that can really demonstrate just how far photos have come. :)

What I'd like to know is what were the images/event that made you print your photos and think they didn't look half bad? I know there are a lot of pros around here that have probably printed so much they have lost taste for it (:D) so if your first experience isn't much, what was your proudest moment when receiving one of your photos after being printed?

Story time, children. :rules:
 
No image or event in particular and so far back in the mists of time that prints were the only way to see the results (unless you were shooting slides). Can't even remember what the pics were of, although church towers and spires may have featured as well as moody skies. The magic of seeing a B&W print appear out of a sheet of plain white paper...

Even now, I think that prints are the end result and a computer file is merely a step towards that end. That's one reason why I don't give crit etc or post my pics for it - no monitor will be able to get close to matching a decent print.

There's even a little of the magic of seeing the print emerge, although it's not the same as watching an image appear from nothing. Watching my little dyesub pass the paper back and forth while dropping the image colour by colour is closer than seeing a sheet emerge from an inkjet but a 6x4 can never have the same impact as an A3.
 
I work in a paper mill and a good few years ago we ran a trial on photo glossy paper.
Certainly not the best of stuff but for its time it was so so.
I had an Epson 600 printer and printed a few portraits and a local castle. They came out fine but the mill bought an Epson 400 and the ink wouldn't dry which I found a bit strange.
I came across one of the prints the other week and lo and behold its still ok but it has been stored in a box in a dark attic.
When I bought my first digital camera I happened to get a Cocker Spaniel pup the same week and we've had a photo of her on the wall for the last 7 years and no sign of fading.
 
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