"Flower Photography by Andrzej Pluta"
2003-05-09 until 2003-06-11
Fraser Gallery
Bethesda, MD, USA United States of America

Andrzej Pluta was born in Poland in 1950 and lives in Canada. His unique photographic works are in many private, public and Royal art collections worldwide and is considered by many to be among the best flower photographers in the world. He immigrated to Canada in 1971, where he currently resides. Pluta's photographs were recently featured in "Border Crossings" art magazine.

His unique work is created by using Sinar P2 8x10 inch cameras. For some compositions, Carl Zeiss Mirotar lens (one of the world's rarest) is used on the Sinar 8x10, making it the only camera construction of its kind. Using a unconventional and complex lighting technique, the full frame image is exposed on 8x10 Fujichrome film. There is no darkroom or computer manipulation and no retouching of the original color transparency which then yield a final archival-quality hand-printed Cibachrome print. The work ranges in size from five feet in height to more intimate sizes.

The term "Ciba" comes from Ciba-Geigy, a Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical company that developed the type of dyes used in this process. Also called "azo" dyes, these are the most brilliant and long-lasting colors available in a direct photographic print process. Unlike other color print processes, where the dyes are added during the paper processing, Cibachrome® paper is manufactured with the azo dyes impregnated in the paper itself. Unwanted dyes are bleached away during the paper processing (called "dye bleach reversal") rendering the final print a beautiful archival work. The fact that the dyes are in the paper itself also means that when the exposure is made by the enlarger, there is virtually no "light scattering" which results in sharpness loss.

Pluta's Cibachrome® prints deliver exceptional color fidelity, sharpness and brilliance and are in many public and private collections around the world. He has married the brilliant colors delivered by the process with an elegant subject matter of wildflowers, cultivated flowers and other organic subject matter to deliver singularly beautiful prints that push the definition of flowers as art. A reception will be held on Friday, May 9 from 6-10 PM. More images can be seen online at www.thefrasergallery.com/artists/AndrzejPluta.html

IMAGE:
Andrzej Pluta
Wildflowers

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of Maryland

Other Important Exhibitions in United States