Framing Bird Light

I took this photo one evening while watching a thunderstorm glide over Sandpoint. It was a lovely evening with some amazing light. At one point I was aware of some doves that were flushed from the bushes near me and just fired the shutter without any adjustments. I knew they were too fast and ephemeral to try and compose or focus. Sometimes not over-thinking helps. I want to frame and hang this print. 

Bird Light

I set out to print this and a few other images. I discovered that Peak Imaging has closed business and seems to be in receivership. This was a major blow for me as they do all my color film and print work. They were fantastic to work with very high quality and reliability while maintaining very reasonable prices. I opted for some test prints from Snapfish and Ag Photographic. (I have subsequently tried Mixam my favorite photobook publisher though they only have up to A3 size prints/posters.) I plan a blog post to discuss the differences between the different vendors. 

I selected a 10"x15" C-print from Snapfish as the color and exposure were better than the AG Photographic versions. I decided I wanted to make a floating mount frame. I have done this in the past with a quadriptych. I also watched Thomas Heaton's very good video on framing recently. 

Framing

First, I prepared the frame. I try and work with an ethos of minimizing weight so this means I typically forgo the weight of glazing (glass). I find it also makes the print more engaging as I don't really like gloss prints. The downside of C-prints is two-fold, 1) lower color gamut and thus saturation, 2) limited choice of paper textures. Inkjet brings these to the fore, and I am being more encouraged to move in this direction. For this print however, the colors don't lend themselves to a wider color gamut and the image almost begs for a 'film look' so I stuck with C-prints.

Next, I mounted the print on black 1/4" (6mm) foam core board using 3M PMA (Positionable Mount Adhesive). PMA is a simple solution that requires only a knife to use compared to dry mount or the mess of spray mount. The foam core was trimmed to exactly the edge of the borderless print. Inevitably the edge of the white paper shows up and with the dark print edges and black foam core board these are quite visible. I used a black felt marker to clean up these visible edges.

The frame would be based on a sheet of 1/8" birch plywood. This provides a smooth lightweight substrate. I painted this with a flat black furniture paint using a brush. I am not concerned about brush strokes as they add some useful texture to contrast against the fine matte finish of the print. I sized the plywood to be about 3/4" (20mm) bigger than the print for each edge. One could use back matte board or painted Bristol board for this as well, which is cheaper and easier to cut. 

Next, I took some pine finish strips I bought at the lumber store. The wood strips are 1 1/2" x 1/4" (36mm x 6mm). I plan to place the strip on edge to produce a deep frame. I start by beveling the corners which is the traditional treatment for corners. Bevels can be challenging without the right tools, and I have also used butt joints on the other frame mentioned above and this works just as well especially in black on these narrow strips where the joints are not obvious.

With the glue dry on the beveled frame, I cut some squares out of 1/4" (6mm) MDF (any wood would do) and glued these in the corners of the frame flush with the edge of the frame. These provide some strength and support for the 1/8" plywood. Once dried I masked the MDF corners with tape so I could glue the plywood down to these corners. I then painted the frame and allowed it to dry. 

Back of frame. Note the MDF blocks for reinforcement.

Next, I checked the fit of the plywood and planed/sanded it to just fit before gluing it in place. I then added some rectangular blocks of the same MDF in the middle of the long edge to keep the frame in contact with the plywood so gaps would be minimized. Once dry I was ready to mount the photo.

I wanted to give the float look and decided spacing by 1/2" (12mm) off the plywood gave me the best look. This is an aesthetic choice and 1/4" looked good and my earlier frame just use the thickness of the foam core mount to provide the spacing. I think in general the print should not be raised above the height of the frame. 

I used some scrap foam cores cut into small blocks as spacers. These I glue together using more PMA. I placed one stack in each corner and a larger stack in the center. I positioned all of them carefully to be sure they could not be seen from any angle. This was especially important as the scraps I used were white and would show easily. I adhered the blocks to the plywood using PMA again. I also apply PMA to the tops of the stacks and carefully centered the print on top before pressing down and making the mount permanent. I used a heavy book to press down on the print to make sure it was well adhered to. One should take care when pressing on the photo itself as the foam core is quite soft and liable to make impressions.  

The last step was to use two small screws to secure some cotton string to hang the print from. 

Finished Result

The finished frame. (Apologies for the funky white balance.)

The result is really nice. The print is spectacular, and it really looks good floating in the deep black space of the frame. Black enhances the print as it matches the tonality of the edges while bringing out the bright light in the center. I am extremely pleased with the result. 

Construction Diagram

I made a simple diagram to help with understanding the construction I used. 

Construction Diagram