METAL PRINTS

Metal Prints (aka Aluminum Prints) invoke a new and innovative medum for displaying deep-sky images in a stunning format. A sheet of aluminum, 4mm thick and very durable, is infused with inks—infused within the polished aluminum substrate, not just applied to its surface. The lightweight prints exhibit great durability and easy cleaning and maintenance. But more importantly, the prints have a deep color with almost glowing light hues and intense dark hues. Computer renditions cannot do them justice!

The prints I provide hang easily, spaced a small distance off the wall, and do not require, or even benefit from, framing. Each print sold is a member of a signed and numbered limited edition (usually of 25).

ABOUT COLORS

The human eye cannot discern the colors present in Deep-Sky Objects (DSOs). Firstly, the colors are too faint for the cones in the eye to sense them--most DSOs require hours of exposure time to reveal colors. Secondly, the DSO colors may be in regions of the spectrum outside of our eyes' sensitivity range (red to blue). Digital CCD cameras with color filters have greater sensitivity than our eyes and commonly record the colors beyond red, through green, to beyond blue (and sometimes separately record the luminosity, or 'brightness,' of the DSO too). From these, we make a color rendition that sometimes tracts the real hues present, and sometimes suites artistic goals. Then, too, we can mount special filters on the CCD cameras and record the light from hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and other chemical elements that call a DSO "home." Those emitted colors we freely map into the visual red, green, blue to make our images, just as the Hubble telescope team does with their images. I move freely among various color mappings, most of my own invention, to bring to the fore the most interesting features and interactions within any particular DSO. Enjoy!

ABOUT PRINT PARAMETERS

Prints usually come in two geometries and sizes. Square prints are 16" x 16", while rectangular prints are 16" x 20". The print size for any specific object can be deduced from its display on these pages. However, the limitations of this web site make it hard to distinguish the square from the rectangular prints. To best do so, select an image from the gallery and, when the image-specific page opens, click the image to see it in full, with its correct aspect ratio.

Regardless of size, all prints have the same price. The prints are passed to the printer at 300 dpi, and this high-resolution should allow all detail in the prints to render with high fidelity.

Please note: Different Internet viewers, monitors, and platforms may render the images slightly differently, leading to prints that differ in slight amounts from what you view on these pages. The possible differences are small and not a cause for concern.