My thing for Hahnemühle paper and canvas.

Clicking on the above image will take you to the canvas section of the Hahnemühle site where you can see much more if you wish to.

So why Hahnemühle?

I imagine the real question is rather, why me?

Indeed, I am but yet another one of THOUSANDS of camera owners out there and the number is growing daily. Out of those thousands there are hundreds of photographers claiming to be landscape and fine art photographers.

Now I don't think that that is a bad thing. Quite the contrary. Pick up a coffee table book with pictures from the 1970's, 1980's or 1990's and page through it. Then log onto some photo-sharing platform or social media. It takes mere seconds to see that photography has changed forever and probably not all for the worse. With the digital era photography became much more accessible to many more people who may have had the talent, artistic ability and means to travel to exotic locations. The complexities of film photography or the cost of equipment may well have been the only hurdle that prevented them.

Well, that all changed for good.

This book took me on imagined journeys of discovery for countless hours as a child. You could pick one up for an unbelievably low price here if you wanted to.

So why landscapes?

There was a time in my life I thought I could do it all. I pushed to do weddings, events, people, food and a few other types of photography. In theory, producing any image of any subject matter is dead easy. And it is. It is just not always simple and I have come to understand that I can't do it all. It took me a while to unlearn this approach but I believe I am nearly there.

Sure I do other shoots from time to time but on my terms. I only do it to have fun. Possibly not a good business decision but that is a decision I can live with rather happily.

My photography is my way of getting away from the rush of daily life and out into nature. It could be for only a few hours or it could be for days. It doesn't matter. Escaping the rat race, however briefly, is always good for the soul. Capturing views and subject matter I find worthwhile is not a bad experience either. I come home and work my images to something which I believe is possibly bordering on the artistic and I have some further pleasure from the outing. Then I share a small percentage of these images on a selection of platforms.

Now it has happened on a few occasions that some others agreed that I did something right. Some of them were even willing to spend money to buy some of my work. For this I am very grateful. I must somehow make some pocket money to justify the price of the toys. Hell, I could even call myself an internationally collected fine art photographer and artist since I have been blessed to sell some of my work to the UK...

Local or further afield, there is that something about seeing your work hang on someone else's wall. I find that something hugely rewarding.

The thing is, I would not want to become reliant on income from my photography. When that happens it becomes a "job" and that will change the dynamic forever.

In light of all this I am quite happy to sell much smaller numbers of prints. I also limit my sales to three copies of any work. You can know for sure that any antonroland work will only ever hang against a maximum of two other walls at the exclusion of my private home.

Sure, there are many print shops out there and anyone can print a decent picture on canvas. On your next visit to your local shopping mall you could easily have a canvas print made of an image you captured and edited on your own late model smartphone.

The difference, however, comes from the quality and size of the print. I would like to believe that a good few years remain before smartphone technology will overtake "real" cameras. While we are on the topic of printing there is all the reason in the world to support Port Elizabeth's Walker Digital when it comes to that really special print you want to have made. They are my absolute only choice for anything beyond home printing.

This is where Hahnemühle comes in.

For one, they are as environmentally friendly as any fine art paper and canvas producer I know of. They have been around since 1584 so they must be doing something right. They also provide a number of additional services and products that assist in adding some exclusivity to the printed work. Every print I sell is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and registered online. Also, the print and certificate carries a numbered hologram sticker.

For now and the near future I only offer prints on Hahnemühle's Daguerre canvas. It is a bright white heavy canvas that displays colours beautifully and it still stretch-mounts easily despite the heavy thickness.

Or so I am told by this fine crowd and a few others. There is one and only one local framing outfit I choose to make use of and you would do well to make use of their services too.

Now of course rooms get redecorated and that print may eventually find it's way to a less prominent wall in a less prominent room...or worse. I have come to understand that my work may not hang in the Loevre anytime soon either and I am quite OK with that. For a season my work might just give the owner pleasure and that is more than good enough for me.

At least with one of my works you get some exclusivity. The exclusivity lies in the limited number of prints that will exist and also in the fact that it is printed on what I consider the best media out there.

Oh and did I mention that, like my Maternal ancestry, Hahnemühle is German? What a happy coincidence.

The next big thing for me is creating memories for others on the odd occasion when I do turn my cameras on people...something my wonderful wife has been trying me to see for years. I am getting there.

Until next time, go play often and remember to have fun doing it. May your photography never become a "job".

Anton