Black and white images have become more popular both as wall art and also for splashbacks ; so I have added a separate gallery to the website just for Black and White images.
In the new gallery you’ll find popular older images as well as some fresh new ones. As always you need to click on them to see the detail in each image.
Black and white willow and matagouriLindis pass
Black and white can look especially good in mostly white or mostly black kitchens
Black and white installation
Black and White Images with a pop of colour
We can also make Black and White images with a “pop” of colour, or a muted colour for an artistic effect.
The red shedFerns on the Routebrn track with a splash of green
Now that Summer is here, I’ll be collecting more images to expand my image library. The Routeburn track is always a popular destination for good reason, but I also want to explore other local tracks as well.
The Glenorchy Museum recently obtained a couple of boxes of 140 year old glass plate negatives and I have been asked to photograph them, print and restore them as much as possible. With a view of perhaps making replicas of the plates them selves.
Glass plate negatives
The glass plates were very dirty and needed to be carefully cleaned. The emulsion side wasn’t touched as I don’t know enough to do it properly, but the glass side was carefully cleaned with distilled water several times and then carefully with IPA to make sure the glass was both clean and dry before the next step.
There are two ways to get a positive image from the old glass plate negatives. You can scan them in an ordinary scanner, or put them on a light box and take photographs. Since I have a light box, and I want to print these at a later stage, I chose to take photographs.
Photographing the negatives
I could then bring them into lightroom and photoshop and see what we had.
Some of the plates were badly damaged and two were broken so a lot of restoration work will be needed
Broken plate
The importance of glass plate negatives
Here’s why restoring these old glass plate negatives is so important. This is one of the surviving prints we have of the Queenstown flood of 1878. Even with sharpening and adjusted contrast the image is still a poor quality.
View from the cricket grounds – Queentown flood Sept 1878 old photo
The Photographer F. Finch and the Queentown floods
Poster advertising the photos of the floods by the photographer
I was delighted to find a slightly different view in one of our glass plate negatives. Although badly damaged, the detail you can get from this is astounding.
Slightly different view of the flood print from glass plate negative
Detail the maybe even the photographer didn’t know. As I was working on restoration I found what looks like a figure standing in the flood water at the edge of the lake looking out over the bay (see arrow)
I love the detail of the horse and cart. The horse must have been a bit fidgety as he is blurry while the house is super sharp.
Glass plate negative of Early Queenstown
This is a restoration of the Ballarat St glass plate negative. Although the church is no longer there, some of the buildings further down, what is now the mall in Queenstown, are still standing.
Ballarat st Queentown
Again, the details here are wonderful. This group have obviously been asked to be in the photograph, and they know they are supposed to stand still for the long exposures those early cameras needed. I love how everyone has a hat, and young lads seem to be making an effort to be super cool, hats tipped just so.
Ballarat st detail
Long exposures do make for some unintended ghosts. This looks like some young children walking down the street while the photograph was being made. A young girl carrying a parasol? and someone next to her on the inside. Their image starts at the arrow on the right and you can see their feet at the second arrow.
Ballarat st ghosts
Further down the street we have more groups of people and another ghost. It looks like a boy in a sailors suit to me, but maybe he is just moving. The other group is outside Eichardts hotel just stopping to have a chat. The hotel is still standing today.
Ballarat st detail
The last group don’t seem to have been aware of the camera, at least at first, as they have moved quite a bit. I wonder what they were talking about. I also wonder if the man on the far right wandered into the frame and stopped when he saw the camera taking a photo, or if he turned around half way through the process and took off when he realised what was going on. There is possibly another figure behind the two gentleman, and a blur on the street between the two men that may or may not be something as well.
Ballarat ghosts 2
All in all it is a fascinating glimpse into history, and I have many more images to get through. I’ll put these into a separate gallery once I have finished restoring them.
A quick trip up to the skippers canyon turn off was just the thing I needed to do this morning to get a new series of photos for the splashback image library
This is an amazing area and right on our door step too.
I first went into this area in 2014 while taking my son into the Wakatipu high school branches camp. The road is a bit hair raising to say the least, and annoying as well, mainly because there aren’t that many places to pull over and get some photos. In fact you are lucky if you can find a place to pull over and let someone coming the other way get past you.
Branches station
The road eventually opens up into Branches Station where the High school kids camp for 10 days of outdoor adventure. Some kids love it so much that they return to help out the next years camp.
Historic cottage at Skippers
The area rich in history as hardy (foolhardy) souls pushed in to this very remote area in search of gold.
Skippers road
It is certainly up and down country and the narrow dirt road is sometimes impassable due to slips.
Miners cottage Art (on the way in to Skippers Canyon)
This image (above) is a bit of photo art I did inspired by those early mining days
Skippers road
This time I didn’t go very far into the canyon, just far enough to capture the rugged country. This image has been stitched and is nearly 2.5 m long by 900mm high. It has wonderful detail in the tussocks and snow on the distant mountains
Skippers road image as a splashback
and of course it also looks great as a splashback
canyon as wall art
and pretty good as a piece of wall art as well.
The view of Queenstown from the Skippers road
This is the view you get across to the Remarkables from the Skippers Canyon road.
The view of Queenstown from the skippers road as a splashback
Glass splashbacks aren’t just limited to the kitchen, in fact they look pretty good in bathrooms as well. They are easier to clean than tiles and you can choose any image or design you like to fit in with your bathroom style.
This is a bathroom splashback we have installed recently
bathroom splashback
It looks fantastic in this black and white bathroom and the smaller size means it is a very cost effective way to finish off a bathroom.
We are limited by the size of our oven as far as larger sizes go, but we can go as small as 200mm x 100mm ($35.00)
The second bathroom splashback matches the master bathroom but is even smaller.
Laundry cupboard splashback
Bathroom splashbacks are great, but why stop there? This is a splashback for a laundry cupboard. A nice restful fern design and easy to keep clean.
Rina Sjardin-Thompson is a full time photographer based on the West Coast in Okarito Most of her work takes her off the West Coast and all over the country photographing weddings, equestrian events, families, businesses, real estate and teaching/hosting workshops.
We are really happy to be able to use license Rina’s images for our splashbacks and other large wall art, and so I approached her to ask for an interview to get to know her better. The following are her answers to a set of questions. If you have any other questions for her then please ask in the comments below.
How long have you been a photographer? And what got you started?
I have been working full time for the last 6yrs which I’m really chuffed about as it’s not an easy field to get into and earn your entire living from…I started when I moved to the West Coast, to Bruce Bay pretty much in the middle of nowhere. The farm I was living on had amazing views from the house where you could see Mt Hooker, the Mahitahi River, thousand year old Kahikatea trees, a hereford cattle all in the same frame…. How could you not pick up a camera!
What do you mainly photograph? and what is your favorite subject to photograph?
Landscapes are what I am passionate about, my black and white work being compared with Ansel Adams. When I got that compliment three times in 1 week I thought I ought to google the guy cos I had no idea who he was!!! My landscapes are where you can learn about who I am… all other genres are almost always incorporated within a landscape… its how I work best.
From your point of view what makes a good picture stand out from the average?
You asked what makes a good image stand out from another…. CONNECTION. Without it you can’t do your image justice… you have to inject a part of your energy, some people commenting on my work as seeing a lot of soul…. Thats the difference…. You need to connect to your audience in order for them to purchase, connect with your client as you want them to hire you and connect with your subject in order to capture the essence of them…. It’s singularly THE most important part of having a career in this field.
What successes are you most proud of?
The ‘successes’ I’m proud of are not so much in terms of winning competitions etc or name in lights kind of thing but more that I can have this life, run my own race, the fact that I have a lot of return business which I think is the ultimate compliment, meet amazing people with whom almost all remain friends long after the job is done and in fact come to me for more work!!! I’m proud of the fact that I am self taught and have learned the hard way through making mistakes and learning from them…..
Who influenced you the most? Is there a photographer you consider as a kind of idol?
Influences??? Oh thats easy!!! I say Andris Apse and Ansel Adams are the “A Team” of landscape photography. I bought all of Andris Apse’s books before I met him, now we are friends, neighbours and happy to call him my mentor… he has been incredibly helpful to me and encouraging… I have already learnt so much from… best of all NO ego!!!
How do you as a photographer make sure the thing, person or landscape you want to shoot looks the way you want it?
My style of photography is pretty much documentary and simple… my shooting style is simple, editing style is simple, my eye is simple….. Simple works and makes my work relatable and therefore easy to connect with…
Among your works which is your favourite and why?
My favourite images would be
1) the small collection of limited editions I have each having special meaning in their own right
2) the images I have taken of people who are uncomfortable in front of a camera…. More particularly when they are happy with them!!!
In your free time what kind of pictures do you like to take and which do you avoid?
My fave things to photograph are landscapes of course, beautiful, mysterious, majestic, mountainous, moody landscapes my least fave is flowers… that would be because i dont connect with them – however give me a tree or two or a couple of mountains and I’m happy as larry!
What is the most difficult part of being a photographer for you?
By far the most difficult part of being a photographer is;
1) staying true to yourself without feeling the pressure to work in a certain way, or edit in a certain way, or that what you produce should be a certain way… for the most part I’m happy to go my own way and seems to be working just fine!
2) there is something about photography that nurtures the ego…. My pet hate in this industry…. I have surrounded myself with well grounded, non ego laden people and photographers who also help me stay grounded… the reason I don’t use the word professional as it is completely misused….
3) balance is tricky as for me there is no off button… when I’m not working then downtime is also photography based so there is just no getting away from the camera…. No complaints though…. Love my life!
What is the most rewarding part of being a photographer for you?
Rewards are far far more than just monetary.. seeing people happy with their images, people purchasing, connecting and forming long lasting relationships, but mostly just shooting what i love, doing it for me and am forever grateful for those who enjoy how I see the world.
I guess I better ask what gear you use for photography and also for editing.
Whilst I don’t believe one brand of camera is better than another I use Canon gear 6D and L series lenses… my kit is pretty simple but it covers every genre I need to shoot… My walk around lens is canon 100 – 400mm, I use it for everything but macro… it’s also the reason I started to do panoramas as I couldn’t fit everything into the frame and from there have sold many splashback images, some going overseas to the UK, Germany and Australia…. I use LR for general editing and smaller panos but Microsoft ICE for larger images especially multi row panoramas….
and what can you not leave home without?
When you ask what can I not leave home without I laughed as I have just posed this question in a female only Facebook page I started. For me its lip conditioner, chocolate and peppermints…..lol
Kitchen splashback mockup
How do you get your work out into the world? How do you get your clients?
My office is Facebook, it’s also my portfolio and my gallery…. Its where i get almost all my work… here and word of mouth… it’s also where I post so people can see what I do…. I don’t have a website as Facebook offers me something a website doesn’t and that is instant communication …..
So there it is in a nutshell… pretty simple really but simple works.
A new set of splashbacks installations for kitchen and laundry coming up next week inspired me to update the splashback patterns and design page on the website.
Art Deco Splashback design
I rather like this art deco design. There are so many designs out there already that it hard to know where to look next for inspiration.
Of course it always helps to have a kitchen to put your designs into so you can get an idea of what they may look like.
Japanese inspired design
flower pattern in blue
flower pattern in yellow
window decoration as a splashback
green leaves
Green watercolour design
Old wall paper, different cultures, and patterns in nature. All look great as a splashback.
Where do you get your ideas for splashbacks? How do you know they’ll look amazing?
Looking through the multitude of images on the internet can be daunting.
And what if you find one you like but get told it isn’t able to be used because the file isn’t big enough, or you can’t get the license?
As well growing our own image library, we work with several other New Zealand photographers and artists whose work we know is big enough to use for splashbacks and that we are able to license for our use.
Introducing Rina Sjardin- Thompson
Rina lives in Okarito on the west coast and takes fabulous images of the coast and further afield as well. You can check out her panarama images on a facebook page she has dedicated to images big enough to use for really big splash backs.
A quick look through her images will give you some fantastic ideas for splashbacks. I’ve included a few here but take a look at her face book site as there are many more really lovely ones.
Okarito
More ideas for splashbacks from Lucy G
Lucy G
Lucy has been designing splash backs for many years and has a fantastic collection of both images and artistic designs for use in kitchen splashbacks.
Her extensive website is great inspiration for what can be put on a splashback. Her Tui images are specially popular.
We are really pleased to be able to work with Lucy to provide a greater mix of images for splashbacks. Her website can be found here.
Lake Rotoiti splashback
Magnolia splashback
Tui on flax
Rachel Gillespie
Rachel lives in Twizel and takes beautiful images of the Mackenzie country, The Mt Cook area and beyond. Her website also has a wonderful range of Astro photography images.
As part of our service we offer mock ups of your kitchen, so you can see what a chosen image might look like. Send us a photo of your kitchen splashback area and we’ll photoshop different images into it.
To get different splashback ideas especially when you don’t know what you might like as a splashback image, it is often helpful to look at various stock sites such as dreamstime or Adobe stock.
Not all stock images are suitable for kitchen splashbacks
Fighting deer mock up
Although this image might look fantastic as a mock up, the image on the stock site is actually too small to be used as a splashback.
This splash back would be about 2 meters in length and the image will need to be enlarged over 600% to reach the size required. The resolution would be horrible and the quality just not up to standard.
Queenstown splashback image
This one is my own images and has been made up of 8 images stitched together. It won’t need to be enlarged at all. We are building a library of images suitable for large splashbacks, wall art and also wall paper.
We prefer to work with our own images or with the photographers we recommend so that we know we are getting the best quality images for our splashbacks.
We can’t have photos of every single type of splash back image people ask for, and that’s where stock sites can be useful.
Stock images can work for smaller splashbacks.
Horses splashback option#1
Horses splashback option #2
Horses splashback option#3
Horses splashback option #4
This is a splashback we worked on recently and with a few tweaks to option #4 we were able to buy the license and create a beautiful splashback .
horses splash back option#4 with teaks applied ready for installationInstallation complete!
You can literally spend hours searching the internet for splashback ideas. Sites like pinterest and instagram have hundreds if not thousands of images to search through. And while it is certainly useful to see what others have done, you still won’t know what an image or idea will look like in your own kitchen.
How will you choose one? What if you go to all the expense of ordering a splashback and it doesn’t look right? Is it better to have an image or a design? Will the colour match?
What you need is a way to get a range of ideas custom made for you and your kitchen.
We can help, and we’ll do so for free.
Here is how it works, and 4 splashback ideas to get you started.
Send us a photo of your kitchen (even a small one taken on your phone) and we’ll photoshop, all kinds of different images, ideas, designs or patterns into your kitchen photos for you to look at, similar to the images below.
Lindis Pass
Caples imageRouteburn river Head of the lake
Same kitchen, 4 different images behind the bench.
When you take a photo of your kitchen splashback area for us to photoshop images into, be sure to include some of the rest of your kitchen to give a good overall impression of the whole room. Also take a closer photo so you can see some detail of the images being suggested. Send the photos to us, and we send them back with different options for you to consider.
With the kitchen in the photos above, maybe a design would look better. How about a texture like bricks?
Brick pattern
Or a pattern?
Pattern 2
As you can see the look of the room is totally different depending on what image or design is choosen. It only takes moments for us to change an image for a different one, and send it back along with further splashback ideas for you to look at.
We can take into account the personal interests of your family. Do you love horses? or have a favorite pet? Is boating your thing? Exploring the natural environment? Do you have fond memories of an Island holiday?
When you really don’t know where to start we have a list of questions like this we can send you as a prompt to help get you started.
There are many design magazines for you to get further ideas from, and of course many more web sites. Note down your ideas and then ask us if you can see what a similar design might look like in your own kitchen.
If you’ve taken a photo you really like, then send it to us so we can see if the image is of high enough quality to be able to use as a splashback, or I might be able to use part of it or make it more like a painting using some photoshop wizardry to create your own unique splashback
Contact us to ask for a kitchen splashback ideas consultation. and don’t forget to check out our inspiration page
A printed glass splashback is quite different to a laminated glass splashback in that with a printed glass splashback, the image is printed directly onto the glass. This is a process that involves a special printer that prints the image back to front (colour first) ending with a layer of white. Images printed this way tend to look “flat”
At Made in Glenorchy we use a unique lamination process that is quite different to the usual printed glass process.
With a splashback that has an image laminated onto it, the image is printed on a film first, and then laminated with a product called EVA which puts an optically clear layer between the image and the glass giving the image extra depth and “pop”
Not only that but EVA also offers UV protection, so no ink fade over time.
Laminated glass splashback display made into an outside seat. This seat has been outside in the weather for over 4 years with no ink fade.
Quality control is difficult with a printed glass splashback
The ability for quality control on the image before lamination is also very important for our process. Defects in image files sometimes don’t show up until after they have been printed.
Custom print
Because we control the whole process from image selection, then to printing then lamination, we are able to go back and correct any fault in the file before the final lamination process.
Not only that, but we can do test prints for colour matching, and even laminate small tiles to make sure our clients are getting exactly what they want.
Send us a request for a quote if you are interested in getting a glass splashback for your kitchen. Laminated glass although a superior product isn’t much more expensive than a printed glass splashback.
And as far as what we can print? Well your only limit is your imagination. but don’t worry, we’ll help you. We have a great image library and also work with other photographers and artists for splashback ideas and of course you can find lots more on sites like pinterest and online magazines like this one.
