What is GVA about?

Hello! My name is Gray McQuarrie and I share other information about myself on the “about” page. Grayrock’s Visual Adventures (GVA) represents my vision of photographic art: the creative process as well as the creative output. It’s first and foremost about you. And the physical product we sell is a print. The prints we create we want it to inspire others, like yourself. What images would you like in your life? What inspires you about a landscape, a city scape, a building, a person, or a town? What time of day would you like to see your image? Is there something here in the sales gallery or my personal gallery that reminds you of a place or a time that was important to you? How can we help you make the right choice of the image you want, its size, and its material? Would you want to collaborate with me and my team on a project or just one picture? Let us know what we can do for you. If you send an email to us on the “contact” page with your wants and ideas, we will respond. And that would be the start of you collaborating with us and participating.

What is the specific product sold on the GVA website?

We sell prints. Mostly unframed, unless we are doing a special event or there is a special request. We offer limited sizes so that you can frame using standard frames. Our larger Giclee and metallic paper with acrylic print, (offered in the future) do not require frames.

Why buy a GVA printed image when I can get any image I want on my phone?

Phone cameras are wonderful. Phone, tablet, and computer screens are wonderful ways to view photos. But in a way they are ephemeral experiences. After sharing with someone a picture important to you, what happens after many months? How easy is it to find and share the same photo? When you do share, how often does the other person want to take the phone from you? How often does the phone screen jump to somewhere else and there is a back and forth and frustration getting the image back on the screen? The experience with a printed image allows you to focus on the image rather than becoming distracted by the technology of phones. Seems simple, but it is a powerful way to connect. And I have observed a huge difference passing around a printed image versus passing around a tablet or phone. The tablet or phone rarely makes it around the table of 4 or more people.

Isn’t printing “old” and boring and fails to capture detail and color over a screen?

True, a printed image has been around longer; however, there have been a lot of technological advancements that have driven astonishing results in print. So much so, that the prints that come from GVA are the latest application of print technology and made to exacting quality standards and is the reason why we call them Archival prints. The prints will last over 100 years without any loss of color if framed correctly. The printer we use for 8.5” x 12” frame size and 17” x 22”, is state of the art. The print head is huge. There are 12 separate ink cartridges, including an optimizer that enhances and protects the color of the print. Colorizing a photo is done with expert precision not only to enhance the image, but to optimize the image to the printer. For larger prints, such as canvas in the 30” x 40” (coming soon) or what is called Giclee or Acrylic Metallic Photo Print (also coming soon), we have those done at a trusted, highly exacting, local print shop. We like local, because of the strength of the relationship with them, and the fact if necessary, we can observe every step of the process as well as dial in all aspects of the print including color balance.

But isn’t a screen image, like from my computer, better quality than a print image?

Not really! The file size that we shoot with our cameras are sometimes over 150 mega bytes. The file size that you project on your computer screen through social media, like Instagram or Facebook, are at most 20 mega bytes, but more typically around 3 megabytes per image. The resolution that you are seeing an image on a computer screen, unless it is a very special monitor, is about 70 pixels an inch. The image resolution we print at is 320 pixels an inch. We use printer software to provide shadings of color that exceed most computer monitors on the market today.

So what I get and see on my phone isn’t as good as a print?

At GVA we see images on the phone and images that are printed serve different purposes. For example, what you get on a phone is immediate and in the moment, and can be shared to another phone on the spot. Everyone takes thousands of pictures on their phones and it wouldn’t make any sense to print images for every moment in your life. The “print image” is for something special where you want to preserve a memory in time where you felt connected to someone or someplace. It is an image that is important to you that you want to transport yourself back to. And hanging it on your wall, someplace where you live, you know where it is at all times. We also encourage people who buy our prints and have them framed, unless it is a 30” x 40” print, to take them off the wall for you and others to experience. Tablets and phones are tactile. We are encouraging out clients, to also be tactile with the printed images they buy from us. So it isn’t a question of what is better but what purpose the image serves you.

I want a printed image of a special place so what can I do if I don’t see this available for sale on your site?

Our first priority at Grayrock’s Visual Adventures is you, the customer that wants a special image. One option is to go to that place yourself, wait for the perfect moment, and shoot with a very expensive camera, and then print it out with all of the correct settings, etc, etc…. If you do this, you have become a fine art photographer. If you are not interested and inclined to do it yourself, then this is a reason to subscribe to Grayrock’s Visual Adventures and join our newsletter. If there is a place you want an image, you can make a request for us to go there and shoot. We plan our trips in advance, and if we can dove tale what you want to where we are going, we will do that. If we have no plans for a trip to the place that you want, we will consider seriously going there and create a project similar to are other projects, such as “London at Night” and will capture a picture for you to consider.

Would capturing a place in an image I want cost me a lot of money?

In most circumstances no. The images that you wanted us to capture would become part of the Archival Limited Edition and put up for sale for anyone to buy. If you wanted something that was one-of-a-kind and private this could be arranged. And our intent would be to make a possible purchase fair and reasonable for you. As an example, say you wanted an image of a specific fountain captured for you in London in the morning. And you wanted this to be private and just for you. We can arrange something like that. But also, I would be in London taking other pictures where some of them would go up for sale. Your special picture would never go up for sale. It would be yours alone. And I would make every effort to never take a similar picture at that place again. You might ask, “How could you do that for me?” Well, there are almost an infinite number of places to go and take wonderful pictures, so it is very easy for us to make an image private and just for you.

Bottom line, doing things in this way, piggy backing your special image of your special place, on top of a public project makes things very economical for us and for you.

Why are there so few options on your site for buying a printed image?

We want your buying experience to be simple and straightforward. The size images we product are at or close to common frame sizes, so you do not have to use custom framing. The 8.5” x 11” and 17” x 22” are ideal for taking off the wall and passing them around. It’s your preference, but we prefer, unless it is special circumstances not to use a matted border. Also, not to use matting on the back or covering the back of a photo. The paper we use is very heavy and thick. We find this photo art 82 pound paper, produces the best quality in terms of clarity and color. And since it is a matte texture, there is no reflection from the sun or indoor lighting. The intent of the 30” and 40” size is if you want to have an immersive experience, as if you are being teleported back to that special time and place. Here we offer canvas, where if it is gallery wrapped, which means there is no need for a frame, saving you on cost and your time, and metallic paper sealed in acrylic, which provides a striking sharpness and strong color depth, and also doesn’t require a frame. So the questions you should ask yourself is, what kind of space do you want to put the picture? Do you want to be able to take it off the wall? Do you want it large so you feel you are transported back to that special time? If it is a large print, do you want it to look like a painting or do you want it to look like a piece of almost glass art?

What do I do if I can’t find an 8.5” x 11” frame and the frame shop insists that the 17” x 22” frame needs to be a custom job?

A more common frame size, up from 8.5” x 11” would be 11” x 14”. In this case, you would want matting material around the image, which will add moderately to the cost. And you would want an acid free foam board just barely taped to the back. This secure the artwork to the frame and have it flat and smooth against the glass. Another option is to make a special request where we can print the image as an 8” x 10”. In this way you could use an 8” x 10” frame. For the 17” x 22” image you could jump up to a 20” x 24” frame and use a side matte that surrounds the image, or you could make a special request where we print the image as a 16” x 20” image where you could use a 16” x 20” frame.

Do you accept cash payment?

No. All sales are done through the GVA website. There are no exceptions.