PROS CHOOSE TONY BONANNO TO PRINT THEIR BEST WORK...
Published Jan 27th, 2016, Arthur Bleich, Red River Paper
Flip a Tony Bonanno coin and it’s a winner either way it lands. Heads, it’s an internationally renowned photographer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico who travels worldwide to shoot architecture, travel, documentary, corporate events, editorial and fine art photography. Tails, a talented digital print maker who works with both Epson and Canon large-format printers and outputs images for other pros.
Bonanno is recognized as a Master Printer in his circle of colleagues. However, unlike many print service providers, he brings the “eye” of an accomplished professional photographer to his printing workflow. His 25-year pro photography career not only spans the usual commercial and corporate assignment, but also includes the fine art market with many exhibitions, gallery shows, and collectors. As a result, he has first hand experience with what his clients are looking for in creating exhibition quality prints of their own.
Rock-star photographer Baron Wolman with a Bonanno print of his iconic Janis Joplin image
Recently, Baron Wolman, Rolling Stone’s original photo editor needed seventy 20″x 24″ B&W prints for a London show of his famous Woodstock images. Bonanno printed them– each a flawless beauty. Wolman recalls: “Nothing escapes his eagle eye, even things that escape mine. His skills as a professional photographer add to his understanding of what is possible from any digital file given him by a fellow shooter.”
Zoe Urness, catches one of her prints as it emerges from one of Bonanno’s many printers.
Zoe Urness, Blue Ribbon winner of the Santa Fe Indian Market, needed prints of her celebrated “Native American Traditions” images for numerous clients and exhibitions around the world. She turned to Bonanno to produce them because she, she says, “I had seen other prints he had done and knew he’d be able to bring out the subtle tonal nuances that are so important in the kinds of images I shoot.”
These two photographers and many other photographic artists turn to Bonanno, who is a Red River Pro, to create their exhibition portfolios. Why Tony?
“Every printing job I do is a collaborative effort,” he says. If a client wants me to print their work, they have to commit to sitting down with me in my studio and we work together to output the final prints. None of this ‘send a file somewhere and hope for the best.’”
Tony is a top pro who knows what good printing should be. Click on image to learn about his White Horses of the Camargue Workshop. Photo ©Tony Bonanno
Bonanno walks each client through Lightroom and Photoshop and shows them how various post processing options affect the final output on paper. It is a process of creative artists working together to achieve the strongest composition and best quality print possible and, more often then not, results in a better print than the original photographer could have made.
Most of Tony’s clients choose Red River papers. Baron Wolman, for example, has been using paper from the Red River UltraPro series for his international exhibitions. Zoe Urness favors Red River Aurora Fine Art Natural. Other very popular papers among Tony’s clients are the Red River San Gabriel Semi-Gloss Baryta and the new Palo Duro SoftGloss Rag.
Wolman sums up his work experience with Bonanno: “Not only is it a joy to collaborate with Tony, he is the most efficient, conscientious and detailed digital printer with whom I have ever worked. Plus, he’s just a downright good guy and a fascinating story teller.”
