Introducing Frank the Framer. Frank is an interesting persona. To begin with, he is very friendly and is always smiling with a warm wink. He cares about his appearance, judging by the neatly tied bow tie and perfectly parted hair and he can be both abstract and exact at the same time and is very colorful.

Over time Frank's purpose will become clear, but today seemed like a good opportunity to introduce him.

Last year was the first year that we held a fund raiser for The Sheldon Theatre the Friday after Thanksgiving. The idea was to open the doors of The Sheldon to the public during the Downtown Red Wing Holiday Stroll and use their set and costume departments to re-create a family photo at a 1950's Macy's department store.

This year we are excited to work with The Sheldon again on another retro-Christmas family photo event. This year we will re-create the excitement of Christmas morning, circa 1955. To put it in proper perspective, think of the set of "The Honeymooners" (Brooklyn apartment, table, chairs and a table-top tree), throw on an old-fashioned robe (maybe with a night cap or hair curlers) and a few slippers. The photos will be printed using a very dated look (back and white complete with creases).

This will be way too cool for school. And all for $5.00!

The Newseum is an interactive museum of news and journalism in Washington D.C. The mission of The Newseum (from their web site) is to "educate the public about the value of a free press in a free society and tells the stories of the world's important events in unique and engaging ways". In other words, it is all about the First Amendment. It is located just off Pennsylvania Avenue near The U.S. Capital. This is a high profile location in a high profile city.

As part of our ongoing relationship with the AmericanPoverty.org photojournalism exhibit, we produced several very large (48”x72”) mounted prints for a reception at the Newseum later this week. The images needed to be large because the reception hall is large and visual impact is important. This is an exhibit designed to create momentum for the AmericanPoverty.org campaign going forward.

These images have this beautiful platinum print finish. Platinum prints (sometimes called platinotypes) is one of the oldest photographic processing techniques and provides the greatest tonal range of any printing method using wet chemistry development. But because this is the digital age, platinum prints are ‘replicated’ in the computer, yet they do a terrific job of re-creating the original look.

2010 will see an acceleration of activity with Catholic Charities and AmericanPoverty.org.

And we can hardly wait.