Earth Day is in its 50th year this year! As photographers, many of us observe and photograph the natural world, or place subjects in serene forest settings, on beaches, or in fields. Taking care of the environment while still pursuing our passion for photography is important to us here at Beau, and we try to provide some earth friendly options you can use while you create your masterpieces.
Aside from the debate about whether film or digital is more environmentally friendly (we won’t go into that here, it is a big, complicated topic with many answers) there are ways you can reduce your impact on the environment. Here are a few options we have here in the shop.
LegacyPro EcoPro Darkroom Chemicals
Eco Pro products are a good alternative for black and white processing. They are formulated to provide the best possible quality, while reducing toxicity to the lowest achievable level. We stock the following EcoPro chemicals, and can order in others if there is one you don’t see listed here.
LegacyPro EcoPro BW Paper Developer -1QT – 39.28
LegacyPro EcoPro Neutral Fixer – 1 Quart – 32.35
LegacyPro EcoPro BW Clear Stop Bath -1QT – 32.35
Hahnemuhle Natural Line of Inkjet Papers.
The Hahnemuhle Natural Line of papers uses unique, sustainable raw materials from hemp, agave and bamboo to produce high quality, beautiful papers for inkjet printing. These plants are fast growing, require no pesticides and use less water than traditional materials for producing paper, making them an excellent choice from an environmental perspective. The Hahnemuhle Natural Line is acid and lignin free, has museum quality age resistance (ISO 9706 compliant), is free of optical brighteners, and has a matte inkjet coating that is compatible with both pigment and dye based printers. These papers also give beautiful results, so feel good about printing your favourite images. We stock the following sizes, but are able to order others as you need. Get more information on the Natural Line here – https://www.hahnemuehle.com/en/digital-fineart/fineart-media/natural-line.html
Sample Packs (2 of each paper): 8.5×11: $12.83
Sample Packs (2 of each paper): 13×19: $18.53
Agave 13×19 (25 sheets): $164.12
Hemp13x19 (25 sheets): $164.12
Bamboo 13×19 (25 sheets): $149.08
Display your images with folders from AGT
AGT is a Canadian company based in Ontario that produces folders and mounts for photographs and documents. They are dedicated to being a sustainable, responsible producer, with multiple ways of helping the earth.
For all AGT manufactured folders, the custom paper and other quality stock papers used are either – 100% recycled, some of the heavy weight paper is 70% recycled paper or at least 30% PCW (post consumer waste) recycled items. The mills used are FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) certified and are 100% green power generated, or use electricity offset with certified wind power. Paper is archival and acid free without use of chlorine.
We stock many sizes and shapes in AGT folders, below are a few examples. Please call us for more information, or if you are a studio requiring a large number of items.
Vancouver Folders:
Retail pricing (contact us for wholesale pricing)
4×6 – $2.27
5×7 – $2.27
8×10 – $3.48
https://www.beauphoto.com/product/agt-vancouver-folder/
Vancouver Easels:
Retail pricing (contact us for wholesale pricing)
4×6 – $2.37
5×7 – $2.37
8×10 – $3.88
https://www.beauphoto.com/product/agt-vancouver-easel/
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Buying used equipment is a great way to lessen your environmental impact as a consumer, find some fun treasures, and save money! We have a huge selection of used equipment here at Beau including film cameras, darkroom equipment and supplies, digital cameras and accessories, lighting, studio equipment and more. Check the used section of our website here – https://www.beauphoto.com/equipment-sales/used-equipment/ We don’t have every used item that’s in the store listed here, but we are working hard to make that happen. Please call or e-mail if there is something specific you are looking for. Here are a few photos of the full shelves here right now…
Hummingbird photo ©Jason Kazuta
