Where Color Meets the Eye

Published April 2021 | Updated April 2023

Jason Vinson is a wedding & documentary photographer in northwest Arkansas, as well as a writer for the popular photography blog, Fstoppers. We sat down with Jason to learn more about his trip to India in 2017 to photograph the Holi festival, as well as his first exhibit showing off his images. Take a look behind the scenes to see the process of printing his photographs on our Photo Rag Baryta paper.

Jason’s Journey

Jason’s journey in photography began with a small Sony camera, as he wanted to capture moments with friends. After he and his wife were asked to take family photos of their friends, they began photographing weddings and their business started growing. Meanwhile, Jason had a full-time job as a Mechanical Engineer and then began writing for Fstoppers on the side. With his writing, he was invited to travel to India to cover a story during the Holi festival.

The trip was a turning point in his career. While still working full-time, any destination weddings Jason and his wife booked, they were using his vacation days to be able to travel. Although their wedding business was taking off, Jason’s vacation days began dwindling. After asking for the time-off to be able to travel for two weeks, his request was denied which led to Jason quitting his job as an Engineer prior to his departure.

Immersed in Color

Once he landed, Jason immersed himself in his trip, knowing that once he returned, he would be diving in as a full-time photographer. Jason was able to attend a new Holi festival each day of the week, which he mentioned isn’t common as most festivals last for a single day.

The Holi festival is the celebration of Spring, as well as the celebration of good winning over evil. The main way it’s celebrated is with the use of colored powder and water. This colored powder is thrown into the air, thrown at people, and even physically rubbed onto people’s faces. For the water, this is thrown with buckets, water balloons, sprayed with hoses, and can even come from shower heads spraying from all around you if you are in a certain temple.

“I loved being fully engulfed in taking pictures for a full week, immersing myself in the culture.”

The Exhibit

After Jason’s return, he was asked to feature his photographs in an exhibit. Choosing the photographs to print can be a daunting task, but Jason approached it as “I just chose what spoke to me.” He selected to print 16 of his images in 16×24" and 30×45" sizes.

His exhibit currently can be seen at The Apollo in Springdale, Arkansas.

The Printing Process

Jason opted to print his photos on our newest Photo Rag Baryta paper, providing phenomenal detail and color reproduction. It was the perfect option to capture all of the colors of the Holi festival, allowing the viewer to feel as if they were there with Jason.

Made of 100% cotton paper with an inkjet coating, this Fine Art paper by Hahnemühle provides an elegant high-gloss finish. It gives your fine art images an elegant sheen with warm whites and rich blacks, ideal for black and white images, including portraits.

Next, he chose to have his images mounted to ¾" Standout for a museum-quality finish.

Standout is a lightweight, frameless solution for wall display prints. Whatever your favorite paper type, Photo, or Fine Art, it can be paired with an edging option of your choice to best complement your image. Choose from black, white, stainless steel, light wood, or bamboo edging in ¾” or 1½” depths to create a dynamic display. With Standout’s pre-drilled holes and finished edging, it allows for an easy, ready-to-install option.

Follow more of Jason’s journey and the gear he used in his article, How I shot the Holi festival in India.