For Centurion Investments, RapidStudio created a collage set of uniquely-sized
and positioned canvases to help fill their office wall with an amazing set.
Photographer Lizan Maree commented, ‘As part of a huge revamp in the building,
we moved to new, modern offices. The CEO returned from his holiday in the
Kruger with a photo he had taken at one of the vantage points, overlooking the
Olifant’s River. He wanted us to blow it up on a canvas to cover the wall, with
the following words with it: “Some things in Life you cannot Buy or Build, it is
Priceless, appreciate it….”.
‘The quality of the photo was not sufficient to blow up to about 3m x 2m. After
deliberation it was decided that I would travel to the Kruger to retake the photo,
with better equipment. Armed with a Canon 7D, and a couple of lenses I set off
on my mission. I arrived too late on Friday to catch the sunset, so when the gates
opened on Saturday I was out to the specific vantage point on the way to Satara,
just when you leave the Olifants Rest Camp. The sun was horrible and, although I
did everything technically correct, I knew it was not what we wanted. I decided to
enjoy the day in the park and return for sunset. Again, the light was not working
with me, and I worried that I’d have to return without the image. On the Sunday
morning, as I was on my way back to Pretoria, I stopped to try one last time, and
quickly did a handheld-panorama, with the sun perfectly warming up the scene.
‘Back home I knew I wanted RapidStudio to handle the printing. With a better
quality photo we decided we wanted to make an impression on the whole wall –
6.4 x 2m – but one solid canvas wouldn’t work. It was then that we started
playing around with the Mosaic effect – different sized blocks creating one
image. RapidStudio was great, helping me with the stitching, creating the blocks
and making sure we formed a cohesive image with the canvas collage. It is four
years later and the image still adorns our office wall, impressing visitors, and
reminding us of what really is important.’
From RapidStudio’s perspective, the project was managed by Fran Carstens. The
wall area was split into a variety of canvas sizes that were laid out to creatively
and consistently fill the wall area. The image was then processed to maximise
the resolution at the print size required. For such a huge job, some special
processing can help reduce any artefacts or pixilation on the print.
The image was then overplayed on the canvas layout, and painstakingly,
each individual canvas was cropped out of the complete image, printed, and
manufactured and quality checked, one at a time. The entire project was then
laid out on the factory floor to check for consistency and alignment.
The result was 15 individual, high-quality, hand-stretched canvases, and a special
layout ‘map’ for the contractors to know where exactly to hang each canvas on
the wall.
Needless to say, the project was a huge success, and testament to RapidStudio’s
ingenuity and skill.
So, whether you want to create a lasting impression for your brand or you simply
want to store your memories to be able to share them, Bowens and RapidStudio
can help you to find the most ideal and creative solution with personalisation
thrown in as a given.
The prologue of the book personalised with the rider's photograph
The rider's times personalised on the race map in the book
Nex Media • BOWENS REALISING PERSONALISED MAGAZINE COVERS
www.
nexmedia
.co.za
12
