What is the go-to paper for accurate color reproduction used by world renowned travel photographer, ocean explorer, documentary film producer, and wildlife conservationist, Dr. Kah-Wai Lin?

NONE OTHER THAN ONE OF RED RIVER PAPER'S WATERSHED COLLECTION MATTE PAPERS.

Kah-Wai Lin is a landscape, travel, and nature photographer based in New Jersey who has led hundreds of photo tours and workshops and has presented at over 250 seminars around the world. He was awarded First place at the International Photography Awards in 2015. Named as one of the top 10 exhibitors in the world by Photographic Society of America in 2015 and 2016, Lin was also honored in 2016 by being appointed as an Artist-in-Residence by US National Parks Service. In recognition of his photographic excellence and invaluable contributions to the photographic community, he was the recipient of the Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition. In 2026, he received the Medal of Merit from the Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Climate Change for his contributions to cultural preservation and wildlife conservation in Mongolia, as well as a Medal of Merit from the Governor’s Office of Bayan-Ölgii Province for his role in promoting the province’s culture and tourism.

Enjoy our Success on Paper Recap with Dr. Lin on his recent creative assignment:

The Client

I was leading an annual winter aurora photo workshop in Norway and was doing a personal creative assignment while photographing the landscape there.

The Assignment

I photographed this aurora image on Senja Island, the second largest island in Norway. It was a cold winter night and I was monitoring the weather and aurora activities in my hotel room and realized there was a good chance of seeing strong aurora activity in the next hour. I told my attendees to get ready and we went to the Bergbotn Viewpoint, which faces the amazing fjord landscape to the Northwest. Once there, everyone eagerly began setting up equipment in anticipation of the show, which began as predicted. No matter how many times I have seen them, I am always excited to witness these magical lights in one of the most spectacular settings on earth.

The Execution

Successful aurora photography is determined by many factors, including the precise prediction of aurora activity, chasing the weather, understanding the environment, and technical and esthetic knowledge of photography. This was a very fast-moving aurora; therefore a short exposure time of 3.2 seconds was used in order to capture its distinct shape. The image was made with a single exposure, thanks to the moonlight illuminating the mountain and fjord.

Post Production

I used Adobe Camera Raw for converting the raw image and then Adobe Photoshop for most of the post-production workflow. The Nik Collection is among my favorite plug-ins.

The Output

The image was output on both Red River 60lb Polar Matte and 60lb River Linen papers using an Epson Stylus Pro 3880 printer. The Red River 60lb Polar Matte papers have excellent performance in terms of accurate color reproduction and are able to show the gradation of color tones extremely well. The contrast between white and black is also very well presented. On the other hand, Red River 60lb. River Linen has a textural surface that significantly enhances the visual sensation of fine detail in landscape images.

See More of Dr. Lin’s Work:

Website: kahwailin.com

Facebook: facebook.com/kahwailin

Instagram: instagram.com/kahwailin

All artwork and/or photographs used in this post are subject to copyright held by the featured artist and used with permission from the artist.

Original Publication Date: March 10, 2026

Article Last updated: March 11, 2026

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