HT0883 - Photography as an Extreme Sport

The spectacular sunset, the unusual landscape, the extraordinarily beautiful model, the once in a century event. I can appreciate all of these kinds of photography, but the way these extreme moments seduce us into pursuing the unusual does a disservice to the art of seeing.

HT0884 - Photography as Fantasy

Dreams and wish fulfillment have a place in life, and I suppose that goes for photography, too. But I must confess that the romanticized and idealized landscape gets tiring after a while. It's like desserts that are too sweet; the first few bites might be satisfying, but desserts as a steady diet become unbearable.

HT0885 - Panoramas and Storytelling

The panorama image has a marvelous built-in storytelling capability. There can be a subject on the left side of the panorama that's all involved in something interesting, and a different subject on the right side of the panorama that's also involved in something interesting. But where a panorama really shines is when the left side and the right side establish a narrative or comparison that goes beyond either of their separate stories.

HT0886 - You'd Best Tell Them It's a Metaphor

In Guy Tal's book More Than a Rock, he divides photography into either representational imagery or creative imagery. Using a camera to reproduce what the world looks like is, by far, the most common use of photography. So if your project uses photography to create a metaphor, it's a good idea to tell your audience that. Otherwise you run the risk of them interpreting your image as strictly representational.

HT0890 - My Fisheye Lens

Just for fun, I purchased a fisheye lens with a 170° angle of coverage. I'd seen a few projects that I really liked using these odd lenses, so took the plunge. I've owned this lens now for a year and am yet to find a subject that seems appropriate for it. At what point do we give up on an experimental process or a novel piece of gear?

HT0891 - Impossible Conditions, or Unique Conditions

I'm down this week in Central Utah photographing in the Capitol Reef area. This bit of geography is known as one of the cleanest air locations in the entire United States. It makes for great photography. Except this week, when they smoke from the Idaho forest fires has blanketed the region. It may not be the anticipated conditions, but these unique conditions are making for some really interesting photographic possibilities.

HT0892 - Dumb Mistakes

I've been involved with photography for 50 years but that does not make me immune from making dumb mistakes. I had one earlier this week and I just discovered it. Big mistakes I seem to be able to excuse, but really dumb mistakes are, well, dumb.

HT0893 - A Really Big Print

In 2014, I made the biggest print of my life — an 8-foot panorama of Waterpocket Fold in Capitol Reef. Here is a quick look and a bit of the story behind that humongous panorama.

HT0897 - Building Up from Black

The physics of photography is that every image starts totally black and builds up from that by adding light. Sometimes this can be a very useful philosophical exercise as well as a practical way to make a photograph. Start with dark, and then slowly increase exposure until enough light is added to make the photograph. ETTR aside, this is a great way to build a photograph, particularly ones that have dramatic illumination.

HT0898 - The Problem with a Pile of Prints

We've all had the experience of showing a pile of prints to someone who asks to look at our work. But there's a subtle thing that happens unconsciously when people look through a pile of prints that may not be what we would hope for.

HT0899 - Sequencing Logic

There are all kinds of strategies for sequencing photographs in a project, but one of the simplest I've ever run across that seems to work with consistency is what I call "sequencing logic."

HT0900 - Unintended Subjects

Years and years ago I interviewed John Wimberley and of course we discussed his famous image, Descending Angel. I remember him telling me how it was an accidental shot that he considered a gift from who knows where. His story seemed a fanciful tale until, that is, this week when I photographed an angel myself, and didn't realize it until I looked at the images back in Lightroom.

HT0904 - Your Best Work

All the great artists of history have a few pieces of work that are generally acknowledged as their best. When we see this historical analysis, I think it's natural for us to think about our best. But I suspect we will never know which of our photographs are best because we lack the perspective of time and, of course, best is in the eye of the beholder.

HT0905 - The Advantages of Big

I continue to wonder at the photographic world's fascination with big prints. What advantages are there to big prints that make them so compelling?

HT0906 - No Regrets for the Big Purge

Six months ago I was involved in the downsizing and preparation for my current travels. Part of that downsizing was a giant purge of my photographic archives, particularly all those prints I made in my youth that in retrospect are quite suspect. 99% of it went into the landfill and 6 months later I cannot tell you how relieved I am to not have that albatross still holding me back. There is a research group that might be worth reviewing called the Foundation for Photographic Preservation. And their website FfPP.org.

HT0907 - People with a Camera

Most people with a camera are not photographers, at least not in the sense that you and I think of when we do photography. It's too bad there isn't a word that easily defines those of us who use cameras to make personally expressive artwork. This is precisely why I prefer to call myself an artist or a storyteller rather than a photographer. I wonder what people would say if we started referring to ourselves as "image poets."