HT0972 - Shuffle the Deck

The essence of card games is to create order out of chaos. That chaos starts, always, by shuffling the deck. The same strategy can be used in our art life. One of the great strengths of applications like Lightroom and all the other image cataloging software is it's ability to shuffle the deck and present us with new ways to see our images.

HT0973 - The Missing Lightroom Feature

I sure wish I could lock an image in Lightroom so that no further changes could be made without unlocking it. That would give me a sense of security that I won't accidentally overwrite or lose hours of work. But because there is no way to lock an image in Lightroom we can use a couple of workarounds: virtual copies, snapshots, history.

HT0978 - The Weakest Link

We all know the old maxim that the strength of the chain is measured by its weakest link. Same can be said for photography and especially lens design.

HT0979 - The So-called Continuous Tone Image

Photography is a world of dots. Whether it's the grains of silver in analog film or the pixels we record with digital camera, or the dots that comprise the visible print, anyway you slice and dice it, photography is about dots. Crossing the visual dot threshold.

HT0980 - "Just Because" Images

Sometimes the subject is so spectacular we must make an image. Sometimes the subject is so unusual, or sometimes our response is overpowering. But there are also images that we make that we can't explain. We make them just because. What are these images about? What prompts us to make them?

HT0985 - Looking at Images, Part 4 – Beyond How

Because we are a photographers, it's easy to look at an image and wonder how it was made. The much more interesting questions are why, the emotional and metaphorical content, and what are the connections?

HT0986 - Looking at Images, Part 5 – Photograph as Teacher

I remember the first time I read a Charles Dickens novel. I could only do so with a dictionary at my side and found I needed to look up a new word or two on every single page. I was not only reading the plot but learning a vocabulary about description and character development. The same can be said about looking at photographs. We need to learn a visual vocabulary and that learning never stops.

HT0987 - Center Column Woes

In the ongoing questions about OIS (optical image stabilization) and IBIS (in body image stabilization) on a tripod, I've discovered that it makes a big difference whether or not I have the center column extended.

HT0992 - Ten Variations

Every time we click the shutter, we have, more or less, some idea about what we would like the photograph to be. But of course in today's world of incredibly capable post-processing, that same click of the shutter could probably become so many different images. And interesting exercise might be to force yourself to process a favorite image into 10 variations just to be sure you aren't developing habitual grooves in your decision making.

HT0993 - Benefit of the Doubt

When we look at artwork that's outside our normal likes and predispositions, it's easy to dismiss it and move on. I've found it very useful strategy to ignore my knee-jerk predispositions and to give the artist the benefit of the doubt and try to understand what they are attempting. Sometimes, with time, I learned to appreciate the artist's accomplishment in unexpected ways.

HT0994 - Being Influenced

I know a number of photographers who maintain a philosophy that they won't look at other photographers' work because they don't want to be influenced by it. What's wrong with being influenced? Didn't Isaac Newton put this issue to rest when he suggested that business about standing on the shoulders of giants?

HT0999 - Location, Location, Location - Subject

Have been spending a lot of time thinking about where I want to travel next year as the weather improves and I get back to being mobile. I was discussing this with a friend when he suggested that I should spend less time thinking about where I want to go and more time thinking about what I want to photograph. Bingo!

HT1000 - 10,000 Thank-You's

Let me take just a moment here at "Here's a Thought" #1,000 to express my gratitude. I'm grateful for all of you who listen to these random thoughts, for all of you who are subscribers to LensWork or members of LensWork Online, but I'm even more grateful to all the photographers - present and past - who through their generosity have shared so much that has shaped my thinking and understanding of this wonderful medium. I hope I'm doing them justice by passing along what I've received from them.

HT1001 - Creating a World

For reasons I need not get into, I just finished reading all seven volumes of the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. It occurred to me that part of the reason these novels are so successful is that they create an entire world that is fascinating. The novels are plot driven, but the world in which the plot unfolds is equally fascinating. Sometimes this same idea can apply to photography. Think of the worlds created by Duane Michals, Joel Peter Witkin, Keith Carter, and Sally Mann.