| December 2023 |
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1
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
to members of LensWork Online.
HT1763 - Just How Many Ansel Adams Photographs |
Ansel Adams is undoubtedly the most famous and recognized photographer in history. How many of his images can you bring to mind? Seriously, make a list of the images you can recall from memory without looking at his books or the web. |
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2
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1764 - Motivations to Photograph |
"It's a beautiful building. You should photograph it," she said. In those 8 words, she encapsulated the misunderstanding of photography as an art medium. I cannot think of a better example of the mischaracterization of "camera as Xerox copy machine" rather than a tool for artistic expression. |
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3
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1765 - Aspects of Photography I Detest |
This topic is one that was suggested by a listener. I was fascinated by the question. Try as I might, I couldn't come up with a single part of the process in which I find no joy of one kind or another. I even enjoy throwing the crappy prints into the trash. On second thought, there is one aspect I'm not fond of at all. |
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4
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1766 - Excuses for Becoming a Photographer |
I know ever so many photographers who say they picked up the camera because they can't draw decent stick figures. I'm not sure that's true. How would our inability to draw improve if we put as much effort into it as we do photography? Furthermore, is the craft of any medium the central core of being an artist? |
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5
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1767 - About DPI |
I received an email asking about submitting images to us for publication. We ask for images that are not less than 3400 pixels on the long side. The author wanted to know how many DPI the images should be. I'm asked this question from time to time and it always exhibits certain confusion about the relationship between pixel dimensions and DPI. I'll try to clarify it in this commentary. |
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6
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1768 - Photographic Literacy |
If I describe a friend as being highly literate, what would that mean to you? Does it mean that they know how to read? Or does it mean they are widely read across multiple genres of literature? Or does it mean they know a particular kind of literature with incredible depth. So what does it mean to be photographically literate? |
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7
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1769 - Photographic Literacy and Media |
As we continue to observe a generational difference in the consumption of photography, I wonder if that's affecting photographic literacy? That is to say, if someone primarily knows photography through the internet, do they have a different understanding of photographic literacy than those of us who grew up in the golden age of books? |
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8
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1770 - Your Other Hobby |
I ran through a list of all the photographers I know, and every one of them has a secondary hobby. They're creativity does not extend only to the camera. They may write poetry, dabble in paint, play a musical instrument, excel at cooking, or throw the occasional pot. Creativity is a habit of mind, not limited to one medium. |
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9
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1771 - YouTuber Photographs |
For obvious reasons I won't divulge names, but have you noticed how so many YouTube photo experts rarely show their own photographs, haven't updated their web pages for years, or in general don't appear to be people who actually produce photographs? However, they sure do have lots of opinions about equipment! |
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10
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1772 - Parkinson's Law and Your Photography |
When the walls are full, the drive to produce diminishes. If you don't think I'm right about this, might I propose that you give away every single one of your matted and framed photographs and then live with those blank walls for a few weeks. |
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11
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1773 - Look At This |
In LensWork #94, we published an article I wrote titled, Look at This. The fundamental idea is that every time we exhibit a picture we are essentially saying to our audience, "Stop what you are doing and take a look at this!" Having done so, the audience expects to find something — something important, something significant, something worth their time. As artists, part of our responsibility is to be sure there is something important, significant, worthy of their time, or at least memorable. If there isn't, they will feel they have wasted those precious moments from their life. |
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12
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1774 - Yesterday's News — Lifespan of a Book |
One of the dominant reasons for wanting to do a book of your photographs is to preserve them for the future. Let me ask a pragmatic question: when was the last time you purchased or looked at a photography book that was published 30 or 50 years ago? This question becomes even more revealing if we eliminate the photographic masters. Will your book actually preserve your images? |
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13
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1775 - Yesterday's News — Lifespan of a Book, Part 2 |
Concluding thoughts on the lifespan of a book. |
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14
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
to members of LensWork Online.
HT1776 - Visual Conventions |
There are conventions in photography that influence what and how we produce our images. For example, it's a convention in photography that images representing dreams are soft focus and often have a heavy corner vignette. Images of pristine nature have crystal clear air and tack sharp details. Are these conventions inviolable, or is there a way to avoid conventions and still make a comprehensible image? I think of M. C. Escher and his images that blur the line between the subject and the background. Or Duane Michals who writes on his images with abandon. Breaking conventions is a great way to expand creative boundaries. |
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15
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1777 - Acorns and Oaks |
It's amazing how the beginning of a giant oak is completely contained within the acorn. I often think of this analogy when I'm stewing about a photography project. Within the acorn of an image their lies the future project. Those acorns, however, require some nurturing, some thought, so maturing, some time. The oak never appears from nothing, fully grown. Neither does the photographic project. Not every acorn grows into an oak, but every oak comes from an acorn. |
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16
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1778 - Art As an Investment |
Value is a convention of agreement. When the Baby Boom Generation was massive and there were a large number of people who were collecting fine art photographs, perhaps there were enough people who agreed in the value of a photograph to make it seem like a worthwhile investment. Now that so many Baby Boomers are downsizing and divesting their precious photograph collections, there is downward pressure on prices. Sorry to say it, but I'm seeing lots of photographers who are coming to terms with the truth that their collections aren't worth what they thought. |
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17
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1779 - Megapixel Madness |
Fewer and fewer people are making large prints (that require high megapixel counts), yet the camera manufacturers keep pushing higher and higher megapixel cameras. Conversely, more and more people are showing their images via screen devices that typically require no more than 2-4 megapixel images, but are using high megapixel cameras. What's going on here? |
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18
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1780 - Giant Prints |
For this discussion, I'm going to define a giant print as larger than 17x22". How many of you have made a giant print? Even one, in your life? I did so, just for the challenge and learning curve of making a giant print. I'm glad I did it. I'm even more glad to learn that I don't ever need to do that again. But, at least I know I can if the urge ever pops up again. |
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19
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1781 - Art by the Square Inch |
One final thought about giant prints. Is it fair to say that a lot of photographers who are engaged in making giant prints are doing so for commercial reasons? The bigger the print, the higher the price! Doesn't that seem to equate value and size in a silly relationship. Are longer novels better and more valuable than shorter ones? What about music? Does the length of a piece of music have any relation to its quality or value? Painting, sculpture, poetry? Perhaps the only example that immediately occurs to me are Subway sandwiches. A 12-foot party sandwich sells for more than a regular 6-incher. But I'm not sure I like the equivalence of deli sandwiches and my fine art photography. |
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20
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1782 - The Peers in Your Neighborhood |
Having a peer group in a pursuit like fine are photography is a valuable way to get feedback and to learn how others see your work. Zoom meetings can be a good way to connect with others who are serious about photography like you are. In-person meetings offer more, particularly when it comes to looking at prints and other hand-made expressions like chapbooks or folios. Finding peers, now that is another challenge. |
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21
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1783 - The Goal of Exposure |
Like so many of you, my fundamental philosophy about exposure and development was derived from those wonderful Ansel Adams books on the technologies of the wet dark room. His key idea was that the purpose of exposure and development was to create the best negatives for printing. That's still is the foundation of digital exposure, but the approach is completely different. |
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22
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1784 - The Popularity Contest |
I know how to become a much more popular photographer. It's simple; produce work that most people want. There are three paths that almost guarantee your work will be popular. Nudes, pretty landscapes, pictures of celebrities. Which explains why I will never be a famous photographer. |
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23
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1785 - The Best Camera Ever |
Of the 230 images we published in Light, Glorious Light 2023, 167 had metadata that identified the camera used. Of those 167 images, there were 103 different camera model numbers. The most used camera was the Canon 5D Mk III which was used to make 12 of the images we published. A whopping 90 of the cameras used were represented by 1 image only! What's the best camera ever? Answer: The one you own and use. |
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24
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HT1786 - Sophistication Needs a Docent |
With every passing decade — no, with every passing year — our culture, our technology, and our lives are becoming more sophisticated. Now more than ever, we need a docent to help our viewers to understand our artwork and the context from which it springs. Either that, or we have to dumb down our art to a sort of lowest common denominator of preparedness. |
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25
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HT1787 - Read the Damned Manual |
I've been frustrated with a silly problem with my picture taking that I can seem to resolve to my satisfaction. I've tried several solutions, but always been disappointed with the inconsistent results. With a sense of desperation, I decided to see if there might be a solution in the instruction manual that came with the camera. Yup, there it was, a simple setting that completely resolved the issue. I am cringing now to think of all the images that failed because I was too lazy to read the manual. |
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26
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1788 - Yesterday's Limitations Are Gone |
There was quite a bit of criticism 15 years ago when some of us chose the micro 4/3 platform for our gear. The drawbacks — reiterated over and over by the photo press and competing manufacturers — was that m4/3 images were noisy, low resolution, and could not achieve shallow depth of field. That was all true enough back then, but here in 2024 we have Enhanced Denoise, Super resolution, and the new Lens Blur tool, all a click away in Lightroom and Photoshop. |
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27
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1789 - déjà vu All Over Again |
I just listened to a long podcast in which the speaker was rejecting AI and even advanced content-aware fill and deletion as somehow corrupting the true nature of photography. He proposed that we need a line of demarcation between "pure seeing" and "photo-like painting." Didn't we already have these discussions when digital photography threatened analog photography? Must we really have debates of these obscure concepts? |
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28
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1790 - Borders Are Tricky |
Every picture has a border that surrounds it. That border can be a thin key line or a massive field in which the image floats like a canoe in the ocean. What determines the size of the border? That is an aesthetic decision. Who determines the size of the border is a more important decision. Because the viewing experience will unavoidably include the aesthetics of the border, you should be the one who explores the possibilities and makes the final decision. |
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29
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1791 - Artists Need Money |
Photography is an expensive pursuit. Where does the funding come from? For almost all of us, it never comes from the sale of our artwork. It's too bad there doesn't exist some funding mechanism for artists outside of the normal buy and sell commerce paradigm. This is an issue that is routinely ignored in photography schools and workshop programs. That said, it will be worth your time to consider this thorny issue because it will be one that haunts you for the rest of your photographic life. |
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30
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1792 - WWMWT - What Would Minor White Think? |
Minor White famously said, "Don't just photograph what it is, photograph what else it is." I don't think he meant just turning up the volume. I wonder how he would react to today's common approach of photographing not just what it is, but photographing the hyper-real version of what it should be in our imagination? Viewing a photograph is like striking flint on steel. The spark may be tiny, but from that spark can grow a bonfire. I don't want to place words into Minor White's mouth, but I think he meant that the photograph was the spark and the viewer's reaction might be the bonfire. |
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31
All 1780+ previous Here's a Thought are available
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HT1793 - The Single Copy |
Photography is, as we all know, infinitely reproducible, at least in theory. More frequently, we produce a single copy of an image or a small project. Those single copies are both special and, in the long run, incredibly fragile, even risky. Their chance of survival is pretty slim. Assuming it is important for our work to survive, what should we do about this? |
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