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Below are the three most recent Here's a Thought . . . commentaries
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1
HT2032 - A Photograph Is a Printed Object |
I recently was talking with a photographer who stated authoritatively that there wasn't a photograph until there was a print. That certainly was true in my youth, but I'm not so sure any more. This is why I try to clarify my language by differentiating between a photograph and an image. |
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2
HT2033 - A Most Creative Question |
A friend gifted to me 500 sheets of 4x6" glossy inject paper. Every day when I walk into my office, I see that stack of paper and wonder what I might do with it. Voilá, a new project is born. |
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3
HT2034 - An Audience of One |
In a conversation the other day, a photographer was making a case for large prints on the wall because they could be viewed simultaneously by a group of people. Viewing such artwork, he emphasized, becomes a social activity. Maybe that's another reason why I tend not to make prints for the wall. |
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4
HT2035 - Subjects That Are Everywhere |
In this month's LensWork Bonus Edition we are featuring a project by Kevin Raber that consists of images of rust. In some ways, this reminded me of a project we published from Larry Blackwood about crows (LensWork #93). What these two projects have in common is that their subjects are common. Both Raber and Blackwood could photograph anywhere, on any day, out their front door or as they travelled around the world. Brilliant. |
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5
HT2036 - Photography As an Unhealthy Postponement |
One of the worst aspects of photography is that it can seduce us into postponing deep seeing. When we click the shutter, we can stop looking because we can see it later in the photograph. Said another way, photography can be a way of shutting off our engagement with the world. |
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6
HT2037 - Presets Are Not the End |
I love the time saving presets we can use in the digital workflow. If we are not careful with them, however, they can seduce us into a lethargy and numbness that works against our creativity. Presets are a beginning, but it is so easy to think of them as a final step.
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7
HT2038 - Waiting for the Subtleties |
Admittedly, I'm older and less mobile than I was in my youth. This has led to a different strategy in my photography that I find strangely much more productive than I would have guessed. I sit. I look. I think. I look some more. This inevitably leads to interesting images I would have missed in the click-and-run activities of my youth. |
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8
HT2039 - The Cone of Silence |
Do you remember the cone of silence from the old TV show Get Smart? I often recall this when I think about looking at artwork, particularly my own photographs. How can I perceive my own responses to the art (or the world) when they are diluted and overpowered by the din around me? I want to immerse myself in The Cone of Silence as I immerse myself in the artwork. |
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9
HT2040 - Prioritizing Our Activities |
I suppose I'm no different than all of you in that I don't like thinking about my own mortality. Like it or not, our days are numbered. With this in mind, how do we prioritize the possibilities of our remaining creative life?
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10
HT2041 - Expanding Media |
In terms of the medium itself, most fine art photographers limit themselves to a single form of expression, the matted and framed print on the wall. It's interesting to compare that to writers or composers who typically explore various kinds of forms during their creative years. |
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11
HT2042 - The Importance of Being Decisive |
Artmaking is a series of trials, of assessments, of decisions. I think this is the source of great difficulty for some who struggle in their creative life. I've often referred to the great challenge of artmaking as the "C" word: COMMITMENT. |
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12
HT2043 - Organizing Virtual Copies |
Depending on your workflow, if you are like me you have lots of virtual copies in your Lightroom database. Why do these copies exist? Do we need to keep them? What was the purpose for which they were created? Copy Name and Smart Collections to the rescue! |
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13
HT2044 - Cleanliness Is Next to Artliness |
Do remember the film photographer's devil-incarnate known as changing bags? There's not much difference between a changing bag and a vacuum cleaner bag when it comes to dust. Even here in the digital age, dust is still an enemy for all of us. |
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14
HT2045 - Limits |
I know it's shocking, shocking I tell you, that you're current camera has limits. Your last camera had limits. Your next camera will have limits. The question is not whether your camera does or does not have limits, but rather can you find a way around the limits, or even simpler, except the limits and just do the best work you can with what you have. |
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15
HT2046 - View It Again |
One way I find useful when evaluating a new image (mine or someone else's) is to think about whether or not I will want to view it again. Is it likely to wear well over time? Compare this to music. There are songs I've listened to a thousand times. Others, one time is enough. |
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16
HT2047 - Projects in Time |
How long does it take you to complete a project? That's a trickier question than you might guess at first glance. It might take years to gather the assets, but in my experience the time required to assemble the assets and ideas into a finished project is best accomplished quickly. |
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17
HT2048 - Unfair Comparisons |
I was frustrated yesterday with my printer. It wasn't precisely matching the colors I was seeing on my monitor. A couple of hours later and a dozen sheets of paper wasted, it dawned on me that I was making unfair comparisons that the audience would never see. Success is not defined by a perfect match because no one but me will ever see the image on my monitor. |
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18
HT2049 - Color Fidelity or Emotional Color |
I'm new to the challenges of color photography. I didn't do any color photography until my first digital camera in 2005. For the longest time, I was focused on trying to make accurate colors with fidelity. After a few years, I realized that was a completely superfluous objective. |
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19
HT2050 - Find a Way to Keep Being Productive |
I've come to treasure artistic momentum. The camera tucked away in the closet for months at a time is a sure way to retard your creative life. It seems that strategically developing a method that keeps up some momentum is essential. There are lots of ways to do this. Find the way that works best for you. |
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20
HT2051 - The Most Important Camera Setting |
Over the years, I've resolved the exposure equation differently. In my film days, I prioritized ASA/ISO and that implied long shutter speeds and a tripod. These days, I prioritize shutter speed, and let the ISO float. Here's why. |
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21
HT2052 - Where to Look for Your Next Project |
Most of the time when I find myself wondering about my next project, I find that I'm thinking about a new location I'd like to visit. "Where do I want to go next?" is not the question of an artist, but it is the question of an explorer. I think it's important not to conflate explorer and artist, but rather to recognize the relationship between them. |
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22
HT2053 - Winter Light |
My favorite time of year to be out photographing is late fall and winter. It's the light that I find so scrumptious. The sun at a low angle, the dramatic weather, and the short, intense daylight hours all combine to create the best time of year to grab the camera and wander. |
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23
HT2054 - The Wet Landscape |
For years I've said that bad weather makes for great photography. An example of that is how the landscape intensifies in color and sheen after a rain. Photographing in the rain might be uncomfortable and cumbersome for us humans, but no one ever said that artmaking was supposed to be easy. |
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24
HT2055 - Surprise, Surprise, We Are Different Now |
I hear from readers of LensWork with considerable consistency that they keep each issue and have a growing library. This is important because you are not the same photographer today that you were when you received your first issue of LensWork. Going back and looking again is a fascinating exercise. |
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25
HT2056 - Is a Book Art? |
I don't know a photographer who doesn't want to produce a book of their images. That's a worthwhile goal. Assuming you are wanting to produce a book of your work. it's crucial that you understand that a book is not an artistic pursuit. Books are commercial commodities that may include artistic elements, but the book itself is a commodity. |
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26
HT2057 - Where to Crop |
One of the best reasons to use a high megapixel camera is the ability to crop in processing. I've typically found this to be the least attractive alternative. I much prefer to crop with a zoom lens in the field. The exception to this is a change in aspect ratio. |
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27
HT2058 - Emotional Distance |
If I want to foster an emotional connection to my image, the first step is almost always to get closer. Reducing the distance tends to create a more powerful first person experiential relationship with the subject. |
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28
HT2059 - Images That Grab Your Heart |
It's a pretty good bet that most of us love the great photographs from history. What's not to like? A useful exercise is to ask why. If we can identify precisely why those images tug at our heartstrings, we might find that useful in making our own images. |
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29
HT2060 - The First Line, the First Paragraph |
Novelists and short story writers understand perfectly well the importance of that first line or paragraph of text. In fact, the subsequent pages are often a confirmation or refutation of that first line, at the very least an explanation of it. We have the same sort of thing in photography projects in the form of a title and the introductory text. |
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30
HT2061 - The Bonds That Make a Project |
A multi-image project is a project because something binds all the images together to make a theme. What is it that defines the images as a unified thing? Is it the subject? The mood? The location? The processing? How you answer this question about unity makes or discourages a viewer's relationship to the project. |
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31
HT2062 - The Five Colors Blind the Eye |
Laotzu, that old rascal of a sage from 600 BC in China, advised that "the five colors blind the eye and the five notes deafen ear." He was proposing that there are more subtleties in color and sound than our methods of notation can record. I think there's an interesting parallel to this idea for us photographers. |
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