LensWork - Photography and the Creative Process

HT2677 - Obviously, This Is Not Good Has this ever happened to you? I was watching a YouTube tutorial on a software feature when the speaker showed a "before" and "after" version of an image they were using for demonstration. They showed the before image and said, "Obviously, this is not good." To my eye, it was great! In fact, the before image was much better than the supposedly improved after im...

HT2676 - Within the First Half Dozen I watched a fascinating interview of Sting by Rick Beato on YouTube. Sting said that he loses interest in a song if there isn't a surprise in the first eight bars. I think I can say the same about photography. If I look at a photographic project and don't see something new, unexpected, a mystery or a question, something surprising, or that grabs me in the first...

HT2675 - Photograph as Memory Trigger A friend recently lamented that she was going through her lifetime of pictures and questioning why she ought to keep all the vacation images of landscapes and trees. She raises a good point. Why should/would any of us be interested in these personal mementos? Her question demonstrates the defining line of demarcation between photography as a memory trigger and...

HT2674 - Is It Enough to Be Technically Good? I remember a time when producing a technically accomplished photograph was enough to earn applause. I have many. I would now be embarrassed to show them. I now know they are empty of art but undeniably sharp with beautiful tones. Here in the digital age it has become increasingly obvious that technical prowess is a given, still important, but not much...

LW1512 - The Box of One Hundred I wish I'd heard of this idea years ago. Each of us has an idea of the best 100 images of our art career. Make a box of prints with those 100 images and store it away someplace safe. If you prefer, make a folder or Lightroom Collection with these 100 images. Make it exactly 100 images. Then periodically review the collection. Once a year, once a quarter, once a mont...

HT2673 - The Invisible That Is Right In Front of Us Why is it so difficult to make a personally expressive image in Yosemite? Why do we keep photographing sunsets ad nauseam? Why can't we see the yogurt from the fridge when it's on the counter next to us? Believe it or not, the answer to all these questions is the same. This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episod...

HT2672 - Decor Photography and Art Photography The other day I completed a beautiful photograph. Seriously, simply gorgeous. A stunning landscape, magical light, vibrant colors, engaging composition — so wonderful that it took my breath away. I like it; I'm proud of it; I immediately framed it and hung it in a prestigious location here at home. I struggle, however to call it Art. Show your appreci...

HT2671 - Flung to the Far Unknown Sending our artwork out into the world can be a dicey proposition. We lose control of its fate. Who knows if it will survive or where it will survive. (Maybe it all ends up in the Twiloid Zone. We will likely never know.) To us, once it is gone, it is almost as though it never existed. It resides in us only as a memory — like all other experiences in our life, as...