RichEskinPhoto.com: Nature, Fine Art and Conservation Photography

Quotes

“But the bottom line is that if we don’t define ourselves and our desires, someone else will. . . . the biggest issue with my type of work (or really any photography) is consent. If the most erotic explicit imagery is done with joy and consent, it’s a lot less objectifying than, say, Winogrand stealing images of women on the street without their consent.” — Renee Jacobs

“You must be imaginative, strong-hearted. You must try things that may not work, and you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul.” — Auguste Gusteau, “Ratatouille”

“A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.” — Frank Capra

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
— Arthur Drooker: Light on the land
— Exhibition: Pairs and Diptychs Lots of images, many very well-done. Interesting idea for a project.
— John Bernhard: Diptych Another in the Lenscratch diptych series. Some of these are very interesting pairings–a few I don’t get.
— Roger Kasparian: The birth of the swingin’ 60s
— Queens of country life Portraits of French “peasants” all born in the first half of the last century. Interesting series.
— Renee Jacobs: Sensual and provocative images in Paris Note: This article has nudity.

Field and Studio
— Tom Heaton: Photographing in the White Desert of Egypt Never heard of this place.

Miscellaneous
— Evan Benally Atwood: Native American views on gender
— Ted Forbes talks about inspiration
— Sean Tucker: Finding your visual voice

The story of the North Cascades residency continues. I tried several times to climb part way up Rainbow Falls to get a better view of the upper part of the falls. It was May and the snow melt really made for a very strong flow. It was also too steep and there was too much spray on the camera and the lens to get a better image. This was the best image from the foot of the falls. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to get back a week later to see if the flow was still strong, but somewhat milder.

Rainbow Falls.

One of things I liked best about the residency was finding natural things, flower, fungi, bears, birds that I never seen before. These mission bells were new to me. As I printed images, I would post 5 x 7s in the visitors center.

I was proud of myself for getting this image from the Lakeshore Trail that included the flowers in the foreground as the sun came up over the mountains behind me to light the mountains of the opposite shore.

Quotes

“I am not a documentarian; I make photographs that reflect an experience, perhaps a mood or an impression. I don’t presume to photograph the ‘spirit of a place’ (if such a thing exists) as much as I hope to photograph my encounter of it.” — David DuChemin in “Savannah”

“We want to go down the paths our idols walked down, but the thing that we forget is that they didn’t walk down paths, because those paths weren’t there yet. They created them.” — Hank Green, author

“When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.” -— Jean Shinoda Bolen, psychiatrist

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
— Gloria Baker Feinstein: A search for beauty and serenity
— Gregory Crewson: Post-industrial America
— James Van Der Zee: A portrait of Harlem
— Debe Arlook: Surrealistic landscapes

Field and Studio
— Cool water drop images
— Negative space in landscape photography
— Know when to press the shutter to capture the decisive moment

Miscellaneous
— Bayou Josh muses on whether it is the picture or the story
— What gear to take and how to get it on the plane

If you remain interested in the story of my North Cascades residency, a contemporaneous diary and imagery is available at my old blogspot blog. The newest posts are at the top, so you have to scroll down and then scroll up to keep the time sequence.

The kitchen in the Imus cabin was certainly not fancy, but was entirely functional and pleasant.

Kitchen in Imus cabin.

On a day-to-day basis the landscape was fairly dramatic.

North Cascades Artist-In-Residence

There was an old log school house that was maintained, but no longer used.

Old Stehekin school.

Quotes

“The formula for doing a good job in photography is to think like a poet.” — Imogen Cunningham

“I don’t want no drummer. I set the tempo.” -– Bessie Smith

“No teacher, preacher, parent, friend
Or wise man can decide
What’s right for you — just listen to
The voice that speaks inside.” — Shel Silverstein “The Voice” from “Falling Up”

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
— Sun City
— Turkish “drifters” This is about a group of young men who drive to show off.
— Arlene Gottfried I was equivocal about including this link, but the story is interesting.
— NY Street life 1982

Post-Processing
— Sean Tucker: Enhancing eyes in your portraits

Field and Studio
— Learning to do street photography
— Bayou Josh just got a new camera for bird photography (Quite)a bit tongue-in-cheek, but some very good bird photography

Miscellaneous
— Eve Arnold
— Simon Baxter: Look back to find inspiration and creativity
— India

Continuing the tale of my artist residency in the North Cascades from last week: I was assigned to the Imus Cabin. I have no idea who Imus was, but I had his cabin all to myself. This is the glorious view from the front porch.

View from Imus cabin.

North Cascades Artist-In-Residence

Quotes

“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.” -— Octavia E. Butler

“Imagination is a force that can actually manifest a reality. Don’t put limitations on yourself. Others will do that for you.” — James Cameron

“Creativity is an energy. It’s a precious energy, and it’s something to be protected. A lot of people take for granted that they’re a creative person, but I know from experience, feeling it in myself, it is a magic; it is an energy. And it can’t be taken for granted.” -— Ava DuVernay

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
— Architecture of North Korea
— Robert Cumming: Playfully pushing the boundaries of image and narrative

Post-Processing
— Better hair selection
— Sean Tucker: Natural skin editing for portraits

Field and Studio
— Lindsay Adler: Creative white balance and tint to enhance your images
— Macro subjects for winter

Miscellaneous
— Changes in lens design will follow use of mirrorless cameras
— Duane Michals and his father Very interesting. Actually written by Duane Michals, with photographs and Michals’ captions.
— Convergence of writing and photography A topic currently of particular interest to me.
— Blake Rudis: Artistic vision The first 7:30 has some good discussion. Then he talks about an upcoming free, three-part seminar on the topic. I almost didn’t include this link because of the ad, but Blake is pretty good and the seminar is free.

Our feathered friends are having a difficult time. This past summer there was disease going around that caused many bird deaths with eye infections and other problems. People have their yards sprayed with insecticide if they even think they saw a mosquito, damaging not only the insect populatons, but decreasing food sources for birds as well. Continuing loss of habitat and climate change also are a burden on bird populations. When snow covers the ground and makes seeds harder to find, we should do what we can, like stocking bird feeders, to help maintain bird populations.

Nuthatch

Female goldfinch, winter plumage.

Red-bellied woodpecker

Quotes

“There is no such thing as rule-governed creativity.” — Frank Herbert

“Everyone looks at what I am looking at, but no one sees what I see.” — Félicité Lamennais (From Cole Thompson’s newsletter)

“I think doing something creative is the most important thing to me, and I think it’s probably just good for the soul for anyone, whatever it is … I think everyone needs to create something.” -— Ricky Gervais

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
— Pittsburgh
— Underwater photography

Post-Processing
— Jesus Remirez: An hour on blending modes

Field and Studio
— Tom Heaton: Scottish shoreline but Tom also discusses some subtlties of composition and his mistakes.
— Get lucky with your photography

Miscellaneous
— 7 tips on improving your photography
— Robert Mapplethorpe
— Why should photographers buy photo books?

My New Year’s Resolution: Do a much better job of keywording and titling my images.

As the snow melts, thinking of Sherwood Garden tulips in the spring.

Great egret (randomly chosen image from 2021).

Reminder: Check that the date in your camera has updated to 2022, and if you didn’t do it in the fall, check that you are on the correct daylight savings time.

Quotes

“I want to kick-start your imagination and let you discover the places it can take you.” — Terry Brooks

“A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.” -— Frank Capra

“That’s the way I work: I try to imagine what I would like to see.” -— Sofia Coppola

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
— Julie Hamel: Altered negatives I haven’t seen anything like this before. To me it seems reminiscent of a combination of pinhole camera, photogram and collage.
— Sara Cuce: Memory of the eyes Somewhat surreal representation of what it feels like to be “in between.”

Field and Studio
— Making the best use of shadows
— Understanding the histogram to get perfect exposures.
— Simon Baxter: Interpreting the scene At the beginning of the video I appreciate the way he discusses composing the image. Also an example of “hair ice” a very unusual occurrence.
— Lindsay Adler vs Dani Diamond : Artificial vs natural light

Miscellaneous
— Tom Heaton: How many good images should you get in year?
— Paul Miguel: My best nature images of the year

“I’m not just seeing the world differently; I’m seeing myself differently. I’m seeing new possibilities. If that’s what you need in 2022, I wish that for you as well. Maybe it’s time to shake things up. Maybe it’s time to create a body of work that’s different from anything you’ve done before. To be a different kind of photographer than the one you’ve become so comfortable with. Maybe the way to make more photographs in 2022, if your options have to remain limited due to the pandemic, is to make different photographs. I have a feeling it is for me.” — David DuChemin

This might be a good time to look back over the images you have taken during 2021 to ask yourself if you are satisfied, and if not, what you could do differently in 2022.

— Alistair Benn talks about great landscape photography using the work of Galen Rowell and Marc Adamus as a source
— Richard Benson at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Quotes

“Recently, photogrpahy has become almost as widely practiced an amusement as sex and dancing–which means that, like every mass art form, photography is not practiced by most people as an art. It is mainly a social rite, a defense against anxiety, and a tool of power.” — Susan Sontag in “On Photography” [I add personally, that if you accept this premise, it has been greatly magnified by cell phone photography since the book was written in 1973.]

“Success is sometimes the outcome of a whole string of failures.” — Vincent van Gogh

“I’ve tended to use my imagination to confront reality, rather than escape it.” -— Michael Moorcock

Links

Post-Processing
— Exporting, file settings and sizing Followup to a link from last week.
— Color matching when compositing
— Adding shine to jewelry

Field and Studio
— Taking street photos at night
— Getting better sunrise images

Miscellaneous
— Hiro (Yasuhiro Wakabayashi) died this past August A protege of Richard Avedon, he was the only photographer on contract to Harper’s Bazaar. He was known for elegant use of bold colors, unusual lighting and perspectives, and surprising juxtaposition of elements.
— Tonalism
— Photobooks
— Beginner’s guide to street photography etiquette

When I updated PHP for WordPress, I apparently lost access to the the gallery software used for my website (as opposed to my blog). However, I have just added a new project to Adobe’s “MyPortfolio” which comes free with Adobe’s photography package. So this week, instead of including a couple of images, I refer you to my “MyPortfolio” website, in particular the page for “Senescence” that I just posted.

Quotes

“First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice.” — Octavia E. Butler

“A person without imagination is like a teabag without hot water.” -— Alan Fletcher, acclaimed British graphic designer

“I like an empty wall because I can imagine what I like on it.” -— Georgia O’Keeffe

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
— R.J. Kern: The Unchosen Ones Interesting concept, well-done.

Post-Processing
— Jim Welninski: Understanding the channel mixer This is pretty technical.
— Blake Rudis: Avoiding excessive saturation
— Sean Tucker: Choosing between Black & white and color

Field and Studio
— Alec Soth: A Pound of Pictures How Soth approaches a new project
— Paul Miguel: Solving some common autofocus problems
— What to do when visiting a new place to photograph wildlife

Miscellaneous
— Alec Soth analyzes “American Pictures” by Jacob Holdt Soth always does an amazing job of going deep into the book, the images and the underlying issues. Note there is some nudity.
— Sharing your photos: file formats, resolution and color space This article has lots of good basic information
— The cost of film isn’t going up as much as you might think Well-written article with general applicability

A little jazz goin’ down this summer at the Guiness Open Gate Festival.

An assortment of architectural styles on Charles St.

Quotes

“Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.” -— Yoda

“If you are a photographer who works with life, then you have to put yourself into the territory where that imagery and your thoughts might coalesce, because you need the vital lesson that first key image provides. Not the first image, but the first key image, the one that unlocks the door. The one you stumble over. It might surprise you by coming in from left field, taking things in a completely different direction, but that’s the beauty of working with the world, with the moments that time hurls your way. It’s a collaborative dance between the artist and life itself, so embrace the partnership. Often the world’s complexity is far more interesting than your concepts. If you can have the humility to admit that, you’ll do well.” — Paul Graham

“I know when a body of work is finished when the charge drops, and the thing that pulled you along is no longer there. You can feel yourself lose your connection to the narrative. At this point, the story has been told and is now in danger of repeating itself. It’s about knowing when that time has come and having the courage to let it go.” — Sian Davey

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
— Ecuadorian Photographers, Johis Alarcon For me, these images are a mixed bag: some are too cryptic or had to interpret, others quite good images of family and culture.
— Owen McCarter: Student film photo award

Post-Processing
— New quick actions in PS including blur background
— Automatic color correcton This could be helpful for your Thanksgiving photos that are too yellow from normal household lighting.
— Blake Rudis: Masking in Camera Raw vs Photoshop

Field and Studio
— Photographing horse jumping A bit more than I would like about the camera, but also good recommendations on positioning yourself, shutter speed, focal length and f/stop.

Miscellaneous
— John Sexton on Polaroid film
— Ted Forbes talks about film
— All you need to know about USB ports
— Stock photography certainly isn’t what it used to be, but can still be an opportunity to sell your images. This is an interesting presentation, with some real earnings numbers.

The pandemic has transformed many things in our lives from masking to traveling, to socializing. One of the more obvious physical changes is that many NY restaurants have created outdoor dining venues each in their own way. A few examples below:

Quotes

“You are not offering testimony to the existence of something, you are bringing something into existence—something that did not exist before, and that would not exist if it were not for you.” — Guy Tal

“Your perceived failure can become the catalyst for profound reinvention.” -– Conan O’Brien

“When someone tells me “no,” it doesn’t mean I can’t do it, it simply means I can’t do it with them.” -— Karen E. Quinones Miller”

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
— When the sun meets the fog
— Magda Biernat I find the fathom images most interesting.
— Lydia Panas: Sleeping Beauty

Post-Processing
— Colin Smith shows how to use the new “colorize” neural filter in PS

Field and Studio
— Ted Forbes: On exposure
— Alistair Benn on Expressive photography

Miscellaneous
— The commercial images of Ansel Adams
— Sean Tucker: the amazing dog photography of Ben Burfitt

New York City, East River, early Thanksgiving day, 2021

The Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, NYC.