Monday Missive — September 28, 2020

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Rich

Quotes

“” —

“I would like to be remembered as someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the best of her ability.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg

” . . . I photograph because it feeds my soul. . . I find I see the world differently through the viewfinder of a camera. Photography has helped me “see” more deeply because in order to make images that are more than snapshots, requires this skill. All this is true, however, the process required to make photographs and more importantly, the experience I am having doing so, is what feeds my soul. The images are almost a by-product of the process and the experience.” — John Barclay

“Arriving at a plateau in any art form, and staying there forever, eventually stagnates both the artist and the art.” — Al Weber

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
– New work from Gregory Crewdson
– The illusion of free time
– Narrative portraiture
– Gallery marks 50 years since the passing of Jimi Hendrix
– Western Window: An American Road Trip
– Keith Carter Thank you Cheryl A.

Post-Processing

– 3 reasons not to use AI processing
– Controlling color
– The inverse curve for light painting This works when parts of the image are too dark or light to paint in needed highlights.

Miscellany
– 5 Tips on Editing

I saw this and my immediate reaction was “Bad Hair Day!”

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Monday Missive — September 21, 2020

Posted on September 21, 2020 by Rich

Quotes

“Whatever satisfies the soul is truth.” — Walt Whitman

“Knowledge is preferable to ignorance.. Better by far to embrace the hard truth than a reassuring fable.” – Carl Sagan

In memory of RGB: “Act boldly and unseen forces will come to your aid.” – Dorothea Brande

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
– Humorous juxtapositions
– Dan Jaravis: Good London street photography
– Need to connect

Post-Processing
– 6 LR editing tools for landscape photographers
– Remove anything from complex perspectives
– Getting perfect skin tones

Field/Studio
– When less is more
– Part 1 of David duChemin’s new course on “Why do images look the way they do?” is free and definitely worth watching even if you aren’t interested in subsequent lessons. It covers 7 key factors: shutter speed, aperture, focus, exposure value, light, focal length and point of view.

Miscellany
– Google Images: Licensable image info
– Imitation

Backyard bunny taking the sun on a chilly morning.

Skipper butterfly

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Monday Missive — September 14, 2020

Posted on September 14, 2020 by Rich

Quotes

“The trick now (as it has undoubtedly always been) is in knowing, specifically, what it is that you want to say with your photograph and then being able to employ the appropriate techniques, in the appropriate circumstances and in the appropriate amounts, all in a manner sufficient to convey (while not detracting from) the aesthetic message you are attempting to communicate. That means that you really do need to know precisely what it is that you are trying to say through your photograph.” — Huntington Weatherill

“The weakest version of the real you, is stronger than the best imitation of someone else.” — Joanna Davidson Politano

“Our photographs look the way they look because of how we see and what we are drawn to.” — David duChemin

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
– Bugs
– Myth of a woman Good images, but also an interesting story

Post-Processing
– Sharpening
– Huntington Weatherill on the necessity of image manipulation His work is always superb.
– Removing wires

Field/Studio
– Backyard bird photo studio
– Clouds

Miscellany
– Juxtaposition
– Creativity
– 10 street photographers every photographer should know

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Monday Missive — September 7, 2020

Posted on September 7, 2020 by Rich

Quotes

“I was told that the best way to learn to make photographs is to make a lot of them, and that’s impossible to argue with.” — David duChemin

“A photographer’s work is given shape and style by his personal vision. It is not simply technique, but the way he looks at life and the world around him.” –- Pete Turner

“All that I have achieved are these dreams locked in silver.” – Paul Caponigro

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
– Myanmar in monochrome
– Almost surreal street Really good color grading.
– Lewis Hine and child labor

Post-Processing
– Sharpening

Field/Studio
– Make soap bubbles that look like planets

Miscellany
– Google images will allow more licensing info on your photos
– Corporations should pay for the use of your photos
– What happens to your digital imagery when you die? Everyone should read this one.
– Ethics in photography: How not to photography sex workers
– Minimalist photography awards

Two dragonflies at North Point State Park.

A young goldfinch chowin’ down on coneflower seeds this morning totally ignored me. I went back for a camera, and then for a tripod to shoot some video and he just kept on eating those seeds. Great morining in the garden!

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Monday Missive — August 31, 2020

Posted on August 31, 2020 by Rich

Quotes

“Good photography is not about zone printing or any other Ansel Adams nonsense. It’s just about seeing. You either see or you don’t see. The rest is academic. Photography is simply a function of noticing things. Nothing more.” — Elliott Erwitt

“Photographers must have a point of view – must have something to say. Without a philosophy, a photographer is simply a technician who clicks the camera.” — Mary Ellen Mark

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” — Maya Angelou

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
– The view from above
– Clouds in our midst Interesting idea
– Skateboarding photography
– NYC commute post-covid

Post-processing
– Simple way to make your colors look better in PS
– Intro to color grading
– Understanding “smoothness” in gradient maps

Field/Studio
– The Decisive Moment

Miscellany
– Really good analysis on volunteering your photography Thank you Vickie
– A few of the legends Interesting article on Peter Adams 38 year project to interivew and photograph famous photographers. Thanks Steve O.

This tricolored heron was identified to me in the field by another photographer. The white stripe down the neck and along the belly seem to confirm that identification, but if someone is confident that this is actually a Little Blue Heron, please let me know.

Same goes for this one. Is it a late stage immature Little Blue Heron or a Tricolored Heron?

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Monday Missive — August 24, 2020

Posted on August 24, 2020 by Rich

Quotes

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” — Maya Angelou

“Here were creatures so exquisitely fashioned that they seemed unreal, their beauty too fragile to exist in a world of crushing force.” — Rachel Carson

“I want art to make me think. In order to do that, it may piss me off, or make me uncomfortable. That promotes awareness and change, or at least some discussion.” – Pink

Links
Photoessays
– Cedric Terrell: Portraits and street
– Elizabeth Greenberg: Imaginary Places

Post-processing
– Make eyes sparkle
– Targetted adjustment tool in color mixer in ACR or LR This can act like a luminosity mask based on color.
– Layer mask challenge Better understand how masks work.
– Blake Rudis: Color Theory

Field/Studio
– Good evaluation of compositional errors

Miscellany
– Color theory The takeaways for photographers near the end really shows the utility of understanding color theory, even for black and white images.
– Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI): Adobe is proposing a new system to assure content attribution This is interesting and may reduce image theft.
– Potato photographer of the year contest Some interesting images, some just fun, and some great creativity and imagination.

Female ruby throated hummingbird, at the Visitor Station at Patuxent North Tract. Three images taken at fast continuous shutter and combined in post to show the landing sequence.

Female ruby-throated hummingbird.

Female ruby-throate hummingbird.

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Monday Missive — August 17, 2020

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Rich

Quotes

“If you’ve worked hard for it, it’s a skill.
If it’s something that other people have that you believe you can’t possibly achieve, it’s a talent.
Of course, they think the same thing about your skill, don’t they?
Being jealous of talents that are actually skills is a great way to let yourself off the hook and make yourself miserable at the same time.” — Seth Godin on December 10, 2016

“That’s my ambition: that you look at the pictures and realize what complex, fascinating, interesting people every single one of my subjects is.” – Jock Sturges

“Where the world is at once mysterious and completely ordinary.” — Keith Carter

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
– Water is life
– Ayanava Sil: India Not as cohesive a body as I prefer, but individually most of the images are interesting.
– BW in Tokyo
– Munich silenced by Covid

Post-processing
– 5 tricks in Photoshop
– 5 tricks in Lightroom
– Saturation vs Vibrance

-Field/Studio
– If sharpness truly mattered . . .
– Telephoto sunset minimalist photography from Denmark

Miscellany
– The Truth about becoming a professional photographer

Gulf Fritillary, Deweese Is., SC. October, 2017

Ghost crab, Deweese Is., SC.

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Monday Missive — August 10, 2020

Posted on August 10, 2020 by Rich

Quotes

“At first glance the photograph is a medium of great limitation. The primary function of the camera is to describe the surface of an enclosed scene. Yet, for perhaps ineffable reasons, certain imagery surpasses it’s technical purpose, instead conjuring sensations that span the senses and inspiring curiosity as to what lies beyond the frame.” — Macaulay Lerman, Lenscratch, Aug. 4, 2020

“I am always looking for the extraordinary in the ordinary. I have to turn my brain off and use my eyes to see, and forget what I think I know. Observe the light, the shadows the moment. Really, it is about paying attention, since nothing ever looks the same twice.” — Elizabeth Greenberg, Lenscratch, April 8, 2020

“Anyone can pick up a fancy camera and call themself a photographer but those who can take the cheapest gadget and the most menial subject and make something beautiful from it… are the true photographer.” — Abigail Marie

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
– Peter Essick: Fernbank Forest

Post-processing
– 5 most useful layer blending modes
– Editing your landscape images
– Customizing Photoshop Back to Basics. Really helpful. I just used trial and error, this shows how to actually move tools and palettes around.
– Gradients

Field/Studio
– Is street photography exploitative?
– The power of moving 12 inches
– Lindsey Adler: Vintage pinup portraits
– Lindsey Adler: Shooting at super wide apertures

Miscellany
– Creating PDF books or presentations in PS

Little Blue Heron: “Mirror, Mirror in the pond, who is the fairest…”

Little Blue Heron with tadpole prey.

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Monday Missive — August 3, 2020

Posted on August 3, 2020 by Rich

Quotes

“A democracy cannot thrive where power remains unchecked and justice is reserved for a select few. Ignoring these cries and failing to respond to this movement is simply not an option—for peace cannot exist where justice is not served.” — John Lewis

“You are a light. You are the light. Never let anyone—any person or any force—dampen, dim or diminish your light. Study the path of others to make your way easier and more abundant. Lean toward the whispers of your own heart, discover the universal truth, and follow its dictates.” — John Lewis

“Great photography is about depth of feeling, not depth of field.” — Peter Adams

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
– Minimalist BW
– Larry Cohen: Baltimore
– Iris Wo: In the calm of your arms An interesting little zine.
– Bryce Watanasoponwong: Thailand Interesting color and framing.

Post-processing
– Using puppet warp
– Select subject in the latest version of PS is much better
– Speed up Lightroom performance

Field/Studio
– Street photography at night Thanks Steve O.
– Wide angle landscape composition Gorgeous Lake District scenery.

Miscellany
– 11 photographers that will inspire you Good list; some well-known, some not. Thanks Steve O.

Looking back at my images from my artist residency at Rocky Mountain National Park in 2012. Reflections on Bear Lake.

The view from Prospect Mountain, Rocky Mountains National Park, 2012.

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Monday Missive — July 27, 2020

Posted on July 27, 2020 by Rich

Quotes

“Seeing things pleasing to the eye is more and more about experiencing them and less about capturing a trophy of the moment. And in more and more moments, I sense through the camera a parting of some veil only to see beyond it yet another one. This is where I think the fog mimics the greater truth that each moment of clarity is nothing but a smiling invitation to a shrouding mist just beyond. Come forward it says, and with that encouragement, I do.” — Paul Van Slambrouck

“Once the experience occurs there is no longer a painting or a photograph, or a poem, there is only the experience. Is there any other way to reach the meaning of a T. S. Eliot, or a Dylan Thomas, or a Bach, or an Alfred Stieglitz?” — Carl Chiarenza (Aperture Vol 6. No.2 1958) From aransomephoto.com.

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
– Black Resistance/Vivid Symbolism
– Incredible wave photography
– Toward a vanishing horizon
– Channeling Eggleston But better in my opinion.

Post-processing
– Paint with light in PS
– Color grading with the diamond gradient
– Which file types to use for which uses
– Instantly removing color artifacts

Field/Studio
– Sean Tucker: Minimalist Street Photography
– How to plan (or not) your photo shoot

Great Blue Heron framed by purple loosestrife, Lake Redman boardwalk. Purple loosestrife is an invasive plant that degrades wetland habitat values.

Semi-abstract look back: Needlerush Beach, Deweese Is., SC; 2017

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Monday Missive — July 20, 2020

Posted on July 20, 2020 by Rich

Quotes

“Magritte was an artist who worked in ideas, not in craft.” – Seth Godin 11/17/14

“[Photography is] very related to poetry. It’s suggestive and fragmentary and unsatisfying in a lot of ways. It’s as much about what you leave out as what you put in.” — Alec Soth

“There are many teachers who could ruin you. Before you know it you could be a pale copy of this teacher or that teacher. You have to evolve on your own.” – Berenice Abbott

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
– Soomin Sam: Portraits, windows, once upon a time
– Michael Darough. An interesting approach to exploring racial justice
– Karen Bullock: Presence Obscured Difficult topic done well.
– Tom Leighton: Tokyo

Post-processing
– PS masking tips
– Simple composition tips for Lightroom
– Fix my image

Field/Studio
– Sean Tucker: Minimalist Street Photography

Miscellany
– How durable is your camera sensor
– The bird box diary: Some quiet self-reflection on landscape and wildlife photography

Blue dasher dragonfly, male. Black Marsh Trail.

Coneflowers.

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Monday Missive — July 13, 2020

Posted on July 13, 2020 by Rich

Quotes

“They were faded and worn, but the images were alive with a fragile beauty of expression and gesture.” — Soomin Ham

“Photography becomes a prayer.” — Karen Bullock

“What have I done wrong?” he said later.” Nothing, I think. I am steadily surprised that there are so many photographers that reject manipulating reality, as if that was wrong. Change reality! If you don’t find it, invent it!” –- Pete Turner

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
– Paul Lukin
– Nikita Payusov: Coney Island

Post-processing
– Stacked focus for landscape shots
– Everything you want to know about the new Adobe Camera Raw This is the first of a 4 part series that goes into great detail, even on things that aren’t new. It is worth the time to understand everything you can do in ACR. Most of it also applies to LR. The remaining 3 parts of the series are listed below the main window.
– Resolution, resizing and resampling Courtesy Steve O.
– Beginner’s guide to sharpening in PS
– Adjusting color and tone in the new ACR

Miscellany
– How to identify your best images
– Sebatiao Selgado
– Developing your voice as a photographer

Needham’s Skimmer, male, Black Marsh Trail.

From my book “Winter Marsh” that is approaching completion.

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Monday Missive — July 6, 2020

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Rich

Quotes

“Photography is a window to place, time and memory.” — Soomin Ham

“If you want more creative photographs, you need to learn to think more creatively: not different gear, but different thoughts.” — David duChemin

“The decisive moment is a great concept, but we don’t experience the world that way. Life is a montage of occurrences that comes together over time. By spending several hours shooting a scene and merging elements from each into a single frame, I create, in some way, a truer depiction of that space because I’m not capturing an outlier moment.” — Sean J. Sprague

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
– Seeing double
– Very well done ongoing photoessay of a young woman with Down’s

Post-processing
– Editing a composite
– Select and mask crash course
– A quick way to remove numerous dust spots
– 10 hidden tools in the new Camera Raw

Field/Studio
– Making more meaningful portraits by connecting with your subject
– How to safely update PS and correct things that seem to be missing

Miscellany
– Henri Cartier-Bresson

Day lily in morning light. It was the light at the base of the blossom that captured my eye.
f/45 with 105 macro lens.

Winter Marsh. From a new body of work that I am working into a book.

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Monday Missive — June 29, 2020

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Rich

Quotes

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” — Stephen R. Covey

“Better the rudest work that tells a story or records a fact, than the richest without meaning.” – John Ruskin

“Your photography is a record of your living.” – Paul Strand

Links
Photoessays/Bodies of Work
– Street photography from Turkey
– Street photography from France

Post-processing
– Advanced color matching
– New features in PS 2020 Photoshop Cafe
– New features in LR Photoshop Cafe
– New features in LR AOP
– New features in PS 2020 PTC
– Understanding saturation in LR

Field/Studio
– Renaissance painting inspired portraits
– Better than the rule of thirds

Fresh from the garden. Coneflower

Thunbergia

Coneflower

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Monday Missive — June 22, 2020

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Rich

Quotes

“Inside you, there’s an artist you don’t know about.” — Rumi

“No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit.” –- Ansel Adams

“When subject matter is forced to fit into preconceived patterns, there can be no freshness of vision. Following rules of composition can only lead to a tedious repetition of pictorial cliches.” –- Edward Weston

Links
Photoessays/bodies of Work
– Sites of public executions Interesting idea and technically very well done.
– Havana

Post-processing
– Cutting out trees without halos or fringing
– Adding two colors to highlights
– Are you Under-editing your images?
– Understanding curves
– Create motion in Photoshop
– Re-sizing images in PS

Field/studio
– How to attract wildlife and set up a blind at home.

Miscellany
– Why camera makers are going to keep adding video

Day Lily anthers.

The blue dasher dragonfly is a very common dragonfly at the Black Marsh Trail. The diagonal stripes on the thorax and the black tail tip are distinctive. Females also have the thorax stripes but the abdomen is not the same pale blue.

Chipmunk (backyard photography).

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