Photography, Photo Education, For Teachers and Learners.

More than thirty years of teaching photography and art should have taught me a few things.

A good teacher is also a good student. I may have interesting images and thoughts to share

Saturday, August 27, 2011

The Camera As A Time Machine



Part of the magic of photography is the ability to effect how we conceive time. we have recorded people and things that are no longer here. We also can make accurate records of patina on objects that show time has effected them. The visual record of people who have matured records the character that time has left with them. We also see transition of season, weather, and erosion. Only photography as a medium allows us a true perception of the passage of time. In all actuality every time we press the shutter that fraction of a second in time has passed and cannot be retrieved. In creating art with photography we should use this to our advantage to make pictures that transcends time or embrace it. Time should be a consideration in how we make images  The church is no longer here. The water fall is the same, there was a ten year span of time between the two pictures. The patina of the factory door shows years of use. The feathers fade toward the edge of the picture showing an evolution of time  with the use of five separate exposures.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Timeless Elegance? How Do We Achieve It

How do you achieve a timeless quality and a sense of elegance and still make creative images. Many of those photographers we call our greatest artist used the most traditional methods. There appeared to be no following of the latest trends, or making use of new techniques for the sake of the  technique. I have noticed that most of these photographers relied on a unique vision, a way of working, or concepts. There are three photographers that have had a profound effect in my personal development as a photographer. Of course there is Ansel Adams, then Eugene Smith and Richard Avedon. They all worked in different areas of photography, but had common threads. They all had a unique and consistent vision, ways of working, and concepts. They were also all masters of their craft. These factors resulted in a sense of style that made their work instantly recognizable.

Over the last forty years I have attempted to develop a unique vision. I have concentrated on the black and white still life silver gelatin print. I have worked to master craft. The pictures I made thirty five years ago retain the same since of style as my current work. I have worked to achieve a unique timeless elegance using simple subjects.




The Calla Lillie was shot thirty five years ago. the Bubbles and Weed were shot last week.  The Photos are from four different portfolios. The still life pictures number in the hundreds.