Lenswork - Photography And The Creative Process

HT2598 - Predictability In a chess game, what happens when both players see the inevitability of the outcome? They throw in the towel and quit the game. I feel that way about certain television shows and movies. Once the plot becomes predictable, I lose interest. Doesn't it make sense that this same idea pertains to photography as well? The minute I see a portfolio from, say, Yosemite and the first few images are perfectly predictable, I find my motivation for viewing the rest of the portfolio diminishes. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

LW1502 - Being Immersed in the World of a Photograph The photography I tend to love best is when I find myself immersed in the world of the photograph rather than just shown an instant in time. Think of that photograph by Joseph Sudek looking out his rainy kitchen window. That image immerses me in his life, his surroundings, his mood. Think of Jerry Uelsmann's fanciful worlds that are nonetheless believable. Do you remember the Griffin and Sabine series of books by Nick Bantock? I could probably go on ad infinitum, but the purpose of bringing this up is to perhaps give you a new framework to view your own images. All previous episodes of our weekly podcast are available to members of LensWork Online. 30-day Trial Memberships are only $10. Instant access, terabytes of content, inspiration and ideas that expand daily with new content. Sign up for instant access! You might also be interested in. . . Every Picture Is a Compromise, a series at www.brooksjensenarts.com. and... "How to" tutorials and camera r

HT2597 - Duane Michals and the Question One of the reasons I love Duane Michals' work is because it's so different than so much of photography. Most photographers use the medium to make a statement, to show us something, to tell. Duane Michals, on the other hand, uses image and text to ask us questions, to encourage us to ask questions of ourselves, to use wonderment rather than certitude as the basis for so many of his images. This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2500 and counting! — are available to members of LensWork Online. Try a 30-day membership for only $10 and discover the literally terabytes of content about photography and the creative process. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2596 - Deepening Over Time Yesterday we announced the LensWork Complete Digital Back Issue Collection and that has us looking back at all the portfolios we've published since LensWork issue #1. It's been an interesting project which has led me to an unexpected observation. Looking at the over 800+ portfolios we've published, I was surprised that each has deepened over time, or perhaps I should say my appreciation of them as deepened as I've matured. I felt strong enough about each one that we decided to publish it, but looking back at them now I find even more. That's what good work does. This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2500 and counting! — are available to members of LensWork Online. Try a 30-day membership for only $10 and discover the literally terabytes of content about photography and the creative process.

HT2595 - Memorable Images I've probably seen tens of thousands of photographs in my life, maybe more. I suspect there's a hundred or two that I can remember and bring forth in my mind's eye. Why is that? Do I have a poor memory? What are the characteristics of an image I remember? Is it different with my own work compared to those I remember by other photographers? Is it enough to experience a photograph or is remembering it the most important aspect of an image? Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2594 - You Will Likely Never Know Wynn Bullock will never know the impact his artwork has made in my life, but I can unhesitatingly say that his artwork set me on a 50-year trajectory that continues to this day. We will rarely know — perhaps never know — how our work will affect others. The one thing we can know with certainty is that doing our work will include ripple effects that will change our life in unexpected ways. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2593 - Mindlessness It may seem silly to insist that images of a mind of their own, but just pretend with me for a few minutes of experimentation. Pull up an image in Lightroom or Photoshop that you have not previously processed. Now, just sit back and look. Try not to think. Let go of photography, of art making, of analysis, of memory. Just look with an empty mind, at least as mindless as you can. Try to be open to the image and its will. The measure of your success as an artist is how successfully you let go of being an artist. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2592 - That Which Is Not Media We cannot have art without some medium of expression. That said, what makes art important, meaningful, valuable, and memorable are the elements which are independent of the medium. Think of Billie Holiday's singing independent of the record, the tape, the CD, or the digital stream. The same can be said for photography. What really counts is not the medium of the print, but rather that content that touches our heart. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!