LensWork - Photography and the Creative Process

LW0541: When Frames Cost More than the Print

editor@lenswork.com — Wed, 1 Jul 2009 10:32:45 -0700

Another elephant in the living room is the cost of framing our photographs. We all know the buyer of our prints will likely spend more to frame them than they spent on the print itself. We need to address this.

LW0540: The Obvious Isn't Always

editor@lenswork.com — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:37:45 -0700

I was discussing an obvious principle of the creative process the other day, and was surprised to learn that a good portion of the audience had never heard of this fundamental idea. So much for "the obvious."

LW0539: The Gift of Our Time

editor@lenswork.com — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:17:07 -0700

Shortcuts have a cost. If we want artwork to enrich our lives, we need to allow ourselves the time to appreciate a photograph with the attention it (and the photographer) deserves.

LW0538: So Long to a Few Old (Inanimate) Friends

editor@lenswork.com — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:05:12 -0700

I am intrigued by my resistance to letting go of equipment, or techniques. Once acquired, letting go can be a touch traumatic as we plunge into the unknown future.

LW0537: Searching for God in the Miniscule

editor@lenswork.com — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:08:26 -0700

It is said that the Devil is in the details -- but so is the excellence we artists search for with every piece we produce.

LW0536: Repeat After Me - Spotting is Fun

editor@lenswork.com — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:42:25 -0700

It's all in our minds -- fun versus tedium, that is. And here is an opportunity to prove this to ourselves. Yup, spotting is fun, spotting is fun -- repeat after me -- spotting is fun. You are getting sleepier -- spotting is fun.

LW0535: Examining Our Habits

editor@lenswork.com — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:22:34 -0700

From time to time, it's a good idea to examine our habits - just to see if there is something we continue to do, reflexively, that is no longer relevant to our creative process.

LW0534: PDF Workshop Excerpt 1

editor@lenswork.com — Thu, 4 Jun 2009 11:54:00 -0700

We are currently in production on the LensWork Visual Workshops on Disc, the first of which will be available soon. In the meantime, enjoy this audio excerpt from our live PDF Workshop last summer.

LW0533: From Tin to Paper to Pixel

editor@lenswork.com — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:05:06 -0700

With every major technological change in cameras has come an attendant technological change in output substrate -- from metal plate to paper, for example. Are we now witnessing the shift from paper to pixel?

LW0532: Time For Learning

editor@lenswork.com — Tue, 26 May 2009 10:46:58 -0700

With the rapid rate of change these days, we'd better plan time in our creative life for learning new tools, new techniques, new equipment. It's not like the old days when we used the same equipment and products for decades.

LW0531: The Sweet F-stops

editor@lenswork.com — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:11:46 -0700

With every new lens and camera I buy, the first thing I do is test the lens apertures using the same PLI Lens Test Chart I've used now for 35 years. It's amazing what behavior-changing information you can learn when you gather a few facts in the form of test results.

LW0530: Thou Shalt Draw the Line Somewhere

editor@lenswork.com — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:42:24 -0700

Do you spot out dust flaws? Blemishes? Power lines? Inconveniently positioned trees or mountain ranges? Where do you draw the line between acceptable and blasphemous Photoshop cloning?

LW0529: The Practice of Perfection

editor@lenswork.com — Wed, 6 May 2009 10:38:42 -0700

The old saying goes, "Practice makes perfect." But, as oft-quoted as this is, it's not entirely true. Better, "The practice of perfection makes perfect." And here are some ideas how this applies to photography.

LW0528: Practice Until It's Second Nature

editor@lenswork.com — Mon, 4 May 2009 10:49:04 -0700

The old joke: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Tiger Woods and Fred Picker know exactly how to get there.

LW0527: Re-defining the Project

editor@lenswork.com — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:29:54 -0700

Every project has its boundaries that are defined by the project itself. If the boundaries are too limiting, simply redefine the project by change the magnification of your thinking.

LW0526: More Depth, Not Mere Repetition

editor@lenswork.com — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:02:51 -0700

There is a difference between projects that have a lot of repetitive prints but no depth, and those that add more information with each additional print.

LW0525: The Unintended Interpretation

editor@lenswork.com — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:07:59 -0700

Comparison and contrast are our basic methods of developing understanding. But what about the interpretations, comparisons, and contrast our viewers bring to our work that are completely different from our life experiences?

LW0524: Tones and Interstices

editor@lenswork.com — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:09:32 -0700

One of the lessons we photographers can learn from the world of music is that it is the gap between the tones that is the really important aspect of creating movement and life.

LW0523: Grain, I Miss You

editor@lenswork.com — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:18:42 -0700

With today's digital emphasis on grainless images with smooth tones, I find that I am missing that grainy, 35mm look that is so effective in the right kinds of photographs.

LW0522: The Rulers of Black and White

editor@lenswork.com — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:50:10 -0700

No, not a podcast about photographic kings and tyrants, but rather some thoughts on the language we use to describe tones and the generational challenges of speaking to one another with understanding.

LW0521: The Limited Palette

editor@lenswork.com — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:20:48 -0700

Not all photographs need a full range of tones -- and when done right, an image with a limited palette can be wonderful.

LW0520: Meaning and Context

editor@lenswork.com — Wed, 8 Apr 2009 16:54:06 -0700

Why did this photographer make this photograph? What does it add to the project? What does it tell us? Without answers - or at least clues -- in the form of context (titles, sequences, text, background) a photograph runs the risk of being meaningless.

LW0519: The Light of Truth

editor@lenswork.com — Wed, 8 Apr 2009 09:45:12 -0700

Where there is conflict between a deeply held myth and the content of a photograph, the myth will win. We see what we are trained to see.

LW0518: Life is Now

editor@lenswork.com — Mon, 6 Apr 2009 12:41:02 -0700

One downside to photography is that it gives us the ability to postpone really looking at what's in front of us now. It seduces us to postpone life.!

LW0517: A Website Worth Visiting

editor@lenswork.com — Thu, 2 Apr 2009 08:46:18 -0700

One of the websites I enjoy for images, interviews, and photography (as opposed to cameras) is www.lensculture.com. Just in case you haven't seen this one, check it out!

LW0516: Peer Groups, and a Variation on the Idea

editor@lenswork.com — Wed, 1 Apr 2009 10:50:52 -0700

What do you have in common with your peer group? Cameras? Or, artmaking and the creative life? Here is an idea I'm committed to try.

LW0515: The Physicality of a Photograph

editor@lenswork.com — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:30:45 -0700

Photographs, in my way of thinking, are objects that are intended to be touched as well as viewed. There is a physicality to a photograph that is denied to images encased behind glass on the wall.

LW0514: Edward Weston's Gift to Us

editor@lenswork.com — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:54:37 -0700

We still look at Weston's photographs today because they are relevant. They still teach us, they inspire us, because they are about us and the way we use our eyes and cameras to see the world.

LW0513: Twenty Cameras, Thirty-Eight Years

editor@lenswork.com — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:57:41 -0700

Over my years in photography, I've owned and used a lot of cameras. I'll probably own and use more and different ones in the future. It's inevitable.

LW0512: New Routines, New Mistakes

editor@lenswork.com — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:14:46 -0700

I share this so my costly mistake can be avoided if you find yourself in the same situation. A.K.A., "lament for a tripod."

LW0511: Suffering

editor@lenswork.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:50:59 -0700

There seems to be a direct -- and inverse -- connection between personal comfort and the quality of the photograph. At least there is for me.

LW0510: Managing Fear

editor@lenswork.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:34:11 -0700

Photographers are explorers -- so facing our own fears is a part of our creative path. Here is an excerpt from my interview with Camille Seaman in LensWork Extended #81 in which she talks about managing fear.

LW0509: A Blatant Plug for the PDF

editor@lenswork.com — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:00:50 -0700

We all want a book of our work. Nothing wrong with that. But in the meantime, why not consider a low-cost, high distribution alternative that could easily be considered the cutting edge book of our electronic age?

LW0508: My Aging Knees

editor@lenswork.com — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:10:14 -0700

Each time we pick up a camera or enter the santuary of our darkroom, we would do well to remember how precious that time is and how special it is to be able to be creative with our photography.

LW0507: Cleaning Days

editor@lenswork.com — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:48:13 -0700

When money is tight and we can't travel or buy film or paper, there is always a lot we can be doing that doesn't require cash but can be very helpful in our creative life.

LW0506: The Hamster Wheel Spins, Again

editor@lenswork.com — Thu, 5 Mar 2009 12:30:03 -0800

My two-month old camera has already become the "older generation" as the hamster wheel of progress continues to spin.

LW0505: The Correct Amount of Paranoia

editor@lenswork.com — Tue, 3 Mar 2009 11:08:13 -0800

A pragmatic look at copyrights and our fine art photographs.

LW0504: The Value of Momentum

editor@lenswork.com — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:33:18 -0800

If you have a little momentum to help you, it's so much easier to change direction, move into a new idea, or start a new project.

LW0503: Through Your Eyes

editor@lenswork.com — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 10:14:07 -0800

The creative path is many things, not the least of which is learning to see through the other's eyes.

LW0502: Shakespeare's Talent

editor@lenswork.com — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 09:48:01 -0800

There are many reasons to like Shakespeare, but there is one in particular that makes his work so brilliant.

LW0501: Bits Make Bites Make Meals

editor@lenswork.com — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:23:47 -0800

Manage BIG projects -- the kind that are overwhelming -- by dividing them into manageable bits.

LW0500: Podcast 500...and Counting!

editor@lenswork.com — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 09:56:58 -0800

A 500th podcast celebration.

LW0000: What Happened to the Archives?

editor@lenswork.com — Sat, 1 Dec 2007 14:32:49 -0800

Well, we busted iTunes -- or to be more precise, we now have more content than iTunes can comfortably handle. With over 450 podcasts now available -- and counting! -- the XML file that feeds all that to iTunes was getting too large for iTunes to handle. Some readers were reporting that it was choking on the file size. So, we've decided to remove the older back issues of our podcasts from iTunes.

But, don't worry! All the back issue podcasts are still available on our website. In fact, we've created ZIP file collections so you can more easily download the entire collection without having to download each MP3 file individually. Visit our website for more details and for all the podcasts going all the back to podcast #0001. Have fun!