HT2034 - An Audience of One In a conversation the other day, a photographer was making a case for large prints on the wall because they could be viewed simultaneously by a group of people. Viewing such artwork, he emphasized, becomes a social activity. Maybe that's another reason why I tend not to make prints for the wall ..read more

HT2033 - A Most Creative Question A friend gifted to me 500 sheets of 4x6" glossy inject paper. Every day when I walk into my office, I see that stack of paper and wonder what I might do with it. Voilá, a new project is born ..read more

HT2032 - A Photograph Is a Printed Object I recently was talking with a photographer who stated authoritatively that there wasn't a photograph until there was a print. That certainly was true in my youth, but I'm not so sure any more. This is why I try to clarify my language by differentiating between a photograph and an image ..read more

HT2031 - Unfinished Work For a good portion of my creative life, I would show my unfinished work. That was the work I was currently thinking about, spending time working on, most excited about. At some point, I realized how unfulfilling this was to the viewer as well as to me! Now I only show my finished work. Instead of displaying my potential, I concentrate on displaying my accomplishments - - and hope they are important enough to share ..read more

HT2030 - Fond Memories I was given a tour of an analog darkroom a few days ago. The smell of fixer, the stack of washed and drying paper trays, that magical red light. So many memories. I do miss my youth, but I have to admit that I don't miss those hours and hours of frustration to produce one print that was not quite satisfactory. I miss my youth, but I don't miss the darkroom that was such a large part of my early days ..read more

HT2028 - The Running Narrative So often when I have a chance to look at another photographer's work, there is a running narrative that accompanies my view of each image. When I move to the next image, the narrative repeats. That universal narrative is the location of where the image was captured. Divorced from the images, the spoken accompaniment is merely a travel list. Is this the best way to narrate our images? All previous episodes of Here's a Thought . . . are available to members of LensWork Online. 30-day Trial Memberships are only $10. Instant access, terabytes of content, inspiration ..read more

HT2027 - Image Stabilization in the Wind Here's an odd observation from last week's photography in South Dakota. It was windy all week. In reviewing my images, I noticed that the shots made with a longer focal length are sharper than those made with a shorter focal length. In the wind, I would have expected just the opposite ..read more

HT2026 - Base Camp During this last couple of weeks of photography, I was reminded how much I prefer a base camp approach to travel. We've been doing the opposite. We stopped for a night, maybe two, then move on to the next location. That doesn't leave a lot of time for photography, but worse doesn't leave a lot of time to get to know a place well. I much prefer a base camp approach where I stay in one location for a week or a month or even longer ..read more

HT2025 - Statistical Needs Like most "serious" photographers, I have several lenses I carry with me to provide the ideal solution for various shooting scenarios. Statistically however, my Lightroom catalog shows I only need one lens - - at least for 75% of my shots. That can't be right ..read more

HT2024 - Which Way the Shadows Fall All of us are sensitive to the angle of the sun when we are out photographing. I find it more useful to think in terms of which way the shadows fall. The sun itself is rarely in my pictures, but every picture has its shadows. Said another way, shadows are a part of the visual composition, the sun is usually outside of the composition ..read more