By Arthur H. Bleich– Highly magnified ink drops also referred to as dots. They form each image pixel’s color. The resulting pixels (not visible here) are the building blocks of the image. An inkjet printer reproduces an image’s square pixels by squirting tiny, round drops (also called dots or micro-dots) of ink onto paper from nozzles located in its printhead. The printhead moves over the paper horizontally, laying down multiple rows of dots at the same time. The number of rows is determined by the size of the printhead and varies from printer to printer. Depending on settings you ..read more

Faro and Doris Caudill, homesteaders, Pie Town, New Mexico. By Arthur H. Bleich— On June 6, 1940 photographer Russell Lee drove in to Pie Town, New Mexico, a scattering of frontier buildings straddling dusty Route 60 and perched a mile-and-a-half high on the Continental Divide . The Magdalena News, published 65 miles away (and delivered  daily by motor stage) confirmed that “Mr. Lee of Dallas, Texas, is staying in Pie Town, taking pictures of most anything he can find. Mr. Lee is a photographer for the United States Department of Agriculture.” Pie Town, New Mexico. Working for the Far ..read more

By Albert Chi—  Summer is upon us once again and here are some tips and product snippets to help you get back into the swing of things. See links to all at the end of this post  under Resources. There’s a version of Steermouse available for almost and Mac OS, including the latest with the Apple M1 and M2 chips. 1. Let’s begin with Steermouse. It does only one thing, but does it exceedingly well. But first a bit of back story. In 1996, Microsoft introduced a computer mouse with brains, called, appropriately, the Intellimouse. It came in both PC and Mac versions along with software f ..read more

Image © Josef Hoflehner   by Arthur H. Bleich— The penguin had been resting peacefully, face up on the table for nearly a hundred years—a sleeping beauty never to be awakened by a kiss, frozen in time by the sub-zero Antarctic chill in an abandoned, soot-filled explorer’s hut. Josef Hoflehner–one of the world’s renowned fine arts photographers– and his daughter, Katharina, would eventually journey thousands of miles from their native Austria to photograph that penguin –and more– on desolate Ross Island where British adventurers of another age had erected pre-fabricated buildings to serv ..read more

. By Bill Frakes— [All Images © Bill Frakes] This is home. This is the rural West. This is Nebraska. My first home and likely my last The Nebraska Project is a collection of still photographs, written stories and photographic essays. About a dozen years ago I decided to pull all of the work together into one place. I’ve managed to do that, and the response has been very gratifying with millions of onlineand print views. I spend several weeks a year building new pieces toadd to the project. Mine is a passion for place and a relationship to nature developed over a lifetime. . With uncomplica ..read more

Image © Andrew R. Slaton By Andrew R. Slaton— I started calling creeks, “cricks” when Mike, a new-found Wyoming-born friend, accompanied me as I drove us around western part of the state when I first arrived here in 2005. Mike taught me everything, nearly; the topography, the flora and fauna—he would have hated me saying “flora and fauna.” I could just imagine him thinking, “You sound like one of those smart people who spent a bunch of money to go to college to get brainwashed and come out with a load of debt.” Especially when I mangled the names of cricks. He named every crick we crossed, a ..read more

Image © Andrew R. Slaton By  Andrew R. Slaton— Ellen and I, along with our two dogs, have been experiencing change as the only real constant during the past seven years on our National Parks Odyssey and it never gets easier, really. Every set up and tear down, new obstacles confronted, financial gain or loss, relationship added with a new friend or subtracted by death of an old one– each has its challenges. How we react, or better, how we respond is what we must come to terms with and ultimately determines how we grow. Admitting fault, not all of it, but our part, is the first step. We ..read more

© Richard E. Baker By Richard E. Baker— I’ve been photographing professional boxing for more than 40 years and, if you can handle the violence, I heartily recommend attending a match to stretch your photographic skills. In this article I’m going to give you a few pointers to get you started and, like me, once you shoot a few matches, you may become hooked on the historic sport of prize fighting which has evolved over many centuries. The most asked question I get is how to get started. In almost every town or city in America you can find a boxing gym, a place where lovers of the sport go to w ..read more

By Arthur H. Bleich— Image © Vivienne Gucwa The violent winter snow storms sweeping through the county are really an invitation for you to shoot some outstanding images. You need to RSVP by getting your camera and yourself outside so you don’t miss the fun. There’s way too much emphasis on sitting by a crackling fire while the winds blow and the snow falls, but it’s no time to be a complacent couch potato, viewing re-runs of TV series you really didn’t like that much the first time around. Get up and get going! First off, you’re need proper clothing because, without it, you’re guaranteed to ..read more

Young Russian peasant women in a rural area along the Sheksna River near the small town of Kirillov. ca. 1909 By Albert Chi— More than 100 years ago, Russian photographer Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii’s search for the Holy Grail of color photography ended in triumph. Unlike the alchemists of old whose quests to turn lead into gold had failed,  Prokudin-Gorki celebrated his eureka moment by seeking an audience with Tsar Nicholas II to propose his vision. “Your Imperial Majesty,” he might have said, “I have discovered a way to make true color pictures from black and white photos and would respe ..read more