Auschwitz No. 4   I love to talk about how Vision helps me to create an image, not documenting what I see with my eyes, but following what I am seeing inside my head. And I’ve recently been thinking about how Vision is also used when we view an image.   I first noticed this when I created Auschwitz No. 4 above. I had decided not to include any “living” persons in this series, but this image stuck with me, and I decided to include it. I remember having strong feelings as to what this image ..read more

I talk a great deal about Vision, because it changed my photography. It helped me make the transition from “taking pictures” to “creating images.”   And the lessons I learned about following my Vision, helped me to change my life. You see, following your Vision is not really about photography, it is about life.   Here’s where my Vision story begins:     Several years ago I was attending Review Santa Fe where I was hoping to be discovered. Over the course of a day my work was evaluated by a number of ..read more

Midjourney by Jason Allen (and AI)   It was recently revealed that an award winning photograph was actually AI generated. I was discussing this with my son Caleb, who is majoring in Computer Science, and the question arose: is an AI generated photograph, a real photograph?   A day later, Caleb emailed me and said that he had posed that question to ChatGPT, which is an AI chatbot (think of the computer HAL in 2001).   Here is AI’s response to the question:   The answer to whether a photograph created by AI is a “real” photograph can be somewhat subjective and depends on ho ..read more

    My Friend:   My heart aches for Ukraine. I am glued to the news and am constantly asking myself: what more can I do? Then last night I suddenly realized that I could help others appreciate what the Ukrainian people are like.   In 2008 I visited my son (Cody) and soon to be daughter-in-law (Erica) who were serving in the Peace Corps in Ukraine. While there, I created a portfolio entitled “Ukrainians, with Eyes Shut.”   Here’s how the project came about:   Whenever I go to a new a ..read more

  Hi everyone, as you might remember I was to present at Out of Death Valley in January, but our dear friend Covid had other ideas. So now I’m scheduled to participate in Out of Chicago Live! 2021, which being a webinar event, is certain to take place.     I’ll be participating in three ways: First, I’ll be presenting my “Why Black and White” presentation. Now, if you’re thinking “yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that presentation before.” Think again Ansel, it changes almost every time I present it! Second, I’ll be conducting a class called “The Photoshop Heretic” on my super-simple Bla ..read more

  John and I recently posted a YouTube video in which we talked about the sales pitches we see in photography: “Follow this one rule for better photographs.” “The three key steps to becoming a better photographer.” “Ten things to improve your photography.” “Do this ONE thing!” Each hyperbolic statement is designed to get you to read the article and perhaps sell you something. Then John asked if I had any such formulas (of course assuming that I did not). But “boy howdy” was he surprised when I told him that I did! I have “Five Steps to More Meaningful Photography” and I GUARANTEE that th ..read more

      I’ve been doing a lot of Zoom presentations to Camera Clubs and recently I’ve been getting feedback that I’ve never heard before…and it really surprised me:   Thank you for giving me permission to create what I love   Thank you for giving me permission to ignore the rules   Thank you for giving me permission to listen to myself     My first reaction was horror! Who am I to give anyone permission? I worried that I had presumed too much and crossed a line in my presentation.   My second reaction was bewilderment. Why do people think they need p ..read more

  Learning to see for yourself? Who else would I see for?   Well for many years I did not see for myself. I saw through the lens of Ansel Adams, through the lens of my mentors, through the lens of rules. I saw things how I was told that I should see them, by many well meaning people who wanted to help me create better photographs.   And sometimes, when I did see for myself, I was gently reminded that I shouldn’t do certain things like “center the subject“ or “block up my shadows.”   And so to win approval, likes and praise… I learned to conform ..read more

When you read these “Ten Things That I Would Never Do” you may disagree with one of them, you may disagree with several of them and you might even be offended…   Please don‘t be!   These are not ten things that YOU should never do, but ten things that I will never do…again.     1. Offer advice about someone else’s image.    Why? Because that advice would come from my perspective and Vision, not theirs.   People often ask me: what would you do with this image? And I say: if I were to tell you what I would do, and you followed my advice and you ..read more

    Stranded     If you wanted to improve your photography and you could do just one thing…what would it be? What, among all of the many possibilities, would help you create better images?   I Googled this question and here are some of the many ideas I found:   Buy a better camera Take a Photoshop or Lightroom class Study the work of Photographers that you admire to get some new ideas Join a photo club Take a photo workshop Go to a great location that inspires you Study and better understand the rules of com ..read more