Yesterday evening I decided to leave my camera backpack in the room, and I headed out to explore Arles with one lens. This was my 35mm Zeiss f/1.4.  Arles Coliseum Steps © Harold Davis I set the lens wide open at f/1.4, cranked the ISO, put the camera on aperture priority, and decided to otherwise leave exposure alone. One lens and one aperture setting is sometimes a useful exercise. I had fun with my newfound “lightness of being” and, as you can see in this image, decided to play with depth-of-field. Sometimes indeed less is more ..read more

There is something about the wisteria in the French spring that seems particularly stylish. Not that there is anything wrong with our wisteria at home. In fact, my garden has some lovely specimens that flower outrageously. But the French wisteria vines have a certain je ne sais quoi like so much that is French…don’t get me started. Perhaps it is the context: the upper image is an iPhone rendering of a semi-abandoned formal mansion, on a main straeet in Millau, France, with the wisteria decoratively framing the front gate. The lower image is a conventional photo of a wall in a small villag ..read more

Wherever you go, there you are. I embrace this solecism (or tongue-in-cheek tautology if one prefers). But I do wonder why so many hotel bathrooms have “infinite” mirrors. Both images are iPhone captures made with the iPhone 12 Pro native camera app. Upper image: Albi Bastides Hotel (Albi, France, 2024); lower image: Savoy Hotel (Trieste, Italy, 2022). Model for these selfies(as I suppose you suspect): yours truly. Selfie in a bathroom in Albi © Harold DavisMirror Selfie © Harold Davis ..read more

I’ve been reading Josef Koudelka Next: A Visual Biography by Melissa Harris. I think there is a great deal to learn from Koudelka, but I have some misgivings about this book. For one thing, it is a bit gossipy, at least about the film photography world of the 1970s. For another, I think the book design is execrable. You can’t really see the Koudelka photos because they are reproduced basically in postage-stamp size. The subtitle of the book is, after all, “A Visual Biography”. I think that the word “visual” does not mean what the creators of this book think that it means. Koudelka is credited ..read more

This is the time of year when my garden starts to come alive. Each day brings delight and new surprises, from the flocks of freesias and iris in the front garden to the poppies and anemones that are just starting to bloom. Flowers from Our Garden © Harold Davis My job is to be true to myself, and also speak truth to flower: meaning, to the best of my ability I try to render the essence of the flower, what makes it so special, and describe its beacon of beauty in a way that can be shared. One Poppy © Harold Davis From one day to the next I begin on the journey of floral interpretation. Sometime ..read more

When and where: November 6-19, 2024; the adventure begins in Osaka and ends in Kyoto, Japan. Group Size: This is an exclusive, small photo workshop (non-photographer significant others are also welcome) with very limited space availability. The minimum group size is six and the maximum is twelve. © Harold Davis Details: Click here for the Prospectus and Itinerary, and here for the Reservation Form. Description: Highlights of this absolutely unique photographic journey—designed by photographers for photographers—start with night photography in the heart of Osaka. From there, we will journey to ..read more

Well, flowers are magical. So is nature, and so are people. Of course, with light comes darkness, and without the contrast we would not grasp the magic of the moment in its entirety. Flower Magic © Harold Davis   ..read more

Following an appointment at the eye doctor with the usual ocular poking and prodding, I came home inspired to create another composite image based on the photo of my eye! Eye of the Artist © Harold Davis ..read more

Here are two more Photoshop composites (I call these “Impossible Images”) based on the photo of my left eye! Aye Tondo © Harold DavisApt Pupil © Harold Davis ..read more

In December 2023, with Mathew home from college, we engaged portrait photographer Nan Phelps to make a family photo of the six of us. Nan worked the old-fashioned way: with film and a medium format camera.  I’m pleased with the results, because I think they represent us as we are, not in an idealized and retouched way. Spending the time and resources on this kind of portraiture is, I believe, a gift to our future selves because we are together now, but in the future may not be. Davis Family (front porch)Davis Family (garden ..read more