Thoughts on Wilderness and Repentance. Part 1
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...
ProTalk: Chris Crisman’s ‘Women’s Work’ Project
By Chris Crisman, Red River Pro— [All Images © Chris Crisman]— A few years ago, I met with a producer in New York City, who told me about her friend who had quit designer work and wanted to be a butcher and move to Philadelphia. Up to that point, the image in my brain of a butcher was a bulbous man, probably bald, with a bloody white apron, standing in front of his shop with his arms crossed. That’s what the archetype was. But Heather...
Boxing Images Are Challenging; Richard E. Baker Gets You Started
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...
Shoot Snow Scenes For Gorgeous Images
By Arthur H. Bleich— 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...
Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii: True Color 100 Years Ago
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...
Some Great Posts of 2022 You May Have Missed
Movie Backdrop Art Will Blow Your Mind! They worked in shifts, round-the-clock, painting gigantic images to be draped behind the actors featured in the movies of their day. Each artist was given a section of the backdrop to paint as time was of the essence. When lighted and integrated with the action, you’d swear you were in whatever location they depicted. Which, of course, was the whole idea. After the movie was “in the can,” the...
20 Fashion Test Polaroids Sell for $232,855 at Auction
Ellen von Unwerth’s early career as a fashion model led her to switch sides of the camera. She became a world famous fashion photographer capturing defining moments during the supermodel heyday of the 1990s and early 2000s. Many of the works were created during editorial assignments for international publications, including Vogue US, and Vogue Italia and featured some of the biggest names in fashion, including Kate Moss, Claudia...
Favorite Photo Places: Steam Train Thrills in Durango, Colorado
By Ron Wolfe and Will Keener— “Now listen to the jingle, the rumble, and the roar As she glides along the woodland, through the hills, and by the shore…” —Wabash Cannonball There’s magic in the old steam trains that first connected America– magic that’s woven into the country’s history. And there’s nothing more thrilling than spending a day, or a weekend, capturing that magic with your camera. Climbing aboard...
Use Textures To Transform Your Photos Into Fine Art
By Nitsa Malik– The fastest way to add a new dimension to a picture is to open your photo editor and insert an additional layer which contains texture on top of your original photo. Textures are usually a photograph or a scan of another image, such as peeling paint, distressed or scratched surface and even vintage paper. These textures can be added on top of your own photo and merged with it by changing the blend modes and opacity...
Photo History: Willi Ruge’s Fall to Fame
by Arthur H. Bleich— On a chilly, spring day in 1931, Willi Ruge parachuted out of a, two-seater, single-engine aircraft flying in an overcast sky over Berlin. Seven minutes later he landed amidst some picnic tables and garden chairs with a shattered shinbone— which he stoically ignored. That was 91 years ago and what makes Willi’s jump memorable is that the 39-year-old German photographer carried with him a bulky camera and was...
UK’s Best of the Year Landscape Image Collection
Reviewed By Albert Chi— Almost 15 years ago, acclaimed landscape photographer Charlie Waite began an annual search for the finest landscape photography in Great Britain. Landscape Photographer of the Year Collection 14 is the latest and does not disappoint. In fact it’s an exhilarating experience because it not only includes stunning images, but each photographer lucky enough to be included takes the reader behind the scenes and...
Predicting Print Longevity; It’s Still Tricky
By Albert Chi— Ansel Adams once said: “A photograph is usually looked at – seldom looked into.” But when inkjet printers began to output serious works of art, “looked into” took on a whole new meaning, for who knew how long those images would last? A small industry emerged to predict the future by looking into the many factors that could affect print longevity. Now to avoid confusion, the emphasis in this article is...
Digital Nostalgia: The Little Photo Engine That Couldn’t
by Arthur H. Bleich— PROLOGUE: I was going through some articles and columns that I’d written at the beginning of the digital camera revolution more than 23 years ago and came across this one, which you may find interesting. The company, not surprisingly, didn’t like it at all. They were on the verge of a public offering and planning to sell millions of dollars worth of stock (which I did not know at the time). Film...
Shooting Super Images On Your Next Flight-Part 2
By Arthur H. Bleich— You’re in your hard-won window seat and have finished cleaning the window. This would be a good time to turn off the Autofocus feature on your camera. As I mentioned previously, Autofocus frequently will not do what you want it to and is not necessary for window seat pictures. You are, after all, shooting distant object so just set the focus to infinity. When you manually rotate the focus ring to infinity, it may...
Shooting Super Images On Your Next Flight–Part 1
By Arthur H. Bleich— Let’s face it. It’s no fun to fly today. With airlines currently plagued with staff shortages and passengers having to jump through security hoops after arriving three hours early for check-in, only to find their flights cancelled or if lucky enough to get aboard, having to keep a wary eye open for altercations in the cabin and then finding they can’t even order a drink to calm down, it’s time to start making...
Pricey Cameras Don’t Make Better Photos
By Albert Chi— Some years ago while getting a routine checkup at my dentist’s office, he turned to me and said: “I want to learn photography. How important is the equipment you buy?” He knew I was a professional photographer but was not expecting the answer I gave him, which was, “Not that important.” “That’s not what I hear,” he huffed. “All my friends have spent thousands on photo gear and they tell me that without making a...
Movie Backdrop Art Will Blow Your Mind!
By Arthur H. Bleich— They worked in shifts, round-the-clock, painting gigantic images to be draped behind the actors featured in the movies of their day. Each artist was given a section of the backdrop to paint as time was of the essence. When lighted and integrated with the action, you’d swear you were in whatever location they depicted. Which, of course, was the whole idea. After the movie was “in the can,” the canvasses (called...
Favorite Photo Places: The Black Hills of South Dakota
By Will Keener and Ron Wolfe— There are some great faces in Western South Dakota – the likes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, Abe Lincoln and Sioux warrior Crazy Horse. In addition to these chiseled-in-granite monuments, there are many great places to photograph in this Black Hills region. Consider Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, and Spearfish Canyon, for example. Finally, there are some...
Levison Wood: Photo Encounters With Strangers
by Levison Wood— I have spent the majority of the last ten years in the wild and on the road, travelling in more than a hundred countries. It has been a time of great and rapid global change, and I have been lucky enough to witness many of these changes at first hand and document them in images that preserve these moments in time. For me, every single picture conjures a memory of an individual, a family or a whole community,...
Our National Parks Odyssey: Renaissance, Part Two
by Andrew Slaton— Part Two of Two. 02/18/22. Our National Parks odyssey has shifted into a different kind of journey. Nearly six years ago we set off on an adventure to travel the country and see/ document all the national parks. Since then, three new parks have been created, two presidential changes, a two-year (and still counting, in some states, at least), raging pandemic. Yet in the midst of all this, we found a new direction. We...
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