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...
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...
Our National Parks Odyssey: Renaissance, Part One
by Andrew Slaton— Part One of Two. 01/19/22. The light filters through palms and dances seductively along the prickly- looking edges of the Spanish moss. It hangs in a pattern of almost perfect randomness on the ancient oaks above my camp. Florida feels like home. Hell, who am I kidding? So many places feel like home these days, it’s hard to decipher what “home” really means anymore. This June will mark six full years of living as...
$25 Will Restore A Blind Person’s Sight
By Albert Chi— If you’re a photographer or artist, eyesight is everything. That’s why a recent column in the New York Times by Nicholas Kristof caught my attention when he recommended several charities, one of which he’d personally visited in Nepal called the Cure Blindness Project. I thought it might be of special interest to those who are in, or love, the visual arts and want to make a one-on-one contribution to a cause that...
Embrace Change…It’s Good For You!
by Suzanne D. Williams– Life happens. Things change. I was reminded of this recently when watching a series of videos by a large- format photographer who still uses film. He was explaining the mental process he went through to create a series of beautiful mountain photographs when he stopped to comment on how he felt about the inevitable end of large-format film. Now, I am a huge fan of large-format photography and the idea that film...
Our National Parks Odyssey: The Real Reward
This is the third of an ongoing series about Red River Pro Andrew Slaton and his wife Ellen who, along with two dogs, Islay and Skye and Colonel Bubba, the cat, left the comforts of Dallas to hit the road full time in a travel trailer, with the goal of photographing all 59 U. S. National Parks. So far, they’ve visited 23– just 36 to go! –By Andrew Slaton– The Southwest… From Big Bend on the Texas/ Mexico border, we worked...
Our National Parks Odyssey: Ups and Downs
This is the second part of an ongoing series about Red River Pro Andrew Slaton and his wife Ellen who, along with their two dogs and a cat, have hit the road full time in a travel trailer to seek adventure and photograph all the National Parks. There have also been some side trips, some ups and downs and…well, let’s hear it from Andrew. –By Andrew Slaton– Redefining Success… “Success is to be measured not so much by...
My Photographic Evolution
By Suzanne D. Williams– My daughter’s graduation from high school some years ago prompted me to comb through files filled with old photographs. She’ll always be my baby and I had several of those “mom moments,” wishing to re-enter my now rosy past. But I was also forced to revisit some really bad photographs. Why in the world did I save all of these? There is something to be said for viewing the overall grand design of...
For Love Of Lions
By Kenn Jacobs– My first published photo in a book was a pub sign–The Old Red Lion–shot in a now-forgotten English village. It wasn’t until many years later, though, that I had an epiphany when I came face to face with the sculpture of the Lion of Lucerne in Switzerland. Carved in 1820 as a memorial to the bravery of 600 Swiss Guards who lost their lives in 1792 during the French Revolution, Mark Twain described it as “the most...
The Romantic Spirit Of Photography
By Suzanne D. Williams– Lately, I find myself pulled into two halves. The logical side of me writes photography articles, historical facts, and how-tos. This is my dominant side. However, there is also my creative side. This side surrounds itself with fictional characters, romantic verses, and colorful images. This side learned how to say “I love you” in Irish Gaelic (there are about a half dozen ways) and swooned at the...
Digital Photography– Where Next?
By Chris Gatcum– You only have to look at what’s happened to photography in the 21st Century to see how rapidly the technology that underpins it is moving: in the year 2000, full-frame cameras were a mere suggestion; a digital SLR costing less than $1,000 was a dream; and CSCs [Compact System Cameras], sophisticated camera phones, and high-resolution digital video were simply unimaginable. Yet today all of these things—and more—are...
Spectrum Expands For Color Blind Photographers!
by Arthur H. Bleich– If your prints look good to you but not to anyone else, you could be color blind. More than 14 million people in the U.S. and Canada are afflicted with some type of color vision deficiency ranging from mild to severe which makes it impossible for them to see colors that normal-sighted people see– and to tell different colors apart from one another. With almost 60 million people seriously involved in photography,...
Our National Parks Odyssey
By Andrew Slaton– Steam from the early morning chill rises off the Green River in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. Squaretop, an aptly named handsome granite mountain in the distance catches the first rays of the sun, rising somewhere I cannot yet see. I sip my scalding, black coffee in our trailer and wait. This is what I do. I get paid to just sit out in some of the wildest places of the world until that unreal moment of light,...
Three Photography Book Gems For Under $10 !
by Arthur H. Bleich– Now that we’re into the holiday season, I’d like to recommend three photography books that are stand-outs and would make great gifts or be worthy additions to your library. All are currently available at Amazon in used (but mostly like-new) condition at about $10 or less. Some are going for as little as a penny which makes them an excellent bargain. Here they are: Read This If You Want To Take Great Photographs by...
“Pure Images” are a Myth
By Bryan Peterson –As the years have gone by, I have been pushing myself further and further away from the “obvious” photographic opportunities and more toward the “unseen,” as well as toward creating images from “scratch” (i.e., using props and/or models, and creating compositions that are in fact inspired in part by observing the world around me or simply writing down those ideas that seem to pop...
Photographs versus Fine Art Photographs
By Bruce Barnbaum– Throughout my photographic career, I have been asked, “What is the difference between a fine art photograph and a regular photograph?” This question was asked explicitly at the last workshop I taught before completing the text for The Essence of Photography. It’s an excellent question, one that deserves thought and discussion. My first answer is, “A lot of it is just pretentious bullshit.” It is pretentious on the...
Altering Reality– It’s Nothing New
By Arthur H. Bleich– Critics of computer-altered images usually divide photography into two time periods: the honest analog days and the dishonest digital ones. If it were only that easy. Tinkering with images is as old as photography itself; it’s merely become more sophisticated. In the early days of photography, “spirit” photos depicted departed loved ones hovering near the living, and fairies were shown dancing in the woods. And...
New Magazine Focuses on the Art and Craft of Photography
The new issue of Shadow & Light Magazine is out and about. Go to www.shadowandlightmagazine.com for to purchase either a single-issue or annual subscription. Shadow & Light magazine is an online photography magazine that couldn’t wait any longer to be published. It is the brainchild of Tim Anderson, the publisher/editor of Red Dog News, and the former publisher/managing editor of CameraArts magazine. Since CameraArts ceased...
Your Camera- A Tool, Not A Jewel
By Arthur H. Bleich– For those of you who are not professionals and take pictures for the love of it, technology is your most formidable opponent. Digital cameras have far too many features for you to become comfortable with, especially if you don’t (and I know you don’t) shoot a couple of hundred pictures a day. Film cameras, on the other hand, had relatively few features which made it very easy to take pictures instead of wasting...
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