Looking for Distractions, with Francesca Yorke

I went out into my garden the other day to capture the spring blossoms. As I was deciding on my view I reminded myself to really "see" as I focused. What I didn’t want to do was make the very common mistake of having some other object in the background or foreground be a distraction and possibly spoil a good shot. That other object can be anything from something small—like another flower, a stem, or a branch—to something large, such as a garden shed, pole or fence.

The easiest way to avoid having the other object show and distract is to either photograph at a very shallow depth of field, such as f2.8, or just simply move either yourself or the actual flower to a slightly different position.

Learn more from Francesca in her upcoming workshop:

Intensive: Flowers Close Up
with Francesca Yorke
June 1 - June 3, 2012

Boiled Peanuts and Going Rogue, with Chris Buck

As a lover of barbecue and soul food I was pleased to be a part of Bon Appétit’s most recent Southern Food issue. I was assigned to photograph Ed Helms, star of The Office, who grew up in Atlanta but now works out of Los Angeles. The picture was to accompany a Q & A that focused on Ed’s taste for boiled peanuts.

Ed was shooting The Office that day so we had him super early—our wrap time was 8:45 AM! The whole crew, and props, including a big green tractor, arrived promptly at 6 AM, we all worked hard and fast to be ready for the talent. Call Time for Ed arrived and … nothing. After a number of nervous calls from the publicist he arrived.

His time with us was brief but Ed’s truly a pro. He hit his mark and delivered the goods in record time. And I took the opportunity to go a little rogue, and work without a tripod.

 

After photographing him in a tub of boiled peanuts he was off to his day job, and we were left with eight pounds of boiled nuts and not a Southerner in sight to take them off of our hands.

Learn more about working with talent, time crunches, and when to go rogue, from Chris this summer:

The Surprising Portrait
with Chris Buck
July 1 - July 6, 2012

No Polar Bears Were Harmed, with Jim Richardson

I really wasn't sure I wanted to go to the Arctic in the middle of winter. (Especially since the polar bears in Svalbard are famous for thinking photographers are just another kind of tasty seal.)

But we needed the image of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault for our National Geographic Magazine story on saving the world's agricultural heritage of precious seeds. And it was the only time Cary Fowler, executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, was going to be there, so that settled that.

I dreaded a howling blizzard but got lucky on a calm evening when Cary could work with me.  All the elements had to come together in one image: Cary holding seeds that I could see (he had some in protective glass tubes), the stark architecture of the seed vault sticking out of the mountainside, and the vast arctic beyond. Lighting Cary was straightforward (and he was a trooper) but the vault needed lighting to make it stand out.

In the end the battery gods were shining on me and the strobes fired for over an hour. The seed vault was fascinating, and the stage was set for the rest of my coverage for the story, including Ethiopia, Peru, Ireland, Wales, England, China, and numerous locations in the United States. But that one picture was the beginning. Building the architecture of a complex story like this one is often nerve wracking. Getting started with a strong image gave me added confidence over the long haul to come.

And no polar bears (or photographers) were harmed in the making of this picture.

Learn more about seed vaults, polar bears, and working on assignment from Jim this summer:

The National Geographic Assignment
with Jim Richardson
July 1 - July 6, 2012

What Would I Never Do, with Alan M. Thornton

We all can get caught in ruts: visually, figuratively, emotionally, literally. For professional photographers and artists it can be very frustrating and also limiting to contend with. It happens to all of us. So how do you break out of it? How do you get back on the horse and ride off into the sunset of success? 

There’s not a simple answer, but there is a simple exercise that can help you move through it. I do it by asking myself, “What would I ‘never’ do?” I have a rut that I fall back on nearly every time I get a bit compromised or over-challenged. As photographers, we all do this and we make those images that are ...”nice.” But to get out of our rut, we need to take some chances. That’s when I ask myself, “What would I never do?”  Would you never lie on your back?  Would you never use a wide-angle lens? Would you never shoot in the rain? Would you never shoot on a plane? Would you never shoot at night? Would you shoot never without looking through the lens? You wouldn’t? Never? Okay, so do that. You have already done what you already know, so take some time to make an image that you don’t know.  

The only way to factually know the outcome, like in science, is to test the theory and do the work.  Take a chance, crawl on the ground, or go out in the rain, or climb a tree or approach that stranger on the street, use the wrong lens, or shoot in the wrong light. Challenge yourself to make a mistake, a “happy accident.” So … “What would you ‘never’ do? “ 

Learn more from Alan, from lighting portraits to ruts, this summer:

Lighting Portraits on Location
with Alan M. Thornton

June 24 - June 29, 2012 

Ruminations with Kurt Markus

This is about now, right? What's happening now. Yesterday is gone and digested, tomorrow is too far away, so here I am, looking out my window, surrounded (or entombed?) by this and that, pictures and whatnot, the tide of life sweeping in, covering all the available surfaces, pretty soon there won't be room for me. Just as well.  

I'm supposed to be writing about portraits but I don't feel like it (at this moment).  I'd rather look at the trees down below the studio, and think about the book Tom Russell (look him up, he's something else) sent me. It's about his paintings; I love them. The work inspires me. It's so primitive, primal, and unschooled, that the message seems to be: pick up a brush yourself, you can do it. Another message I get is: damn, I love looking at his paintings!  

Is there a lesson in any of this?  I hope not.  It's just me, looking out the window, and ruminating.

Learn more about what Kurt thinks about, and how he makes his portraits, in:

The Portrait: Finding Your Voice
with Kurt Markus
June 24 - June 29, 2012

Grand Poobahs, and Little Bears, with Christopher James

Excerpt of a Christopher James interview with Nancy McCrary, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, South x Southeast Photomagazine. 

Nancy: In his 1975 book, The Painted Word, Tom Wolfe alluded to the idea that the monopolies of art, especially modern art, were dying out, and being replaced with a kind of fusion. If we achieve near-complete democratization of photography (if not all the arts), what happens to the high priests?

Christopher: The fact is there is often precious little difference between the imagery selected by the Grand Poobahs of the museum and gallery world and much of the work I am seeing from my MFA students … it’s just a matter of right-place-right-time, intelligence, luck, and being ready when you’re lucky. I really like the art game but I am not a fan of the religion, or the politics, of it’s high priests. Like I tell my students, if you want to be really good at this, you need to learn how to play really hard. Little bears become very successful big bears through play, not because they follow the rules and current bear fashions.  


To learn more from Christopher join us for one or more of his workshops this summer:

Alternative Photographic Processes
with Christopher James
June 24 - June 29, 2012

Wet Plate Collodion
with Christopher James
July 1 - July 6, 2012


Advanced Alternative Processes: Projects
with Christopher James
July 8 - July 13, 2012

Establishing A Point of View, with Arthur Meyerson

Every time I show this photograph, people turn their heads sideways because they are certain that it is not being projected correctly. But it is correct! Taken in Hong Kong, the “green” is the side of a tenement building with laundry being extended from the unseen balconies.

In photography there are always at least two points of view … your personal statement, and the place you position yourself to make your photograph. Too often we are attracted to a subject but don’t spend the time necessary to find the best spot to record it. This is where point of view steps in. The angle that you select to make your photograph from can make the difference between just documenting it to making it something exceptional.

Join Arthur this June for his 20th season with The Workshops and explore your photographic “point of view” in his world-renowned class, "The Color of Light":

The Color of Light
with Arthur Meyerson
June 24 - June 29, 2012

See more of Arthur's point of view on his web site, www.arthurmeyerson.com.

Unplug with Route 66: Julien McRoberts

Deadlines. Computers, smart phones, apps to upload, emails, updates, texts popping up endlessly. New software to learn, photos to edit, flights to book. ARGH!  Do you ever feel like a gerbil on one of those spinning wheels?  I do … but over the past several years I have discovered a wonderful escape from the madness. A wonderful time warp, a place where time moves at a slower pace. And it offers some of the most unique and oddly exotic photo opportunities I have come across in all my travels.

Where is this magical place? Just down the road … Route 66.

Route 66 was the 20th century version of the Oregon Trail, the Golden Road to the Promised Land, and it has inspired our spirit ever since. A few years ago I started seeking out the old remnants of Route 66 in New Mexico and was instantly filled with excitement of what was left out there. This is a world where time has stopped and you can still eat in a charming Mom-and-Pop diner or stay in a hotel in the shape of a wigwam.  I sometimes feel like I am in some sort of cool Twilight Zone episode and quickly manage to fill up my cf cards with incredible photo opportunities.

I hope that you occasionally indulge your own wanderlust, and discover the secrets of the old roads before they are completely gone and only memories.

Happy travels!

Experience the Mother Road with Julien …

Route 66: Capture to Print
with Julien McRoberts
April 24 - April 28, 2012