LensWork - Photography and the Creative Process

HT2335 - Find Your Own Path

HT2335 - Find Your Own Path The Internet — indeed, the WORLD — is filled with creative types who all want to show you how they do it, whatever "it" is. Me included, I confess. The problem persists, however, that your path is your path and can only be revealed by you. Techniques can be taught, but creativity must be discovered, nurtured, searched for, allowed by you, for you. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2334 - The Opposite of Selfie

HT2334 - The Opposite of Selfie We are supposedly taking trillions of pictures now according to experts who calculate such things. If we eliminate selfies from that count, I suspect the remaining images would total about six. I exaggerate to make a humorous point. Seriously, there'd be about eight. This tsunami of selfies exhibits a cultural narcissism that is breathtaking. I'm slightly frightened by the long-term implications of all these selfies. It seems to me the photography's greatest gift to humanity is its ability to concentrate our attention on others and the fascinating world we inhabit. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2333 - Learning from the Work You Don't Like

HT2333 - Learning from the Work You Don't Like I've made no secret that there are half a dozen master photographers whose work simply doesn't connect with me. Bill Brandt, Garry Winogrand, and Joel-Peter Witkin come to mind. Rather than ignore them, I found it very useful to spend time with their work exploring my disconnect. It's one thing to reflexively like work, but studying the work we don't like has an uncanny ability to clarify why we like what we do. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

LW1464 - When Images Have a Mind of Their Own

LW1464 - When Images Have a Mind of Their Own Every time you click the shutter you have some idea of what you hope the finished image might be. Even if you are just "gathering assets," you have some idea what the image might look like when finished. More than that, can we agree that every time we click the shutter, we do so because we think we have a winner? Why else would you click the shutter? But then something happens to dampen our enthusiasm once when we start to work with the image. If 100% of the shutter clicks are motivated by a winner, why are not all of your images eventually winners? Seriously, what happens to diminish our enthusiasm for an image? All previous episodes of our weekly podcast are available to members of LensWork Online. 30-day Trial Memberships are only $10. Instant access, terabytes of content, inspiration and ideas that expand daily with new content. Sign up for instant access! You might also be interested in. . . Every Picture Is a Compromise, a series at www.brooksjensenarts.com. and... "How to" tutorials and camera reviews are everywhere on YouTube, but if you're interested in photography and the creative life, you need to know about the incredible resources you can access as a member of LensWork Online.

HT2332 - To Tripod or Not

HT2332 - To Tripod or Not I'm not fond of using a tripod. For 35 years, every picture I made had to involve a tripod because I was using view cameras. I've thoroughly enjoyed the freedom of handheld photography here in the age of image stabilization and ISO flexibility. That said, I can't deny that a goodly number of my images are better having used a tripod than they would have been had I tried to hand hold the exposure. More and more I find the first decision with every image it should I use the tripod or not. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!