A few things stick here and there, this is a beta after all, but all works well enough to understand the major improvements and expanded capabilities. For folks who take my fine art classes you know that I’m a ragged Marine Drill Instructor when it comes to soft proofing and “Ten Hut”— LR 4 has it. For this genre, I can tell you that this addition to the program, something we have been shouting about for a long time, is worth the price of admission.

I’ll go into further details in subsequent blogs, but for now let me say that this tool allows us to see monitor and destination gamut issues, choose our paper profiles and create a side by side comparison of the original and print images via virtual copy. This positions the creator to adjust the print images so that it will match the original image much as we do now in Photoshop (with the exception of making finer adjustments that require nuanced selections).

There are significant controls and overlays to let you determine which colors are in and out of gamut with respect to your particular paper or if working a monitor for the web your SRGB profile. One can make shifts in the HSL panel to bring certain colors within the gamut of the paper profile. For contrast and brightness adjustments, you will find those controls in the print module. However, they are not dynamic, so you cannot see the changes as you make them. Frankly, this is a disappointment.

No worries, LR 4 has several options to cure that issue.

To see both versions side-by-side, choose soft proof and simply type Y to view Before and After side by side. Next I changed the definition of “Before.” In the History panel, I right-clicked on the History step that immediately proceeded my first proof adjustment and selected “Copy History Step Settings to Before.” This workflow is similar to the soft proof process that we employ now in Photoshop.

Alternatively, you may want to have a separate proof copy, so you will choose Make a Proof Copy. Normally you can’t view two different photos (or a photo and its virtual copy) side by side with Before/After, but for soft-proofing, Lightroom has this great command.

Simply make sure you have your proof copy selected in the filmstrip, go to Before/After (Y), and in the toolbar below the photos, choose “Master Photo” from the Before dropdown.

At this point, I found that I was able to refine my soft proof adjustments further using the new sliders in the adjustment brush and work through some of the nuances that often occur in shadows and highlights. Restoring lost contrast is possible with the tone curve or with brush as well.

I’m still playing with the workflow and I will provide a video tutorial soon. However at this point I can see that for fine art or multiple print image runs the new soft proof tool is an exceptional addition to an already great program.

If you haven’t downloaded the beta, here’s the link—

Phil B— In class, you say that Adobe Camera Raw and the Lightroom Develop module are essentially the same except for some layout variances. However, when I use ACR I can choose a preference at the bottom of the window and choose file sizes that will be greater or lesser than the native file size for my camera. I get that in Photoshop and ACR but there is no such preference in Lightroom.

Why?

Yep, that’s what I said in class but under the hood things are a bit different between the two programs.

Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) processes your RAW captures so that Photoshop can work with the file because Photoshop looks for an image file as opposed to a data file. After creative work in Photoshop, we can save our files in a number of different formats (or cancel if it was one of those days when things just did not work).

In Lightroom, you don’t convert your RAW image in the development module. It’s as if you were working in ACR and simply clicked on the done button without opening the image in Photoshop. As you know in Lightroom, there is no ‘done’ button to click. You simply stop and all of the adjustments you created remain as you left them. They are in essence ‘sticky.’ Check your history palette and you can see in detail each step of your work and of course, you can go back to those steps ad infinitum even if you close and then reopen Lightroom.

This type of editing creates instructions for adjustment – rather than adjusting the actual pixels. Software engineers call this parametric editing and we can edit continuously without affecting the RAW file because we are editing instructions, not pixels.

So, how about the image size in Lightroom? The truth is that in Lightroom you can adjust images in the Develop module (working parametrically) ad infinitum until you export the image (or employ one of the sharing processes), which is when you create a new image file. It’s at this time that we can specify the file size or dimensions and LR automatically selects the proper interpolation. Now you have a RAW file as well as a new file in a format of your choice (PSD, TIFF, JPEG).

Keep in mind you can reprocess or repurpose your RAW again and again as necessary either directly or by making a virtual copy for a different variation.

For us older photographers we tend to think in terms of negatives, files, and permanence. Thus, it is a bit of a mind bender to think in terms of editing instructions as opposed to files, but once you wrap your mind around this parametric process you quickly realize that this is a beautiful thing.

In the fine art photography series that I teach, new artists often tell me that they are following my work, but wonder whose work I follow. It’s a great question and one that I can answer easily. But, before I do, let’s examine the concept of followers.

All of us follow someone at some time. In childhood, this is usually our parents or older siblings. In our teen years, it may be a valued teacher and or a sports or entertainment icon. Our individual faiths engender followers with an even deeper faith and commitment to spiritual excellence. Young business people follow other business leaders whose products or services change world values, and artists follow other artists whose works profoundly affect style of thematic revelation.

These are the North Stars of our lives, bright points of light to which we align our own compass and this North Star metaphor, is particularly true in the arts. Art leaders lead through creative influence, skills training, and mentoring. As new artists, we often mimic our leaders until we break out with our own style, story, and themes. Eugène Boudin who was 15 years older than Monet, influenced and encouraged him to go outside and paint, a wild idea in its time. Fred Archer influenced and collaborated with Ansel Adams to develop the zone system, and Willie Nelson will tell you that Bob Wills influenced his country style while Ray Charles’ country album contributed to a broader emotional range.

Unlike religion or business, leadership in the arts does not follow a hierarchal chain of command that creates internal evaluations. Rather it is collegial, influential, at times critical or hypercritical, and from time to time consensus driven to the point of boredom. Overall art leaders crack new social moirés, create exciting learning environments, and besides their creative influence, most are excellent mentors and coaches.

Daily, I learn something new from a wide variety of folks who create photography and digital images. However, learning from or staying in touch is quite different then following. Studying the successful work of others, be they dead or alive, is critical to the learning and development process but when I follow someone, I look for living leaders who execute their ideas, accept their success with grace, learn from their failures, blaze new trails without fear, consistently and persistently create new themes and visual expressions. As teachers, I follow those educators who encourage their students with equal measures of criticism and deep encouragement, who put their own accomplishments aside in order to let a new flower bloom. Teachers at this level often sacrifice time in order to grow creativity and creative outcomes in their students. In my view, these instructor leaders are the north stars of art today and tomorrow.

So, in the world of fine art photography and digital creativity my North Stars are. . .

John Paul Caponigro— JP as his students call him, is a creator of fine art photography that time and again pushes back conceptual boundaries and yet, his work embodies classical construction with 21st century skills and principles. His books, images, and workshops emphasize technical excellence in order that the student may develop and portray an extended emotional range. John Paul’s books, DVD’s Maine Workshops and seminars teach skill sets that encourage expression and an extended emotional range. He is a north star, magnetically and magically true. I recommend that you put him and his work in your learning constellation. http://bit.ly/Rj3hz

Katrin Eismann— I own every book and DVD that she has made, attend her workshops, and cannot wait for her next column in Photoshop User magazine. Katrin is a fine art photographer and the Chair of the Masters in Digital Photography Program at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. While the digital world has many fine teachers, Katrin’s method exceeds knowledge; they stir and inspire the creative juices. In my view, she is the Leggos of fine art creativity, using ideas and methods that allow us to take apart and rearrange fundamental thoughts and images, and then recombine them anew to extend our emotional range, designs, and personal texture. Katrin is creative guiding light, a North Star. http://www.photoshopdiva.com

R. Mac Holbert— ‘Mac’ often teaches fine art printing with JP, but he is a stand-alone North Star for those of us who produce fine art photography in the service of the print. Co-founder of Nash Editions a pioneering digital print house, Mac was present at the dawn of digital printing and worked closely with Epson or perhaps Epson worked closely with him. He is a senior contributor to the Pixel Genius team, the finest third party sharpener on the planet bar none. Mac’s common sense book, lectures and workshops achieve uncommon results in those of us who want every synapse of expression in our prints. http://bit.ly/yDyJqY

Barney Davey— Barney is a pioneer in digital publishing and art printmaking. His daily digests and art print issues blog as well as his plethora of books address a multitude of issues, ideas, and techniques for successful fine art marketing. He has an amazing capacity to create as well as aggregate information for digital artists, painters, print makers, and photographers. He is a true North Star for his work is always a great source of encouragement for art practitioners. http://bit.ly/zwhe1Q

Julieanne Kost— Julieanne is the Senior Digital Imaging Evangelist for Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom at Adobe Systems. She is a true road warrior as well as a North Star. An award winning educator and fine art creator. I recommend that you follow her blog, her AdobeTV.com series, and take advantage of her Window Seat book if you want to see how themes evolve in the most unlikely of places. Not a day goes by that her tweets don’t light up our night with new information and insights. http://jkost.com/

My students—Long after class I continue to encourage those students who continue to pursue their art. Their struggles and success are a source of light and inspiration, for each of them are North Stars. For we have to remember great leaders don’t create more followers, they create more leaders, more North Stars for the followers to come, for the followers who wish to grow.

Let me encourage you to get out to the Kelso Depot in the Mojave National Preserve. Once inside this historic visitor center drop downstairs to the Desert Light gallery for a great photographic exhibition.

Michael E. Gordon has become our latest Artist in Residence for the Mojave National Preserve, an award-winning fine art landscape photographer of unusual and overlooked natural landscapes of California and beyond. A lifelong student of nature and wilderness, Michael’s intimate relationship with the landscape yields photographs of great depth and clarity. He is best known for his black and white ‘Desert’ series which, says Broughton Quarterly, portrays “stunning ethereal beauty from terrain where others see only a bleak landscape.”

Michael’s photographs have been published in and on the covers of magazines, calendars, textbooks and music CD’s. He is represented by art galleries in the U.S. and Europe, and his fine art prints are held internationally in private collections. Publications and clients include Backpacker magazine; View Camera magazine; Rangefinder magazine; Broughton Quarterly; T-Mobile; The Wilderness Society; Campaign for America’s Wilderness; USDA Forest Service; Brooks/Cole, Body-Mind Music, and more. Awards and recognition include International Photography Awards, Prix de la Photographie, Paris, and Black & White Spider Awards.

Michael’s love for and commitment to the preservation of imperiled landscapes makes him an excellent leader in the National Park Service Artist in Residence program. For his Joshua thematic he trained his 4”x5” view camera and film on the unique form and curious feel of the Mojave Joshua Tree.

Mormon settlers traveling across the Mojave Desert in the mid-19th century found that the awkwardly outstretched limbs of the Joshua portrayed a prayer metaphor to guide them towards the Promised Land. One hundred and fifty years later, today’s Mojave Desert travelers remain as captivated as ever by the Joshua tree, and tourists often pose for snapshots beside prized roadside specimens.

Michael’s work provides a strong depth with this thoughtful thematic. To achieve a sense of timelessness, he employs a 4×5” large format view camera, a century-old diffused focus portrait lens, and black and white film. His Limited Edition prints are archival carbon pigment inks on mould-made German cellulose paper.

Beyond his excellent grasp of craft, Gordon portrays a deep understanding and relationship to what some might consider as pedestrian images. His points of view and sense of the desert light reveal a desert icon plant in human terms. As you spend time in the quiet gallery, you find yourself enmeshed in images that vary in emotional tone from anxiety to simple standalone beauty. The tension between images causes the viewer to reexamine the exhibit several times and when you leave the gallery, the desert is now part of your mental woodwork.

So, get out there and experience Michael Gordon’s work. Get out there and explore the Mojave Preserve.

Common subjects captured from an uncommon point of view are the first virtue of the fine art photographer. Look left, look right; look up, look down, themes are all around.

I use this simple catchphrase each time I begin a new fine art photography workshop series. And each time, I find that the words themes, thematics, and a visual art thesis, seem to breed fear for photographers new to the fine art genre. Why is this?

The internal psychological reasons are many; fears of personal acceptance (I’ll never be any good), sense of self-worth (I’m not an artist), creative discipline (this will have to do), and personal commitment (I should do something else in case this doesn’t work). Another fear is that for many photographers, consciously decoding visually what one synthesizes emotionally is often uncomfortable, as one has to reach for that uncommon point of view. This is frequently a life changing experience.

But I also believe that thematic fear occurs because we have been taught photography one image at a time. Here is a picture of my brother fishing, or this is a wow image of our new widget, which will appear in the next issue of X. Initially this was a function of photography’s mechanical limitations— glass plates, sheet film, rolls of film, all had an image count limitations (1, 12, 24, and 36 shots) and the cost per unit defined economic limits or some might say pictorial discipline. While these mechanical and economic considerations often restricted creative freedom, they also ingrained in us the belief that a photograph is a definitive, single image expression; “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Image capture in the digital age has few upper limits, but the habit of thinking of photography as a one shot medium persists. Single shot thinking is valid for a wide variety of applications; snapshots, portraits, and advertising among others. With fine art photography, we brutally edit numerous images and ideas to the few that will support a thematic direction. The theme is the mission not the single image.

For example, a collection of colorful Yosemite Pictures is a collection of colorful Yosemite pictures that may work in a travel brochure or a few could hang on a wall as pictorial examples of an iconic landscape or a testament to the photographer’s skills. The fine art photographer may approach that same landscape with an emphasis on light and form wherein symbolic color can visually translate a range of emotions. Pre-vision capture and post-vision enhancement techniques are useful for producing fundamental interpretations beyond standard landmark beauty and identification. By changing the point of view to simplify the shapes and then post amplifying (or deconstructing) the colors or tones found in the landscape the fine art photographer can ‘synthesize’ his or her feelings to expand the emotional range and expressive power of the landscape. The result is often an insight into the artist’s thoughts and feelings as seen by in and out of frame symbols. Moreover, this type of work provokes emotional responses in an audience beyond the image because symbolic undertones conjure much broader relationships.

Word association exercises can help develop new thematic concepts, something I encourage. But photography is not language. Language provides direct communication, and while creative writing can create mind pictures and soul felt emotions, language is fundamentally conclusive. Photography is inconclusive because it is subject to how the individual viewer recalls their life experiences and their level of emotional resonance is subject to their personal synthesis of aesthetics and feelings about a given thematic. Within the fine art genre, a single image can and should inflame language while a body of thematic work can recast language with various gradations.

Finally, there is the fear of not finding a theme. This is remotely akin to writer’s block but more precisely, it is a desire to find a shortcut like ‘Method Acting’ to arrive at a thematic character. Thematic work requires exploration, introspection, not construction, as a constructed theme is often limiting, and subconsciously photographers often restrict what they see in order to fit a blueprint. Rather than select a subject. . . feel one.

Look left, look right, look up, look down, themes abound.

Bob Killen’s Fine Art Photography Course

September 24th at the Calumet Learning Annex, Santa Ana CA

September comes with vapor flowers and a low slashing light that harkens to the winter sun a few squares further down the calendar. Random Santa Ana winds make a dry, dusty sound before going away and scorching the southern California light, the Mediterranean air. Schools open and yellow busses grind through working— or not—neighborhoods sucking up bright faces thinking recess and prepubescent wonders about the boy or girl who won’t look their way. In the tight tile communities of upscale families, chrome- wheeled cars slipstream out of manicured streets to school parking lots like shallow waters trickling over fine sands. Child learners slide off leather seats and down into the blue morning shadows. Hitching and scratching, they lean forward against the weight of book filled backpacks and march forward to school’s double doors.

Photographer: Jim Smart

Then it’s over; the high-wasted light of a yellow afternoon comes and the children fade into lemon busses grinding; chrome wheeled Mommy coaches gliding, slight faces pressed to windows, minds with crystal visions yearning.

School is open! And as the above paragraphs painted a truncated word picture, photographers who enroll in the new Fine Art Photography Class at the Calumet Learning Annex in Santa Ana CA, will learn how to capture image themes that transcends viewers beyond words written. In this series, we employ mentored learning techniques to teach students the creative thinking that fashions visual metaphors, and to extend our emotional range through creative Photoshop strategies.

Photographer: Dennis O'Reilly

A course with a Successful History—

I measure a student’s success by their personal growth, their sense of self-expression, and the success of their full or part time careers as their work finds gallery space, online venues, and or on the pages of publications. Most importantly, I measure success by how their work makes a difference to their personal art audiences. Happily, many of our alumni have experienced individual shows and publication success. Others have found new ways to express long felt ideas, and a visual voice.

A Great Course Revised— The Fine Art Photography course is now a thesis level program with online support between the classes. Class modules are one, two, and three days and occur two to three weeks apart. Between the classes, students photograph and post produce a thematic project based upon a theme developed in class. Online support provides additional instruction, coaching, and assignments to internalize a broad range of fine art photography concepts.

Photographer: Norman Schwartz

Class Descriptions—

Fundamentals of Fine Art Photography— This is a full day of lectures, portfolio reviews, and the student interactive discussions. We explore photographic philosophies, a history of fine art photographers and their contributions, a visual review of contemporary fine art photographers and why their work merits recognition. In the afternoon session, we consider how themes occur, how photographers pursue them, and how audiences perceive the work. During the day, I conduct a portfolio review and all students join in with their thoughts and comments.

• On Line Support— The support consists of image reviews, artists statements, and reading material that helps photographers find their visual voice within this genre. Students submitting theme ideas and images for discussion of concepts under consideration.

• Intra Class Module— Between classes students explore and capture images to support their themes. We provide intra class and online review.

Photographer: Dennis O'Reilly

Vision beyond Documentation— In this two-day class students unleash their concepts and prepare a thematic statement, learn Photoshop tools for fine art, fine-art workflow, and how to build a custom work space for fine art projects.

• On Line Support— The support consists of image reviews in light of a chosen thematic, online technical Q&A for Photoshop applications directed towards finding a visual voice and or for specific artistic applications. We provide input to keep the student images within their stated thematic objective.

• Intra Class Module— Between classes students continue to capture images that support a theme that is a vision beyond documentation. We provide intra class and on line review.

Fine Art Master Tools— In this three day class students concentrate on bringing their thematic images to life. They work from capture through output and learn to paint with light, control luminosity and use masks to deepen the emotional range of their images. With the use of new tools and techniques students learn to master and expand emotional range, edit images for a theme, and learn how to combine, intuition, serendipity, and purpose into a successful fine art project.

• On Line Support— The support consists of image critique, and technical Q&A for Photoshop techniques. We also provide valuable feedback to keep the student’s theme on course and within their stated thematic objective.

• Intra Class Module— Between this class and the next, students continue to capture and refine additional images in support of their themes.

Photographer: Jim Smart

Fine Art Output— The print is the thing and in this three day module students learn to construct fine art prints with Epson Printers and Epson substrates. Epson technical staff is present to help students handle their work professionally. Students master soft proofing, tonal adjustments, fine tune detail issues, and learn to further refine their themes during the print stage in pursuit of their thematic objectives. Students leave class with finished prints in archival storage sleeves.

• On Line Support— The support consists of technical Q&A for printing applications for fine art photographs and feedback on tonal adjustments in support of their stated thematic objective.

• Intra Class Module— During the time between this class and the next students continue to capture and refine their prints on home or outsourced printers for a final portfolio review.

Developing an Audience— In this two day course students learn how to find and develop an audience for their work. We explore: marketing strategies, audience recognition and the six portals of audience development. We also cover web presentations, galleries, online galleries, and the power of social media.

• Alumni Support— Student’s who complete all five modules will show their work in the Graduate Gallery Exhibit, as well as in our online gallery. We have developed a special Facebook discussion group where alumni can post their work and discuss their projects with other graduates.

The Graduate Gallery Exhibit— Students who successfully complete all five modules will have the opportunity to show their work in a Graduate Exhibit at the Learning Annex Gallery. This exhibit begins with a reception night, and is open to the public. We promote the show through various online advertising, with direct mail, and within the Calumet stores. Reviewers from art publications often attend and we invite collectors who are interested in emerging growth artists.

Requirements—

Desire— You must have a teachable spirit, a desire to learn, and a need to express yourself visually.

Photoshop— You must be comfortable with Photoshop and have a working knowledge of the tools, layers, file management, and adjustment layers.

Computer— You must bring a laptop with Photoshop CS5. Your machine should have a minimum of 2 GB of RAM, and sufficient hard drive space to manage the image work load.

Monitor— Your monitor should be calibrated. If not we will help you calibrate your monitor in class.

Photographer: Norman Schwartz

FAQ—

I’m not sure if I have the talent for Fine Art?— This program teaches you how to discover the unique visual voice that lies within you, and how to grow and refine your voice. It is not a matter of talent; it’s a matter of commitment and character.

Do I have to take all five class modules?—Yes, if you expect to gain a full understanding of and become proficient as a fine art photographer. However, you can take individual classes of your choice but you will not eligible for: discounts, intra module support, the certificate program, or to participate in the Graduate Gallery Exhibit.

Do I have to pay for all five modules at once? —No. You may pay for the modules as you go.

Are there discounts available?—Students who sign up for all class modules are eligible for a 10% discount. Students also receive promotional in store discounts on equipment and supplies.

What if I can’t complete the course?—The Learning Annex Administration judges the merit of each withdrawal case. Students who leave the program are eligible to join the program the next semester but the instructor will determine the reentry module.

Will I be able to sell prints at the Graduate Gallery Exhibit?— Yes if someone chooses to buy one of your prints. It will be your responsibility to provide the print, Certificate of Authenticity, and to deliver the print.

Will our instructors guide us through the Exhibit Process?— Yes, support staff form Bob Killen Fine Art and the Calumet Learning Annex will guide you through the process.

I am coming in from out of town. Is there a place I can stay?— Yes contact our studio manager, Michelle Bracey at michelle@bobkillen.com and she will help you with accommodations.

To enroll on line go to: http://bit.ly/qVlkXG

Or call: Calumet 714-285-0143

Here is a very, very cool, very free event that you should not miss.

On Sept 8th, 2011, at 6:15 PM at Calumet Photographic in Los Angeles, Ms. Linda Slater, National Park Service Ranger and Chief of Interpretive Services, Mojave National Preserve will present an evening seminar for fine art photographers who want to capture and interpret the desert landscape for the Artist in Residence Program.

I had the great privilege of starting the Artist in Residence Program with Ms. Linda Slater. It has and continues to be a rewarding experience because Linda has a deep sense of the art that lies within our National Parks. Thus, in the beginning, we decided that we wanted to attract photographers who could create specific art themes beyond the postcard and Kodak moments that are sometimes common to these programs.

Several fine art photographers that I had the privilege to work with through my Calumet classes, Norm Schwartz, Jim Smart, and Terry Ellis soon followed and earned the Artists in Residence designation as well. Their work brought a new voice and vision of the Mojave to the attention of the public.

Now we are seeking new voices to capture images from the Mojave Preserve’s 1.6 million acres of diverse visual communities. Out here, thunderclaps are rare, lightning strikes even less, and hard rain is an episodic event that creates gully-washing floods. On the ground, you find dry lakebeds coated with salt dust, grand vistas of hard packed sands covered with creosote plantations, black lava domes, and purple cinder cones that crunch under your feet. Sand dunes around the dry lakebeds launch dust devils into the blue atmosphere, and the monster dunes at Kelso, where fine wind-driven sands sing a shrill falsetto as wind driven silica particles shift and shake. At higher altitudes, snow often falls, and the world’s largest Joshua tree forests grow, their gnarly branches casting fuzzy shadows under a sun of luminous bleach. Rugged four-wheel drive trails provide access to played-out mines, and abandoned homesteads wrought free of slow-glowing dreams reminds us of the early explorer’s true grit as they trekked across an unforgiving desert.

Linda will teach how the National Park Service’s Artist in Residence Program works, and the specific application requirements for the Mojave Preserve. During the seminar, you will get a great tour of the desert and learn about working and living in the Mojave. She will provide materials for you to take, explain how the solo program works, how to earn income from your images, answer questions, and take time to learn about your goals.

I will give a short talk about the Caruthers Cabin project, a new restoration project (see next blog) of a historical ranching homestead that will soon become permanent housing for visiting artists.

This is a free event but you must register to reserve your seat. Simply go to http://bit.ly/qkPUuu and click on the registration button. So join us for a fun evening, one full of inspiration and opportunity for photographers who wish to capture the desert landscape and history.

]]> http://bobkillenphotographyblog.com/2011/09/mojave-national-preserve-artist-in-residence-program/feed/ 1 http://bobkillenphotographyblog.com/2011/08/photoshop-for-the-creative-mind/ http://bobkillenphotographyblog.com/2011/08/photoshop-for-the-creative-mind/#comments Tue, 09 Aug 2011 17:54:21 +0000 Bob Killen http://bobkillenphotographyblog.com/?p=806 Continue reading →]]>

I have three openings for my “Photoshop for the Creative Mind”, class at the Calumet Learning Annex in Santa Ana on August 18th and 19th.

I’ve decided to limit this class to 4-6 students instead of the normal 10-12, which allows for more exploration of the imagined image for those who choose to attend.

If creating images with an extended emotional range and taking your work to a higher level of expression are your personal goals, then join me and learn the strategies and techniques that will take you there.

In this intimate workshop, we will explore creative strategies for color selection, why hue matters and how to see hue in new ways. We’ll explore the power of enhanced light, how to use luminosity masks, sculpting with light, selective contrast, contrast masks, repurposing images, image studies, and a number of ways to approach and create composites.

This is one of my favorite workshops because there is nothing more satisfying than watching new work rise from innovative thoughts and techniques.

If you join us, please bring a portfolio of your current work, preferably prints, but an organized digital presentation that I can present on screen will work too. We will learn about where you are, where you are going, and then help you discover how to expand your visual voice and make the trip.

See you soon, and if the time is not right for you just now, then pass this on to someone who may be ready for the next step.

To register visit: http://bit.ly/mVVtmE

I’m worn out, tired, no ideas, nothing is working, everything I shoot, post process— whatever—it all means nothing.

Unfortunately, I often hear from students, as well as working fine art photographers who are struggling with these thoughts. This is a sure sign that creative weariness has set in. The truth is that making art of any kind is a fragile process, an emotional roller coaster of vicissitudes that often makes an artist question their self-worth if not their sanity.

It is not easy to hold onto a dream of work successfully completed when the world around you is holding onto failures of the past. And while it’s normal to tire of any project that requires innovation, creativity, and a great effort, weariness is significantly different from simple tiredness. The fix for tiredness is rest, refresh, and a restart, but weariness is the result of mental and creative fatigue. It signals doubt, fear, and in our work the visual no longer seems to flow from the visceral. Weariness breeds disillusionment and the fiery passion that drives our projects flickers, and no matter how hard we try (and often we try too hard), all we can see is the cold ashes of failed attempts. A weary artist often feels their new work is one promise too late, and their old work a promise unfulfilled. This is a vulnerable time for anyone, but for artists in particular, this is when we rationalize quitting by telling ourselves that our work at best is average, that we don’t have what it takes, and finding an audience— well forget that.

I know— I’ve been out on that ledge a time or two myself.

But we have to remember if you walk out on a movie in the middle, you have passed up the opportunity to experience a happy ending. The truth is this: the difference between a working fine art photographer and one who isn’t; is that those who overcome weariness continue; those who faint and fumble— quit.

Psychologists tell us that severe weariness may be a symptom of depression. An exhausted mind can’t make a decision, communicate or help anyone else. In these cases, one should reach out for professional help. However, for artists, or for anyone pursuing an imaginative project, ‘the wearies’ is generally not this severe. In most cases, it is a symptom of temporary creative impotence. Inexplicably, the passion and fire for our work suddenly flickers and artists tend to make decisions based on how they feel at this weary moment, rather than based upon what they know in their hearts to be true.

Unlike physical fatigue, we cannot cure weariness with rest, but it helps. To overcome weariness we need to win the war of the mind and to overcome the doubt that has crept into our creative souls. The actual battleground is not behind the camera or in front of the computer—it’s in our minds that the fiercest battles take place—and an artist needs to step back and remind him or herself that they have come too far to quit. Weary times are times for new self-talk, a time to say, “This too shall pass. I know it’s not permanent; it’s only temporary. I’m not camping here. I’m moving forward.”

Know too, that we experience our greatest weariness from a project not yet finished, and when you take a moment to look at your work objectively, you will find that in fact nothing has changed. The fire still burns, but you may need to add some fuel; the dream is still there, but you may need to recommit and let the dream power you on. And if you’re really down, then maybe it is time to let go of your personal cross, and recognize that someone else needs the wood.

While weariness of the body requires the regenerative powers of rest and sleep, weariness of the mind requires stimulus. This is the time for artists to remind themselves that they have already come through the wilderness of vacant ideas, overcome technical obstacles, and defeated the good by working to create the better. Most of all— don’t make a permanent decision based on a temporary, negative feeling.

So, if it’s not working for you from behind the lens or in front of the computer, if it seems the magic is gone and you feel like you can’t make it—can’t take it— anymore, that it’s too hard, then step back and declare victory. You’ve come a long way; this is a bump in the road not a mountain. Refresh yourself with a celebration of where you are and believe in the joy that will be when you complete your project.

Now then . . . let’s get back to work.

There’s an old axiom that says, “Those that can— do; those that can’t—teach”. Well I don’t buy that. I teach because I know that once I help a student stretch his or her mind with a new idea, an improved technique, and to develop a visual direction, I know that their mind will never again regain its original dimensions.

In practice, expanding a student’s mind also expands their potential for success and fear at the same time. Its human nature to let fear defeat us when our work doesn’t work, to let success escape us when we tell ourselves that we will never develop our themes, that our visual voice will never rattle the rafters of our studios with stunning clarity, that we will never find an audience for our work. Thus, I know that teaching means more than presenting information or demonstrating process and technique; it means to encourage, to lead, and to restore the artistic dream that is often under pressure from the world without as the student struggles with their art within.

I teach because I can encourage students to stretch little ideas into big dreams, to move the stakes of their personal tent out further with each project. I know that the world wants to decrease us, but through the power of an encouraging word, I can teach a student that their art will increase the world around us. Through encouragement and patience, I can help them ‘get it’ as they learn a new concept, wrestle with an expansive theory, or master a tool.

I inject humor and encourage humor because I know that as long as there’s a laugh going here and there, we’re learning not to take ourselves too seriously but our work— we take that seriously.

I encourage because I know that today many try to force our individual spirit to accept a tiny place, and that many believe artistic mediocrity is success in its own right. I tell them we live in an expanding universe, so why should we think small, believe little, and let our artistic dreams collapse into a black hole of failure. I tell them that the victory of success can only be lost in the defeat of the mind. I encourage them to understand that sometimes it is important to be inconvenient to others to become convenient to their own success. I tell them don’t let the world contain you; get out there and let your art expand the world around you.

I listen to the students who express their fear and tell me, “I don’ think I have any talent”.

To them I say, “When you pressed your eye to the viewfinder, did you say, “Better not look in here because I don’t have any talent?” When you squeezed the shutter, did you say, “Rats wish I had never done that because I don’t have any talent?” When you opened, your image in Photoshop did you say “well better not add any saturation to this image because I don’t have any talent?”

“You brought the camera to your eye, squeezed the shutter, and opened it in Photoshop or Lightroom because you felt that magic moment that you wanted to share and express. You come to classes and workshops to learn how to clarify and present that magic moment, to expand your emotional range so that all of us can feel and understand your magic. Your talent is your talent; you are who and where you are. Your teacher’s role is to help you get past your talent and to the core of your character so that you can be and do more.”

And to the student who says, “What if I keep trying and nothing happens then I’ve wasted my time”.

Well I know this; doing nothing is an ‘all in’ waste of time. Perhaps your work will never hang in the Museum of Modern Art or the Smithsonian, but ask yourself, will you be any worse off for trying to expand your knowledge, for testing your own creativity and pushing your own limits? Will you have wasted your time as you wrestled with the war and peace of ideas; for those moments of reconciliation that comes when self-expression self-reveals? Will you have wasted your time to experience a thousand times more joy, spirit, and the success that comes from simply trying, and trying again.

I teach students experiencing success, that success often breeds complacency and coasting. Push past success, super-size a new dream, because when you begin to coast, you can only coast in one direction— downhill.

I love to teach because this is where the dream begins. I teach because this is where someone will overcome a plateau, or break through an emotional wall.

I love to teach because I can— and I do.