Alumni Gil Maker recently became a gallery partner with 9 other photographers.
He shared some insights about why and what he’s learned so far.
Find out why he thinks, “This is one of the best decisions I have made in my life.”
Read more on my Alumni blog here.
Alumni Ken Carl recently placed as a finalist in PDN’s World in Focus Contest and is in the running for Bella Pictures‘ Photographer of the Year award. A long time alumn of mine who has since turned pro. Ken had this to say …
JP,
You are a keystone in my success and vision. True words, not just kind.
It has been a very powerful year beginning with a “nextstep return” the Hilo, our Next Step Exhibit in July and closing with this PDN selection. I feel strongly that my professional career is at a point of major change. There are challenges and dangers. I need to keep focused on personal projects, specifically the Olson House, so my creativity does not stagnate. There are so many images not yet seen. In my professional career has found unexpected success in the arena of photography of weddings, I am again in the running for Photographer of the Year for Bella Pictures. Calumet Photographic has invited me to do a presentation of my wedding photography in March.
Thanks again JP, looking forward to seeing you again soon.
Ken
Find out more about Ken Carl here.
Chris Alvanas’ image (above) is an excellent example of heavy HDR.
Last week I taught my most advanced Fine Art Digital Printing Advanced workshop ever. We talked not only about how to use HDR tools but also the visual effects they produce. HDR processing creates several identifiable artifacts. Going to extremes will help you identify the possibilities and the artifacts more clearly. After that, you can better decide just how far you want to go. Clearly identifying these artifacts can help you control them and craft your own HDR style.
1 Full detail in shadows and highlights
This is the reason special software was invented.
Pushed far blacks and whites can get gray.
2 Accentuation of contour
Images look sharper and clearer. It’s Clarity on steroids.
Pushed far this leads localized vignetting.
3 Accentuation of texture
Talk about detail.
Pushed far it gives objects a stained (“grunge”) appearance and boosts noise.
4 Distortion of relative saturation relationships
Sometimes it’s beautiful, sometimes it’s unnatural, sometimes it’s beautifully unnatural.
A little post-production work will help you get the balance that’s best for you.
Learn more in my free Lessons.
Learn more in my HDR DVD.
Learn more in my Workshops.
Next FADP Advanced workshop 2/1-5
Last week I taught my most advanced Fine Art Digital Printing Advanced workshop ever. A number of the participants work with HDR. So we explored a variety of HDR styles.
Chris Alvanas likes heavy HDR processing to give his contemporary portraits a grittier look.
Jim Hooper likes to blend normally processed Raw files with HDR processed files for a blend of classic and contemporary.
HDR techniques can be used to generate many different effects. They’re useful techniques every photographer should know about.
Learn more in my free Lessons.
Learn more in my HDR DVD.
Learn more in my Workshops.
Next FADP Advanced workshop 2/1-5
Last week I taught my most advanced Fine Art Digital Printing Advanced workshop ever. We delved deep into the art of dodging and burning, learning not only how to do it but many interpretive strategies for applying it in different ways to a variety of images.
Soren Lindqvist’s image drawn from the rocky coast of Maine demonstrates just how far you can go with dodging and burning. He turns an image with dark lines on a light ground into one with light lines on a dark ground. It’s a fine example of the art of interpretation. Available light may only be a starting point.
See more of Soren’s work here.
Learn more in my free Lessons.
Learn more in my Drawing With Light DVD.
Learn more in my Workshops.
The participants in my recent Maine Fall Foliage workshop discovered many creative solutions that helped them focus on their personal vision. The inspiration and new perspectives they found are ultimately more important than the images they made; these new insights will influence all the images they’ll soon make. They found some very nice images too.
What can you do to find more inspiration for your images?
What new perspectives can you find to enrich your images?
Learn more about my field workshops here.
See more. Click ‘Read more …” Read More
A Quiet Mind
by Justin A. Hartford
In May of this year I traveled with JP to Namibia to photograph the
vast deserts and endlessly untouched areas of such a remote location.
I grew. I grew as a photographer and a person during that time. To go
on a photographic journey with JP is to have a very unique experience.
We had group exercises. We had individual attention. For me, the most
important was the time I was allowed to wander on my own away from the
group. I was always supported, as was everyone, for trying new things
and doing something different. In the mornings we would all load up in
the Land Rovers and head out with coffee in hand. I had music in ear.
The music I was listening to is the basis for my body of work that
came out of that Namibian journey. Blue Octobers song A Quiet Mind.
My series, A Quiet Mind, is a selection of eighteen images. It is a
series about searching for something even though I don’t know what I’m
searching for. It is about being lost and alone. It is about having so
much going on inside my head sometimes that all I want is A Quiet
Mind. I hope you enjoy viewing these images.
Find out more about Justin Harford here.
Find out about my 2010 Namibia workshop here.
See more images … Read More
One interesting exercise I recommend to my students is to shadow a partner. Walk in each other’s footsteps and make pictures like the other person. Shoot the same things. Shoot them the way you’d shoot them. Then shoot them the way you think your partner would shoot them. It’s best if you partner with someone who can expand your comfort zone. Compare the results as you go. What you’ll find is you won’t end up making the same images. You’ll end up making your own images in new ways.
These two images from Serra Cafema, Namibia came out of this exercise. The horizontal one is Paul Tornaquindici’s. The vertical one’s mine. We smiled while we were doing it and we’re still smiling. We realized that while the conditions were identical, we were so different and that resulted in different images. There are many more realizations about our personal styles we’re still making.
See more of Paul Tornaquindici’s images here.
Visit here tomorrow for more of my images from Namibia.
Find out about my 2010 Namibia workshop here.
This space is for you!
If you’re an alumn of my workshops/seminars …
I want to hear your success stories!
And I want to share them with the world!
Got a new book?
Featured in a magazine?
Won a contest?
Have a new exhibit?
Landed a new assignment?
Print made it in a prestigious collection?
Experienced a great travel adventure?
Took a great workshop?
Used great tools?
Learned something valuable?
Tell us about your discoveries here!
How do you submit material?
Send me your ready to post text as an RTF file.
Include full urls for relevant links …
i.e. http://www.johnpaulcaponigro.com/workshops.
Include at least one image – 425 pixels wide, sRGB, 8 bit, JPEG setting 6-9.
Email me at johnpaulcaponigro@hotmail.com.
That’s it!
I’ll post it!
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