.

Alumnus Olaf Willoughby – Visual Conversations

Alumni  Comment
0 Likes

Willoughby_VisualConverstions
By Olaf Willoughby
“A Visual Conversation sets up a rhythm, a pattern of communicating in which images fit with one another, with a chosen text, a piece of music or artwork of any kind. It helps develop our voice and vision.
Working through a series of Visual Conversations, each becomes a stepping stone which exercises the creative muscles and takes us beyond our regular shooting routines.
Visual Conversations work so well because they are based on the centuries old principle of ‘call and response’. A tradition of improvised exchange evident in everything from Hindu spiritual chants to modern day blues/gospel and jazz. From Japanese Renga linked poetry circles to folded paper stories.
How does this work in practice? I select an image which resonates, share it with you and ask you to shoot an image which rhymes, fits or starts a conversation with the original. Pretty straightforward, although there are systematic approaches to doing this. And still more ways of building that into a dialogue.
Now what if I select a painting by Rothko, or a poem by Edgar Allen Poe or Roberta Flack singing, ‘The first time ever I saw your face’? It’s a little more difficult. It requires more intense study and understanding of the original work of art to interpret it photographically. It stretches our minds to think about art in new ways.
Or how about if we develop the conversation into a narrative through storytelling? There are multiple permutations leading into other exercises…. I’m sure you get the idea. Add into this group discussion and feedback and it becomes an exciting learning experience. Each call and response takes us out of our routine and asks us to think differently about our photography.
But that’s not all. What makes this special is that your creativity can be extended beyond assignments into the process itself. As you’d expect, some Conversations involve working solo but others take ‘the road less travelled’ and involve working together on shared projects.
There is a spectrum of co-operation in the arts. Whilst some prefer to write books alone in coffee shops, others operate in collectives. Some partner up at different stages in the production process (choreographer/dancer, author/editor) and some of the most famous simply collaborate. Think Lennon & McCartney, Picasso & Braque. Look around. Every movie, play, symphony, rock ballad, even architectural space and garden involves artists working together. Yet collaboration is rare in photography. There are examples like Bernd & Hilla Becher or today, the Starn Twins but they are few and far between.
Occasionally we catch a glimpse of the collaborative spirit in photo workshops. At the end of the day, participants gather to share their solo work and you can feel the buzz in the air as people are amazed at the different ways of seeing and shooting, even though they were often at the same location.
Sharing projects captures that buzz and helps us let go of the need to control. We both give and receive in creative decision making and come to see our own work in a different light.
I’ve experienced the benefits of Visual Conversations and collaborative projects first hand. They are fun but clearing the creative blocks arising from routine ways of working can be challenging.Expect to be jolted. But also expect to benefit from taking a different approach to your photography and returning to your personal work refreshed and enhanced.
I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with Eileen McCarney Muldoon, a talented photographic artist in Jamestown, Rhode Island. We’ve captured that creative buzz and put it into a workshop. We’d be delighted if you would check it out. Even better, the course includes complimentary access to Leica equipment.
Plus a guest appearance during the week from a world renowned digital artist. I’ll leave you to guess who that might be!”

For more information contact: olafwilloughby@gmail.com or emmimageloft@gmail.com

PHOTOGRAPH Issue 8 Is Available Now

Magazine - PHOTOGRAPH  Comment
0 Likes

PHOTOGRAPH8_425
“Issue 8 proudly showcases portfolios from Ami Vitale (storyteller and National Geographic photographer), Charles Adams (fine art landscape photographer), Jon McCormack (documentary humanitarian photographer), and Tom McLaughlan (abstract photographer).
This issue includes articles by our columnists John Paul Caponigro, Bruce Percy, Guy Tal, Chris Orwig, Martin Bailey, Piet Van den Eynde, Adam Blasberg, and David duChemin.”
In my column Creative Composition I discuss the uses of and relationships between Simplicity & Complexity.
I’m delighted to see that included is the work of Charles Adams, who has been my assistant for the last five years.
Preview PHOTOGRAPH 8 here.
PHOTOGRAPH_CT_425

22 Quotes On Reputation

Creativity - Quotes  Comment
0 Likes

Quotes_Reputation
Here’s a collection of my favorite quotes on reputation.
“A good reputation is more valuable than money.” – Publilius Syrus
“Build a good name. Keep your name clean. Don’t make compromises. Don’t worry about making a bunch of money or being successful. Be concerned with doing good work … and if you can build a good name, eventually that name will be its own currency.” – William Burroughs
“It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.” – Benjamin Franklin
“It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett
“A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack was.” – Joseph Hall
“You can’t buy a good reputation; you must earn it.” – Harvey Mackay
“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” – Socrates
“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” – Henry Ford
“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.” – Jeff Bezos
“Repetition makes reputation.” – Elizabeth Arden
“Concealed talent brings no reputation.” – Desiderius Erasmus
“Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.” – George Washington
“Build your reputation by helping other people build theirs.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo
“Judge a man by the reputation of his enemies” – Arabian Proverb
“Reputation is only a candle, of wavering and uncertain flame, and easily blown out, but it is the light by which the world looks for and finds merit.” – James Russell Lowell
“Many a man’s reputation would not know his character if they met on the street.” – Elbert Hubbard
“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” – Abraham Lincoln
“If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of me.” – Dwight L. Moody
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” – John Wooden
“Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.” – Thomas Paine
“Tell me how a person judges his or her self-esteem, and I will tell you how that person operates at work, in love, in sex, in parenting, in every important aspect of existence – and how high he or she is likely to rise. The reputation you have with yourself – your self-esteem – is the single most important factor for a fulfilling life.” – Nathaniel Branden
“Self esteem is the reputation we acquire with ourselves.” – Nathaniel Branden
View The Essential Collection Of Creativity Quotes here.
Discover more quotes daily in my Twitter and Facebook streams.

How to Add Realistic Spinning Motion Blur Effects in Photoshop CC – Julianne Kost

Video - Adobe Photoshop  Comment
0 Likes


Julieanne Kost demonstrates how to use the new, nondestructive Spin Blur in Photoshop to create realistic motion effects including the ability to spin an object at variable angles, as well emulate traditional strobe effects with the ability to define the strength, number of flashes and duration.
View more Photoshop Videos here.
Learn more in my Digital Photography and Digital Printing Workshops.

Friends Of The Earth

Environment - Organization  Comment
0 Likes
fb-image
Support Friends Of The Earth.
“Friends of the Earth strives for a more healthy and just world. We understand that the challenges facing our planet call for more than half measures, so we push for the reforms that are needed, not merely the ones that are politically easy. Sometimes, this involves speaking uncomfortable truths to power and demanding more than people think is possible. It’s hard work. But the pressures facing our planet and its people are too important for us to compromise.
We are members of Friends of the Earth International, a global network representing more than two million activists in 74 different countries. In the United States, we advocate in the halls of Congress, in state capitals, and with community groups around the country. With offices in Washington, D.C., and Berkeley, CA, and members in all 50 states, we urge policymakers to defend the environment and work towards a healthy environment for all people.”

Exhibit – New Work 2014 – Aug 2 & 3

Event - Exhibit  Comment
0 Likes

Incubation_I_425

John Paul Caponigro’s Open Studio | New Work 2014 is open to the public for one weekend only – August 2nd and 3rd from 10 am to 5 pm with a talk by the artist at 2 pm. (Afterward, visits by appointment are available.)

This annual event unveils new highlights from the artist’s recent international travels north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle with stops along the way in Iceland, Argentina, Morocco, and Namibia. Amid images of glowing auroras, crashing glaciers, colliding icebergs, thundering waterfalls, smoldering volcanoes, shimmering salt flats, shifting dunes, you’ll find the oldest desert, the largest salt flat, the windiest continent, the fastest moving glaciers, the wildest seas and more, all portrayed through the eyes of this unique artist.

This is a rare opportunity to view the artist’s new work presented in his own private studio / gallery. Come enjoy prints, drawings, paintings, books, and conversations with the artist during this very special event. Many of these items have never been seen before and some are often not made public.

For more information including previews, reviews, statements, audio, video, and press kit email info@johnpaulcaponigro.com.

Click here for directions.

View the slideshow here.

Check Your Inbox For Insights eNews

Newsletter - Insights  Comment
0 Likes

enews_201408
My enews Insights broadcasts today at 3:15 pm EST.
Save this issue!
I wish I’d had access to these resources in college.
It contains 75 Documentaries On Photographers, 33 Collections Of Quotes By Photographers, 44 Conversations With Photographers, 15 Quick Q&A’s With Photographers, 7 Video Conversations With Photographers, 3 Recommended Reading Lists and more.
This issue also features information on two upcoming exhibits – New Work 2014 and Two Generations. Members get discounts on the new ebook Two Generations.
This issue is quite possibly the best issue of Insights so far.
Sign up for Insights enews free here.