Blog - John Paul Caponigro

See What You’re Missing – 2 Ways To Non-Destructive Crops

Composition, Creativity - Composition Comment

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We’re responsible for everything that’s in the frame. We’re also responsible for everything that’s not in the frame. Deciding what’s in the frame and what’s out is a critical decision that can make or break an image. Framing and cropping are critical. If you miss a key element during framing you’re out of luck. However, if you overcrop you’re not, if you crop non-destructively and you remember to reconsider your crop from time to time. After you crop, you forget what you’re missing. It’s out of sight and out of mind. But it doesn’t have to be.

Lightroom and Photoshop’s crop tools allow you to see the image information you’re missing Here’s how …

In Lightroom, highlight an image and tap R. You’ll see the areas eliminated with a darker overlay. You never lose image information when you use Lightroom. It couldn’t be easier. What’s hard is remembering to do it.

Photoshop also makes almost as easy. First you have to open an image. Then press C (or click on the crop tool). Then click on the Crop tool control handles and you’ll see the missing information, again under a darker overlay. When you use Photoshop, be careful. Unlike in Lightroom, you can eliminate image areas permanently. Here are two ways. One, check the Crop tool’s option Delete Cropped Pixels. Two, flatten the file or merge other layers with the Background layer. You may think this has happened when you first look at a file that has been cropped in Photoshop as when you first click on the crop handles you won’t see the larger canvas but simply drag the right corner of the window out and you’ll see the bigger canvas.

Why would you need to reconsider your crop? To make future improvements as your vision evolves. In the analog darkroom photographers never (almost) cut their negative’s or transparencies. They masked them during printing. This means every time them made new prints they reconsidered their crops. Sometimes, after their seeing matured, they changed their minds – significantly. I’ve witnessed the greats reviewing their top images. One day, Arnold Newman adjusted his crop on his portrait of igor Stravinksy. Another day, my father reconsidered his crop for Running White Deer, making subtle but significant shifts in their final compositions. Those two images are both dramatically influenced by the way they’re cropped. If the masters do it, you may want to consider doing it too.

Small changes can make big differences. But you won’t think to make them if you don’t see what you’re missing. So make it a habit to reconsider your crops from time to time. It only takes a few moments and if you do, perhaps even your best images will improve.

Learn more in my digital photography and digital printing workshops.

The 7 Best Beers & Breweries In Maine

Destination - Maine, Maine Comment

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Maine’s rocky north Atlantic coast may be short on wineries but it’s rich in breweries. With the most breweries per capita of any state, as of early 2020, Maine is home to 155 active, licensed breweries, representing over 100 unique brands with a deeply independent strain (like its people) ranging from classically elegant to off the hook inventive. It’s become a beer drinkers paradise currently applying for its own internationally recognized style.

Many Maine breweries have tasting or taprooms. A disproportionate number are in Portland. Stop by and try what you can’t find even in the best stores with their limited batches and seasonal varietals.

No store could possibly carry them all so finding specific ones requires considerable hunting and gathering, which just adds to the fun. One of the best selections in the state can be found in Freeport’s Bow Street Market.

Whether you’re a Maniac or ‘from away’, with riches that could be an embarrassment (but we’re not) it’s hard to know where to start. Here are my top picks. (My taste tests are ongoing, so check back for new additions.)

Allagash

They excel at Belgians.

Their White is a staple cloudy wheat.

Their Curieux is a stellar bourbon barrel tripel.

Boothbay Craft Brewers

They do it all without overdoing it … or is it overdoing it just the right amount?

Savor their lush Thirsty Botanist.

Foundation

They’re playful, richly rewarding, and sometimes even sweet.

Enter their radiant list with an Epiphany.

Lone Pine

Their flavors are so in step with the independence of the pine tree state.

Taste the place in their evergreen Brightside.

Bissel Brothers

Their creativity runs deep.

Ease into a wild ride with Substance an IPA with an understated name.

Maine Beer Company

They excel at IPAs.

Start with their beer Lunch.

Rising Tide

Though their list is deep, with plenty of range, they excel at lighter classic IPAs.

Try their Maine Island Trail Ale.

Discover more Maine resources.

Join me during my Maine photography workshop.

Maine’s 9 Best Oysters & 5 Places To Find Them

Awards & Grants, Destination - Maine, Maine Comment

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I find it mysterious and wonderful! The same oyster species grown in different places taste different. When you eat oysters you taste the seaweeds and kelps that surround them, the minerals in the rock and mud they grow on, and the salt in the waters they breathe. You even taste the temperature they live in. How is that possible? You’ve got to taste it to believe it.

Today (2021), about 150 oyster farms in Maine, extending from York to Washington counties, raise over 11 million oysters per year for the white table cloth market (an industry worth over $8 million). The Damariscotta River estuary in Maine is the largest site for oyster growth. Most Maine oysters have strong, hard shells, plump full meats, and a beautiful briny sweet flavor of a cold fresh clean ocean.

Maine offers a savory adventure with an impressive variety of oysters to choose from.

Pemaquid Points burst zaftig and briny.

Winter Points remain firm with brothy umami.

Taunton Bays offer a complex minerality.

Belon Rivers glide coppery smooth.

Dodge Coves supply sweet and sour tanginess.

Bagaduce Rivers balance bouquets in small creamy packages.

Glidden Points achieve an unusually crisp density.

North Haven Islands have a hint of honey.

Gay Islands share a touch of sugar.

Find more at Oyster Finder.

Find the best selection in Portland at Eventide.

Find the best selection in Boothbay at Mine Oyster.

Find the best selection in Rockland at North Beacon.

Find the best selection in Rockport at 18 Central.

Follow the Maine Oyster Trail here.

Want them shipped to you? Try Maine Oysters Company.

Discover more Maine resources.

Join me during my Maine photography workshop.

Things To Do In Maine

Destination - Maine, Maine, Studio Comment

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There are lots of things to see and do in Maine.

Here are some resources to help make your visit even more special.

6 Great Maine Museums To Visit

The Best Breweries & Beers In Maine

Maine’s Best Oysters & Where To Find Them

15 Colorful Things To See During Maine’s Fall Season

Places To Explore

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse

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Places To See

Portland, Portland Museum of Art, 207-775-6148

Brunswick, Bowdoin Museum, 207-725-3275

Waterville, Colby Museum, 207-859-5600

Rockland, Center For Maine Contemporary Art, 207-701-5005

Rockland, Dowling Walsh Gallery, 207-596-0084

Rockland, Farnsworth Museum, 207-596-6457

Rockland, The Strand Theatre, 207-594-0070

Owls Head, Owls Head Transportation Museum, 207-594-4418

Camden, Bay Chamber Concerts, 888-707-2770

Places To Eat

Southwest Harbor, Red Sky, 207-244-0476

Bar Harbor, Havana, 207-288-2822

Camden, The Waterfront, 207-236-3747

Camden, Natalie’s, 207-236-7008

Camden, Long Grain, 207-236-9001

Camden, Wolf Peach, 207-230-8315

Listen To Yourself

Creativity - Writing Comment

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You can learn a lot just by listening to yourself. Listen not only to the words you actually say, usually to others but also to the words you use in your inner dialog. When you speak about yourself, your creative life, and the works you produce, the words you use can be very revealing. They mean something to you. You choose them. Often you do this without realizing it and once you do new creative connections and opportunities will open to you.

Ask yourself …

Do you keep repeating specific words?

Do you use different words that all point to similar meanings, orientations, or attitudes?

Do the words you use share common concerns?

Do you tend to use more nouns (things), verbs (actions), or adjectives and adverbs (qualities)?

Do you tend to speak actively or passively?

Do you tend to speak in the past, present, or future tense?

Do you speak specifically and concretely or do you speak more generally and abstractly?

Do you finish your sentences or jump to new ones before you do?

It’s best if your observations about the words you use are made without judgment. Simply make observations. You can use this practice to savor the qualities of your everyday experiences that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. It can be helpful to expand your statements; say more to describe it better and find its connections to other things. After that, it can help to distill it all back down to what’s most important. If you do this you’ll feel freer, clearer, and more energized.

Becoming more aware of your concerns and attitudes will ultimately help you make more considered choices about your actions, reactions, emotional responses, and even self-image.

Greater awareness of the words you choose and how you use them can inform the images you make in many important ways – how you make them, the images you select, how you sequence them, how you process them, what you title them, what you write about them, how you talk about them, how you present them. Your words can help you discover and shape identity, meaning, and purpose.

Thinking too much about the words you use while you’re using them can sometimes get in the way. When this happens, record yourself and listen to it later.

It can also help to talk with someone about a subject that’s important to you. They can help you get your tongue rolling and keep it going by asking you helpful questions and offering you useful reactions while you’re talking together. Again, make notes while this is happening, or better yet record it and make notes then so you can stay in the flow while it’s happening.

It only takes one important observation to make the practice of observing how you speak extremely worthwhile – give it time and it will lead to breakthroughs if that doesn’t happen instantly.

Talk With Yourself

Creativity - Writing Comment

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When was the last time you wished you had someone to listen to you? When was the last time you listened to yourself? We all want to be heard. Don’t wait for someone else to come along, do what only you can do for you. Listen – carefully.

Turn Your Inner Monolog Into A Dialog

Go ahead, talk to yourself. Don’t worry, it’s not crazy. We all do it. Don’t think so? Try not to do it. Monks spend years developing the ability to empty their minds so they can be here now instead of imagining what did, could have, or might happen.

We see things, we hear things, we feel things, we do things, we react, and all the while we interpret what we’re experiencing if we’re not stuck in our past or planning a future. That’s part of creating our story, the essential narrative we shape from too many facts.

We all have a running commentary provided by our minds and tuning into how it goes and flows can be very useful.

Speaking your mind can help you become clearer about what’s on it. Where did that come from? Pay closer attention to find out. Broken record? Skip a track. It’s your choice, whether you decide to speak your mind silently in your head or speak your mind out loud, either alone or in the presence of others under the right circumstances. No one ever has to know how much you talk to yourself; they rarely know how much they talk to themselves. Most of the time, we’ve become so accustomed to the familiar voices inside of us that we’re often unaware of what’s being said and who’s saying it. It seems natural to us. That’s just the way it is. But, in reality, that’s the way we are. If we actively listen to ourselves, we become more self-aware and realize we have many more choices available to us.

Be More Creative By Changing The Voices You Use

Do you ever get tired of the sound of your own voice? Same old same old? Try another. People often talk about how helpful it can be to hear another’s perspective, but they don’t talk often enough about how you can get other perspectives from yourself.

We all have many different voices within us – aspects of ourselves that can be seen as being distinct from one another – an optimist, a realist, a pessimist, an inner critic, a cheerleader – they all set different tones and offer different perspectives, which can be very useful when you’re looking for better ways to do things or ways to get more out of your life, with and without art Expand your mental wardrobe. You can wear many hats. Imagine your inner voice speaking to you at different ages – your inner child, your adult, your elder. Try on a few Jungian archetypes – a child, a lover, a parent, a warrior, a dreamer, a scientist, etc.

We can make the life of our inner community richer and more dynamic by encouraging these separate voices to speak in turn and even to speak to each other. Over time we may even discover that each voice has a consistent set of concerns and skills and knowing this can help us decide which voice to call on in a given situation. This is a more personal version of the very useful question, “What would (Add the name of a person with a potentially useful perspective.) do ?”

When you’re working with your personal advisory council, it can be helpful to put a neutral moderator in charge of conversations. His or her job is simply to listen and observe non-judgmentally and to make sure everyone is heard. At times your moderator may direct specific questions or make a motion to table one issue and move on to other subjects. Later, you can weigh the evidence, draw conclusions, and make decisions about what you’d like to do or not do.

This imaginative exploration can be extremely useful. We not only come to better understand ourselves, we also come in contact with vast sources of information and understanding that we often leave untapped. The best thing about listening to ourselves is that we come to realize we have many more perspectives to draw from and options to choose from than we had previously imagined.

Is your self-talk good talk? Is it useful? If not, change it. It’s your talk. While you’re at it ask “How many ways can talking to myself be useful?” Your imagination can offer you unlimited possibilities and the only thing limiting you is giving yourself permission to explore them.

So go ahead. Talk with yourselves. You’re sure to find surprises, delights, and many interesting perspectives.

What’s Your Creative Process? 1 Habit That Will Change Your Life

Creativity - Writing Comment

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Do this one thing and you will transform your creative life.

Watch your process.

If you make this a habit, you’ll develop a better understanding of not only what but also where, when, how, and why do the things you do.

Noting what you don’t do can be an equally powerful practice.

You’ll quickly find yourself flooded with new information and ideas, which you can turn into a creative advantage by taking notes.

When you notice what when where how you do the things you do, after every observation ask, “Why?” Don’t think of the question as a challenge but rather as an opportunity to gain greater clarity about your motivations and what does and doesn’t drive you to action.

First, note what you do and don’t do.

When you watch your process carefully you become aware of every step in your process and everything involved in it. Actions and things that went unnoticed before will become clear to you. Find out if your habits are serving you well by doing what you do in a different order or by adding or subtracting one thing systematically. Make a little time to observe your process like a scientist might and find out what positive benefits that perspective has to offer you.

Second, note where you do and don’t do it.

Do you like quiet places to work without distractions or do you prefer a lot of external stimulation to get your juices flowing? Do you like clean orderly spaces to foster calm efficiency or do you like to spread out and use chaos creatively? Do you need a space away from home or work or do the other people and activities that take place there feed your creativity? Maybe your answer will change depending on a given project or a particular stage of any project you’re in. If you don’t know, mix it up and find out.

Third, note when you do and don’t do it.

Are you a morning person or an evening person? Are there times of the day you find it easier to be creative because you have fewer commitments? Do you work in bursts or do you prefer to do a little bit at a time? Do some things require bigger blocks of time to do? Can some other things be done in smaller chunks of time? Answering these questions will help you make the most of the time you have as well as plan to make the time you need.

Fourth, note how you do it and don’t do it.

It’s likely that you have a choice to do the same thing in many different ways. You may be used to doing things in certain ways, without realizing it. Maybe you’ve made a few assumptions based on what other people do. Are those assumptions helping you? Maybe you’ve developed habits. Which good habits help you get consistent results efficiently? Which bad habits prevent you from getting the results you want? Are you taking shortcuts? Sometimes what works in one situation doesn’t work in another. Do your habits serve or hinder you when things change? Take stock of your habits and you’ll find areas for improvement but don’t forget to give yourself credit for everything you do that works well along the way. You’ve worked long and hard, you deserve it. Keep going.

Fifth, ask why you do what you do.

Behind every action, there’s a goal. You eat, drink, breathe, sleep to stay alive. You photograph to … ? Your most basic motivations may be fairly simple. Some of your other motivations may be much more complex – and it’s likely you do many things for unconsciously for reasons that your conscious mind has a lot to learn about. Realizing this can often be the key to finding out what is most authentic about and fulfilling in your creative life. If you really want to get to the core motivations behind the things you do it can be helpful to ask “Why?” five times in a row. Ask the first question. Then ask “Why?” Respond to that answer with “Why?” and repeat this a few more times. Often our deepest motivations don’t reveal themselves until the third, fourth, or fifth time you ask “Why?” If you find asking “Why?” is getting in the way of your observations while you’re practicing your process, ask it when you’ve finished and while you’re reviewing your notes.

Watch your process. It seems simple. It is. But like meditation, it’s not easy. We quickly fall back into our habits, which is exactly what we’re trying to notice more carefully – and potentially change (whether a little or a lot or sometimes or always).

There are many more benefits to taking notes about your process. Because I write …

I constantly generate new ideas.
I’m rarely blocked.
I’m more productive.
I’ve streamlined my systems.
My technique is better.
I recognize the ideas and practices I’ve inherited from others.
I’m aware of what’s influencing me, when, for how long, and why.
I’m clearer about what works and what doesn’t, for me.
I’m aware of my self-talk.
I’ve identified my goals.
I understand more about the personal reasons behind the things I do and the ways I do them.
My work has more purpose.
I enjoy my process more.

I find I write the same things down time and time again. This has lead me to create a master process list, which I can add to or subtract. (I keep it in the Notes app on my iPhone. I make a lot of notes there about a lot of different things.) Because I’m so curious I rarely get bored. I find there are always new things to observe. Are there new things because I noticed more? Why? Are there new things because I’m in a new environment? Why? Are there new things because I decided to try something new? Why? Are there new things because I’m more emotionally receptive? Why? These are important questions that can unlock new ways of looking, thinking, and working, now and in the future. Keep asking them. Ask a lot of questions!

Watching your process is really a matter of becoming aware of your choices (what you choose to do and not to do) and what you may have missed. With greater awareness, you can choose to do the same things or make other choices. With more choices available to you, you can make better choices. Better according to who? You! Be mindful of your creative process. Make this a habit and you’ll transform your life.

I could write a book about the many benefits watching your process brings. But don’t take my word for it. Try it!

Read my Mindfulness resources here.
Read more in my Writing Resources.
Learn more in my Creativity Workshops.

How To Control The Proportion Of Your Images’ Frames Expressively

Composition Comment

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The proportion of an image’s frame (or aspect ratio) is a fundamental part of the statement it makes. Aspect ratio influences the way both the photographer and their audiences see images. Many photographers choose particular camera formats (35mm, 645, 2¼, 6x17, 4x5) because they reinforce particular ways of seeing. For instance, square formats emphasize neither vertical nor horizontal motions and reinforce the geometries framed within them, while panoramic formats encourage the eye to sweep across images in long strokes, typically but not exclusively horizontally.

Of course, all images can be cropped. Through elimination, an image’s aspect ratio is modified. Reasons for cropping an image can vary; one reason is to eliminate unessential image areas; another reason is to change the proportion of the frame.

There are photographers who prefer to standardize the aspect ratio of their images. Many documentary photographers crop none of their images to indicate the objective stance they attempt to approach their subjects with, signaling a host of other related practices, and above all that they have intervened in and interpreted the events their images portrayed as little as possible. Other photographers standardize the aspect ratio of their images to draw attention away from the proportion of the frame to other aspects of their images. Repetition typically deflects attention from an image element, while variation draws attention to itself. Still, other photographers standardize the proportion of their images to make matting and framing easier and more economical. Some do it simply out of habit. No matter what type of photographer you are and what your standard practice is, I recommend you explore your options. (To gain the maximum benefit from your explorations, draw some conclusions from the results of your experiments.) Careful cropping can make your images stronger.

There’s an art to cropping; it can clarify and energize a majority of images and even substantially modify the content of a few. At one time or another, most photographers adopt this practice – some elevate it to an art.

With Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw, and Photoshop you can non-destructively crop your images so that pixels are hidden rather than eliminated. This is now the default behavior of these softwares. Later, if you wish to change the crop of an image you can reuse the Crop tool to reclaim these hidden pixels and make modifications without having to reprocess the original Raw file they were derived from.

Few photographers explore distorting their images to change aspect ratio. In large part, this is because distortion is a practice so new that not enough time has elapsed for it to become a habitual part of our tradition. In some cases, the practice of distortion is discouraged; it is not appropriate for the creation of forensic or documentary images. In a few cases, it is encouraged; many portrait photographers squeeze their images horizontally making their subjects look thinner, a transformation as little as 5-10% is often undetectable to the casual observer but nonetheless highly flattering to the subject, some think it takes off the ten pounds the camera adds on. Whether you are influenced by the force of habit or respect for tradition, remember that both lead to learned behaviors, which can be modified. Distortion offers extraordinary expressive opportunities. You owe it to yourself and your images to explore this option. Whether you choose to do this often or infrequently, a little or a lot, is something only you and time can tell.

4 Ways To Divide Your Images’ Frames Expressively

Composition Comment

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Dividing The Frame

The four most important lines of any image are the ones that are often least recognized consciously – the frame. Second only to these are the lines that divide the frame, creating frames within the frame. Becoming more aware of how the frame can be used and how it can be divided will help you make more successful compositions.

There are many ways the frame can be divided. You can divide the frame horizontally, vertically, or diagonally; in each case the layers included define the virtual space presented. Different areas in an image can be divided differently. You can divide the frame (or a frame within the frame) multiple times; the more times the frame is divided the more packed and dynamic it becomes, progressively growing more design-oriented and finally being reduced to pure texture. Each operation has significant consequences.

One of the most significant results of dividing the frame is the creation of specific proportions. (The combination of the individual aspect ratios of each element creates a new unified aspect ratio.) Much has been made of the ‘rule of thirds’. Dividing the frame into three parts (left/center/right or up/middle/down) is a simple and often useful strategy for making images more directed, by prioritizing one element over another, and dynamic, through imbalance. Too little has been made of other ratios. What of fourths, fifths, sixths, sevenths, or eighths? No musician would be content to only divide an octave into halves and thirds. Every proportion produces particular effects, which are further modified by placement (high/low or left/right) and content. Rather than a rule to be adhered to, proportion is a force to be explored expressively.

When it comes to controlling the division of the frame in your images, you have more options available to you than you might think. You can crop, distort, retouch, or composite.

Before and after cropping

Crop

Cropping, either through placing the frame during exposure or by eliminating framed information during post-processing, which changes the aspect ratio, has been the most traditional way of dividing the frame.

Before and after distortion

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