Studies With Master Artists In Maine

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Kenneth Nolan

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Eliot Porter

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Alan Bray

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Wolf Kahn

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Alex Katz

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Lois Dodd

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Dahlov Ipcar

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Jamie Wyeth

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Andrew Wyeth

Photography iphone Maine-4

Louise Nevelson

Photography iphone Maine-9

Eric Hopkins

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Fairfield Porter

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Alan Magee

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Robert Indiana

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Peter Ralston

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Paul Caponigro

For years I’ve been photographing postcards of artworks made by master artists in Maine. Each artist has their own strong connection to the same place and their own way of seeing it. Do they find what’s iconic about Maine or do they make it iconic? Photographing images of their works in locations that feel relevant to their works provides a unique way of looking into Maine, what they make of it, and what I make of it.
View more studies here.
Find out about my Maine Fall Foliage photography workshop.
 

We're Still Dreaming Of Antarctica


After a whirlwind tour of Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina and Torres Del Paine, Chile, Seth Resnick, Eric Meola, Arthur Meyerson and I are finally on our way home from our recent Antarctica voyage. (Check my Google+ , Twitter, or Facebook streams for a collection of quotes on travel and home.)
We’re all still dreaming of Antarctica. Whether for the first time (Arthur and Eric) or for the fourth time (Seth and I) Antarctica touched us all very deeply. We all had unique experiences. We all made compelling images in our own unique ways. And we were able to share the experience together. And yet, no matter how hard we try to put those experiences into words, something about the place defies description. Antarctica is a profoundly mysterious place. Antarctica is so exotic that when you’re there you often feels like you’ve visited another planet.
Here are a few quick thoughts from each of us.
“I saw deeper shades of blue than I’ve ever seen before. And I was able to get closer to it and find more dramatic angles than ever before. Every time we go back there are new surprises to discover.”  – Seth Resnick
“Antarctica was the fulfillment of a life time dream … the magical mystery tour. The light, the landscape, the color blue – otherworldly. I have never experienced anything like this before. I felt as though I was on another planet.” – Arthur Meyerson
“What impressed me most about Antarctica was the silence. I’ve never been anywhere as spiritual. Most places are spiritual because of their religion. This was a place that is spiritual because of its natural beauty. I sensed that everyone around me felt the same way. Although photographers become mesmerized by their subjects, for the first time I sensed that the spirituality of the place affected them very deeply. All of us were absorbing the beauty around us.” – Eric Meola
“Antarctica is never the same twice. It’s like a mirage that never fades. It seems simultaneously eternal and ephemeral. It’s as if spirit took shape – and when you got there you get to touch it, immerse yourself in it, and take it into you. You cannot go to Antarctica and return unchanged.” – John Paul Caponigro
Digital Photo Destinations is planning a new Antarctica workshop voyage for 2013.
Sign up for our pre announce list to be among the first to hear about it.
Email jpc@digitalphotodestinations.
Find out more about Antarctica here.

Use Postcards As Props


I often like to use props to make photographs. One of my favorite props to use is images. Photographing other images, in many cases, photographing other photographs, adds layers of complexity and offers many poetic opportunities. Images ask you to look and to look in certain ways. Two images ask you to look and look again and to look in multiple ways. I find this extremely stimulating. Making images with other images in them can be a fantastic creative wellspring.
Here’s a selection of images with postcards in them that I made during my 2011 Iceland workshop.
Find out about my 2012 Iceland digital photography workshop here.
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Make Your Own Postcards


For a time, I swore off making photographs that were like postcards. I was looking for something else then. I was looking for my own unique approach to making images. My thinking was that if I took a vow of abstinence from what I knew I wasn’t looking for, I’d eventually find what I was looking for. Eventually, I did.
After some time, I reconsidered this aversion to making postcard-like images. I started making them, again. Making postcards is excellent practice. You have to be fairly competent to make good postcards. Postcards survey a subject, tell a story, offer human interest, present strong color, and are composed of relatively strong graphic structures. Sometimes, postcards make strong emotional appeals. When you think about it, that’s a pretty tall order.
Postcards try to do it all – and do it all competently. It’s interesting to note that to transcend postcards, all you need to do is emphasize one of these qualities over the others and do that one thing excellently. Making postcards is great practice. To make good postcards you have to understand them clearly. To transcend them, you have to know the difference between them and what you’re really looking for.
Below is a selection of iPhone postcards from my 2011 Iceland workshop.
Find out about my 2012 Iceland digital photography workshop here.
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Use Postcards As Quick Surveys


One of the first things I do when I arrive at a new location is look at postcards made in the area. Postcards give me a quick survey of the highlights of the region and the classic visual approaches that many other photographers have used to make images there. Postcards help me decide where to go and what to look for. Postcards also present me with a great challenge – transcend this.  Postcards help me up my game.
Here’s a selection of postcards I collected during my 2011 Iceland workshop.
3 out of 6 of them are by Ragnar Th Sigurdsson.
Find out about my 2012 Iceland digital photography workshop here.
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Bill Atkinson Presents Photo Card


Take a photo on your iPhone, turn it into a physical postcard, and send it anywhere in the world. It can take as little as a few seconds and cost between $1.50 to $3.00.
Bill Atkinson’s iPhone App PhotoCard makes custom postcards a snap. You can send postcards of your images, not the ones everyone else sends. (Or you can use Bill’s!) The only thing your postcards will be missing is an international stamp, but then it’s not as likely to get lost in international mail or take as long to get there.
If you don’t know who Bill Atkinson is … you should.
Find out more about PhotoCard and Bill Atkinson here.