south america Archives - John Paul Caponigro

New Series – Incubation

Destination - Atacama, Images - Photographs Comment

0 Likes

Incubation II, 2013

Incubation I, 2013

Incubation IX, 2013

Incubation XIII, 2013

Incubation III, 2013

Incubation V, 2013

Incubation IV, 2013

Incubation VIII, 2013

20131209__SAARGpedropomez__1458-Edit

Incubation X

My newest series of images Incubation uses a dynamic approach to representing both spaces and objects within those spaces, blending images of the same subject taken from multiple angles – panoramics, duplications, nestings, symmetries, tesselations, etc – that take on complex perceptual responses and psychological overtones.
Currently, all of the images are drawn from the same location made during two separate adventures (2012 and 2013) to the Atacama Desert in Argentina.
View more featured image collections here.
Search my online gallery for specific images here.
Sign up for my free enews Collectors Alert for announcements of new images, discounts, and more.

My Top 12 Images Of 2010

Images - Annual Top 12 Comment

0 Likes

Correspondence – Nocturne – LI

Correspondence XLV – Nocturne

Correspondence XXXXVI – Nocturne

Correspondence XXXV – Nocturne

Correspondence – Nocturne LII

Condensation CX – Prelude

This is a selection of my top 12 images of all time. This selection doesn’t reflect sales, publication, or activities on the web. It simply reflects my opinion. Click on the titles to find out more about each image.
Geography
Antarctica, California, Iceland, South America, Utah.
Process
I practiced my typical 80% composite and 20% straight. Can you tell which is which? I hope it’s not obvious and that during this guessing game you begin to look more closely at looking.
Concepts
Light reveals and interacts with surfaces, which both reveal and conceal, sometimes doing both simultaneously. What the viewer sees depends as much on the context (physical location and moment in time) as his or her mental state (education, emotion, intent, awareness).
Magnificent Moment
The time I spent exploring the Great Salt Lake in Utah, several years before these images were completed, was a particularly intense time emotionally for me, some of I hope is reflected in these images and some of which I hope remains personal. The magnificent moment was inside.

View more of my Annual Top 12 Selections here.

View more images in my ebooks here.

View my full Works here.

View my Series videos here.

View new images in my newsletter Collectors Alert.

Make the Weather

Software - Photoshop, Workshop Comment

0 Likes

We had great weather on our South American Cruising Through Life workshop. Most of the tourists would agree. On the other hand the photographers might not. Only the first day and a half had much weather – fog. That’s when I got a majority of my keepers. The skies were often clear, offering only an undistinguished background of simple blue. When there were clouds they were undistinguished cumulus humilis, no cumulonimbus, no cirrus, with few sheets of stratus. The sunsets and sunrises were pretty but not distinguished. There wasn’t much wind or swell so the seas were calm. Still, I shot. I got a few quiet keepers. And a lot of raw material for composites, which will ultimately yield more dramatic results. Today, you can make the weather. Understanding the new possibilities of digital rendering opens up many new opportunities for making exposures. Once you’ve been exposed to them you’ll start seeing new possibilities.
Find out more about Cruising Through Life here.
Find out more about Vincent Versace here.
Find out more about my Atmospheric FX ebooks here and here.
Find out more about my Atmospheric FX DVD here.
Read what one happy viewer though about my DVD Atmospheric FX here.
Find out more about my upcoming workshops here.
Sign up for Insights for advance notice and discounts on upcoming workshops.

Cruising Through Life in South America

Workshop Comment

0 Likes

I’m just getting back from my Cruising Through Life (run by Sean Perkins and Andrew Tepper) South American workshop with Vincent Versace. (Internet limitations made posting difficult during the trip. Stay tuned for coming highlights.) Sean and Andrew, always ready to help, did a great job organizing the logistics of the trip – facilities, scheduling, locations, guides, etc. We had a really nice group of people who learned a lot. It was a smaller than expected group so Vincent Versace and I made the most of this intimate environment and quickly customized the curricula to their needs. We provided many of our Acme Educational DVDs to supplement our lectures. We did more shooting exercises and reviews than planned, which made the learning even more concrete and practical. The Star Princes was a huge boat and despite the 2600 passengers and 1200 crew, we never felt overwhelmed by people. Still, a private balcony is a must for a trip like this for private quiet moments and for constantly monitoring the weather and quick shooting. There was always so much entertainment – spa, yoga, pilates, dance lessons, music, shows, movies on tv, in the theater, and under the stars – we were only able to sample a small portion of the offerings often choosing to miss the onboard activities to focus on our photography. Boats really reduce travel logistics enabling you to focus more on shooting and processing. All in all, it was an incredibly comfortable way to sample South American ports.
This was our itinerary.
2/2    Valparaiso, Chile
2/3    At Sea
2/4    Puerto Mont, Chile
2/5    At Sea
2/6    Punta Arenas, Chile
2/7    Pio Xio Glackier, Chile
2/8    Ushuaia, Argentina
2/9    Cape Horn, Argentina
2/10    Port Stanley, Falkland Islands
2/11    At Sea
2/12    At Sea
2/13    Montevideo, Uruguay
2/14    Buenos Aires, Argentina
Stay tuned for more thoughts from the trip.
Plans are brewing for future international Cruise workshops.
Sign up for Insights for pre-announcements and special offers.
Find out more about Cruising Through Life here.
Find out more about Vincent Versace here.
Find out more about my upcoming workshops here.

Picture Perfect South American – Cruising Through Life

Workshop Comment

0 Likes

Vincent Versace, Laurie Excell, and I will be coteaching in a South America cruise February 5-17.
There are some fabulous landings scheduled. Find out more here.
M, February 5   6 PM                 Valparaiso, Chile
T, February 6                   At Sea
W, February 7    7 AM – 6 PM     Puerto Montt, Chile
T, February 8               At Sea
F, February        7 AM – 8 AM     Pio Xi Glacier, Chile
S, February 10    6 AM – 7 PM     Punta Arenas, Chile
S, February 11    12 PM – 8 PM   Ushuaia, Argentina
M, February 12    8 AM – 9AM    Cape Horn
T, February 13    8 AM – 6 PM    Port Stanley, Falkland Islands
W, February 14                          At Sea
R, February 15                           At Sea
F, February 16    8 AM – 5 PM    Montevideo, Uruguay
S, February 17    6 AM           Buenos Aires, Argentina
What do we do at sea? Seminars. Find out more here.
T February 6
9-11    Excell     Photography Basics
3-5    Excell        Beyond the Basics
R, February 4
9-11    Caponigro    Illuminating Creativity
3-5    Caponigro    6 Simple Steps to Good Color Management
F, February 6
9-11 Caponigro    Creating a Master File
1-2    Caponigro    Essential Camera Tests
4-6    Versace    Lighting on a Laptop Like a Sunbeam
S, February 8
9-11    Caponigro    Creative Sharpening
M, February 9
9-12    Caponigro    The Power of Color
1-3    Caponigro    Black & White Mastery
4-6    Caponigro    The Art of Masking
T, February 11
9-12    Versace    Lighting on a Laptop Like a Sunbeam
1-3    Versace    Seeing Is Believing
4-6    Versace    Image Harvesting
W, February 12
9-12    Versace    Retouching on a Laptop
1-3    Versace    Unleashing the Raw Power of Capture NX
4-6    Versace    Framing Versus Composition
What do you do with the little remaining time? Have a great meal at one of the many onboard restaurants. Get a message at one of the onboard spas. Go swimming in the pools and hot tubs. Or, enjoy retail therapy in the onboard shops. Find out more here.
Want to come? Sign up now here!
Insights Members get $1000 off. This offer is good for the next 5 members that register only.

I Use – 3 Filters / Polarizer, ND, IR

Tools, Workshop Comment

0 Likes

Because it offers so many more options, digital imaging may change the way you use your tools.
For instance, I use only 3 filters – a circular polarizer, a neutral density filter, and a infrared filter.
No other filter is as useful to me as a polarizer. Polarizers remove glare making colors more saturated and reflections allowing you to reduce or remove images on the surface of reflective surfaces. No software filter can do this. I use Canon’s circular polarizer. Whenever possible, I prefer to match filters to the manufacturer of the lens,
I’ve been experimenting with long exposures. Singh Ray makes a unique neutral density filter – the Vari-ND filter. Rotate it and you can slow reduce light between 2 and 8 stops. This eliminates the need to carry multiple filters and to stack them during exposure. It’s fantastic. (As an aside, I prefer all graduated filtration to be done with software because you can control both the effect and the graduation precisely.)
For infrared imagery I use an infrared filter. It’s not exactly the same as converting a camera to infrared, but it’s closer than simulating IR effects with software and it’s doesn’t permanently change your camera. I prefer to carry as little equipment as possible, move freely, and take long walks. Because I prefer to keep my options open, many times I will shoot in full color and use software to create an IR effect. If you take both a full color and IR filtered exposure of the same subject you have many more options.
I demonstrate these kinds of techniques in all of my field workshops.
See more of the products I use here.
Check out my full Review on the Singh Ray Vari-ND filter here.
Get Insights free here, for upcoming alerts of new Reviews.
Read about essential camera tests techniques here.
Check out my field workshops here.
Get a 20% discount on my Iceland (8/18-22) workshop here – expires 8/10.
Get a 15% discount on my Fall Foliage (10/17-20) workshop here – until 8/17.
The first 5 Insights Members get $1000 off South America (2/2-14/09), thereafter $250.