Beginner’s Mind
Shoshin is a word from Zen Buddhism that is often translated as "beginner's mind." Beginner's Mind means having an attitude of openness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject…
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September 23, 2019
Tacked to a Virtual Wall
Starting with a light box image of flowers arranged vertically (shown below), I created an L-channel LAB inversion, as well as a variant using the Exclusion Blending Mode. I curled…
September 20, 2019
Farewell to After-Hours Access at Giverny
Sadly, the Monet gardens at Giverny have ended their program allowing artists, photographers, and writers to access the gardens before and after the public admission hours. I don't know why…
September 20, 2019
Flowers on Black versus an Inversion
The image above, Orchids on Black, was created by photographing the flowers on a black background, with a bit of enhancement in LAB color. Flower Magic on Black, shown below, was…
September 19, 2019
Patagonia Photography Adventure (March 21-31, 2021)
We're pleased and excited to open for registration the new Patagonia Photography Adventure, March 21-31, 2021, with optional extension to Iguazu Falls (March 31 - April 4, 2021). This is…
September 14, 2019
Early-Bird Discount Deadlines Approaching
Our spring 2020 destination photo workshop to Southwest France no longer has vacancies. But we do have a couple of other wonderful opportunities, currently with significant early-registration discounts: The substantial…
September 12, 2019
2020 Photographing Flowers for Transparency Workshop with Harold Davis
Please join us for the 2020 session of Photographing Flowers for Transparency with Harold Davis (June 20-21, 2020) to be held in Berkeley, CA. Click here for more information, and…
September 10, 2019
Dryad and Dark Angel
Dryad and Dark Angel are in-camera multiple exposures using studio strobes and a black background, with some Photoshop post-production work. With Dryad (above), the model used the multiple exposures to intentionally…
September 9, 2019
Creative Black and White Opportunities Webinar
The replay of my Creative Black and White Opportunities webinar is now available for viewing on YouTube. I had a bit of problem with managing the software, and got "out…
September 5, 2019
Photoshop Backgrounds and Textures
Regarding my LinkedIn Learning Photoshop Backgrounds & Textures course, a correspondent emails: "Thank you for making this topic so interesting. I've been accumulating photos of backgrounds and textures for years…
September 4, 2019
Spoonerismo
Looking at our sets of kitchen measuring spoons, with their patina and scratches from long use in a hard-working family kitchen, I noticed the pattern of concentric ovals, particularly when…
September 4, 2019
PhotoActive Podcast Interview with Harold Davis
PhotoActive has featured an interview with me in their podcast, Episode 50: Harold Davis Creative Black & White. If you enjoy the chat I have on the podcast with my…
September 1, 2019
Magic in Everyday Things
In the morning, Phyllis called me over. She had the vitamin bottle upended, looking inside for pills she noticed them on the circumference of the circle at the bottom spread…
August 31, 2019
Petal Pushing
I'm back at my old habits, building compositions constructed from flower petals on a light box, photographing the assemblage in high-key HDR, then combining for transparency in Photoshop, finally inverting…
August 30, 2019
Bailey Island, Maine
Like a narrow finger, Bailey Island extends into Casco Bay on the Atlantic coast of Maine. It's connected to the mainland, some thirty miles away, via a narrow bridge of…
August 25, 2019
Clematis that Remains
This spiral structure is what remains when you don't deadhead a Clematis flower, and leave it on the vine. You can see how the core of the flower has expanded…
August 24, 2019