Ginger Leaf
On a walk around the block with the kids yesterday I saw this translucent wild ginger leaf. I snipped it, brought it home, and shot it on my lightbox. This…
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March 4, 2012
digital photography: techniques: thoughts: photographs
Craft of Black & White in the Digital Era
Monochromatic photography looks back to the glorious aesthetics of the classical era of film photography. At the same time, the world has moved on and revolutionary advances in technology have made…
February 26, 2012
Flowering Quince on My “Bucket List”
Most photographers have bucket lists of things they'd like to photograph before they die. Flowering quince---because of the lushness of the blossoms contrasted with the sparseness of the stems--has long…
February 19, 2012
Floral Arrangements
I've had a little time lately to shoot more flowers on white. These two floral arrangements feature orchids---buying them for photography seemed a little expensive at the time, but in…
February 5, 2012
You Are What You Photograph
Are you what you photograph? They say, "You are what you eat." In a certain simplisitic sense this is obviously true. Therefore, if you photograph what you eat then you…
January 16, 2012
Getting Off Automatic
As a professional photographer I almost always use my camera in manual exposure mode. Most of the time I have no use for programmed automatic or semi-automatic modes---or, God forbid, one…
January 13, 2012
Floral Tapestries
To create these images, I arranged flowers on a lightbox that was proportionally much wider than it was tall. Next, I shot straight down with a macro lens, bracketing for…
January 8, 2012
Workbench
Over the winter holidays I took our boys on a "field trip" to Fort Ross State Historic Park. Fort Ross marks the furthest point south of the expansion of the…
January 6, 2012
Sunset Koan
On Christmas Day I calculated that from the summit of Wildcat Peak the sun would set directly behind the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge. This seemed like a great excuse…
December 28, 2011
Paperwhite Waterdrops
The Paperwhite, Narcissus papyraceus, is a small white flower related to the Daffodil. Grown from a bulb, the plant is originally from the Mediterranean basin. It's commonly thought of as…
December 18, 2011
The eye believes what it thinks it sees
The eye believes what it thinks it sees. This allows us to enjoy magic shows, movies, and two-dimensional art such as painting and photography. Any two-dimensional representation of three dimensions…
December 14, 2011
Self-Portrait in Faucet
We've had a spate of minor---but surprisingly expensive---plumbing repairs recently. I took advantage of one of these to shoot our new kitchen faucet with my 200mm macro lens. Who knew…
December 9, 2011
Berkeley Pier in HDR
This is an HDR image of the Berkeley Pier, the site of the Free Walk-and-Talk with Harold Davis on Saturday, December 17 at 4:00PM. Please consider joining us. Berkeley Pier…
December 8, 2011
Tao of Photography Workshop with Harold Davis at Green Dragon Temple Aug 3-6, 2012
Please join Harold Davis for three days of inspirational photography at Green Gulch Farm. This workshop runs from 5PM Friday August 3, 2012 through 10AM Monday August 6, 2012, and includes…
December 6, 2011
Road Less Travelled
Phyllis and I were lucky earlier this week to spend a few hours at Green Gulch Farm. Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, also known as Green Dragon Temple (Soryu-ji), is a…
December 1, 2011
Distant Mountains
From my viewpoint on the edge of the eastern Sierra the distant mountains were invisible---hidden in a dense swirl of fog and cloud. I waited a while. For an instant…
November 28, 2011
Splendour in the Grass
I arrived early for a workshop I was leading in Bear Valley, the park headquarters for Point Reyes National Seashore. As soon as I parked my car I noticed a…
November 25, 2011
Giving Thanks
According to a recent New York Times article, scientific studies have shown that expressing gratitude can improve one's health and lead to less anxiety and depression. Also, as the article puts…
November 23, 2011