A week ago I got the opportunity to spend a long weekend in South Africa's Cederberg Wilderness Area. While there, we enjoyed two cloudless nights, during which the stars were exceptionally bright. In fact, in this remote part of the world the stars are always exceptionally bright compared to the...
Essays and Inspiration Category Archive - Page 20
Art, Not Furniture
It’s supposed to move you; to generate an emotional response. It’s about how it makes you feel, not just about how it looks. Anything from a single plain colour to highly complex dendritic patterns will have an effect of some kind. As photographers our judgement is sometimes so clouded by...
A Ribitting Morning
The Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington Ontario (Canada) recently hosted a display of frogs from around the world. Frogs: A Chorus of Colours was an interesting, educational exhibit as well as an opportunity to capture some images. These kinds of events always present challenges for photographers. The display cases are...
Visualization: The Hunt for the Light
In my recent essay on visualization, I discussed the historical and modern day significance of this concept in photography as well as the role that a composition card serves in bridging the vision in the mind to its tangible realization into an image. In this follow-up essay, I will discuss...
The Truth in Photography
It is evident to me that images can carry and convey truth - small and capital T - and that most people aren't actually talking about truth when they talk about objectivity and subjectivity. Strong statement, I know, but I think as usual, the people using the Internets simply bring...
On Shooting Yourself…in Street Photography
If you become a student of street photography, the curriculum is littered with advice and maxims on what defines and makes a “good” street photograph; I use the word “littered” intentionally – because much of that curriculum is just that… things that can be tossed out. Within that heritage, I...
Construction of a Photograph: The Process of Visualization
Hello, my name is Rick Keller. I am an amateur photographer who lives in San Diego, CA, one of many readers of Photography Life, and an occasional participant in its forums. Recently, after having participated in the Photography Life Photo Critique, Nasim Mansurov graciously and enthusiastically extended me an invitation...
Photographing The Eiffel Tower at Night
If you ever have the chance to visit Paris, one of the absolute highlights is, of course, the Eiffel Tower. Riding the elevator to the top is an experience in and of itself — as you fly through the Tower’s metallic skeleton, you start to see flashes of the city shrinking...
Photo Essay: Caparaó National Park
I have been a photographer for over 20 years and have worked on several projects here in Brazil. My work is quite diverse, but I love shooting portraits, particularly environmental portraits. I started to like this site back when it was Mansurovs and it helped me a lot in finding...
The Choice of “Presence” in Street Photography
The growing popularity of street photography is probably best explained with one word: accessibility. Street photography is accessible both because of location (big surprise – there are lots of streets in the world. Go outside. There’s a street. Right there...) – and because you don’t have to be a full-time...