Another in an irregular series of suggestions for the photographic bookshelf. My selection this time is the Aperture monograph of the work of Ralph Eugene Meatyard, but you may substitute that one book that made you realize new and different things about your medium; that changed your ideas about what photography could be. I also … Continue reading Camera Position 35 : Bookshelf #2 →
The order in which we see images changes how we perceive them. In this episode, we look at how sequencing photographs can take one set of images and change the message they convey. Sequence 1 – Click Image for a larger view photographs by Jeff Curto Sequence 1 – Click Image for a larger view … Continue reading Camera Position 34 : Sequencing →
This brief “Thirty-Three-and-a-Third” epsisode of camera position is just a quick “pointer” to my guest-host appearance on Chris Marquardt’s “Tips From The Top Floor” podcast. I hope you’ll check it out. Click my “Liguria, 2003” image above for a larger view.
See this book at Amazon This episode is the first in an irregular series that explores important photography books that should be in every photographer’s book collection. The first book is The Daybooks of Edward Weston, Weston’s remarkable series of journal entries about his life in photography. Also on today’s episode: Find great photo podcasts … Continue reading Camera Position 33 : What’s on Your Bookshelf? →
This week, we go into the “field” to a gallery talk I gave at an exhibition of my work. My comments give some background on my 17-year photographic exploration of Italy and the show, “Evidence of Hands, The Mediated Landscape of Italy.” Click for images from the “slideshow” I used at the presentation Click for … Continue reading Camera Position 32 : Gallery Talk →
How many images does it take to say what you want to say? Editing your work to create a group of images that projects a coherent voice is an important part of the photographic process. Honest and unmerciful editors have the most effective stories. Santa Fe Center for Photography – home of the Creative Edge … Continue reading Camera Position 31 : Editing as Creative Process →
Once we get back to the darkroom-digital or chemical-how do we maximize the vision and idea we had when we were in the field making the photograph? We explore the post-production side of the creative process using a photograph of Civita di Bagnoreggio. Click on the images for a larger view Civita di Bagnoreggio, Umbria, … Continue reading Camera Position 30 : After The Shutter Closes →
Where do creative ideas come from? How do we figure out what’s the most interesting thing to photograph? Using the photographs and ideas of photographer and writer Wright Morris (1910-1998), I explore the notion of mining your past and your passions to find your subject.
– – –– Photographs by Philip Trager – click images for a larger view When we choose a subject, sometimes we need to choose the right machine to record that subject. This episode uses the work of photographer Philip Trager to show how subject can influence the tools that we use.
Click image for a larger view Whether we like it or not, photography has technology at its base. Sometimes, changing up the equipment we use can allow us to change the way we look at the world in a significant way. This episode uses a triptych image I made in using smaller-than-my-normal 4×5 camera and … Continue reading Camera Position 27 : The Mind & The Machine →
The edges of the frame change everything about how we see a photograph. One of the great masters of the use of the photographic frame edge was Edward Weston, and today we look at his remarkable ability to show us “just enough” of the subject. The podcast briefly touches on gestalt theory for the visual … Continue reading Camera Position 26 : Weston & The Edges →
For the last 16 years, I’ve been photographing structures and the landscape in Italy. Over the last two years, though, I’ve tried my hand at portraits and have learned some things about photography, my interests and the power of the large-format camera. This podcast features two versions of a portrait of a 97-year-old Italian man. … Continue reading Camera Position 25 : Pick a Pair of Portraits →
As I’ve worked with one of my newest photographs, I’ve noted a loose relationship Alfred Stieglitz’ “The Steerage” from 1907. It reminded me that photographers need to be aware of the image makers who have gone before them and helped them see. Now, I’m not saying that my photograph is the same as Stieglitz’ masterpiece, … Continue reading Camera Position 24 : Looking & Looking Back – Stieglitz & “The Steerage” →
Photographs by Jeff Curto Sometimes, when you think that there is a photographic subject in front of you, you can’t see the picture you want to make. In this episode, I talk about taking a left turn, both to find a photograph and to provide a catalyst for even more images. I also take a … Continue reading Camera Position 23 : Take a Left Turn →
This episode of Camera Position is a bit different from previous episodes. First off, it is a lot longer. Weighing in at a little over an hour, it is a podcast of a presentation I made recently at the MacSpecialist store in Villa Park, Illinois. I had been invited to come and speak to a … Continue reading Camera Position 22 : Getting Back Your Box of Crayons →
As I return to Camera Position after a month-long hiatus, I give you a few minutes with one of my favorite paintings, “The Calling of St. Matthew” by Caravaggio. Caravaggio’s sense of light and moment of “exposure,” were extraordinarily “photographic.” See a larger version of the image with this link Yes, I’d planned on trying … Continue reading Camera Position 21 : Caravaggio and the Road to Rome →
The visual device of a "view through" from one place to another is a fairly common one in photography, and one that I tend to use often. This episode explores a variety of ways of using the idea of framing a subject to emphasize a sense of space and place.
When a photographer finds a beautiful scene, there is often a temptation to put everything he sees in the photograph, even if the image that results isn’t all that interesting. Here, Ansel Adams and Paul Caponigro show us how showing less shows us more. As a side note, if you are listening to and enjoying … Continue reading Camera Position 19 : When Less Really Is More →
Here is an absolutely dull photograph of an absolutely dull (and ugly!) piece of cardboard that is one of the most indispensible pieces of equipment in my camera bag. Temporarily diverting Camera Position from the examination of fine photographs, I look at a tool I use to help me make better images. By using this … Continue reading Camera Position 18 : A Dull Picture of A Useful Object →
The idea of photography that depends on the exact moment of exposure for success didn’t originate with Cartier-Bresson, but he certainly made the most of that perfect instant. Bresson’s idea of “the decisive moment” is examined this week, along with the idea of how photographers always have to grapple with the intersection between idea and … Continue reading Camera Position 17 : The Instant and the Machine →
Sometimes, photography is the proverbial "game of inches."
I’ve moved my Camera Position! I’ve abandoned Apple’s “easy but limited” iWeb software and moved over to a WordPress blog. Hopefully, the majority of listeners have made the switch with no problems. There is a new RSS subscription feed (see first post at the top of the page to see the new information). If you’re … Continue reading Camera Position 15 : Moving Camera Position & Moving Your Boundaries →
In Camera Position #8, we looked at Paul Strand’s “The Family, Luzzara, Italy, 1953”. Listener Don Bricker wrote in to note that there are, in fact, two different images of this photograph. The idea that Strand “directed” this image by changing the content in an important way should be considered when we think about how … Continue reading Camera Position 14 : Strand’s “Family” Revisited →
Photographers sometimes have a hard time separating their own emotional response they have to a subject from the image that they make of that subject. It’s up to us as imagemakers not only to respond to the subject and the way we feel about it, but also to remember that our viewers can only rely … Continue reading Camera Position 13 : Time and the Subject →
Why do we do what we do as photographers? Where does our motivation come from? Why do some subjects interest us more than others? Episode number 12 of Camera Position briefly traces my 16-year examination of Italy’s culture, architecture and landscape and looks at where we find our inspiration as image makers. Trastevere, Roma, 1990 … Continue reading Camera Position 12 : Motivation and Inspiration →
It took Edward Weston 29 prior attempts to get to the point where he made his well-known “Pepper #30” photograph. Musicians have to practice their scales, and so do photographers, trying a variety of attempts at conveying the essence of their subjects before hitting on the one that works the best. Weston’s strategy of looking … Continue reading Camera Position 11 : Weston and the Other 29 →
Photographers have to be aware of the fact that viewers of their images can’t know the whole story of how a photograph came to be. The image has to rely on its own visual authority to get the message across. Using this photograph of Sant’ Antimo, a 12th Century Romanesque abbey in rural Tuscany, I … Continue reading Camera Position 10 : A Story Without Words →
The idea you want to communicate in a photograph is in direct relation to the way in which you choose to make that photograph. A photograph of Bernini’s beautiful Baroque fountain, situated in front of the Pantheon, is used to examine how composition and idea play off of one another. Fontana, Piazza della Rotunda, Roma, … Continue reading Camera Position 09 : Composition and Idea →
Paul Strand’s masterful 1953 portrait “The Family” acts as a backdrop for some thoughts on how interaction between the photographer and subject and among the subjects themselves creates visual and emotional interest in a photograph. The Family, Luzzara, Italy, 1953 Photograph by Paul Strand
Ultimately, a photograph comes down to a common element: Light. Using two photographs of a vineyard, this podcast explores the quality, direction and visual impact of light. Vineyard, Umbria, 2001 Photographs by Jeff Curto
