LensWork - Photography and the Creative Process

HT2609 - Creativity Is a Private, Personal Thing Maybe I'm just stubbornly resistant, but I find I simply cannot get excited about suggestions from other people about what I should photograph or how I should put together a project. I think of creativity as a very private and personal activity that is carried out in a space that is strictly my own. Maybe I'm missing something here, but I found this to be true my entire creative life. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2608 - Embracing the Pause I've learned over the years that I can't be creative all the time. I used to feel guilty about the pause between creative outbursts. I eventually came to realize that it's actually useful to be creatively on fire followed by a cooler period. The trick is to keep this momentum swinging back and forth and not let either state dominate for too long. Too much creativity and we burn out; too much pause and we end up procrastinating. A steady but swinging rhythm seems to be the sweet spot for me. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2607 - Better by What Standards With today's powerful digital processing, we can easily remove any element of a captured image. Doing so will make our artwork better, right? Doesn't this depend on the criteria we assign as better? Removing an object makes the image less truthful. Moving an object makes the image less geometrically or optically accurate. Changing the contrast or the tonal relationships makes the image less like human vision. Altering the natural colors makes the image artificially intense. How do you define "better" in your work? Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2606 - The Trendline of Photography In the early years of the 20th century, photography struggled to establish its reputation as a medium for artistic expression. As a medium, it gained widespread popularity and acceptance as the 20th century progressed. What about now, a quarter of the way through the 21st century? Is photography more respected as a result of the changes in the last 25 years, or has its reputation diminished? Has digital processing, the iPhone, and Instagram made photography more revered as an art medium? Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

LW1503 - Nurturing Your Creative Impulse I would bet that a significant number of photographers would claim their most valuable tool is their camera. I would propose your most valuable tool is your creative impulse. If anything you do or have needs tender loving care or special attention, it is those creative impulses. All previous episodes of our weekly podcast are available to members of LensWork Online. 30-day Trial Memberships are only $10. Instant access, terabytes of content, inspiration and ideas that expand daily with new content. Sign up for instant access! You might also be interested in. . . Every Picture Is a Compromise, a series at www.brooksjensenarts.com. and... "How to" tutorials and camera reviews are everywhere on YouTube, but if you're interested in photography and the creative life, you need to know about the incredible resources you can access as a member of LensWork Online.

HT2605 - What Is vs What Becomes The fundamental characteristic of photography is that it shows us what is, the instant that is. This differs so dramatically from performance arts where the basis of the medium is observing what unfolds over time. For example, movie plots are about what might happen to the characters over the next hours, days, or years. Does it make any sense for us to challenge ourselves to introduce some of that into our photography? Isn't this one of the advantages of the multi-image project? Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2604 - Bigger Than Real Life The very first print I ever sold as a young photographer was an image of a 1-in mushroom cap that I printed to 16x20". I didn't realize at the time what a rarity that is, but looking back on 50 years of photography that may be the only image I've ever made were the artwork was bigger than the object photographed. Almost without exception, we photographers squeeze reality to fit within the confines of our comparatively diminutive prints. Rather than outsize the world via our product, we try to outsize our emotional response. This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2500 and counting! — are available to members of LensWork Online. Try a 30-day membership for only $10 and discover the literally terabytes of content about photography and the creative process. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2603 - Our Digital Files and Our Mortality Our generation is facing a very strange conundrum, at least strange compared to previous generations of photographers. They may have left their negatives behind, which likely does not leave behind a possibility of posthumous prints. Our legacy involves the eternal possibility of Ctrl-P. This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2500 and counting! — are available to members of LensWork Online. Try a 30-day membership for only $10 and discover the literally terabytes of content about photography and the creative process.

HT2602 - Stop Stockpiling Skills and Start Doing The problem with learning new tools is that it can be so abstract and intellectual. Sure, it's handy to have some photographic technique in your tool bag, but so much learning is about some nebulous potential that it never becomes deep learning, remaining an idea never brought to fruition. Do you learn so that someday you can do something? Or are you trying to do something and need to learn how in order to complete it? These are two entirely different approaches. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2601 - Where to Spend Your Money Looking back, I cringe when I think how much money I've spent on cameras and assorted accessories. I wish someone had told me, in my youth, to spend my hard-earned cash on the highest quality lenses, rather than cameras. In fact I wish I'd spend more money on darkroom supplies, ink and paper, frames, methods of distribution, and workshops and far less money on cameras and travel. I have no doubt my photographic legacy would be much higher quality had I invested in the right photographic expenditures. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2600 - Photoshop Has Become Too Damn Complicated I know many photographers who think that Photoshop is the cat's meow of digital processing. I'm not one of them. For me, the engineers have taken the usability right out of Photoshop by making it so "capable." For me, using Photoshop always feels a bit like driving to the grocery store in a Formula 1 race car. I use 90% of Lightroom's features and capabilities; I use 3% of Photoshop's features and capabilities. The point I'm trying to make is not about Photoshop, but rather about choosing the tools that fit your needs. The purpose of software is to make our tasks easier, not more complicated. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2599 - Consuming With Repetition When I view artwork (music, a novel, a painting, a photograph) for the first time, it almost never sticks. That is, I don't find I can remember its details, I don't own it in my mind/memory. That almost always needs repetition. I have no idea if this is something about me, or if it says something about art, or if it says something a bit more universal. With music it's usually necessary to hear it a dozen or so times. With a novel at least twice, sometimes three readings. I find this an interesting observation in the age of Instagram and swipe left. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

LW1502 - Being Immersed in the World of a Photograph The photography I tend to love best is when I find myself immersed in the world of the photograph rather than just shown an instant in time. Think of that photograph by Joseph Sudek looking out his rainy kitchen window. That image immerses me in his life, his surroundings, his mood. Think of Jerry Uelsmann's fanciful worlds that are nonetheless believable. Do you remember the Griffin and Sabine series of books by Nick Bantock? I could probably go on ad infinitum, but the purpose of bringing this up is to perhaps give you a new framework to view your own images. All previous episodes of our weekly podcast are available to members of LensWork Online. 30-day Trial Memberships are only $10. Instant access, terabytes of content, inspiration and ideas that expand daily with new content. Sign up for instant access! You might also be interested in. . . Every Picture Is a Compromise, a series at www.brooksjensenarts.com. and... "How to" tutorials and camera reviews are everywhere on YouTube, but if you're interested in photography and the creative life, you need to know about the incredible resources you can access as a member of LensWork Online.

HT2598 - Predictability In a chess game, what happens when both players see the inevitability of the outcome? They throw in the towel and quit the game. I feel that way about certain television shows and movies. Once the plot becomes predictable, I lose interest. Doesn't it make sense that this same idea pertains to photography as well? The minute I see a portfolio from, say, Yosemite and the first few images are perfectly predictable, I find my motivation for viewing the rest of the portfolio diminishes. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2597 - Duane Michals and the Question One of the reasons I love Duane Michals' work is because it's so different than so much of photography. Most photographers use the medium to make a statement, to show us something, to tell. Duane Michals, on the other hand, uses image and text to ask us questions, to encourage us to ask questions of ourselves, to use wonderment rather than certitude as the basis for so many of his images. This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2500 and counting! — are available to members of LensWork Online. Try a 30-day membership for only $10 and discover the literally terabytes of content about photography and the creative process. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2596 - Deepening Over Time Yesterday we announced the LensWork Complete Digital Back Issue Collection and that has us looking back at all the portfolios we've published since LensWork issue #1. It's been an interesting project which has led me to an unexpected observation. Looking at the over 800+ portfolios we've published, I was surprised that each has deepened over time, or perhaps I should say my appreciation of them as deepened as I've matured. I felt strong enough about each one that we decided to publish it, but looking back at them now I find even more. That's what good work does. This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2500 and counting! — are available to members of LensWork Online. Try a 30-day membership for only $10 and discover the literally terabytes of content about photography and the creative process.

HT2595 - Memorable Images I've probably seen tens of thousands of photographs in my life, maybe more. I suspect there's a hundred or two that I can remember and bring forth in my mind's eye. Why is that? Do I have a poor memory? What are the characteristics of an image I remember? Is it different with my own work compared to those I remember by other photographers? Is it enough to experience a photograph or is remembering it the most important aspect of an image? Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2594 - You Will Likely Never Know Wynn Bullock will never know the impact his artwork has made in my life, but I can unhesitatingly say that his artwork set me on a 50-year trajectory that continues to this day. We will rarely know — perhaps never know — how our work will affect others. The one thing we can know with certainty is that doing our work will include ripple effects that will change our life in unexpected ways. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2593 - Mindlessness It may seem silly to insist that images of a mind of their own, but just pretend with me for a few minutes of experimentation. Pull up an image in Lightroom or Photoshop that you have not previously processed. Now, just sit back and look. Try not to think. Let go of photography, of art making, of analysis, of memory. Just look with an empty mind, at least as mindless as you can. Try to be open to the image and its will. The measure of your success as an artist is how successfully you let go of being an artist. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2592 - That Which Is Not Media We cannot have art without some medium of expression. That said, what makes art important, meaningful, valuable, and memorable are the elements which are independent of the medium. Think of Billie Holiday's singing independent of the record, the tape, the CD, or the digital stream. The same can be said for photography. What really counts is not the medium of the print, but rather that content that touches our heart. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

LW1501 - If Not Now, When? I've been involved with photography long enough to watch a number of my friends and LensWork-published photographers pass on to that eternal darkroom above the clouds. Life is fleeting, and the march of days relentless. It's amazing, as I look back, the number of times a photographer has told me about a project they are looking forward to doing only to run out of time. If we don't produce our work now, who knows if we will be able to do so in the future? All previous episodes of our weekly podcast are available to members of LensWork Online. 30-day Trial Memberships are only $10. Instant access, terabytes of content, inspiration and ideas that expand daily with new content. Sign up for instant access! You might also be interested in. . . Every Picture Is a Compromise, a series at www.brooksjensenarts.com. and... "How to" tutorials and camera reviews are everywhere on YouTube, but if you're interested in photography and the creative life, you need to know about the incredible resources you can access as a member of LensWork Online.

HT2591 - The Thrill of Discovery We've all experienced the thrill of discovering a new subject, location, or artist previously unknown to us. I distinctly remember, after having been involved in photography for 20 years, the first time I saw the work of Josef Sudek. Last month I "discovered" the piano compositions of Isaac Albéniz. I believe that finding and treasuring such fellow artists is one of the most powerful reasons to be involved in the art life. This is especially so if their work inspires us in our own creative path. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2590 - Searching For the Thread That Binds There is a considerable difference between making a single, standalone, spectacular image as compared to working a project. For me, a large part of project oriented photography is searching for the thread that binds. This often starts with a single photograph which can potentially spawn many threads that bind. The part that involves artistic discretion and decisions is choosing which thread to pursue. This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2500 and counting! — are available to members of LensWork Online. Try a 30-day membership for only $10 and discover the literally terabytes of content about photography and the creative process. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2589 - The Value of Limits Perhaps you've heard that great Orson Welles quote that "The absence of limitations is the enemy of art." I think he's right, and I say this because of experiences I've had in making art. Limits become defining parameters, motivating deadlines, and achievable endpoints. There are numerous ways we can define limits. Each has its own value and purpose. We can limit the equipment we use, the number of raw captures we'll collect, the number of finished images, the time we allow ourselves with a given project, or the geographic boundaries we will explore. This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2500 and counting! — are available to members of LensWork Online. Try a 30-day membership for only $10 and discover the literally terabytes of content about photography and the creative process.

HT2588 - A Problem with Big What do the following have in common? War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, The Ring by Richard Wagner, running a marathon, and a 60-inch photographic print? They're all possible, but intimidating. It is human nature to hesitate before engaging a big thing. It's natural for us to measure our commitment and dedication before we begin. Big things require a sort of risk versus reward analysis Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2587 - In Gear We Trust During my 50 years in photography, I've owned 24 different cameras. I can assure you that with each new camera my hopes and aspirations rose as I was sequentially convinced each new piece of gear would provide the answer to making better photographs. You would think my faith in gear would subside with each disappointment, but it never does. That's how strong faith in gear is in photography. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2586 - The Data Hidden in the Noise We click the shutter because there's something there. We feel it, we sense it, we may not be able to describe it, but there is data hidden in the noise. Our job is artists is to brush away the noise, the obscuring dust, sometimes the verbosity in our mind. Photography is not so much about taking as it is about revealing. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2580 - Sometimes a Picture Is Just a Picture, Sometimes Not In these Here's a Thought comments, I talk a lot about meaning and content and the philosophy behind photography. There is, however, a case to be made for just letting a picture be a picture. It's a matter of trying to find balance in the swinging pendulum between profundity and simple beauty. So much of photography is about capturing beauty and why not? If that's the only content of the photograph, image after image after image, one does eventually feel that the meal is all dessert and a taste of substance would be a welcome relief. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2579 - Either Match Perfectly or Not At All It has been pointed out to me over the years and by several people that I have zero fashion sense, particularly in my choice of clothing. Maureen compassionately laughed at me when I dressed up one time in khaki pants and a tan shirt that didn't match and then another time when they did and I looked like the ice cream man. Such lessons taught me a lot about depth of field in my photography. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2578 - Ruthless Editing, Again Last weekend, more or less just for fun, I reviewed all 180 projects in my Kokoro series of PDFs. One of the conclusions from this review is that I need to do more ruthless editing. Far too often I felt that a project simply had too many images. My primary criteria for editing has always been to eliminate repetition, but I need to expand that and maybe set more rigid limits on how many images are included in a project. Breaking a project into smaller parts might be the key, like chapters in novels. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

LW1499 - The Most Important Lesson I was recently asked, by two different people, about my 50+ years in photography. A non-photographer asked me what I had learned from my lifelong engagement with photography. Coincidentally a few days later, a photographer asked me essentially the same question. I was surprised that I had different answers depending on who asked question. All previous episodes of our weekly podcast are available to members of LensWork Online. 30-day Trial Memberships are only $10. Instant access, terabytes of content, inspiration and ideas that expand daily with new content. Sign up for instant access! You might also be interested in. . . Every Picture Is a Compromise, a series at www.brooksjensenarts.com. and... "How to" tutorials and camera reviews are everywhere on YouTube, but if you're interested in photography and the creative life, you need to know about the incredible resources you can access as a member of LensWork Online.

HT2577 - Little Things Gone Wrong We try, of course, to do our very best with every image, with every project. We strive for perfection. Do we ever achieve it? Far more often than I care to admit, while looking back at some of my completed work I find little things that I could have so easily corrected, but missed. A misspelled word, unfortunate punctuation, the small distraction poking in from the edge of an image, an inconsistency in layout, an image I now realize needed a little tweak here or there. Not failures, but not perfect. Maybe the final step in proofing should be a purposeful review of all the little things that can go wrong. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2576 - Illumination I love word play almost as much as I love photography. Has it ever occurred to you the double meaning inherent in the word illumination? We search for illuminating light to reveal the shadows. We also search for illumination in the sense of enlightenment and understanding. Photography is all about illumination, interestingly enough in both definitions of the term. Perhaps better than the term photographer we could think of ourselves as "illumination seekers" — in both senses of the word. Enlightenment, indeed. This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2500 and counting! — are available to members of LensWork Online. Try a 30-day membership for only $10 and discover the literally terabytes of content about photography and the creative process. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2575 - The Aspect Ratio for Publication The earliest issues of Kokoro were produced in a portrait orientation. My thinking was that the portrait orientation format would fit better when viewing on a phone or a tablet. I discovered, however, that a portrait orientation did not fit computer monitors, or laptops well at all. I knew that by changing to a landscape orientation would complicate people viewing on their the phone, but phones and tablets can easily be rotated whereas computer monitors and laptops cannot. The aspect ratio for publication gets even trickier in book design. Does this mean we should standardize our aspect ratio based on the final means of production? This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2500 and counting! — are available to members of LensWork Online. Try a 30-day membership for only $10 and discover the literally terabytes of content about photography and the creative process.

HT2574 - The Difficulty with Warm-toning I learned about warm-toning in the mid-1980s. At that time, everybody created selenium-toned images that had a slight purple cast. Contrary to the popular zeitgeist of the times, I discovered Kodak Brown Toner and Kodak Polytoner and fell in love with warm-toned images. In the digital workflow, warm toning is very tricky because brown is such an odd color. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2573 - The Starting Point My approach to processing is that with every image, the end point of processing is unknown. Aesthetics can evolve, ideas can blossom, expectations can change. Perhaps counterintuitively, I find that beginning the process at the same starting point is a surprisingly useful strategy. With every image I start with input sharpening, some tone mapping to make the image look normal, and even some cropping to straighten horizon lines or verticals. Essentially, I start with a normal looking image a straight photograph, without visible processing. That common launching point provides a solid foundation for exploring more exotic processing. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2572 - At Some Point the Goalposts Moved For several decades after the invention of photography, the goal for all photographers was to make an optically accurate image. That meant with technical perfection, emulating human vision. Somewhere I can't identify in the history of photography, that objective was expanded and a few photographers began thinking about the medium as something else, something more pliable, something more personally expressive. I think this evolution also occurs in each of us individually and is a watershed moment in our photographic career — assuming we recognize it and embrace it as a new way of photographing. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2571 - Experiment with Abandon My favorite capability in the digital workflow is undoubtedly Control-Z. The ability to experiment with abandon and then undo what doesn't work makes processing not only more efficient but it encourages experimentation. If, as I've proposed elsewhere, photography is a matter of choosing among variants, then the creative impulse is all about experimentation, trial and error, give it a go and see what happens. I try, at least as often as I can, to make three stylistic variants with each project before I make decisions and commitments. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

LW1498 - Announcing a New Photograph I remember with aging nostalgia when we would feel so proud about a new image we'd created. "Wowee," we'd proclaim, "Look at what I've done!" We were told that 10 new prints a year was a good crop. Now, here in 2026, I'll receive an email announcement about once a week with this same excitement. "Announcing my new print." I wish I could be excited about such pronouncements, but they leave me feeling underwhelmed. All previous episodes of our weekly podcast are available to members of LensWork Online. 30-day Trial Memberships are only $10. Instant access, terabytes of content, inspiration and ideas that expand daily with new content. Sign up for instant access! You might also be interested in. . . Every Picture Is a Compromise, a series at www.brooksjensenarts.com. and... "How to" tutorials and camera reviews are everywhere on YouTube, but if you're interested in photography and the creative life, you need to know about the incredible resources you can access as a member of LensWork Online.

HT2570 - Macro Viewing, or Tiny Screen Syndrome Can you imagine what a thrill it was in the first half of the 20th century when the means of making a photograph evolved from the contact print to the enlargement? Bigger prints were breathtaking and that trend continues even to today. There is today, however, a reality about viewing fine art photography that should make us photographers a little uncomfortable. Most of our images will now be seen on a tiny screen that is smaller than a 4x5 contact print. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2569 - A Few Clunkers I have no idea why, but I felt compelled this morning to look back through my 180 projects published in Kokoro, the first of which was completed in 2015. Ten years, 36 issues, 180 projects. I wish I could report that they were all brilliant and have withstood the test of time. The reality, however, is that there are a few projects I now see as clunkers. That's the thing about the art life, we always produce with enthusiasm but occasionally mature with a cringe. This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2500 and counting! — are available to members of LensWork Online. Try a 30-day membership for only $10 and discover the literally terabytes of content about photography and the creative process. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2568 - A Portable Gallery Here's a story about my friend, the late Kevin Raber. Whenever we would find ourselves discussing an image or a photographer, he would immediately pull out his tablet and bring up the image we were discussing. His tablet was, I think, primarily his portable gallery. He carried with him the entire set of LensWork, a good percentage of his own photography, lots of images from photographers he admired, and an assortment of images that were important to him. My portable gallery is limited to images retained in my memory. Kevin's portable gallery is a much better idea. This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2500 and counting! — are available to members of LensWork Online. Try a 30-day membership for only $10 and discover the literally terabytes of content about photography and the creative process.

HT2567 - Moment Is Not Quite the Right Word One of the things I particularly like about the Seeing In SIXES concept for photography is its ability to expand or stretch time. Instead of the instantaneous photograph, with six images we have the capability to express a moment. I've never been comfortable with that term. Describing the unit of time for a Seeing in SIXES project is difficult. A moment is too short; an hour is too long. I think this is so because it's not a measure of clock time but rather of conscious attention. Somehow, "unit of consciousness" seems a bit clumsy. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2566 - Appreciating Technical Accomplishment I had an odd revelation at a concert last night. Afterwards, at dinner, the general consensus was that the pianist was incredibly talented and accomplished. Although I enjoyed the music immensely, I realized I had no ability to appreciate her skill. I don't play the piano i.e., I have no context for the difficulties of the performance. I have no way to judge her talent other than I like it or I don't. I wonder if this is the same with the public as they look at our photographs. They may not appreciate the technical accomplishment because they have no criteria against which they can measure what they see. Their analysis is reduced to I like it or not. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2565 - The Updating Dilemma Major software updates have become a part of our photographic life. Some of these updates in software features are subtle, but occasionally an update introduces a major game-changing capability. What are we to do if a new update in software processing allows us to make a significant improvement in one of our images from yesteryear? Do we go back and "fix" the images processed with older software? If so, where do we draw the line? Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2564 - I Saw This Very Cool Thing Here's another thought experiment about producing artwork. I looked back at all I've done and divided my productivity into two piles. The first pile was photographs that essentially say, "I saw this very cool thing." And the second pile was the artwork where the essence of the work was to say, "This is what I have to say about this thing." I found I had way more work in the first pile, but that the most meaningful work I'd done was in the second. I wouldn't be surprised that you might find the same divisions in your work. If I'm right about this, what does that say about those projects we are yet to complete? Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2563 - Advice on Travel Photography Here is some advice about travel that doesn't come from me, although I do agree with it. Strangely enough, it's a passage from the book Dodsworth by Sinclair Lewis, published in 1929. Not aimed specifically at photographers or artists, it still is an observation about travel that I think fits perfectly with our creative process as photographers. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2562 - More on Framing At the risk of beating a dead horse, here are a few more thought about photography in frames, an extension of yesterday's comments about whether or not mats and frames are part of the artwork. This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2500 and counting! — are available to members of LensWork Online. Try a 30-day membership for only $10 and discover the literally terabytes of content about photography and the creative process. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2561 - Is the Frame Part of the Artwork? We don't just thumbtack our prints to the wall. Instead, we dress them up a little bit. We mat them and frame them and then hang them on the wall. Where does the artwork stop and the presentation embellishments begin? Said another way, are the mat and the frame part of the artwork? This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2500 and counting! — are available to members of LensWork Online. Try a 30-day membership for only $10 and discover the literally terabytes of content about photography and the creative process.

HT2560 - Describe What You See Before you click the shutter, tell me what you see. I would be willing to bet big money that your description would mostly include details of the things you mentally isolate from the larger context. In essence, your description would be a list of objects you deem important enough to notice. Reread that last sentence and replace the word "description" with "photograph." To make a better photograph do we need a better description? Or, is what's missing emotional content and connection beyond mere description? Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

HT2559 - A Catalog of Your Work A friend of mine (who is a little older than I am) is involved in a massive project to create a digital catalog of his life's work. This consists of over 2500 finished images. He has inspired me to think about doing a similar project and catalog for my own work. But then, I had to ask myself, who would ever see it? Why would such a catalog be important to anyone other than me? Which is more important, doing new work or recording that past work has been done? Perhaps here is a compromise Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!