Podcasts about lenswork online

HT2701 - A Personal Pile I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this. I have a "personal pile" of prints that I rarely (often never) share with anyone. They are not embarrassing, nor obscure. They are ones that I'd just as soon not have my feelings about them diluted or polluted with other's opinions. To call them "spiritual" would be too strong, but they are moments that I treasure and would like to preserve. Maybe I'm being silly about these images, but that's the way I feel. 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.

HT2695 - Creative Possibilities for Two-sided Inkjet Paper The availability of two-sided inkjet paper has opened up fascinating doors of creativity. With two-sided paper we can do folded paper books like chapbooks, or three-fold brochure-like presentations. Another idea is to use two-sided paper for a significantly expanded provenance to a print. This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2600 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!

LW1515 - On Your Walls at Home What artwork do you have hanging on the walls at your house? What photographic artwork do you have hanging in your house? Let's consider this more deeply: What percentage of the work you have hanging in your house is yours and what percentage is photography by others? Most photographers I know own lots of work by others, but display in their house mostly their own work. Does that make them egotistical or just proud? Do we display our own work to share or to brag? How does your answer to this question shape what you have on your walls right now? 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.

HT2694 - Motivating the Viewer Imagine that I wanted you to read Tolstoy's War and Peace. What would your reaction be? On the other hand, what if I suggested you read today's funny papers because they were hilarious. What would your reaction be? I use these examples to illustrate the relationship between motivation and required effort. A large and complicated thing requires more effort and motivation than a humble and simple thing. Human nature being what it is, doesn't this pertain equally to photography? 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.

HT2688 - Outside the Box We've all heard that age-old maxim about creativity and "thinking outside the box." We are supposed to hear this exhortation relative to our unconscious habits. I would propose that the box we are supposed to get outside of is the camera itself. When I find myself thinking I've made a nice photograph, I know I need to let go of photography and remember that art is about LIFE, not our chosen medium of expression. This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2600 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!

LW1514 - Where You Draw the Line We are fast approaching that point where each of us need to draw the line about our involvement with AI and photography. Come to think of it, we may have already passed the line, at least for some of us. At what point do you call an AI generated image a fake? At what point does the involvement of AI mean the image is no longer artwork? No longer photography, no longer yours? What amount of AI are you willing to accept as you create your work? Culturally we are struggling with these issues, but individually we can make immediate decisions for ourselves about where we want to draw the line for our work 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.

HT2687 - You Must Have a Really Good Camera How do these kinds of notions become so wide spread? If I owned a Steinway, would that make me an accomplished pianist? Would a fancier fountain pen make me a better novelist? Of course not. But then we often think a better camera might be the answer to improving our photographs — perpetuating the myth that the tool makes the image. If not a new camera, what should we do to improve our art? Answer: Finish more projects and study the history of art. 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.

HT2660 - The Drama of Good vs Evil Can you think of an artistic expression that doesn't involve, in some way, the drama of good versus evil, innocence versus the diabolical, the weak vs the strong, dark versus light? (You don't suppose I slipped that last one in for a reason?) If the central themes of art are rooted in drama, why would art photography not also be rooted in drama? If so, that leads us to the question How do we build drama into a photographic image? Perhaps even more informative is the question How do we build drama into a photographic project? This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2600 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!

HT2659 - Perfection or Enthusiasm Deep in the heart of an artist is the pursuit of perfection. It goes with the territory. Creating artwork is the one thing we do in our life without regard to time, expense, or even effort. We pursue perfection because we have faith that achieving perfection is a possibility with each creation we make. Is it? I'm not sure pursuit of perfection is the healthiest option. What if we change the measurement of success? What happens if we pursue enthusiasm, curiosity, and passion rather than perfection? 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.

HT2653 - There Are No Bad Lenses, There Are No Perfect Lenses The other day I was working on some images in Lightroom and realized that one of them was a fantastically sharp image that I had made with a notoriously bad lens. Looking more closely at the EXIF data I realized this image had been shot in the middle of the zoom range and stopped down a bit. My "bad lens" performed beautifully. Wide open at maximum zoom this lens was just crap. Do I blame the lens for making bad pictures, or do I blame myself for not knowing the lens as well as I should have? This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2600 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!

HT2652 - A Grand Slam Home Run If you are a baseball fan like I am, you know what a thrill it is when your team hits a grand slam. A true baseball fan, however, knows that the occasional grand slam is not the reason to be a baseball fan. It just happens from time to time. The true fan loves every pitch, every swing, every hit, every subtlety of the game. I say the exact same thing about photography. The stone-cold winners are a thrill, but not the reason to be a photographer. 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.

HT2646 - Your Very Best Imagine for a moment that some important personage asked to see your very best work. What would you show them? Would you show them your most popular images? Your best sellers? Would you show them your personal favorites? The latest project you've completed? Would you show them safe work or your more innovative and daring work? This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2600 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!

HT2645 - Trust Your Gut Yesterday I was discussing the 270 image captures of the rock walls of Capitol Reef that I photographed in 2012. I described how I only recently discovered a possible processing for those images. There's an interesting aspect of this story that is not obvious. In reviewing the 270 images, I found 37 that worked with this new processing idea. How do we know? What prompted me to reject the other 233? I think of Edward Weston and "the flame of recognition." 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.

LW1509 - A Book Is More Than a Paper Thing Words mean things. In fact, words can mean several things, several things that are quite different from one another. Take the term "book." It might mean a physical thing with paper and ink. Then again, if I ask you if you've read a good book lately, isn't it obvious I'm not referring to the paper and ink but rather to the content of the story? 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.

LW1508 - Your Relationship with Photography That great literary wit Dorothy Parker is reported to have said, "I hate to write but love to have written." I suspect we can all relate to that in our own chosen medium. There will always be some parts of the creative life that we enjoy more than others. Indeed, there are likely to be some parts we detest with as much passion as we enjoy with those parts we favor. 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.

HT2639 - Paralyzing Success Here is a problem I've never had before. In the last 18 months, I've had extraordinary success. I've captured 6,700 images of which I've identified a few dozen that have technical issues I can't resolve. Of the remaining, I've flagged a couple hundred as unsuccessful compositions. That still leaves me with over 6,000 images I could turn into single winners or images in projects. Seriously, 6000 images. I'm overwhelmed, stuck, have no idea where to begin, frustrated, and a little lost. For example, I have over 1,000 lovely shots of yellow and orange aspens. What do I do with 1,000 yellow and orange aspens? This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2600 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!

HT2638 - Photograph As Launch Pad It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a photograph is a destination of a viewing process. It's as though seeing a photograph puts a period at the end of an experiential sentence. The reason I call this a trap is because it seems much better to me to consider a photograph as a launch pad for an experience, one that encourages a train of thought, a series of questions, a dialog, a search for meaning and understanding. A photograph that only provides answers is easy to forget. 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.

LW1507 - The Consciousness Barrier, The Conundrum of Art Most photographs I see don't penetrate very deeply into my consciousness. I know they're there, I fleetingly engage them, but they don't have much power to impress themselves into deeper thought. It's as though there is a barrier that prevents me from engaging with more than a casual glance. I suspect that's not the kind of engagement we want as art makers. How do we get our viewers to break through that shallow consciousness barrier? Shouting isn't the answer. 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.

HT2632 - Handheld Art Media The world is full of media that artists can use to express themselves. Music, storytelling, dance, sculpture, poetry, pottery, painting. Has it ever occurred to you how rare it is that a work of art can be held in your hands? I've always thought that this is one of the great strengths of photography. No other medium that I can think of has the potential to be so tactile. Maybe clothing, maybe food if we consider them an art medium, but these are special cases. Photography is the rare visual medium that is (or can be) so physically sensual. I'm not referring to books, but to original prints produced to be viewed handheld. This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2600 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!

HT2631 - I Done Good I sincerely hope I am not self-deluded about this, but I often find that after some months or perhaps years I look back at older images and find them far better than I remembered. I'll kick myself for not recognizing the potential for an image that now seems so obvious. It's as though the passage of time imbues the image with surprising improvements. Or, maybe my subconscious has been working on the image all this time. What I originally passed by becomes an image I now celebrate. Why is this? 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.

HT2630 - Why We Are Making the Complete LensWork Digital Back Issues Collection Available for Download We announced a few weeks ago that we have begun a long-term project to publish the entire content of the LensWork Print Editions as PDF digital back issues. We've already posted the first 23 back issues. We'll add two more back issues each Friday until we have them all completed. These downloadable digital back issues are available exclusively to current members of LensWork Online. Here's why we are publishing the entire back issues collection. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

LW1506 - The Content Every medium has a form — movements in a symphony, chapters in a novel, image and caption in photography. These forms have to do with structure, but what about content? In storytelling, there is a basic formula that is universally followed with few variations. The three steps in novel writing are: Characters, Conflict, Resolution. Every story is based on these three basics. Turning our attention to photography, what is the equivalence of a basic formula in our medium? 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.

HT2625 - Instant Emotional Bond I once read that the goal of a framed photograph was to create an instant emotional bond with the viewer. I think there is some truth to this but then I remember all the images that I disliked or felt neutral about at first viewing which only later, upon reflection, became favorites and even influential pictures. I've always struggled with this idea of instant emotional bond because it seems to reduce to a connection based on already held assumptions and opinions. That leaves photography with nothing new to bring to us. 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!

HT2624 - A Special Experience Some of you have been around long enough to remember when seeing a photograph could be a truly special experience. A highlight of my photographic life was seeing an exhibition of Paul Strand originals at The Art Institute of Chicago in 1991. I was on cloud nine for a week. Perhaps it was such a special occasion because it was so rare. Here, deep in the age of image bombardment, I miss those moments when I could be overwhelmed by the work of a master photographer during a transcendent experience. 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.

HT2618 - Print as Affirmation As we wander through life, we see something that prompts us to make a photograph. Why? That mystery requires confirmation. Did we see what we thought we saw? Did we understand what we thought became clear? Do we make a print in order to confirm our experience? Do we share that print with others so that they can confirm our experience? Photography fundamentally is the process of saying, "Look at this." We do so because we think it's important. How necessary is it that others affirm our observation, even if that affirmation comes from ourselves? 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!

HT2617 - Battling with the Real World The problem with photography from a creative medium point of view is that it too successfully allows us to make pictures that show what the world looks like. I'm not sure this is helpful for those of us who want to use photography as a personally expressive medium. The more our photographs are truthful to an objective point of view, the less they reflect our own interpretive response to the world. Do we create photographs that copy the world or do we push further toward a more personal expression? 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.

LW1504 - Photo Groups I miss the dialogue of a group. An incredibly important part of my personal growth as a photographer came as the result of my participation in a group in Portland, Oregon known as the Portland Photographer's Forum. (The last I heard this group was still going strong after 40 years.) We had monthly meetings. We looked at photographs and talked about them. That's about it. There were no contests, no awards, no sniping anonymous critique bombs. It was just a group of people who cared about ph 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.

HT2611 - My Medium Is Better Than Yours The word "photography" is an umbrella term that includes dozens of different means of manifestation and distribution of an image. From daguerreotypes to digital prints, from lantern slides to web galleries, technology has provided us with dozens of ways to create a "photograph." Which of these are the most admired, most collectible, most respected of the various imaging technologies? Silver gelatin or platinum/palladium? Analog or digital? Or is this an incredibly silly question? 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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

LW1497 - Dates, Time, and Eras When was Edward Weston's famous Pepper #30 photographed? How about Ansel Adams classic Moonrise Over Hernandez? Or Dorothea Lange's now icon image, Migrant Mother? What year were they photographed? If you can't recall the year these famous image where made, can you at least place them in chronological order? If not, why not? Simple — the year nor the order are important, at least not to our emotional response to the content. 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.

LW1496 - When do you own a photograph? Do you own a piece of music because you purchased the CD, or do you own it when you have memorized the tune? Do you own a novel because you purchased the book or because you read it? Do you own a photograph when you've purchased the original print? Or do you own a photograph when it becomes so familiar that it's part of your mental gallery? Thought about another way, do you own a photograph because of the physicality of the print, or is it more important that the image is treasured in a corner of your soul? 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.

HT2555 - My Advice Cannot Make Your Pictures I spend way too much time on YouTube because it's such a great way to learn tidbits about the technology of photography. That said, there are also gazillions of videos that will try to tell you the steps you must (or must not take) to make an aesthetically pleasing photograph, in essence how to follow the rules without admitting that you are following the rules. The challenge is to learn from the technical while simultaneously using aesthetic advice with extreme caution lest you find you are making other people's photographs. 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!

HT2554 - Scant Feedback, If Any Applause is lovely. Accolades are lovely. Sales are lovely. Relying on such feedback to fuel your motivations is to place yourself in a position that doesn't help your creativity. Statistically, it just doesn't add up. Produce your work because you need to do it and because the Universe needs you to do it, not for the applause and (God forbid) not for the sales. 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.

LW1495 - Ten Lesser-Known Masters You Should Study Have you heard me talk about the "airport test?" Name for me 10 famous painters, 10 musicians, 10 novelists. I'll bet you can. Ask 100 people at random at the airport to name 10 fine art photographers. Everybody is familiar with Ansel Adams, and a few might know of Edward Weston. Here are 10 lesser known masters of photography you should study precisely because they brought something to photography that has made a greater impact than their reputation would indicate. 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.