Archive for ‘Essay’

LIGHTROOM AND TRAVEL

July 07, 2015 12:39 PM
by / Topics: Essay, John, Resources, Technique, Travel

by John Shaw How does one coordinate Lightroom used on a laptop when traveling, with a master Lightroom catalog back in the office?  I’ve written about this before, but the topic keeps coming up at workshops and on tours, so…. I have one main master Lightroom catalog for all my images, which resides on my desktop […]

Using Manual Exposure

July 07, 2015 12:36 PM
by / Topics: Essay, Philosophy of Photography, Resources, Technique

By John Shaw In my photography I use Aperture Priority metering most of the time.  I take a shot, look at the histogram, and use Exposure Compensation (EC) to add or subtract light as needed.  Yes, this works great most of the time…but most of the time does not mean all of the time.  There are shooting situations […]

Getting Lucky on Safari

By Justin Black For Outdoor Photographer, October 2014 One of my most important photographic mentors, Galen Rowell, grew accustomed to being told how lucky he was to capture the stunning natural events that he photographed. He would chuckle politely, and respond that he tried to be prepared to receive luck. In other words, he went […]

Safari Update

September 09, 2014 03:56 PM
by / Topics: Essay, Instructor News, Travel, Uncategorized, Workshops / Comments Off on Safari Update

On our recent safari in east Africa’s Maasai Mara / Serengeti ecosystem, we encountered three very special lions – Sikio, Morani, and Scarface (as viewed left to right above). These powerful brothers are the leaders of the Marsh Pride, made famous in BBC’s Big Cat Diary documentaries. They had crossed the Mara River to follow the bounty […]

Photographing with Purpose

October 10, 2011 04:50 PM
by / Topics: Art of Photography, Essay, Media, Philosophy of Photography, Resources, Technique, Uncategorized / Comments Off on Photographing with Purpose

The November 2011 issue of Outdoor Photographer magazine features an article by Justin Black about ways to add greater meaning and purpose to your photography. You can read the full text and see the accompanying photos here: Photographing with Purpose by Justin Black

An Eye-Opening Twilight

August 08, 2011 02:04 AM
by / Topics: Art of Photography, Essay, Philosophy of Photography / Comments Off on An Eye-Opening Twilight

by Justin Black The very American artistic tradition of celebrating the concept of wilderness, associated so closely with photographers like Ansel Adams and Galen Rowell, reached an early zenith in the mid 19th century with the Hudson River School painters. Their work attempted to capture exceptional qualities of light, topography, and weather to render idealized […]

Bioluminescence on the Sonoma Coast, by Jerry Dodrill

Bioluminescence For years I’ve heard unbelievable stories about people’s surreal night time experiences in the ocean with glowing plankton blooms, but until recently I’d never seen it myself. The tip off came from Ellen Cruz, a friend from Bodega Bay who sent a note about an experience she’d just had on the Sonoma County coast: […]

Photo Salon: The Value of Critique

July 07, 2011 04:15 AM
by / Topics: Essay, Philosophy of Photography, Resources, Workshops / Comments Off on Photo Salon: The Value of Critique

by Justin Black   The lone-wolf photographer is a concept with which we are all familiar. Many of us like to think of ourselves as self-reliant and passionately free-spirited, driven only by an innate creative vision. In my experience, however, most of the people I know who have mastered anything haven’t done it on their […]

On Assignment: The Dragon Run

July 07, 2011 08:44 PM
by / Topics: Essay, Media, Philosophy of Photography, Resources, Technique, Travel / Comments Off on On Assignment: The Dragon Run

by Justin Black   The Dragon rippled as I slid the kayak out into the swamp’s caramel-brown water. The still quiet of pre-dawn was broken only by the song of a prothonotary warbler, a croaking bullfrog, the sudden splash of a jumping sunfish. Gliding along on the glassy surface past lush swamp plants – arrow […]

Truth in Photography

May 05, 2011 04:08 AM
by / Topics: Essay, Philosophy of Photography / 1 Comment »

by Justin Black   A recent dialog with a friend and fellow photographer got me thinking about truth in photography. For over 170 years, we have relied on photographs to document and share information about the world around us. How many books and documentary films have relied on photographs to connect us with the reality […]