One of the nicest gifts that anyone can give is a photograph. It can be a portrait of yourself and your loved ones or it can be the gift of a fine art print that you can proudly hang on the wall. Submitted for your approval this month are four photographers whose fine art work spans different genres, but what they have in common is an uncommon vision and a commitment to quality.
“Fine art and pizza delivery, what we do falls neatly in between!”—David Letterman
Fine art photography has a special place in my heart since I started photographic studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. Years later when Mary and I opened our Colorado studio its tag line was “for the art of photography,” but I’m not sure how much art we practiced in those early...
“‘Twas Christmas told the merriest tale…”—Sir Walter Scott
There is no doubt that photo-sharing websites such as Flickr (www.flickr.com), along with iPod and iPhone albums, have changed the way we view photographs. Wedding photographers tell me one unintended consequence of providing online proofing is that...
“The review in the paper said, ‘the aesthetic subtext of his work is the systematic exposure of artistic pretension.’ I thought I was just taking pictures.”—Elmore Leonard
“You just say the words and we’ll beat the birds down to Acapulco Bay…”—Sammy Cahn & Jimmy Van Heusen
One suggestion that I often make to workshop attendees is that they can always improve the impact of their photographs by simply changing their point of view. When space and conditions permit, I suggest using a ladder because it gives you the ability to...
Maybe it was the 17th Earl of Oxford (www.shakespeare-oxford.com) who really wrote the above line but it’s a nice thought nevertheless. The quote’s actual authorship was the concept proposed in the film Anonymous as well. (Look for a review of the film on my movie blog www.ihatepopcorn.com.) What’s for sure is that the creative endeavors of the four wedding photographers featured this month display work that transcends the genre, producing images of beauty, sensitivity, and love. And isn’t that what weddings are all about?
“An optimist stays up to see the New Year in. A pessimist waits to make sure the old one leaves.”—Bill Vaughan
Why not make your 2009 New Year’s resolution a commitment to create a new website or update that old one you made when Coolidge was president? Oh, there are lots of ways to produce a new site. You can always hire a designer, if you can find one that will do...
I want to extend holiday greetings to Shutterbug readers during this special time of the year. While the sites and blog presented this month do not have an overall theme—holiday or otherwise—they represent the work of talented photographers who are using the Internet to communicate and display their work. These sites come to me in many ways: sometimes a site is recommended by a reader, other times by the photographer themselves, but most times through research. This month I’ve expanded my search tools to include photographers who are following me on Twitter (www.twitter.com/joefarace), where every Monday through Friday I pass along tips, tools, and techniques that will hopefully improve your photographs. This is all done in the same spirit of giving that pervades this time of year but is offered by me on Twitter throughout the year.
The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.--Okakura Kakuzo
These days my influences are not other still photographers, but movie directors, especially Asian filmmakers who, unbridled by Hollywood's fiscal realties, feel free to create imagery that defies reality. Akira Kurosawa's 1990 film Dreams (a.k.a. Yume) is a collection of...
For The Love Of It When I first visited Stanley Chan's website (www.stanc.net) I smiled and so will you. The true definition of "amateur" is one who does something for the love of...
"I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it."--Justice Potter Stewart
When the company my wife works for got new computers, I decided to see how my website (
If indeed you must be candid, be candid beautifully.--Kahlil Gibran
The Candid Frame (http://thecandidframe.blogspot.com/index.html) is an online podcast where you can meet image-makers from the world of photojournalism, fashion, landscape, documentary, sports, wildlife, travel, and commercial...
"Yesterday I was a dog. Today I'm a dog. Tomorrow I'll probably still be a dog. Sigh! There's so little hope for advancement."--Snoopy (Charles M. Schulz)
On October 2, 1950, the first Peanuts comic strip appeared and introduced the world to "Good Ole Charlie Brown." Snoopy didn't appear until a few days later on October...
"My mother loved children--she would have given anything if I had been one."--Groucho Marx
As hard as it may be for some of the young people in my neighborhood to believe, I was once a child myself. I have three grandchildren and a daughter and once upon a time wrote a story about her for ComputerUSER magazine. The story was optioned by an independent...