I’m excited to announce that I wil be starting a new series of free live…
The main reason I started this blog years ago was to have a place to share my photography and my thoughts. But over time I’ve realized that what gives me the greatest satisfaction is sharing what I’ve learned from others and helping you get better at the art and craft of landscape and nature photography, which in many ways I see as a metaphor for life in general. While I value and enjoy the technical aspects of photography, it’s the vision and emotion, the part that conveys meaning to others, that I think is the most valuable to study and learn. I believe it also gives the greatest value to the artist and the viewer, and only that keeps you motivated, inspired, and happy.
That deosn’t mean I don’t spend time learning the craft. In fact I’m constantly working at learning new techniques, understanding how to use the tools, and trying to keep up with all the latest developments in the industry But just taking great pictures is not enough. There’s another layer to great photography that I don’t think is emphasized enough and is the greatest factor: you the photographer. And specifically your thoughts, experiences, emotions, attitude, and ultimately your connection to your subject and to yourself.
I’m not interested in helping you be like someone else, take pictures like someone else, or provide constant camera and gear recommendations, Google can help you with that. I want to help you tell your story as a photographer. And maybe, it will help you in other aspects of your life that I value as well, such as health, creativity, and generosity. In fact I know it will because it has for me.
I’d like to help you in whatever it is your having challenges with. I’d like to share more of what I’ve learned through the years in hope that it will help you grow as well. Whether that’s related to photography, creativity, or to living a creative inspired life. Whether cameras, composition, processing, printing, health, or mindfulness, all are equally important. Life in general is a creative activity- coming up with solutions to problems, and we all face challenges every single day.
Next Step
So today I’m asking you for your help. What specific questions do you have? What types of articles would you like to see more of? Less of? How can I help solve your creative challenges?
Please help me help you – and make the blog a better resource for others. I figured the best way to do that is to ask!
Leave your questions and comments below, or if you prefer:
- Send me a direct email.
- Send me a message on twitter
- Send me a message on Faceebook
Thanks in advance!
Robert– I have several thoughts . . .(1) I would enjoy articles written as a narrative of your quests when photographing– such as take us with you from getting up and going out, where you go, what you see, why you photographed that site/scene, what was going through your mind as you set the shot up, etc. (2) I find it helpful when photographers speak of equipment they use and they provide specific brands & models.Even for equipment which is indirectly related like great gloves, boots, jackets, vests, reflectors, plamps, bags, etc. It can be a nightmare when shopping for something (so much to pick from) so to have a photographer recommend an item from experience with it is extremely helpful. (3) I enjoy your writings on the creative side of photography & taking photos. Everyone speaks to the technical but few embrace and share the things that are difficult to express–the creativity, inspiration, motivation, and even the mystical. (4) Love the opportunities to ask questions and get answers too. So very helpful! (5) Enjoy when you share what you are reading or find inspiring. (6) Digital Darkroom: Showing an image and then explaining what was done to it in processing from camera to finished “product”. Thanks Robert for sharing your time and knowledge!
Great feedback Joni, and will certainly take all of your suggestions to heart for future content. I definitely plan on creating more Lightroom video tutorials, just trying to get a more productive workflow at the moment, and also getting past the first 6 months of our new baby. Look for more soon…thanks so much for the support – truly appreciate it.
RR
Creating tutorials is very time consuming. I recently installed LR 5 and bought a 700 page book. To say the least the book is very dense with info. After reading oodles of info I simply struggled to make things happen. Soo, off to youtube and happened to bump into a great starter video(almost two hours) which added some real glue. More LR rookies may what to take a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSwkDC3q7uk. That video aside there are dozens of videos already out there. Drop lightroom say version 5 into the youtube search and break open a bag of popcorn. I’m not trying to discourage a new video but to suggest some already available, and if a new one is done, fill some missing gap.
Good points, will take into consideration when I think about topics to cover. One thing for sure is that you’ll quickly discover that not all video tutorials are created equal, same as photographs. Stay tuned…
RR
I really appreciate the photos that you post but I would also like to know your hardware, settings(to include filter[s]), and if any post processing other than simple stuff.
Thanks for the great feedback, and will definitely include more technical and post-processing details in the future.
RR
Hi Robert,
I think the hardest thing is “vision,” or “seeing.” I don’t know if that can be taught, but any thoughts on your process would be interesting and useful. Not the generic “rule of thirds” and “telephotos compress” kind of stuff, but more on YOUR thoughts as you are composing an image. I remember working on a shot in Acadia last year, and I was liking it, until you recomposed it in about 10 seconds and it was exponentially better!
So I’m particularly curious as to how you developed your eye – do you think it’s a gift or that it can be trained?
Regards,
Lynne Pitts
All great questions Lynne, and these topics are very dear to my heart. I will offer my thoughts and answers soon…thanks for the feedback – hope you are well!
RR
Robert
Some information on color management would be great. I find myself frustrated when printing from lightroom to find that the colors from my Pixma 9500 II print are not quite as what i have setup and see on the monitor. Any details on a proper setup with regards to this topic would be great. Thanks
Hey Robert..I am always interested in the creative process and how you go about it. Do you believe creativity is innate or can it be developed and learned? I always enjoy when you post about what books you are reading. I am heading out to the library this afternoon to pick up a couple of your recommendations.
I am always interested in the technical aspect (i.e. what fstop etc) but it’s more why you used the fstop. Everyone gets hung up on the hardware but everyone is going to have different camera bodies, different lenses.
I read that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at a craft. Working fulltime makes that challenging. How did you find the time to switch careers? And what advice would you give someone who has limited free time to get out in the field and practice? How can you become better or can you get better only getting out 1-2 times a week?
Thanks as always
Andrea
Great questions Andrea, will definitely address in an upcoming post – and the short answer to the fine art question is that in fine art, the artist is just as important as the image. Your opinions and emotions are a part of the photograph, and without your unique vision, it just becomes a snapshot.
You have to “invest” yourself into the image.
RR
Also Robert what make a photograph “fine art” And how do you go from making a photograph into making fine art…Thanks!
Andrea