“Never ask people, not about your work.” Howard Roark
Last night I watched one of my favorite movies; The Fountainhead. Gary Cooper stars as architect Howard Roark, a stubborn and uncompromising individualist. His designs are uniquely his, rejecting tradition and the opinions of the experts. Because of these attitudes, he is a threat to those who require subservience. As I seek to create,… continue reading
Secret Tools and Techniques for Great Black and White Images
Have you heard about the many tools designed to give you great black and white images? There are special b&w conversion programs, plugins to make your images look like a specific type of b&w film, monochrome ink sets, custom print profiles, hi-tech monitor calibrators and more. Are all of these necessary to produce a great… continue reading
The problem with trying to please others is that you end up pleasing no one, including yourself.
Why do you create? Who are you trying to please? If you have an image that you love, but the public does not, how does this affect your opinion? Several blogs ago I had related this story about Edward Weston as recounted by Ansel Adams: “After dinner, Albert (Bender) asked Edward to show his prints. … continue reading
Your Images Remind me of Ansel Adams’ Work!
When I was younger, the ultimate compliment someone could give me would be to say: “Your images remind me of Ansel Adams’ work.” He was my childhood hero and I would dream of being “the next Ansel Adams.” But then one day it hit me; there already was an Ansel Adams and nobody would ever… continue reading
Windmill in Moonlight This is one of the first “good” images that I created after a 30 year absence from photography. It was photographed in 2004 using my new Canon Digital Rebel with its amazing 6mp sensor! Waaaaaay back then digital was not accepted in fine art circles, but I felt differently about it’s ability… continue reading
People ask me, how do you find people who stand still for so long? Something unusual happens when a person stands on the beach and stares outward. They become still. You can almost see their thoughts as they ponder something much greater than themselves. Where did we come from? What is my purpose? Where am… continue reading
You’ve heard me rave about the Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter, the one that I use for many of my images? My work and a short article was recently featured on their blog. Click Here to Read the Singh-Ray Blog Entry Cole
The “In-Progress” Harbinger Series
When I created my first Harbinger image, I broke the “centering” rule. When I created the next and the next and the next, I centered them also. It just felt right. But about a week ago I created the new image above, and decided not to center the cloud. The definition of “harbinger” is: \?här-b?n-j?r\ … continue reading
How Do You Dodge and Burn Without Overdoing it?
James wrote and asked: “Can you tell me how to get better at dodge and burn. I try and try, but I overdo the blacks and whites and get an image that’s too contrasty. Any tips you can give me would be great.” This is a very common question and issue, and one that can… continue reading
Please Tell Me the “Secret” to Your B&W Conversion!
Many people ask me to tell them the “secret” of my black and white conversion. Here is the secret: great black and white images are not made in the conversion process. You can buy the most expensive plug-in’s and execute the most complicated processes to convert your images, and it will not guarantee a great… continue reading
