The Intersection of Nature and Technology Through the many decades that I’ve been photographing landscapes, utility poles of all kinds, sizes and wires have been a nuisance. Their placement often interfered with rural settings, and in cities the lines tended to be a mess. I don’t like being critical, but when I see these, the […]
Attending to light fosters deep perception and appreciation I was nineteen and majoring in photography at Rochester Institute of Technology when I made a commitment to the regular practice of black & white photography as a medium of personal growth. Prompted by insights gained from some images I’d made, I sat alone in my car […]
The difference between mediocrity and excellence In addition to the quiet sensibility that this image evokes in me, it speaks to the human journey, our quest for meaning and purpose, even our individual place and function in the world as we paddle this way and that with attention focused mainly on the surface of things. […]
What had to happen for these leaves to be photographed? Trees have long thoughts, long-breathing and restful, just as they have longer lives than ours. They are wiser than we are, as long as we do not listen to them. But when we have learned how to listen to trees, then the brevity and the […]
Chapter 14: Pattern (The final in this series) Through repetition, patterns create visual harmony, rhythm and order, all of which can contribute to meaning and create a sense of stability and symmetry which is pleasing to the eye. Patterns are apparent in the energy fields within atoms, the immensity of the cosmos and the way […]
Chapter 13: Line Harrold, South Dakota Lines serve to define length, distance and shape, indicating boundaries and separate forms, textures and colors that move the eye and create the illusion of depth—like railroad tracks to the horizon. Physically, they can be many or few, take many shapes, have thickness and depth, length and texture with […]
Chapter 11: Key The terms “low key” and “high key” are often used in photography. They refer to photographs that are overall bright or dark. “High Key” images are predominately light or white, like a white cat sitting on a white sofa. “Low Key” is dark and somber, a black dog in a dark tunnel. […]
Chapter 9: Geometry Artistically, form and geometry are interconnected but distinct creative dimensions with unique expressive roles. The previous chapter on “form” was about creating a three-dimensional sensibility on a two-dimensional substrate, usually an electronic screen or paper; the object was to create the sensibility of depth. “Geometry” in the context of creative expression, deals […]
Chapter 7: Depth of Field “Depth of field” (DOF) is the optical property of a photographic lens that determines the degree of sharpness between objects close to the camera and those farther away. When both distances, near and far, are sharp the DOF is said to be “long” or “deep.” When only the point of […]
Chapter 6: Contrast In photography, “contrast” is the ratio between the darkest dark and the lightest light within a frame. It’s said to be “soft” when there’s very little difference between the lights and darks, “medium” in what we regard as normal, and “high” when an image has both maximum blacks and brightest whites.” Contrast […]
Contemplative Photography 