The value, precautions and prospects of machine-made images Inspired by Jerry Uelsmann‘s photomontages in 1975, I spent the better part of a day searching through my proofs to find images that might work together to make an intriguing composite. On another day, I did the actual printing in the darkroom with a variety of masks, […]
Is media the boss of me? Or am I the boss of it? What we communicate internally—whether in dreams, fantasies, fears, or aspirations—are to some degree written large upon the billboards, headlines, screens, and ads of our civilization. In this sense, inside media becomes inside me. — Tom Cooper, Professor of Communication, Emerson College. What we […]
An expression of gratitude for an action or achievement Dr. Albert Sabin As part of a prime-time medical series for television called A Matter Of Life, producer David George and I filmed Dr. Sabin in his Washington, D.C. lab. An entire program was devoted to his development of the oral polio vaccine, which played a key […]
Texture influences how we experience the world through the sense of touch—directly. The tactile sense is so acute and pervasive, images of texture are enough to elicit an experience vicariously. This makes it an important tool for communication and creative expression. When looked at up close or under a microscope, what makes an object textured […]
Vectors have different meanings and applications in mathematics, biology, psychology, computer science, and other fields. Because the application considered here is their use as an aesthetic tool, a vector will be considered any visual element that guides the viewer’s eye within or around a frame. I think of them as lines of force that give […]
In geometry, a “point” is a single location. A “line” is an extension of a point, an elongated mark, a connection between two points or the edge of an object or situation. Artist Paul Klee said, “A line is a dot out for a walk.” Practically speaking, lines serve to define length, distance, and shape. […]
A strategy for making the ordinary look special In the early years, I used to spend a lot of time walking up and down the many rows of vendors at outdoor antique fairs looking for that rare situation where the quality of light illuminating an object peaked my aesthetic sensibility. Later on, I noticed that […]
Night is an ideal time to photograph in black and white because darkness hides all but the upper register of whites on the tonal scale. In any given scene, with only the strongest highlights creating lines and shaded areas, geometries become apparent that are barely noticed in the light of day. This image of a […]
Contemplative Photography 