Jeff Curto's Camera Position

Those of us who work with traditional photographic tools sometimes wonder… will those things disappear in the face of the digital revolution? Will we be stuck in the middle of an island with no way to produce images? We consider those ideas in this episode. Links for this episode: * B&H Photo – Great source for photo supplies * Bostick & Sullivan – materials for handcrafted photography * Freestyle Photo – Keepers of the old-school flame * Pinhole Resource – It doesn’t get any more simple than this

What is an “arts background”? Whether we know it or not, I think we all have one. Having a background in creativity is about synthesizing things that we already know and combining them with new things that we learn to come up with wholly new ideas. Venice, Sunrise – Photograph by Jeff Curto (click for a larger view)

Is beauty enough in a photograph? It’s an odd concept in photography, especially in today’s visual world where so many photographers seem to ignore it. Or… are they ignoring it? We take a look. Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Abruzzo, 2007 Photograph by Jeff Curto (click to enlarge) Links for this Episode: * Robert Adams’ Beauty in Photography @ Amazon.com * Alec Soth’s contemporary “landscape” photography * Derek Henderson’s The Terrible Boredom of Paradise * Camera Position #49 – “Know Thy Subject” * Terry Bowyer’s comment * Jeff’s response to Terry * Ted Byrne’s essay in response to this podcast at his Imagefiction blog

The Camera in The Cathedral: A Brief History of Photography of the Natural World In a bit of “podcast cross-pollination,” I’m presenting an episode of my history of photography podcast here on Camera Position. If you’ve heard the Photo History podcast of this same topic, you’ve heard this podcast, but for those Camera Position listeners who don’t listen to the Photo History podcast, I thought this topic might prove useful to you. From the very beginning of the medium, photographers have wanted to portray their sense of wonder and awe in the face of the natural world through the camera’s lens, often offering up nature as the Great American Cathedral. This romantic tradition continues, but the mid-20th century saw a change in the way photographers looked at the world around them; a change that altered the face of photography By looking at photographs from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, we’ll explore the ways photographers have recorded and interpreted nature with the camera. * Mayslake Nature Study and Photography Club – Oakbrook, IL * The Machine in the Garden Revisited – American Environmentalism and Photographic Aesthetics (PDF) – an article by Deborah Bright * Handout for this podcast episode * Slides for this podcast episode

A cold winter’s day prompted me to work on a warm-day photograph, then to make a cold-day photograph. Also, we celebrate Camera Position’s 2nd birthday and talk briefly about the Photocast Network and the Focus Ring podcast. Peach, Toscana, 2007 & Snow Apple, 2008; Photographs by Jeff Curto (click images for larger views) Links for this episode: * Photocast Network * The Focus Ring Podcast * Camera Position “stuff” * Camera Position #1 – two years ago….

Camera Position goes back to basics with an overview of the essentials of photographic composition, including the Rule of Thirds, Leading Lines, Framing and Balance. Also, a mention of the work of photographer Ron Diorio. Tractored Out – photograph by Dorothea Lange Links for this episode: * Slides for this episode of Camera Position * Camera Position on iTunes – Leave a comment! * Ron Diorio’s website * Ron at the Peter Hay Halpert Gallery, NYC * Giuseppe Cavallo on Flickr – Thanks for the show idea, Giuseppe!

After an insanely busy fall, I’m back in front of the podcast mic, talking about photography. In this episode of Camera Position, we go to the Midwest Society of Photographic Education conference in Flint, Michigan, where I presented a 40 minute talk about my photographs of Italy. This episode of camera position is that presentation, including its visuals, The Italian Portfolio: Evidence of Hands on Stone. Links for this episode: * See the slides from the presentation * The Italian Portfolio: Evidence of Hands on Stone * Robert Adams’ Why People Photograph at Amazon * John Szarkowski at Amazon    

Getting your work out there… how do you do it? We take a look at some responses to an exhibition I just had at the University of La Verne in California and see how that might fit into how you can show your work. Irene Carlson Gallery of Photography – University of La Verne, La Verne California Photographs by Dale Dellinger (left) and Paul Viapiano (center and right) Click images for a larger view Perugia, Umbria, 1999 Photograph by Jeff Curto – click image for a larger view Links for this podcast: * Society for Photographic Education * PhotoPlus Expo

Can you become a selfless photographer and reach a state of Zen with your camera? Fourth in an irregular series of “books for photographers’ bookshelves” is Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel, where Herrigel’s works towards the “perfect shot.” Replace “bow” with “camera,” “arrow” with “shutter” and “target” with “photograph” and you have a wonderful little book about how to stop thinking and start making. Left: Old cover art for book Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel Center: Windowsill Daydreaming – Photograph by Zenmaster Photographer Minor White Right: New cover art for book Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel Dirk Rossler’s Megaperls weblog – Thanks for your comment, Dirk!

Abruzzo Sheep – Photograph by Jeff Curto (click for a larger view) Photographers should always use the right tool for the job, right? But what if you’re stuck with the wrong tool in the right situation? You just wing it, that’s what, and sometimes something interesting happens. That was the case with me this summer when I was stuck with my 4×5 camera in a situation that really demanded a smaller, more mobile machine. Lemonade out of lemons? Lamb chops out of… wait… no… bad analogy…

Montepulciano, Toscana, 1998 – Photograph by Jeff Curto Yes, it’s the age old question… does size matter? Does the size of the prints we make change how we view the images? Have you ever made a large print of your work? Here’s an image that I recently had The Print Lab print to a very large size for me. In the podcast, I also talk about a new exhibition I have at the University of LaVerne in LaVerne, CA, and about a new series of History of Photography Podcasts, and about a new episode of the Focus Ring podcast Other links for this show: * Jeff Wall exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago * Exhibition of Jeff Curto’s work: Evidence of Hands on Stone at the Carlson Gallery of Photography at the University of LaVerne * Jeff will be speaking at Photo Plus Expo – October 18 to 21, New York * The History of Photography Podcast – Web Page or at iTunes * A new episode of the Focus Ring podcast

Summer’s lazy days put me in the mind of childhood and a recent encounter with some ideas by Pablo Picasso and some photographs by French photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue (1894-1986) made me think about how important a childlike sense of wonder is to photographers. Picasso said: “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” – Pablo Picasso Pablo Picasso – Two Women on the Beach Lartigue started taking photos when he was 6, his subject matter being primarily his own life and the people and activities in it. So, as a child he photographed his friends and family at play – running and jumping, racing wheeled soap boxes, building kites, etc. Photographs by Jacques Henri Lartigue Jacques Henri Lartigue at Masters of Photography

An image isn’t finished until it starts to feel like what you saw. Here is a brief look at the way I approached the post-production (what we used to call “darkroom work”) of this recent image from Gubbio, a marvelously medieval town in northern Umbria, Italy. The differences are subtle, but the idea is to more accurately capture the feeling and mood of the time of exposure. For a great overview of how to create outstanding prints of your own images (even in the digital age!) check out Ansel Adams’ The Print. Gubbio, Umbria, 2007 – Photograph by Jeff Curto click image for a larger view

Preconceived notions about what you’re going to photograph can keep you from finding good images that you may have missed. This episode of Camera Position examines how I nearly fell into that trap in Gubbio, a beautiful town in Italy’s Umbria province. Images of La Festa Dei Ceri, Gubbio, Umbria by Jeff Curto click images for larger views

Traveling with a camera involves planning. A lot of folks have asked me about traveling with the large format camera, and in this episode of Camera Postiion, I detail the gear that I take on the road. Links for this podcast: * Deardorff History Page * Harrison Film Pup Tent * Pentax Digital Spot Meter