Jeff Curto's Camera Position

What does your website say about who you are as a photographer? Does your site clearly define your goals or do you use your site’s pages as a dumping ground for every photograph you’ve ever made? In this episode of Camera Position, I look at the way in which web pages can tell us whether our photographs – and what we tell the world about them- are on-target or missing the mark. Links for this podcast: * Michael Kenna’s Website * Julie Blackmon’s website * Photo District News Online * Jeff’s Website – My website’s  homepage * Evidence of Hands on Stone – My domain that points to my main project

In order to make photographs that are meaningful, it really helps to know your subject in intimate detail. In this episode, I talk about subject research, and about how knowing your subject can be one of the best paths to good photographs. Gubbio, Umbria – Photograph by Jeff Curto Links for this episode: * Alec Soth – Photographs * Alec Soth – Blog post about project titles * Peter Murray – Architecture of the Italian Renaissance @ Amazon * George Sullivan – Not Built in a Day @ Amazon

What do you do when you get “stuck” photographically? Here are a few ideas about how to find your way out of “Photographer’s Block,” with some references to how other photographers handle the problem. Photograph by Jeff Curto (left) and David Quigg (right) Photograph by Suzanne Szucs (left) and Nicholas Nixon (right) Click images and links above for more…

In this episode, I talk about shallow depth of field as a creative tool and its use by several photographers who are using it in inventive and interesting ways. I also look at how focusing yourself on a project can help you be more creative. Photographs by Jeff Curto – Jeff Curto’s Website Photographs by Keith Carter – Keith Carter’s Website Photographs by Keith Loutit – Keith Loutit’s Website Other resources for this Podcast: * Lensbabies * Miklos Gaal * Toni Hafkenscheid * An interesting review of Toni Hafkenscheid’s work when it was shown at the AKA Gallery in Saskatoon. At what point is trickery legitimate?

This episode of Camera Position is about combining passion with profession. We need to photograph what we love, but we also can’t lead an insular life; we need to be out there, casting our lines into the river of photographic experiences. This week, March 15 to 18, is the Society for Photographic Education conference in Miami, FL. If you live near Miami, you really should consider attending this event. There are day passes available for non-members of the organization and it’s a great way to meet a large number of like-minded folks, see some fabulous photography and hear some inspirational and interesting speakers. If you do happen to come, please stop by the presentation I’ll be giving on Friday morning entitled “Teaching Your Students, Teaching The World: Podcasting In Photographic Education” where I’ll be talking about the “hows and whys” of Podcasting, attempting to get more of my teaching colleagues involved in this exciting medium. I’ll be podcasting the presentation, of course, so stay tuned for that in the next week or so. A Podcast Listener, courtesty of Paul Strand If you can’t make it to the conference, you may be interested in attending an excellent seminar (which is open to the general public) to be presented on Sunday March 18 from 1 to 5 by the noted photo marketing expert Mary Virginia Swanson. Entitled “FINDING YOUR AUDIENCE: An Introduction to Marketing your Photographs,” Mary Virginia will be talking about how to place your work in front of people who will be able to help get you more visibility. Mary Virgina Swanson working with a photographer Regardless of these opportunities, a quote by photographer Ralph Steiner reminds us that it’s important to photograph what matters: Photograph by Ralph Steiner “Eventually I discovered for myself the utterly simple prescription for creativity; be intensly yourself. Don’t try to be outstanding; don’t try to be a success;don’t try to do pictures for others to look at- just please yourself.” -Ralph Steiner, A Point of View

In this second part of the Zone System overview, we look at a few more specifics about how the Zone System works and is implemented. Don’t forget to download the PDF handouts! Click any image below for a larger view. The first part of the Zone System overview was in Camera Position #43 Download part 1 of the PDF handout (part 2 below)

This episode of Camera Position is the third entry in an irregular series of suggestions for the serious photographer’s bookshelf. This time, the selection is “On Photography,” an important – and occasionally somewhat difficult – book of photographic criticism and thought from writer Susan Sontag. Click on images above for a larger view Links for this podcast: * Susan Sontag – Sontag’s website * On Photography – The book at Amazon.com * Plato – information about Plato and Plato’s Cave

Creative photography benefits from mastering technical content. This first installment of a discussion of The Zone System of exposure will help you stop worrying about whether the photograph will “work out” so you can concentrate on being creative. In the photographs below, the highlighted side of the ball (left image) was “placed” on Zone VIII and the under side of the fountain was “placed” on Zone III. (photographs by Jeff Curto; click images for larger views) As long as you’re sitting there at your computer, why not take a couple minutes to support Camera Position by posting a comment on the iTunes Music Store? Thanks!

Another exploration of color in photography and the way it has been used by two of the great masters of color, WIlliam Eggleston and Stephen Shore. Also, I mention Adobe’s fabulously fun and useful online application “Kuler.” Photograph by William Eggleston (above) (click images for larger views) Photograph by Stephen Shore (below) Links for this episode: * Kuler – Adobe’s online color playground * William Eggleston at Masters of Photography – John Szarkowski Essay about Eggleston * William Eggleston on Artsy * Stephen Shore at Masters of Photography – Heinz Liesbrock Essay about Shore

I’m back! After a month-long hiatus, I’m back with a podcast about color. Using a Christmas present of a book of Pete Turner’s photographs that have been used on jazz album covers as a springboard, we talk about color, color relationships and how color works in the photographic world. Links for this episode: * Pete Turner’s The Color of Jazz Book at Amazon * Wikipedia’s Color Theory Entry * Kuler, Adobe’s very cool color playground

Lens choice, tripods, negative and positive space, image sequence and selection of a small group of images… it’s a “holiday leftovers ” group of ideas and thoughts for this episode of Camera Position. Above photographs by Jeff Curto Links for this episode: * Images referenced in this episode of Camera Position * Ralph Gibson’s Website * College of DuPage’s Gahlberg Gallery Support Camera Position by posting a comment on the iTunes store: Camera Position @ iTunes

Mission statements don’t have to be about dull, corporate stuff… they can also be about the creative process and act as a compass to point you in the right direction. Your photographic mission statement can be about your audience, your passions and your goals. Example and blank “audience circles” (click for larger images) Links relevent for this show: The Candid Frame: Ibarionex Perillo’s excellent podcast interviews with photographers Jeff’s Video Projects: The videos mentioned in this episode LensWork Magazine: Jeff’s videos are in issue #67. The advantage of distribution on CD-ROM is that the movies are at a much higher resolution (640×480 pixels) than is practical via the web.

It’s about time. It’s about time to talk about time in photography and time as it relates to how photographs function. Using photographs by Garry Winogrand and Tokihiro Sato, we examine two different approaches to dealing with time in the photograph. Photographs by Garry Winogrand (left) and Tokihiro Sato (right) Click images for a larger view * Garry Winogrand @ Masters of Photography * Tokihiro Sato @ PhotoArts

Photographers are not creators, they are editors. Unlike the painter, who starts with a blank canvas, we start with the whole world and our job is to remove all the “stuff” that doesn’t make our picture better; to pare down to the essence of the image. Ideally, we do this with the camera’s viewfinder, but sometimes, ya gotta crop. Matera, Basilicata, 2006 – Photographs by Jeff Curto (click images for a larger view) Pictures of “cropping Ls”: (click for larger images)

Who is in your critical circle? Who looks at your work to help you define what is good and what “works”? Do you do it yourself? Can you trust yourself to be a good critic of your own work? This episode examines the idea of being your own best friend and your own best enemy. Tuscany: Cloud, Tree and Hillside, 2005 – Photograph by Jeff Curto Click image for a larger view “Image Sorting” software: * iView Media Pro * Extensis Portfolio * Adode Photoshop Lightroom * Apple Aperture