Jeff Curto's Camera Position

Sometimes, photography is the proverbial "game of inches."

I’ve moved my Camera Position! I’ve abandoned Apple’s “easy but limited” iWeb software and moved over to a WordPress blog. Hopefully, the majority of listeners have made the switch with no problems. There is a new RSS subscription feed (see first post at the top of the page to see the new information). If you’re … Continue reading Camera Position 15 : Moving Camera Position & Moving Your Boundaries →

In Camera Position #8, we looked at Paul Strand’s “The Family, Luzzara, Italy, 1953”. Listener Don Bricker wrote in to note that there are, in fact, two different images of this photograph. The idea that Strand “directed” this image by changing the content in an important way should be considered when we think about how … Continue reading Camera Position 14 : Strand’s “Family” Revisited →

Photographers sometimes have a hard time separating their own emotional response they have to a subject from the image that they make of that subject. It’s up to us as imagemakers not only to respond to the subject and the way we feel about it, but also to remember that our viewers can only rely … Continue reading Camera Position 13 : Time and the Subject →

Why do we do what we do as photographers? Where does our motivation come from? Why do some subjects interest us more than others? Episode number 12 of Camera Position briefly traces my 16-year examination of Italy’s culture, architecture and landscape and looks at where we find our inspiration as image makers. Trastevere, Roma, 1990 … Continue reading Camera Position 12 : Motivation and Inspiration →

It took Edward Weston 29 prior attempts to get to the point where he made his well-known “Pepper #30” photograph. Musicians have to practice their scales, and so do photographers, trying a variety of attempts at conveying the essence of their subjects before hitting on the one that works the best. Weston’s strategy of looking … Continue reading Camera Position 11 : Weston and the Other 29 →

Photographers have to be aware of the fact that viewers of their images can’t know the whole story of how a photograph came to be. The image has to rely on its own visual authority to get the message across. Using this photograph of Sant’ Antimo, a 12th Century Romanesque abbey in rural Tuscany, I … Continue reading Camera Position 10 : A Story Without Words →

The idea you want to communicate in a photograph is in direct relation to the way in which you choose to make that photograph. A photograph of Bernini’s beautiful Baroque fountain, situated in front of the Pantheon, is used to examine how composition and idea play off of one another. Fontana, Piazza della Rotunda, Roma, … Continue reading Camera Position 09 : Composition and Idea →

Paul Strand’s masterful 1953 portrait “The Family” acts as a backdrop for some thoughts on how interaction between the photographer and subject and among the subjects themselves creates visual and emotional interest in a photograph. The Family, Luzzara, Italy, 1953 Photograph by Paul Strand

Ultimately, a photograph comes down to a common element: Light. Using two photographs of a vineyard, this podcast explores the quality, direction and visual impact of light. Vineyard, Umbria, 2001 Photographs by Jeff Curto