One of my favorite photographers is Jay Dusard. A number of years ago we were preparing to publish a portfolio of his in LensWork and I had sent him proof pages to approve. He immediately got back to me and asked me to change the abbreviations I used in his titles, for example AZ as compared to Arizona. He explained "AZ is not a location, it's a postal code." If we're truly interested titling our prints with accuracy, perhaps we should include the ZIP code in our titles?

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It's a fairly common occurrence that an exhibition space develops a crisis when a scheduled artist has to pull out for one reason or another. It leaves the exhibitor / gallery with a hole that needs to be filled quickly. Would you be able to respond if you were to receive an invitation that required an exhibition be provided immediately? Maybe it's a good idea to have an exhibition or two ready for any opportunity that presents itself.

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In my earliest days of photography I tended to work on one project at a time. I gave it my total focus and postponed working on others. To avoid that void at the end of a project I started working multiple projects at a time. As new ideas came, I added them to a list which became increasingly lengthy and unmanageable. I've since found the sweet spot by using a tiered strategy for managing multiple projects simultaneously.

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In the late 1990s when we were doing the LensWork Special Edition prints, we offered them with or without frames. It didn't take long before we discontinued the framing options. Now, I never offer my work pre-framed.

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I loved that camera, but I couldn't wait to sell it and get rid of it. Have you ever had that experience? I loved everything about that camera except one button that I was constantly pressing accidentally that caused frustration and many a missed shot opportunity. I finally got so frustrated that I sold it with prejudice. The lesson I learned is to pay more attention to camera ergonomics than I do to technical specifications.

One of the realities I cringe to admit is that I know of the vast majority of my work will never be seen by anyone, ever. I also cringe to admit that I know this is silly, somewhat narcissistic, and impractical. I am my own audience, as each of us are, and that's probably the most important audience we should ever care about. Nonetheless...

LW1446 - Defining Artistic Success

With all the time and energy and effort you put into photography, how do you define success? Are you successful when you've made an interesting picture? Are you successful when someone compliments you on it or perhaps purchases it? Are you successful when you have a gallery exhibition or a book published? Defining success is an important step in planning our efforts.

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Every Picture Is a Compromise, a series at www.brooksjensenarts.com.

and...

"How to" tutorials and camera reviews are everywhere on YouTube, but if you're interested in photography and the creative life, you need to know about the incredible resources you can access as a member of LensWork Online.

Such fascinating technological times we live in! I used to fret and fuss over the fastest lens I could buy in order to keep the ISO as low as possible and the depth of field shallow. But now with DeNoise and Lens Blur via software, I'm perfectly comfortable with a slower lens. Software doesn't work every time, but it does enough times and I don't feel it's necessary to own those really fast lenses.

As a strategy, pre-visualization has always required a vivid imagination. I've never been able to master that skill. My SLR cameras could not provide a visual rendition of my settings. Same with you cameras. But now, with a mirrorless camera and electronic viewfinder, changing the exposure shows me exactly what I will end up with in terms of brightness or darkness. What a great feature!

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There are times when getting closer pushes us into the macro photography range. Over the last 50 years I've owned a number of macro lenses and extension tubes. I know there must be a difference between them, but when I look at my photographs (now that I can't remember how they were made), I can't see any difference between those shot with an expensive macro lens and those made with an inexpensive extension tube.

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