HT2804 - Abstracts Are the Answer

Here's a Thought… #2804 with Brooks Jensen Abstracts Are the Answer After all these years, I still contend that abstracts are my favorite genre of photography. Of course they don't sell. No one likes them. You can't even give them away. They do, however, have three virtues that cannot be denied They connect with their creator deeply; they can be found and photographed everywhere; and the viewers' interpretation is always right. Become a member of LensWork Online and have access to all 2800+ Here's a Thought… commentaries.

Here's a Thought… #2803 with Brooks Jensen When Capture Meets Culture I must admit, I find this observation fascinating. There's not a damn thing I can do about it, but it is interesting. Today's technology has made it possible for us to produce trillions of photographs a year while simultaneously promoting the swipe left culture that affords each image a tiny fraction of a second for comprehension and understanding. Do these two trends feed each other? Knowing the waning attention span of audiences, what are the implications for the thousands of images we have in our Lightroom catalogs? Become a member of LensWork Online and have access to all 2800+ Here's a Thought… commentaries.

Here's a Thought… #2802 with Brooks Jensen Convergence When I think of "The Art World," I think of galleries and museums, auctions and fortunes, celebrity artists and a measure of fame. That world happens at a point of convergence that most of us will never know or experience — where Creativity meets Commerce. Our world is one of art with a different sort of convergence. For us, Art is a matter of vision and compulsion, strife and creation, breath and Life. I've never met an artist who wouldn't say that while creating their artwork they feel more alive. Become a member of LensWork Online and have access to all 2800+ Here's a Thought… commentaries.

Here's a Thought… #2801 with Brooks Jensen Beware the Advice That Stifles One of my earliest examples of thinking outside the box involved five images matted in a single mat. I thought it was innovative and expressive. My well-meaning peers crushed this experiment and I never pursued it. Years later I tried black mat boards with the same discouragement. Feedback can be helpful, but it can also negatively influence your creative impulses. Become a member of LensWork Online and have access to all 2800+ Here's a Thought… commentaries.

Here's a Thought… #2800 with Brooks Jensen Lawn Chairs and Other Photographic Necessities The older I get and the longer I practice photography the more I'm convinced that photographs find us. Chasing photographs is a fine idea in our youth when burning off excess energy is a virtue. I have discovered, however, that chasing photographs is not the best strategy, at least not for me, and my aging knees concur. The older I get the more I see that it's not taking photos nor even making photos. The key is allowing photos to reveal themselves to us. Become a member of LensWork Online and have access to all 2800+ Here's a Thought… commentaries.

Episode #1530 from our long-running, weekly podcast On Photography and the Creative Process Why I Prefer Projects Words alone cannot tell a story until they are organized into sentences and paragraphs. Said another way, groups of words make much more powerful expressions than words could ever do without the power of sentences and paragraphs. Similarly, individual pictures can be wonderful, but when they contribute to a larger whole by being part of a project they feel more capable of personal expression than the individual, standalone image. All previous episodes of our weekly podcast are available to members of LensWork Online. 30-day Trial Memberships are only $10. Instant access, terabytes of content, inspiration and ideas that expand daily with new content. Sign up for instant access! You might also be interested in. . . 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.

Here's a Thought… #2799 with Brooks Jensen The Field of Search You've managed to carve a little time from your busy schedule and have an opportunity to do photography. Where do you search for your next photograph? In The Great outdoors? On a busy urban street? In your still life studio? Or could it possibly be waiting to be discovered in your Lightroom catalog? Become a member of LensWork Online and have access to all 2800+ Here's a Thought… commentaries.

Here's a Thought… #2798 with Brooks Jensen Art That Is Not Pretty In this week's podcast, I was bemoaning the overload of pretty pictures we are surrounded with these days. A logical question then becomes What is an artistic photograph that isn't pretty? I think this question gets right to the heart of personally expressive photography. Become a member of LensWork Online and have access to all 2700+ Here's a Thought… commentaries.

Here's a Thought… #2797 with Brooks Jensen Artmaking Is Problem-Solving I have a daughter who loves puzzles. Watching her attack a puzzle reminds me of the process I engage when working on art. The end can often be visualized, but the means to get there cannot. That could almost be the definition of a puzzle. To reach the end requires innumerable steps almost all of which are essentially trial and error, or perhaps I should say "educated and deduced guess" followed by new understanding which leads to another educated guess. We sneak up on the answer rather than pouncing on it. Become a member of LensWork Online and have access to all 2700+ Here's a Thought… commentaries.

Here's a Thought… #2796 with Brooks Jensen Drive-by Misses The other day I was talking about my preference for base camp shooting rather than incessant travel. We've now been on the road for a month and I hate to think of how many things we've driven by that appealed to me photographically but were impossible to access because we're pulling the trailer. These drive-by misses are almost painful. Become a member of LensWork Online and have access to all 2700+ Here's a Thought… commentaries.