Photographic meanderings

OK, OK, so I’m utterly ignorant of contemporary photographers. I’ll chalk it up to not owning a television this time. Oh, sure, PBS is a great station, but to be frank, I’d rather spend my time in front of the TV I can talk back to than the boob tube. Deirdre Skillman, Art’s Stock Photo Manager responded to my request to use this image (Hi, Deirdre!) and sent me the embed code. Sorry folks on the iPad, it’s Flash based, but you take what you’re given with gratitude. I’ve asked Deirdre for a plain old jpg URL, and hopefully she can provide. (Puppy-dog eyes in Deirdre’s direction)

I first heard of Art Wolfe in an article by Scott Bourne on finding good criticism: He said “If you want to comment on my photography, and you’re Art Wolfe, I’ll gladly listen to what you have to say. You see Art Wolfe has the standing to criticize my work. He has the credibility and the authority to give me advice that I care about.”

O-Kay. Who the hell is Art Wolfe? Google is my friend. Holy carpe diem. Yeah, if Art Wolfe were to offer critiques of my work, I’d definitely sit up and listen. The guy definitely has the chops. Like, totally. Ok, enough with the Valley Girl speak. He’s a shit-hot photog with the talent *and* the technical skills to really make a name for himself.

And he has.

Art hosts “Travels To The Edge”, a public television program. Man, sometimes I wish I had a TV. Then I remember I have the internets…
(googlegooglegoogle) Ah… here we go: Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe.

Not only that, but he’s successful enough to hire a “stock photo manager”. Damn.

The reason I chose to include the above image is because lately I’ve found myself frustrated with color photography. You may have noticed that my images have been rather monochromatic, and that’s because color has not really called to me lately. But Art’s “Batstars” really has made me re-think color work, and to not be afraid of color. I think my problem is that right now the Sierra is lacking this kind of vibrancy for me.

Thank you, Art and Deirdre.

Heart of Stone by Guy Tal
If you’re not familiar with Guy Tal’s work, you should be. His work reminds me of one of my earliest influences, Eliot Porter. Guy has a native talent for spotting patterns in the abstract landscape, and has developed that talent with extreme skill. As a result, his images are evocative, subtle and rich. He is accomplished in the use of color, as well as monochrome. Go peruse his images! You can also enjoy his blog here.

http://guytal.com/

Robert Pierce really nailed this particular shot of the flooding of Badwater salt flats last month. It’s well composed, the colors are incredible, and captures an intense mood. Thank you, Robert, for sharing this remarkable image with us, and allowing us to use the “Blog this photo” feature on Flickr!

This image is currently my desktop wallpaper. Jim Goldstein just Tweeted the URL to the story of this incredible image, and I’d like to share it with you:

iphonejd.com

The Palouse has fascinated me for some time now; Kevin McNeal’s image shows why.

G. Dan Mitchell has kindly consented to allow me to display this stunning image of Iceberg Lake. Dan is a fellow backpacking photographer here in the Sierra Nevada, and the only person ever to describe me as “peripatetic”. Thanks Dan! (At least he didn’t call me “somnambulant”).

Greg tells of a sprint around the lake to get this shot before the light was gone. Good job, Greg, and thank you for allowing blogging.