Fine Art

Stories like this one fill my heart back up with inspiration after times of discouragement. On August 16th, 2016 James Quigg, chief photographer of The DailyPress offered to cover the Blue Cut California wildfire as news of it came into the newsroom. They had just finished covering The Pilot Fire which had changed to a contained status that very day. He expected it to be a quick and easy story as he has learned over 25 years of being a journalist, the second fire was always smaller. When he arrived at the intersection of Interstate 15 and Highway 138 he stood in awe surrounded by flames in all four directions. As he observed the destruction he realized he'd be covering the largest fire of his career and this time he wanted to do something different that would be remembered for years.

Polish photographer Konrad Bak straddles the line between high concept fashion and lush fine art creations. Images collected in his book Konrad Bak PhotoART range from the elegant to the surreal could easily find a home in advertising campaigns or on gallery walls. However, Bak's work can surprisingly be found in the files of stock photography websites. challenging the perceptions of the quality and creativity many ascribe to stock.

When it comes to deciding how good a particular image is, there are three aspects that I think are most important: composition, lighting, and colors. These three properties could be described as the technical attributes of an image. There are those who have compared this image to The Birth of Venus and the Virgin Mary, based on a number of styling choices, one can see some similarities.

The closest art to photography is painting, and thus the two primary visual art forms share basic precepts regarding light and composition. In the same way photographers use different lenses, filters, and lights to achieve their vision, so too might they learn to use various time-honored, classical techniques in composition. While a polarizing filter is not used for every shot, neither is the golden ratio and sacred geometry. But just as every photographer will have a polarizing filter in their toolkit, so too will they have knowledge of sacred geometry, whose rules they can exalt, or break, at will.

Before taking on the definition of "fine art photography," perhaps we would be wise to consider Einstein's words: "Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods." Having said that, pretty much every single photographer oft considers their work and career in the context of "fine art."

Matthew Modine played the lead role of Pvt. Joker in Stanley Kubrick's iconic film about the Vietnam War. Modine used his personal Rolleiflex camera to capture behind-the-scenes images of the almost two years the film was in production. Now, he is auctioning 12 of those images off with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit the Purple Heart Foundation. The auction is timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the release of "Full Metal Jacket."

From Vanity Fair covers to designer fashion shows and theater stages, artist Sarah Oliphant has painted her way into the fabric of fashion by creating beautiful canvases worthy of framing on a scale large enough to become the industry's leading backdrop painter. Oliphant Studio has been creating scenic backdrops for photographers, film producers, fashion designers, architects, and interior designers since 1978. Along the way, Oliphant has collaborated with the top level of fashion and editorial portrait photographers including Annie Leibovitz, Steven Meisel, Patrick Demarchelier, Albert Watson, Mark Seliger, Norman Jean Roy, and Sue Bryce while also providing an inventory of backdrops available for rent to photographers beginning and advanced.

When I first watched "Past" part one in a three part art film series, I got goosebumps. Actor and movement-specialist Anthony Nikolchev and co-choreographer Gema Galiana directed and performed in these beautiful and moving short films. The films are very evocative, and made me see a clear connection and bridge between conceptual photography and video.

In an industry saturated with educational materials, navigating the minefield to find which resources are valuable, and worthy of your hard earned money, can be rough. As a photographer, I have purchased countless tutorials, books, and magazines. I have poured through blogs, YouTube videos, attended numerous workshops and endured some questionable Facebook Live sessions. When I tell you I have discovered a gem, it isn't because this is my first time mining.

Not every photographer needs lavish resources and an army of helpers to create dramatic images that belie their basic production. Lia Konrad is a 23-year-old fine art photographer based in a small town in Germany, but she hasn’t let modest resources stop her from following her passion to create epic images inspired by her love of fairytales, myths, and fictional stories for her website Liancary.

Can photography be more than just work? Can it be a calling? How do you know? And what if that calling coincides with a transformational period in world history and you are called upon to document every move? Lauren Greenfield’s new exhibition and book, “Generation Wealth” is a time capsule a quarter century in the making.

If you've been shooting any type of portraiture for a significant amount of time, you will likely find yourself working with a handful of subjects (or perhaps even just one) on a recurring basis. Most of us have been there, or are there right now. Perhaps you have one specific model that you've worked with for years (your "muse" as it were), or maybe you go in phases with a different select model for a few months before moving on to another. But is this practice a good idea or not?

Sometimes the only things standing between us and achieving our photography dreams is... ourselves.

With over one hundred exhibitions around the world and countless prestigious awards under his belt, 32 year old Czech photographer Martin Stranka, is blurring the lines between dreaming and awakening. His mesmerising body of work has culminated with his latest and most successful series where he showcases the plights of those who have rescued wild animals.

The next six months is prime time for shooting black and white landscapes, especially on those gloomy days which can add drama and "wow factor" to your images. I have some compelling reasons why I think you should consider converting from color to black and white.