Ann Torrence Photography

Aspen on the Awapa Plateau

2012-01-31T23:57:26Z

Last fall I was stuck at the camper at Stray Arrow without a car, waiting to see if we were actually breaking ground and to catch the errant disaster-in-making with our permit. Guy Tal gave me a day-long reprieve from interminable waiting by taking me out to the Awapa Plateau. (He’s been going there a lot.) He wandered off, as he is wont to do. I went that-away instead. It didn’t look like much at the edge, but this pocket of forest entranced me.

I went on that expedition that day with no expectations for what kind of pictures I would make. I was just a tagalong. But If I hadn’t said yes to an expedition that day, I wouldn’t have made this picture. Say yes. Say yes unless there is a very good reason to say no.

Only one more photo

2012-01-11T17:43:12Z

Taco cart vendor, Salt Lake City

Only one more photo, he said. Then he started flipping tortillas. I kept shooting

While I am tapping my toes with anticipation for the move to the ranch, I’m pretending that I’ve already moved. I am trying to experience Salt Lake City as I will when I come visit for the occasional teaching gig or shopping trip. When getting street tacos on New Year’s Day will be a treat. I have lived here almost 19 years–I wonder how many new things I can try here in the few weeks before moving day.

Already on the list: a visit to the Leonardo, with some dozens of pals from Photowalking Utah. Join us on the 21st, won’t you?

Out with the old-remember to update for 2012

2012-01-03T15:53:11Z

Friendly reminder for the new year: update those blogs and webpages, Lightroom watermarks, and in-camera settings to 2012.

Free

2011-12-21T17:25:43Z

Free! (Charlottesville, VA)

Looking back at my productivity in 2011, or lack thereof as this selling my house-moving-building-temporary lodging transition sucked a huge amount of time and creative energy. With the house really underway, I am refocusing on I want to accomplish next as an artist and I’m not waiting for this year to drag out any longer.

One thing I am going to be free of in 2012 is the idea that I have to keep all the plates spinning at once. I made a list, GTD-style, of all my projects I might want to do, and all the next conceivable actions for each one. It’s an exciting and daunting list: at least 3 book-length photo series, some more writing, an apple orchard. Instead of trying to do them all at once, I am picking no more than 3 projects a week to work on. Next week, it might be 3 different ones.

It’s going to be interesting to see which ones I move along the furthest in the course of the year. Trying to do them all at once is crazy-making, so this is really about maximizing happiness of the process of making art, and indirectly productivity. I can juggle 3 balls at once–that’s plenty for me right now.

Take a seat

2011-12-15T14:45:30Z

Adirondack chairs in a Buffalo, NY, public park

No one will be taking these without bolt cutters. I debated briefly whether to clone out the cable, but it stayed. Yes they’d be prettier without, but so would a lot of things that get anchored down.

St. Judes of San Xavier del Bac

2011-12-09T18:05:43Z

Statuettes of St. Jude at San Xavier del Bac in Tucson, Arizona

If I lived in Tucson, I would photograph at San Xavier del Bac every chance I could.

Article in Photoshop User magazine

2011-12-01T23:03:58Z

I’ve been a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals for years and a big fan of the magazine Photoshop User. This month they have published an article by…me! Here’s what they said about it:

Dustcatcher Spot Removal Redux

What’s the one thing that every photographer has to deal with? That’s right—dust (did the title above give the answer away?). Several years ago, Kevin Ames showed us how to track down and eliminate dust using Photoshop. Ann Torrence shows us how to use tone curves and the Spot Removal tool to battle dust in Lightroom. It’s a never-ending struggle, but this technique will take the fight out of the dust in your images.

It feels great to be able to give back to a community that helped me along the way. If you aren’t a member, you can request a free sample issue on the website. The information in those magazines makes my membership in NAPP is one of the first things in my budget every year.

Since I had something to actually write about (several things actually), I took it as a nudge to finally write up my first newsletter. The one I’ve been ~~threatening~~ promising to do for literally years. You can see it here. There’s a link in it to a rock-bottom discount price for the Highway 89 books. If you want to get a newsletter every couple of months, you can subscribe to my list.

And since I’m chock full o’news today, the date has been set for PhotowalkingUtah’s annual excursion to Temple Square to photograph the lights: December 20. Look here for time and meet-up location, gather up your woolies, tripod and Santa hat, and we’ll see you there!

Inspired by: students of Andy Warhol

2011-11-28T17:01:02Z

In a town where the mayor is actively campaigning against the federal government’s right to protect the nation’s public lands, the last thing you expect to see is school children’s artwork inspired by Andy Warhol.

Run with the winners

2011-11-28T17:31:01Z

At the stick-horse race finish line, 2011 Wayne County Fair, Loa, Utah

Ta Da! Snappola! issued its first edition this week. That makes it sound like it did it by itself. I did it. Snappola has been a five year dream to create a venue for great photographers, especially those from the west, to find new audiences. I’m doing a slow launch to sort out the logistics of fulfillment, but will be releasing a new print from a different photographer each week, with lots of surprises in store. If you love photography, signing up on Snappola’s mailing list to get a weekly heads-up on the new releases, or follow via Twitter and Facebook.

My accountability partner gave me a single assignment this week: keep the plates spinning. It’s been admittedly crazy. Besides lauching Snappola!, the house-building reached a critical and demanding phase. I gave two talks for the Utah Humanities Council book festival and in St. George finally met some interview subjects that revitalized my next book idea. Then there’s actually making a photo or two in the next week while I travel to Buffalo, New York and Phoenix, Arizona. Not complaining, it is exciting times, but I appreciated the reality check. I don’t need to run any faster just right now.

If you are a AAA member, you might have seen a story about me and Highway 89 in Via Magazine. I was as surprised as anyone-it ran in the northwest regional version of the magazine a few months ago. This time it’s in the issue that covers Northern California, parts of Oregon and Utah and the books have been flying out the door. I’ve been shipping a shocking quantity to Amazon, totally unexpected. And timely, because those are books I won’t have to move to Stray Arrow.

The house-building is giving me a chance to play with time-lapses. Lightroom and QuickTime make it really easy to put them together. I’m shooting them with my Nikon D700′s intervalometer. The clouds in this one are fascinating…more of that to explore once I make the move down south. That move can’t come soon enough to suit me.

One last thing: go check out Charles Uibel’s chance discovery at the Great Salt Lake. It makes me laugh every time.

All over the Beehive State

2011-09-28T14:03:23Z

Beehive cupcakes, 2010 Emery County Fair

As I loaded my blog’s event calendar, it hit me that I am going to be one busy bee in October. I’m talking at REI, the Salt Lake City Book Festival and the St. George Book Festival. I’m also teaching my Nuts & Bolts class.

Somehow I have to squeeze in the great line-up of speakers at Pictureline’s DigitalFest. In between we are going to start excavation at Stray Arrow, and I’m going to take a short trip out of our fair state to do an apple-tasting at Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello.

And tomorrow I go test-drive tractors in Sanpete Valley. I may have a lot going on this fall, but it’s going to take some real horse-power come springtime.