Jeff Curtos Camera Position

Camera Position 93 : Symbolism & Metaphor

Jeff Curto — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:30:49 +0000

Camera Position is back! After a too-long hiatus, I’m back with a great series of ideas about the creative side of photography. In this episode, metaphor and symbol and the way they can enhance our photographs.

Camera Position 92 : A Gallery for Fine Photography in New Orleans

Jeff Curto — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:38:45 +0000

In this episode, Camera Position takes a field trip! A great visit to A Gallery for Fine Photography in New Orleans, Louisiana and a great conversation with gallery owner Joshua Mann Pailet links up the idea of collecting photographs with a consummate collector.

Joshua Mann Pailet

A Gallery for Fine Photography - Interior

Fox Talbot at A Gallery for Fine Photography

Links for this episode:

Camera Position 91 : Living With Art

Jeff Curto — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:45:31 +0000

Living with art… if we were wanting to be writers, we’d read books and we’d collect work by our favorite authors. As photographers, living with work by artists we admire is an important part of living the artful life. This podcast talks about how important it is for us to collect photographs we love and live with them in our homes.

Scroll down to see images from this podcast and to listen to and see the podcast.

Links for this Episode:

Tami Bone Photography
Beth Dow Photography
Jeff’s Italy Photography Workshops or email Jeff for info jeff@jeffcurto.com
20×200 project
Jen Beckman Gallery
Jeff’s LensWork Folio

"Nightfall" - Photograph by Tami Bone

"Passage, Levens Hall" - Photograph by Beth Dow

Jeff's LensWork Folio as framed and displayed by collector

Camera Position 90 : Inertia & Inspiration

Jeff Curto — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 23:06:37 +0000

Sometimes inertia gets the best of us and inertia was responsible for Camera Position’s absence these last few months. And photography can be like that, as well. This is the story of how one picture helped get me moving on a beautiful day in Rome and that same picture helped get me moving on talking about photography here on Camera Position.

Roma, Lazio, 2010 - Photograph by Jeff Curto

Jeff’s Italy Photography Workshops

Camera Position 89 : Camera Position & Camera Distance

Jeff Curto — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:30:44 +0000

Camera position and camera distance… are they the same thing? As we position the camera, are we also thinking about how we position ourselves relative to the subject? By looking at work by August Sander, the Bechers, Andreas Gursky, Tina Barney and Jessica Todd Harper, we examine ideas about how we distance ourselves from a subject.

Above: Photographs by August Sander, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Andreas Gursky and Jessica Todd Harper

Links for this episode:

Camera Position 88 : Desert Island Photographs – Part 2

Jeff Curto — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:46:54 +0000

In this, the second of a two-part “desert island photograph” project, we cover more Camera Position listeners describing that one image that they’d take with them for visual sustenance if they were stranded on a desert island.

Links for this episode:

Jeff’s a Guest on Paul Giguere’s “Thoughts on Photography” Podcast

Jeff Curto — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:38:05 +0000

I had the great pleasure of being an interview guest on Paul Giguere’s great podcast “Thoughts on Photography.” We talked about all sorts of topics, concentrating on the education of a photographer, both formally and informally. We also talked about my LensWork Folio and how that came to be.

Take a listen and check out the rest of Paul’s episodes; he’s got a great podcast. Thanks to Paul for having me on!

Camera Position 87 : Desert Island Photographs – Part 1

Jeff Curto — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:44:46 +0000

Back in Camera Position #83, I asked Camera Position listeners to pick their one “desert island photograph;” that one image that they’d take with them for visual sustenance if they were stranded on a desert island. This episode shares the first few of those responses; others will follow in the next episode. Thanks to those of you who submitted!

Links for this episode:

Camera Position 86 : Italy Photo Workshops – Photographing and Editing in Rome & Tuscany

Jeff Curto — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:30:44 +0000

One of my goals for my workshops is to help the participants learn how to cope with the volume of images that they are making and to edit their images so that the group of photographs becomes their own. This podcast is a partial response to my friend Brooks Jensen using his podcast platform to ask who is teaching this important skill to today’s photographers. Of course, my workshops are about looking and seeing and being in the world as a photographer, but we also work with ideas about how to express who you are and what you think in a series or group of images.

Just a few spots remain in my Italy photography workshops for June, 2010. Join us for “Your Story of Rome” Rome (June 1 to 5) or “In Search of the Personal – Photographing Southern Tuscany” (June 5 to 12) and explore the way the editorial process helps make meaning possible.

Links for this Episode:

Jeff’s Italy Photography Workshops – June, 2010
Student Work from the 2009 workshop
Brooks Jensen’s LensWork Podcast – “Where are the Editorial Workshops?” (.mp3 file in a new window)
Brooks Jensen’s LensWork Podcast on iTunes and the podcast on the web
Jeff’s LensWork Folio – “Evidence of Hands on Stone: The Italian Portfolio”

Students from the 2009 workshop in action:

Camera Position 85 : A Bazillion Photographs

Jeff Curto — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:30:05 +0000

From the series "Strut" by David Quigg

Bonnie (with a photograph of an Angel) by Alec Soth

In a world populated by billions and billions of images, with more being made every second, how do we find a path for ourselves as image makers? We look at the dilemma of quantity and quality in this episode.

Links for this Podcast

Camera Position 84 : Interesting Visual Friends

Jeff Curto — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:20:13 +0000

Nurturing a set of “interesting visual friends” is one of the ways we can help create an environment of creativity around us. We can do that by networking both in the virtual space of today’s social networking tools and in the real world space of spending time with other photographers. This podcast episode talks about ways we can build networks of people who share our interests.

We also talk about the Society for Photographic Education national conference in Philadelphia March 4 to 7, 2010 and announce the availability of my Italy photography workshops in Rome (June 1 to 5) and Tuscany (June 5 to 12).

Links for this episode:

Jeff’s a guest on “One Minute How To”

Jeff Curto — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:58:20 +0000

Just a quick post to report that George over at the One Minute How To podcast invited me to participate in his fun show, where people explain how to do something in 60 seconds.

This was my second time on the show, the first one, “How To Publish Your Project In A Book” is here.

This episode was about “How to Buy and Use a Tripod.”

Check it out here

New Focus Ring Podcast Now Live

Jeff Curto — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 01:32:12 +0000

The Focus Ring returns with a new format where each contributor submits 2 of their own images to discuss the topic of Light & Shadow. Contributors Chris Marquardt (Tips from the Top Floor), Jeff Curto (The History of Photography and Camera Position), Martin Bailey (Martin Bailey Photography Podcast) and Ibarionex Perello (The Candid Frame & Shooting with Alas) join together to discuss the importance of shadow in the creation of a successful photograph.

Find the podcast on the web or at iTunes

Let us know what you think of that format and what topics you might be interested in hearing discussed on the show.

Camera Position 83 : What’s On Your Desert Island?

Jeff Curto — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 22:30:20 +0000

If you were stranded on a desert island, what one photograph would you bring along to sustain you visually? I’m soliciting Camera Position listeners’ “Desert Island Photographs” and asking them to send me the one photograph they think would keep them visually “fed.” Listen to the podcast to find out how to play along.

Eugene Atget’s “Lampshade Seller” (above) is one of Jeff’s Desert Island Photos

Aperture Giveaway Winners Chosen!

Jeff Curto — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 03:05:29 +0000

I’m delighted to announce the winners of the Apple Aperture software giveaway!

I used the great resource of the “third party draw” option at Random.org to pick the 3 winners out of 51 entries.

The winners are:

Roger Walton
Mark Darrough
Rebecca Bryant

You can see the Random.org results here:
http://www.random.org/draws/details/?draw=1316

Thanks for playing, but mostly, thanks for listening to Camera Position!

Camera Position 82 : Beauty Begs to be Recorded

Jeff Curto — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 21:49:26 +0000

“Many times beauty begs to be recorded and it is only later that its position in the overall order of things becomes apparent.” So said podcast listener Bryant Johnson, a sentence that made me think about how we photograph and the ways that we can produce work just by looking and responding.

After our time talking about project planning, I thought this was a great way to segue into a discussion of beauty, photographic impulse and how this picture of a cloud taught me a few things.

Cloud Over Lake Superior, 2009 - Photograph by Jeff Curto

Links for this podcast:

Bryant Johnson’s Website
LensWork – Link to Jeff’s new Folio
Fred Picker’s Zone VI Workshop book at Amazon
Friend Jeff on Facebook
Follow Jeff on Twitter
Jeff’s Channel on YouTube

Camera Position 81 : Project Planning Roadmap – DAM!

Jeff Curto — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:29:10 +0000

In our final “Project Planning Roadmap” podcast, we talk about DAM – Digital Asset Management – trying to get a handle on what these software packages can do for you. Rating, sorting, grouping, keywording and adjusting your images is what applications like Apple Aperture and Adobe Lightroom are all about. If you’re using them, you know, but if not, it’s a really great way to get organized, stay organized and keep your project on track.

Links for this episode:

DAM Links:

The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers - Peter Krogh’s excellent book
UPDIG – Universal Photographic Digital Imaging Guidelines is an organization dedicated clarifying the issues affecting accurate reproduction and management of digital image files.
Controlled Vocabulary – Great information on how to choose and use keywords
ASMP’s Digital Photography Standards and Practices – An outstanding and important collection of ideas about standards and practices for professional digital photography
DP Bestflow - A new site, also from ASMP, that aims to clarify issues related to digital photography workflow

Apple Aperture Links:

Apple’s Aperture website - Starter tips from the Mothership
Aperture Tutorials - Excellent “start to finish” video tutorials
Apple Pro Training Series: Aperture 2 – The best book I’ve found on Aperture
Aperture Users Network- One of the best websites for Aperture support and info
Aperture Plugins – Aperture’s architecture is extensible by the use of plug-ins… some paid, some free
I’m giving away three copies of Aperture – Listen to the podcast for details

Lightroom Links:

Adobe’s Lightroom website – Starter tips from the Mothership
Julieanne Kost on Lightroom – Adobe’s Diva of the Demo with great information about Lightroom
The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers – The best book I’ve found on Lightroom
Lightroom Killer Tips – A great website/podcast about Lightroom
Lightroom Plugins – Lightroom’s architecture is extensible by the use of plug-ins; here’s Adobe’s clearing house

Jeff’s LensWork Folio – Evidence of Hands on Stone: The Italian Portfolio

Jeff’s Work Released as a LensWork Special Editions Folio

Jeff Curto — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:00:56 +0000

Jeff's "Evidence of Hands on Stone" Folio - Cover

In May of 2005, I was honored to have LensWork magazine publish a selection of my images under the title Bella Luce. Now, I’m very excited to announce that I’ve been asked to participate in LensWork’s Folio series. The beautifully-produced “Evidence of Hands on Stone” folio can be thought of as a hybrid between an individual print and a book. It’s a collection of 10 unbound prints – book-size rather than wall-size prints.

LensWork has produced a really beautiful package that I’m very proud of. These subjects of the photographs are the evidence of patient application of hands on stone, allowing extraordinary things to be created from ordinary materials. Over time, layers of the past and present combine to create something that will remain to be seen in the future.

This is a great way to own a beautiful package of my work at a lower cost than my limited-edition prints. Check it out here.

Camera Position 80 : Project Planning Roadmap – A Place For Your Stuff!

Jeff Curto — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:33:56 +0000

A place for your all your stuff! The next part of planning and producing a project has to do with managing your content. Where do you store it? How do you get at it? Can you find it when you need it? We take a look at these issues in this episode.

Links for this Episode:

Italy Workshops – June, 2010

Camera Position 79 : A Workshop Overview

Jeff Curto — Sun, 31 May 2009 14:57:02 +0000

Taking a quick break from our project planning roadmap series, this episode of Camera Position spends some time looking at a few of the wonderful photographs produced by participants in my first-ever photography workshop in Tuscany, Italy. This podcast episode looks at two images from each of the participants. The rest of their great projects can be seen in the link below.

Our workshop classroom - Photograph by Gary Lewis

Students in the 2009 Photography Workshop in Tuscany produced some really great images. As a “final project,” they made wonderful slideshows. Check them out below:

Tuscany Workshop Student Slideshows

Jeff Curto — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:50:23 +0000

Above: Photograph by Bud Hines – Siena Pants Lovers

Students in the 2009 Photography Workshop in Tuscany produced some really great images. As a “final project,” they made wonderful slideshows. Check them out below:

Camera Position 78 : Project Planning Roadmap – Audience & Distribution

Jeff Curto — Mon, 18 May 2009 04:25:39 +0000

Who is your audience and how will they best see the work? Audience and Distribution considers not only who is interested in the work you’re producing, but also to consider how they can access the work you’re creating.

Links for this podcast:

Books from Blurb.com
Portfolio reviews at Photo Lucida

A few shots of the Tuscany Workshop folks in action…

Jeff Curto — Sun, 17 May 2009 21:55:28 +0000

A great time is being had at my first annual photo workshop in Tuscany, Italy.

Amazing photo opportunities, a really fine group of photographers and stunning food… we’re having a great, exciting time filled with learning and fun.

Here are a couple images from the first couple of days of the workshop (click to enlarge).

–Jeff

Camera Position 77 : Project Planning Roadmap – Production: Needs, Habits & Goals

Jeff Curto — Tue, 12 May 2009 03:41:45 +0000

Now that we have an idea for a project and a mission for what that project will do and for whom, we have to start making some images and actually creating the body of work. This episode deals with our needs, our habits and our goals, all aspects of project time managment.

Camera Position 76 : Project Planning Roadmap – Passion & Mission

Jeff Curto — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 05:59:46 +0000

Taking passion and combining it with purpose gives you a direction in your work. This episode talks about taking the list of 20 things that are important and using that passion to build a mission for your photography.

Passion & Mission PDF

Camera Position 75 : Project Planning Roadmap – What Do You Care About?

Jeff Curto — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 08:33:49 +0000

What do you care about? What things are really important to you as a person in the world? The next step in the project planning roadmap is to make a list of at least 20 things that are really important to you. We’ll use this list in the next episode of Camera Position,

Camera Position 74 : Project Planning Roadmap – New Idea Germination and “Hard & Soft”

Jeff Curto — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:26:31 +0000

The second part of the Photographer’s Project Planning Roadmap series looks at idea germination; how do you find new ideas and nurture them?

Download the Hard & Soft exercise PDF

Camera Position 73 : The Project Planning Roadmap – An Introduction

Jeff Curto — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 09:01:57 +0000

Defining and planning a project is one of the most useful ways to build a body of work, learn about yourself and learn about your personal response to photography. With this podcast, we start a series of Camera Position episodes that will create and follow a project planning roadmap for photographers.

Camera Position 72 – Photographer’s Bookshelf #5

Jeff Curto — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 20:37:06 +0000

Photographer’s Bookshelf #5 highlights a stunning and interesting reprinting of Robert Frank’s important 1959 book “The Americans,” a must-have for your photographic book collection. Also, a reminder about registration for the Tuscany Workshop May 16 to 23, 2009 – the registration deadline is Friday, February 6 – register now!

In Search of the Personal : Photographing Tuscany with Jeff Curto

Camera Position Special Edition : Tuscany Workshop Announcement

Jeff Curto — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:39:20 +0000

I am very pleased to announce that I will be leading a workshop to Tuscany this May.

In Search of the Personal:
Photographing Tuscany with Jeff Curto

Saturday, May 16 to Saturday, May 23, 2009

For more information, visit www.photographitaly.com

Enjoy a photographic journey where you will experience many aspects of Tuscany’s remarkable culture, landscape and hill towns and work towards a personal photographic response to the Tuscan sense of place.

Working from our base at the beautiful Casa Cornacchi, located near Bucine, ideally situated in the Chianti area halfway between Siena and Arezzo, we will fan out across the Tuscan landscape and explore hill towns, markets, vineyards and the remarkable architecture of the region. By immersing ourselves in the culture, we will get to know the people, food and wine of the region. I will push you to go beyond the picturesque and help you discover your own response to the texture, rhythm and spirit of Tuscany.

This workshop is limited to a maximum of 12 participants in order to ensure the best level of personal instructional attention. This is an intermediate-level photographic experience; participants should have at least three years experience making photographs, have a basic understanding of photographic processes and technology and should be comfortable using a digital SLR camera in manual mode.

Camera Position 71 : How To Get Really Good at Photography

Jeff Curto — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:21:07 +0000

How to get really good at photography! Finally, the secret is revealed. Turns out, it’s not all that hard… just live a life in the world. And make pictures.

Tractor, Sycamore Steam Fest, 2008 and Spring Grapevine, Tuscany, 2008
Photographs by Jeff Curto (click for a larger view)

Books mentioned in the podcast:

Camera Position 70 : Go With the Gestalt (part 2)

Jeff Curto — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 07:56:15 +0000

Part two of our examination of the concepts of Gestalt in composition. Gestalt is a psychology of visual communication that helps explain how the mind works to make sense of the visual world. This episode talks about “similarity” and “proximity.”

Photographs by Jeff Curto (click for a larger view)

Camera Position 69 : Go With the Gestalt (part 1)

Jeff Curto — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 05:08:43 +0000

We examine the concepts of Gestalt as they relates to composition. Gestalt is a psychology of visual communication that helps explain how the mind works to make sense of the visual world. This episode talks about “Closure” and “Continuance.”

Photographs by Jeff Curto

Podcast of PhotoPlus Expo Presentation Posted

Jeff Curto — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:36:53 +0000

I’ve posted both the Enhanced and Audio-Only podcasts of my presentation on Podcasting and Digital Storytelling from PhotoPlus Expo last week. The content is semi-off-topic for Camera Position, so I’m just pointing to it from this blog post. If you’re interested in podcasting or making slide shows from your photographs, you might want to check it out.

Jeff’s a guest on One Minute How To

Jeff Curto — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:36:58 +0000

Just a quick post to report that George over at the One Minute How To podcast invited me to participate in his fun show, where people explain how to do something in 60 seconds.

Mine was “How To Publish Your Project In A Book”

Check it out here:

Jeff’s One Minute How To

Camera Position 68 : Zoom With Your Feet!

Jeff Curto — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:35:57 +0000

Zoom with your feet! Zoom lenses can interfere with the creative process by letting you get lazy with where you’re positioning your camera. Switching to a “prime” lens of a single focal length can help your composition and your thought process. We also look at “The Poor Man’s Tripod” – a simple device for helping to steady your camera.

Photographs by Jeff Curto (click for larger versions)

Poor Man’s Tripod

Camera Position 67 : The Mind as Camera

Jeff Curto — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:48:59 +0000

Photographers must love the act of photographing; the mechanics of making a picture. But, before that, they have to love the simple act of seeing the world around them. Some pictures are best made without a camera.

Lunch – Still Life with Tomato & Basil Salad – Photograph by Jeff Curto

“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.”
- Dorothea Lange

” I am always mentally photographing everything as practice.”
-Minor White

Camera Position 66 : Memory and the Photograph

Jeff Curto — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:13:19 +0000

Human memory is a curious thing; sometimes it’s spot-on perfect, other times it’s altered by the passage of time. Photographs are a way that we can extend or enhance our memories and this episode is about a way that my memory was both rewarded and tested in the Italian mountain village of Scanno.

Camera Position 65 : What Are You Lookin’ At? How do you Know?

Jeff Curto — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 07:40:15 +0000

Photography is about doing, but it’s also about thinking… looking, seeing, appreciating. It’s possible to learn more about photography just by doing it, but it’s a lot easier when you pay attention to how others do it. This episode of Camera Position discusses the ideas of connoisseurship; the art of how we come to know what’s good. Looking at, studying and collecting photographs that you love is a part of learning photography.

Marion Post-Wolcott – Biscuit lady, a member of Wilkins family making biscuits on corn-husking day, North Carolina, 1939

Links for this episode:

Camera Position 64 : Old Tools

Jeff Curto — Fri, 16 May 2008 07:43:49 +0000

Those of us who work with traditional photographic tools sometimes wonder… will those things disappear in the face of the digital revolution? Will we be stuck in the middle of an island with no way to produce images? We consider those ideas in this episode.

Links for this episode:

B&H Photo – Great source for photo supplies
Bostick & Sullivan – materials for handcrafted photography
Freestyle Photo – Keepers of the old-school flame
Pinhole Resource – It doesn’t get any more simple than this

Camera Position 63 : Beauty and Background

Jeff Curto — Wed, 07 May 2008 06:09:25 +0000

What is an “arts background”? Whether we know it or not, I think we all have one. Having a background in creativity is about synthesizing things that we already know and combining them with new things that we learn to come up with wholly new ideas.

Venice, Sunrise – Photograph by Jeff Curto
(click for a larger view)

Camera Position 62 : Is Beauty Enough?

Jeff Curto — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 08:25:12 +0000

Is beauty enough in a photograph? It’s an odd concept in photography, especially in today’s visual world where so many photographers seem to ignore it. Or… are they ignoring it? We take a look.

Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Abruzzo, 2007
Photograph by Jeff Curto
(click to enlarge)

Links for this Episode:

Robert Adams’ Beauty in Photography @ Amazon.com
Alec Soth’s contemporary “landscape” photography
Derek Henderson’s The Terrible Boredom of Paradise
Camera Position #49 – “Know Thy Subject”
- Terry Bowyer’s comment
- Jeff’s response to Terry
Ted Byrne’s essay in response to this podcast at his Imagefiction blog

The Camera in The Cathedral: Camera Position goes Historical

Jeff Curto — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 01:31:03 +0000

The Camera in The Cathedral: A Brief History of Photography of the Natural World

In a bit of “podcast cross-pollination,” I’m presenting an episode of my history of photography podcast here on Camera Position. If you’ve heard the Photo History podcast of this same topic, you’ve heard this podcast, but for those Camera Position listeners who don’t listen to the Photo History podcast, I thought this topic might prove useful to you.

From the very beginning of the medium, photographers have wanted to portray their sense of wonder and awe in the face of the natural world through the camera’s lens, often offering up nature as the Great American Cathedral. This romantic tradition continues, but the mid-20th century saw a change in the way photographers looked at the world around them; a change that altered the face of photography

By looking at photographs from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, we’ll explore the ways photographers have recorded and interpreted nature with the camera.

Mayslake Nature Study and Photography Club – Oakbrook, IL
The Machine in the Garden Revisited – American Environmentalism and Photographic Aesthetics (PDF) – an article by Deborah Bright
Handout for this podcast episode
Slides for this podcast episode

Camera Position 61 : Summer Peaches on a Winter’s Day

Jeff Curto — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:14:08 +0000

A cold winter’s day prompted me to work on a warm-day photograph, then to make a cold-day photograph. Also, we celebrate Camera Position’s 2nd birthday and talk briefly about the Photocast Network and the Focus Ring podcast.

Peach, Toscana, 2007 & Snow Apple, 2008; Photographs by Jeff Curto
(click images for larger views)

Links for this episode:

Camera Position 60 : Back to Basics – Composition

Jeff Curto — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 04:16:21 +0000

Camera Position goes back to basics with an overview of the essentials of photographic composition, including the Rule of Thirds, Leading Lines, Framing and Balance. Also, a mention of the work of photographer Ron Diorio.

Tractored Out – photograph by Dorothea Lange

Links for this episode:

Slides for this episode of Camera Position
Camera Position on iTunes – Leave a comment!
Ron Diorio’s website
Ron at the Peter Hay Halpert Gallery, NYC
Giuseppe Cavallo on Flickr - Thanks for the show idea, Giuseppe!

Podcasting & Digital Storytelling at PhotoPlus Expo

Jeff Curto — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 21:17:15 +0000

I’ve just posted the audio and presentation slides of the session I did a few weeks ago at PhotoPlus Expo in New York.

The presentation was about how to create podcasts and other “digital storytelling” pieces and covers software, hardware and workflow for multimedia projects. At a little over 2 hours, it’s longer than a typical Camera Position podcast, so I’m not presenting it as one, but rather linking to the presentation’s web page, which contains a variety of resources that include the presentation slides, the presentation audio and links to a wide variety of resources.

Take a look….

Camera Position 59 : Evidence of Hands on Stone

Jeff Curto — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 06:39:21 +0000

After an insanely busy fall, I’m back in front of the podcast mic, talking about photography. In this episode of Camera Position, we go to the Midwest Society of Photographic Education conference in Flint, Michigan, where I presented a 40 minute talk about my photographs of Italy. This episode of camera position is that presentation, including its visuals, The Italian Portfolio: Evidence of Hands on Stone.

Links for this episode:

Camera Position 58 – Pictures of an Exhibition

Jeff Curto — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:12:35 +0000

Getting your work out there… how do you do it? We take a look at some responses to an exhibition I just had at the University of La Verne in California and see how that might fit into how you can show your work.

Irene Carlson Gallery of Photography – University of La Verne, La Verne California

Photographs by Dale Dellinger (left) and Paul Viapiano (center and right)

Click images for a larger view

Perugia, Umbria, 1999

Photograph by Jeff Curto – click image for a larger view

Links for this podcast:

Camera Position 57 : Photographer’s Bookshelf #4

Jeff Curto — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 08:46:49 +0000

Can you become a selfless photographer and reach a state of Zen with your camera? Fourth in an irregular series of “books for photographers’ bookshelves” is Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel, where Herrigel’s works towards the “perfect shot.” Replace “bow” with “camera,” “arrow” with “shutter” and “target” with “photograph” and you have a wonderful little book about how to stop thinking and start making.

Left: Old cover art for book Zen in the Art of Archery

Center: Windowsill Daydreaming – Photograph by Zenmaster Photographer Minor White

Right: New cover art for book Zen in the Art of Archery

Zen in the Art of Archery @ Amazon.com

Dirk Rossler’s Megaperls weblog – Thanks for your comment, Dirk!

Camera Position 56 : The Parable of the Sheep

Jeff Curto — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 07:29:46 +0000

Abruzzo Sheep – Photograph by Jeff Curto
(click for a larger view)

Photographers should always use the right tool for the job, right? But what if you’re stuck with the wrong tool in the right situation? You just wing it, that’s what, and sometimes something interesting happens. That was the case with me this summer when I was stuck with my 4×5 camera in a situation that really demanded a smaller, more mobile machine. Lemonade out of lemons? Lamb chops out of… wait… no… bad analogy…

Camera Position 55 : Does Size Matter?

Jeff Curto — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 07:01:17 +0000

Montepulciano, Toscana, 1998 - Photograph by Jeff Curto

Yes, it’s the age old question… does size matter? Does the size of the prints we make change how we view the images? Have you ever made a large print of your work? Here’s an image that I recently had The Print Lab print to a very large size for me.

In the podcast, I also talk about a new exhibition I have at the University of LaVerne in LaVerne, CA, and about a new series of History of Photography Podcasts, and about a new episode of the Focus Ring podcast

Camera Position 54 : Photograph like a Child

Jeff Curto — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:22:50 +0000

Summer’s lazy days put me in the mind of childhood and a recent encounter with some ideas by Pablo Picasso and some photographs by French photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue (1894-1986) made me think about how important a childlike sense of wonder is to photographers.

Picasso said:

“All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” – Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso – Two Women on the Beach

Lartigue started taking photos when he was 6, his subject matter being primarily his own life and the people and activities in it. So, as a child he photographed his friends and family at play – running and jumping, racing wheeled soap boxes, building kites, etc.

Photographs by Jacques Henri Lartigue

Jacques Henri Lartigue at Masters of Photography

Camera Position 53 : Realizing the Image

Jeff Curto — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 00:37:56 +0000

An image isn’t finished until it starts to feel like what you saw. Here is a brief look at the way I approached the post-production (what we used to call “darkroom work”) of this recent image from Gubbio, a marvelously medieval town in northern Umbria, Italy. The differences are subtle, but the idea is to more accurately capture the feeling and mood of the time of exposure.

For a great overview of how to create outstanding prints of your own images (even in the digital age!) check out Ansel Adams’ The Print.

Gubbio, Umbria, 2007 – Photograph by Jeff Curto
click image for a larger view

Camera Position 52 : Tossing Your Preconceptions

Jeff Curto — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 23:02:51 +0000

Preconceived notions about what you’re going to photograph can keep you from finding good images that you may have missed. This episode of Camera Position examines how I nearly fell into that trap in Gubbio, a beautiful town in Italy’s Umbria province.

Images of La Festa Dei Ceri, Gubbio, Umbria by Jeff Curto

click images for larger views

Camera Position 51 : Travel Gear

Jeff Curto — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 20:56:11 +0000

Traveling with a camera involves planning. A lot of folks have asked me about traveling with the large format camera, and in this episode of Camera Postiion, I detail the gear that I take on the road.

Links for this podcast:

Camera Position 50 : Messages From Your Website

Jeff Curto — Wed, 16 May 2007 14:32:37 +0000

What does your website say about who you are as a photographer? Does your site clearly define your goals or do you use your site’s pages as a dumping ground for every photograph you’ve ever made?

In this episode of Camera Position, I look at the way in which web pages can tell us whether our photographs – and what we tell the world about them- are on-target or missing the mark.

In addition to Kenna and Blackmon’s websites linked above, here are some other web resources for this podcast:

PDN Online – Photo District News’ website
PDN Photo Annual – The list of PDN’s “best of the best” for this year
Jeff’s Website – My website’s homepage
Evidence of Hands on Stone – My domain that points to my main project

Camera Position 49 : Know Thy Subject

Jeff Curto — Mon, 07 May 2007 07:37:42 +0000

In order to make photographs that are meaningful, it really helps to know your subject in intimate detail. In this episode, I talk about subject research, and about how knowing your subject can be one of the best paths to good photographs.

Gubbio, Umbria – Photograph by Jeff Curto

Links for this episode:

Alec Soth – Photographs
Alec Soth – Blog post about project titles
Peter Murray – Architecture of the Italian Renaissance @ Amazon
George Sullivan – Not Built in a Day @ Amazon

Camera Position 48 : Getting “Unstuck”

Jeff Curto — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 22:13:31 +0000

What do you do when you get “stuck” photographically? Here are a few ideas about how to find your way out of “Photographer’s Block,” with some references to how other photographers handle the problem.

Photograph by Jeff Curto (left) and David Quigg (right)

Photograph by Suzanne Szucs (left) and Nicholas Nixon (right)

Click images and links above for more…

Camera Position 47 : Focus/Defocus/Refocus

Jeff Curto — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 07:52:15 +0000

In this episode, I talk about shallow depth of field as a creative tool and its use by several photographers who are using it in inventive and interesting ways. I also look at how focusing yourself on a project can help you be more creative.

Photographs by Jeff Curto – Jeff Curto’s Website

Photographs by Keith Carter – Keith Carter’s Website

Photographs by Keith Loutit – Keith Loutit’s Website

Other resources for this Podcast:

Lensbabies
Miklos Gaal
Toni Hafkenscheid
An interesting review of Toni Hafkenscheid’s work when it was shown at the AKA Gallery in Saskatoon. At what point is trickery legitimate?

Podcasting from SPE

Jeff Curto — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 23:42:19 +0000

I’m in Miami Florida at the annual Society for Photographic Education (SPE) conference.

I was on the presenter slate this year with a presentation entitled “Teaching Your Students, Teaching the World: Podcasting in Photographic Education.”

On this webpage, you’ll find a host of resources for creating podcasts.

Also on that page, I’ve posted a podcast of my presentation.

Camera Position 46 : Passion & Profession

Jeff Curto — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 19:39:08 +0000

This episode of Camera Position is about combining passion with profession. We need to photograph what we love, but we also can’t lead an insular life; we need to be out there, casting our lines into the river of photographic experiences.

This week, March 15 to 18, is the Society for Photographic Education conference in Miami, FL. If you live near Miami, you really should consider attending this event. There are day passes available for non-members of the organization and it’s a great way to meet a large number of like-minded folks, see some fabulous photography and hear some inspirational and interesting speakers.

If you do happen to come, please stop by the presentation I’ll be giving on Friday morning entitled “Teaching Your Students, Teaching The World: Podcasting In Photographic Education” where I’ll be talking about the “hows and whys” of Podcasting, attempting to get more of my teaching colleagues involved in this exciting medium.

I’ll be podcasting the presentation, of course, so stay tuned for that in the next week or so.

A Podcast Listener, courtesty of Paul Strand

If you can’t make it to the conference, you may be interested in attending an excellent seminar (which is open to the general public) to be presented on Sunday March 18 from 1 to 5 by the noted photo marketing expert Mary Virginia Swanson. Entitled “FINDING YOUR AUDIENCE: An Introduction to Marketing your Photographs,” Mary Virginia will be talking about how to place your work in front of people who will be able to help get you more visibility.

Mary Virgina Swanson working with a photographer

Regardless of these opportunities, a quote by photographer Ralph Steiner reminds us that it’s important to photograph what matters:

Photograph by Ralph Steiner

“Eventually I discovered for myself the utterly simple prescription for creativity; be intensly yourself. Don’t try to be outstanding; don’t try to be a success;don’t try to do pictures for others to look at- just please yourself.”

-Ralph Steiner, A Point of View

Camera Position 45 : Back in the Zone

Jeff Curto — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 08:48:31 +0000

In this second part of the Zone System overview, we look at a few more specifics about how the Zone System works and is implemented. Don’t forget to download the PDF handouts!

Click any image below for a larger view.

The first part of the Zone System overview was in Camera Position #43

Download part 1 of the PDF handout (part 2 below)

Shutter Stories Magazine Launches

Jeff Curto — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 20:42:40 +0000

Tomasz Trzebiatowski has launched Shutter Stories Magazine, an online interview-based magazine.

Shutter Stories subtitle is “Where Photographers Talk” and talk they do, as the premiere issue has interviews with Jim Zuckerman, Noah Grey and Photocast Network pal Martin Bailey as the first interviews. The interviews themselves are short and easy-to-digest, but insightful and interesting and are, as you might expect, peppered with example images from each photographer.

Take a look!

Camera Position 44 : Photographer’s Bookshelf #3

Jeff Curto — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 21:23:43 +0000

This episode of Camera Position is the third entry in an irregular series of suggestions for the serious photographer’s bookshelf. This time, the selection is “On Photography,” an important – and occasionally somewhat difficult – book of photographic criticism and thought from writer Susan Sontag.

Click on images above for a larger view

Links for this podcast:

Susan Sontag – Sontag’s website
On Photography – The book at Amazon.com
Plato – information about Plato and Plato’s Cave

Photocast Network Roundtable Discussion #2

Jeff Curto — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 18:01:14 +0000

We’ve done another of the Photocast Network Roundtable discussions. This week , John Arnold (Photo Walkthrough), Chris Marquardt (Tips from the Top Floor), Ibarionex Perello (The Candid Frame) and Jeff Curto discuss the importance of printing, lens selection, metering & exposure and self assignments.

We’ve set up a separate subscription feed for these Roundtable (email me with suggestions for a better name) discussions so if you’re subscribed to more than one of the podcasts that participate in the discussions, you won’t get multiple downloads of the show.

Here are the ways you can get the podcast:

Photocast Network – You can download the show directly from the Photocast Network page
Standard RSS Feed - A feed you can use in any feed reader
iTunes “One-Click” subscription – Subscribe via iTunes using this link

Since this is a new venture for us, let us know what you think and what you’d like to see on future episodes of the Roundtable. And… please… help us find a better name for this thing!

Camera Position 43 : There’s Creativity in The Zone

Jeff Curto — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 07:00:30 +0000

Creative photography benefits from mastering technical content. This first installment of a discussion of The Zone System of exposure will help you stop worrying about whether the photograph will “work out” so you can concentrate on being creative.

In the photographs below, the highlighted side of the ball (left image) was “placed” on Zone VIII and the under side of the fountain was “placed” on Zone III.

(photographs by Jeff Curto; click images for larger views)

As long as you’re sitting there at your computer, why not take a couple minutes to support Camera Position by posting a comment on the iTunes Music Store? Thanks!

Technical Difficulties

Jeff Curto — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 21:43:38 +0000

Yowza… sometimes doing a podcast is complicated beyond my control.

I’ve been having a terrible time over the last couple of weeks with the software that runs the blog and now that I’ve gotten that sorted out, I’m having problems with the plugin for the software that lets me post podcasts.

So, I’ve got a podcast in the hopper and hope to get it out there to you soon, but until then, take a look at the great content available on the Photocast Network.

-Jeff

Photocast Network Roundtable Discussion

Jeff Curto — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 10:43:55 +0000

For something new and different, four members of the Photocast Network (www.photocastnetwork.com) gather to shed a light on photography from all sorts of different angles. When can I call myself a photographer? How to transition from film to digital? How do Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Lightroom compare? How to get the best pictures in low-light situations?

Featuring John Arnold (Photowalkthrough), Ibarionex Perello (The Candid Frame) Chris Marquardt (Tips from the Top Floor) and Jeff Curto.

Check out the Photocast Network Roundtable Discussion (link to post page)

Direct link to the .mp3 file

Camera Position 42 : Color Pioneers

Jeff Curto — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 18:31:01 +0000

Another exploration of color in photography and the way it has been used by two of the great masters of color, WIlliam Eggleston and Stephen Shore. Also, I mention Adobe’s fabulously fun and useful online application “Kuler.”

Photograph by William Eggleston (above)

(click images for larger views)

Photograph by Stephen Shore (below)

Links for this episode:

Kuler – Adobe’s online color playground
William Eggleston at Masters of Photography – John Szarkowski Essay about Eggleston
Stephen Shore at Masters of Photography – Heinz Liesbrock Essay about Shore

Camera Position 41 : Color Me Back!

Jeff Curto — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 03:03:24 +0000

I’m back! After a month-long hiatus, I’m back with a podcast about color. Using a Christmas present of a book of Pete Turner’s photographs that have been used on jazz album covers as a springboard, we talk about color, color relationships and how color works in the photographic world.

Links for this episode:

Camera Position 40 : Leftover Hash

Jeff Curto — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 09:14:31 +0000

Lens choice, tripods, negative and positive space, image sequence and selection of a small group of images… it’s a “holiday leftovers ” group of ideas and thoughts for this episode of Camera Position.

Above photographs by Jeff Curto

Links for this episode:

Support Camera Position by posting a comment on the iTunes store:
Camera Position @ iTunes

Camera Position 39 : Your Mission & Your Audience

Jeff Curto — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 17:05:21 +0000

Mission statements don’t have to be about dull, corporate stuff… they can also be about the creative process and act as a compass to point you in the right direction. Your photographic mission statement can be about your audience, your passions and your goals.

Example and blank “audience circles” (click for larger images)

Links relevent for this show:

The Candid Frame: Ibarionex Perillo’s excellent podcast interviews with photographers
Jeff’s Video Projects: The videos mentioned in this episode
LensWork Magazine: Jeff’s videos are in issue #67. The advantage of distribution on CD-ROM is that the movies are at a much higher resolution (640×480 pixels) than is practical via the web.

Camera Position 38 : It’s About Time

Jeff Curto — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 02:00:22 +0000

It’s about time. It’s about time to talk about time in photography and time as it relates to how photographs function. Using photographs by Garry Winogrand and Tokihiro Sato, we examine two different approaches to dealing with time in the photograph.

Photographs by Garry Winogrand (left) and Tokihiro Sato (right)
Click images for a larger view

Camera Position 37 : Hey! Crop it Out!

Jeff Curto — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 15:00:59 +0000

Photographers are not creators, they are editors. Unlike the painter, who starts with a blank canvas, we start with the whole world and our job is to remove all the “stuff” that doesn’t make our picture better; to pare down to the essence of the image. Ideally, we do this with the camera’s viewfinder, but sometimes, ya gotta crop.

Matera, Basilicata, 2006 – Photographs by Jeff Curto
(click images for a larger view)

Pictures of “cropping Ls”:
(click for larger images)

Camera Position 36 : Who’s Lookin’ At You?

Jeff Curto — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 08:10:35 +0000

Who is in your critical circle? Who looks at your work to help you define what is good and what “works”? Do you do it yourself? Can you trust yourself to be a good critic of your own work? This episode examines the idea of being your own best friend and your own best enemy.

Tuscany: Cloud, Tree and Hillside, 2005 – Photograph by Jeff Curto
Click image for a larger view

“Image Sorting” software:

Camera Position 35 : Bookshelf #2

Jeff Curto — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 07:44:21 +0000

Another in an irregular series of suggestions for the photographic bookshelf. My selection this time is the Aperture monograph of the work of Ralph Eugene Meatyard, but you may substitute that one book that made you realize new and different things about your medium; that changed your ideas about what photography could be. I also briefly examine the work of my mentor Neil Rappaport and note a panel discussion by Neil’s former students (including me!) that is taking place this coming Saturday, October 21, in Bennington, VT.

Above: Photographs by Ralph Eugene Meatyard – Click for a larger view

Above: Photograph by Neil Rappaport – Click for a larger view

Ralph Eugene Meatyard Links:

Bennington Museum Panel Discussion about Neil Rappaport:

Art Institute of Chicago “So The Story Goes” exhibition

Camera Position 34 : Sequencing

Jeff Curto — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 17:41:00 +0000

The order in which we see images changes how we perceive them. In this episode, we look at how sequencing photographs can take one set of images and change the message they convey.

Sequence 1 – Click Image for a larger view
photographs by Jeff Curto

Camera Position 33.3 : I’m Guest-Hosting “Tips From The Top Floor”

Jeff Curto — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 04:46:22 +0000

This brief “Thirty-Three-and-a-Third” epsisode of camera position is just a quick “pointer” to my guest-host appearance on Chris Marquardt’s “Tips From The Top Floor” podcast. I hope you’ll check it out.

Click my “Liguria, 2003″ image above for a larger view.

Camera Position 33 : What’s on Your Bookshelf?

Jeff Curto — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 17:06:30 +0000

See this book at Amazon

This episode is the first in an irregular series that explores important photography books that should be in every photographer’s book collection. The first book is The Daybooks of Edward Weston, Weston’s remarkable series of journal entries about his life in photography.

Also on today’s episode:

Find great photo podcasts on the Photocast Network

Project Photoshop Lightroom – Adobe’s U.S. tour featuring photographer Colin Finlay talking about his work and Adobe’s Julianne Kost demonstrating Adobe’s new product, Photoshop Lightroom.

See this PDF for information about the October 5 and 6 presentation of Project Photoshop Lightroom at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois

A Good Problem

Jeff Curto — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 14:42:01 +0000

Well, if you’ve been trying to get to Camera Position over the last few days and have had a hard time, join the crowd. It seems that the Podcast became popular enough that I was running my web server’s bandwidth allotment dry. That reached a head last night when the server shut down.

I think I’ve got it all sorted now, and a new podcast is on the way in a day or two, so thanks for hanging in there!

-Jeff

Camera Position 32 : Gallery Talk

Jeff Curto — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 23:46:16 +0000

This week, we go into the “field” to a gallery talk I gave at an exhibition of my work. My comments give some background on my 17-year photographic exploration of Italy and the show, “Evidence of Hands, The Mediated Landscape of Italy.”

Click for images from the “slideshow” I used at the presentation
Click for the QuickTime movie that was a part of my presentation

Don’t forget to visit the Photocast Network for the best in photography-related podcasts

Camera Position 31 : Editing as Creative Process

Jeff Curto — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 07:09:04 +0000

How many images does it take to say what you want to say? Editing your work to create a group of images that projects a coherent voice is an important part of the photographic process. Honest and unmerciful editors have the most effective stories.

Santa Fe Center for Photography – home of the Creative Edge workshop

Info about my gallery talk at Waubonsee Community College on September 19

Camera Position 30 : After The Shutter Closes

Jeff Curto — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 07:00:10 +0000

Once we get back to the darkroom-digital or chemical-how do we maximize the vision and idea we had when we were in the field making the photograph? We explore the post-production side of the creative process using a photograph of Civita di Bagnoreggio.

Click on the images for a larger view
Civita di Bagnoreggio, Umbria, 2006 – Photograph by Jeff Curto

Some links from this episode of Camera Position:

Check out the other photography podcasts at the Photocast Network
Take a look at listener Stephen Durbin’s photographs
Want to learn about Adobe Lightroom? Check out this event now touring the nation, including a stop at College of DuPage, where I teach.

Camera Position 29 : Where Are You From?

Jeff Curto — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 11:49:44 +0000

Where do creative ideas come from? How do we figure out what’s the most interesting thing to photograph? Using the photographs and ideas of photographer and writer Wright Morris (1910-1998), I explore the notion of mining your past and your passions to find your subject.

Camera Position 28 : Which Came First?

Jeff Curto — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 06:00:49 +0000

- -

Photographs by Philip Trager – click images for a larger view

When we choose a subject, sometimes we need to choose the right machine to record that subject. This episode uses the work of photographer Philip Trager to show how subject can influence the tools that we use.

Camera Position 27 : The Mind & The Machine

Jeff Curto — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 03:15:06 +0000

Click image for a larger view

Whether we like it or not, photography has technology at its base. Sometimes, changing up the equipment we use can allow us to change the way we look at the world in a significant way. This episode uses a triptych image I made in using smaller-than-my-normal 4×5 camera and color film (A Hasselblad and Fuji NPS 120 film) and examines how a change in the tools we are using can change everything about the way we see and photograph. The image above can be clicked to provide a larger view.

Camera Position 26 : Weston & The Edges

Jeff Curto — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 18:29:14 +0000

The edges of the frame change everything about how we see a photograph. One of the great masters of the use of the photographic frame edge was Edward Weston, and today we look at his remarkable ability to show us “just enough” of the subject. The podcast briefly touches on gestalt theory for the visual arts as conceptualized by Rudolf Arnheim.

For some reason, the podcast file for this week’s Podcast doesn’t have any pictures embedded in the file. Not sure what happened, really, and I’m away from my “production computer” for a week or so, so I can’t check it. I’ll try to fix it when I’m back.

Camera Position 25 : Pick a Pair of Portraits

Jeff Curto — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 05:13:41 +0000

For the last 16 years, I’ve been photographing structures and the landscape in Italy. Over the last two years, though, I’ve tried my hand at portraits and have learned some things about photography, my interests and the power of the large-format camera. This podcast features two versions of a portrait of a 97-year-old Italian man. Which do you think best portrays him? Post a comment with your opinion.

Camera Position 24 : Looking & Looking Back – Stieglitz & “The Steerage”

Jeff Curto — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 16:02:53 +0000

As I’ve worked with one of my newest photographs, I’ve noted a loose relationship Alfred Stieglitz’ “The Steerage” from 1907. It reminded me that photographers need to be aware of the image makers who have gone before them and helped them see. Now, I’m not saying that my photograph is the same as Stieglitz’ masterpiece, but I do want to suggest that it’s important to build a visual sensibility based on awareness of other photographers’ work. If you’re not looking at images, you’re not growing as an image maker.

If you’re not familiar with Stieglitz, here are a couple sites that can help you out:
American Masters – Alfred Stieglitz
Masters of Photography – Alfred Stieglitz

Camera Position 23 : Take a Left Turn

Jeff Curto — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 18:35:12 +0000

Photographs by Jeff Curto

Sometimes, when you think that there is a photographic subject in front of you, you can’t see the picture you want to make. In this episode, I talk about taking a left turn, both to find a photograph and to provide a catalyst for even more images. I also take a left turn with my vow to not talk about technical matters and wax rhapsodically about the new Epson V750 Pro scanner I’ve been using this past week.

Camera Position 22 : Getting Back Your Box of Crayons

Jeff Curto — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 05:53:16 +0000

This episode of Camera Position is a bit different from previous episodes. First off, it is a lot longer. Weighing in at a little over an hour, it is a podcast of a presentation I made recently at the MacSpecialist store in Villa Park, Illinois. I had been invited to come and speak to a group of photographers, illustrators and designers on the creative process and how not to become stagnant creatively. I titled my presentation “Getting Back Your Box of Crayons” and spent my time talking about how creativity works and how we can nurture and encourage creativity in our lives. Thanks to the MacSpecialist folks for the opportunity to be a part of their schedule of presenters.
During the presentation, I reference a couple of PDF documents which are available for download here:
Soft & Hard
What If?

Also, I’ve posted a PDF of the “slideshow” of the presentation here:
Getting Back Your Box of Crayons

If you’re watching the podcast via iTunes on your computer, you’ll be able to see the slides in iTunes; otherwise you will probably want to download the PDF above. Unfortunately, the audio quality isn’t what you’ve come to expect from Camera Position, but I hope you’ll find the ideas useful.
The next episode of Camera Position will return to our regular format, but I thought at least some of you listeners might find this presentation interesting.

Camera Position 21 : Caravaggio and the Road to Rome

Jeff Curto — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 06:24:09 +0000

As I return to Camera Position after a month-long hiatus, I give you a few minutes with one of my favorite paintings, “The Calling of St. Matthew” by Caravaggio. Caravaggio’s sense of light and moment of “exposure,” were extraordinarily “photographic.”

See a larger version of the image with this link

Yes, I’d planned on trying to podcast while I was away, but instead, I spent most of my time making new photographs (nearly 400 sheets of 4×5 film and 18 rolls of 120 film) and enjoying the amazing Italian culture (translated: drinking wine and eating great food). I’ll be posting some of those new photographs with you over the coming weeks, but for this first return episode, I wanted to share one of my favorite artists with you. If you’ve never looked at the paintings of Caravaggio, you really should spend some time looking at his astonishing sense of realism, moment and light.

Thanks for hanging in there with me during my absence.

Camera Position 20 : The View Through

Jeff Curto — Wed, 31 May 2006 18:36:43 +0000

Photographs by Jeff Curto

The visual device of a “view through” from one place to another is a fairly common one in photography, and one that I tend to use often. This episode explores a variety of ways of using the idea of framing a subject to emphasize a sense of space and place.

I’ll be gone in Italy for the next 3 weeks making photographs. I’m hoping to produce a Camera Position or two while I’m gone (bringing the PowerBook and recording gear along with) but don’t know about finding high-speed access to do the uploads. With any luck, you’ll hear from me before I get back, but otherwise, I’ll be back at the end of June. Thanks for listening!

Camera Position 19 : When Less Really Is More

Jeff Curto — Tue, 23 May 2006 19:14:28 +0000

When a photographer finds a beautiful scene, there is often a temptation to put everything he sees in the photograph, even if the image that results isn’t all that interesting. Here, Ansel Adams and Paul Caponigro show us how showing less shows us more.

As a side note, if you are listening to and enjoying Camera Position, I would really appreciate if you’d send an email to a friend or two and tell them about the Podcast. Also, if you have time, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a quick review of the Podcast at the iTunes store. Thanks!

Camera Position 18 : A Dull Picture of A Useful Object

Jeff Curto — Wed, 17 May 2006 06:18:15 +0000

Here is an absolutely dull photograph of an absolutely dull (and ugly!) piece of cardboard that is one of the most indispensible pieces of equipment in my camera bag. Temporarily diverting Camera Position from the examination of fine photographs, I look at a tool I use to help me make better images. By using this cardboard viewing frame, I get to examine subjects for potential photographs before I take the camera out of the bag. Once I’ve found the right place to stand, the string helps me figure out which focal length of lens to use on the camera. It’s a simple, but indispensible tool for making better images.

Camera Position 17 : The Instant and the Machine

Jeff Curto — Sun, 14 May 2006 07:20:24 +0000

The idea of photography that depends on the exact moment of exposure for success didn’t originate with Cartier-Bresson, but he certainly made the most of that perfect instant. Bresson’s idea of “the decisive moment” is examined this week, along with the idea of how photographers always have to grapple with the intersection between idea and their machinery.

Camera Position 16 : The Game Of Inches

Jeff Curto — Sat, 06 May 2006 05:24:20 +0000

Sometimes, photography is the proverbial “game of inches.” I made several pictures of this “barca” (boat) on a canal in Venice. I had initially been interested in the boat’s shadow and the intersection of the shadow of the boat and the shadow of the building and the way the boat’s bow interacted with the wall behind. That was working well, but it wasn’t until I saw the way that the reflection of the sky from the adjacent canal created a shift in the way space was rendered that I felt that I had a real photograph.

Camera Position 15 : Moving Camera Position & Moving Your Boundaries

Jeff Curto — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 19:38:29 +0000

I’ve moved my Camera Position! I’ve abandoned Apple’s “easy but limited” iWeb software and moved over to a WordPress blog. Hopefully, the majority of listeners have made the switch with no problems. There is a new RSS subscription feed (see first post at the top of the page to see the new information). If you’re subscribed to the podcast through iTunes, you should have been directed to the new feed automatically, but if not, you’ll need to resubscribe.

The biggest advantage to the new web presence is the ability to have readers/listeners leave comments, which I hope some of you will do.

For this podcast episode, I want to talk briefly about going outside of your boundaries as a photographer. All photographers are more comfortable with some subjects than with others, but sometimes trying something new opens the door to some really interesting new photographic experiences. This image of Sr. Mazzetti is a case in point. I’ve long made photographs that purposefully eliminated people from the scene in an effort to create a sense of timelessness in my images. My interest has been in the way that centuries of hands have manipulated the landscape and structures of Italy. This past year, I embarked new series of images of people, and have begun to draw a parallel between the people whose lives were devoted to sculpting the land, buildings and objects that surrounded them, and the people who do that same work today. Sr. Mazzetti is a Rameria, or a coppersmith, and this photograph was made in his Bottega del Rame.

Welcome to Camera Position

Jeff Curto — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 06:36:08 +0000

Camera Position is a podcast about the visual and creative processes in photography, not the technical.
Using images and the spoken word, my podcasts are about the “why” of photography from the point of view of the creative photographer.
Passion for subject, experience and image all wind together in these short commentaries about camera-based images and my life as a photographer.
The podcasts are presented as “enhanced” podcasts, meaning that they have images embedded in them so there are visuals that accompany the audio. The best way to watch and listen is in iTunes, though QuickTime Player works as well. A last choice would be an iPod with video capability, as the images are pretty darn small on those screens.
The podcasts can also be watched in your browser if you have QuickTime installed.
Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes –

Subscribe to the podcast in another podcasting client –
feed URL to copy and paste: http://feeds.feedburner.com/cameraposition

Camera Position Link button

Camera Position 14 : Strand’s “Family” Revisited

Jeff Curto — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 23:10:13 +0000

In Camera Position #8, we looked at Paul Strand’s “The Family, Luzzara, Italy, 1953″. Listener Don Bricker wrote in to note that there are, in fact, two different images of this photograph. The idea that Strand “directed” this image by changing the content in an important way should be considered when we think about how we see the photograph.

“The Family” Luzzara, Italy, 1953
Photographs by Paul Strand

Jeff Curtos Camera Position

Camera Position 93 : Symbolism & Metaphor

Camera Position 92 : A Gallery for Fine Photography in New Orleans

Links for this episode:

Camera Position 91 : Living With Art

Links for this Episode:

Camera Position 90 : Inertia & Inspiration

Camera Position 89 : Camera Position & Camera Distance

Links for this episode:

Camera Position 88 : Desert Island Photographs – Part 2

Links for this episode:

Jeff’s a Guest on Paul Giguere’s “Thoughts on Photography” Podcast

Camera Position 87 : Desert Island Photographs – Part 1

Links for this episode:

Camera Position 86 : Italy Photo Workshops – Photographing and Editing in Rome & Tuscany

Links for this Episode:

Students from the 2009 workshop in action:

Camera Position 85 : A Bazillion Photographs

Links for this Podcast

Camera Position 84 : Interesting Visual Friends

Links for this episode:

Jeff’s a guest on “One Minute How To”

New Focus Ring Podcast Now Live

Camera Position 83 : What’s On Your Desert Island?

Aperture Giveaway Winners Chosen!

Camera Position 82 : Beauty Begs to be Recorded

Links for this podcast:

Camera Position 81 : Project Planning Roadmap – DAM!

Links for this episode:

Jeff’s Work Released as a LensWork Special Editions Folio

Camera Position 80 : Project Planning Roadmap – A Place For Your Stuff!

Camera Position 79 : A Workshop Overview

Tuscany Workshop Student Slideshows

Camera Position 78 : Project Planning Roadmap – Audience & Distribution

A few shots of the Tuscany Workshop folks in action…

Camera Position 77 : Project Planning Roadmap – Production: Needs, Habits & Goals

Camera Position 76 : Project Planning Roadmap – Passion & Mission

Camera Position 75 : Project Planning Roadmap – What Do You Care About?

Camera Position 74 : Project Planning Roadmap – New Idea Germination and “Hard & Soft”

Camera Position 73 : The Project Planning Roadmap – An Introduction

Camera Position 72 – Photographer’s Bookshelf #5

Camera Position Special Edition : Tuscany Workshop Announcement

In Search of the Personal: Photographing Tuscany with Jeff Curto

Saturday, May 16 to Saturday, May 23, 2009

For more information, visit www.photographitaly.com

Camera Position 71 : How To Get Really Good at Photography

Camera Position 70 : Go With the Gestalt (part 2)

Camera Position 69 : Go With the Gestalt (part 1)

Podcast of PhotoPlus Expo Presentation Posted

Jeff’s a guest on One Minute How To

Camera Position 68 : Zoom With Your Feet!

Camera Position 67 : The Mind as Camera

Camera Position 66 : Memory and the Photograph

Camera Position 65 : What Are You Lookin’ At? How do you Know?

Camera Position 64 : Old Tools

Camera Position 63 : Beauty and Background

Camera Position 62 : Is Beauty Enough?

The Camera in The Cathedral: Camera Position goes Historical

Camera Position 61 : Summer Peaches on a Winter’s Day

Camera Position 60 : Back to Basics – Composition

Podcasting & Digital Storytelling at PhotoPlus Expo

Camera Position 59 : Evidence of Hands on Stone

Camera Position 58 – Pictures of an Exhibition

Camera Position 57 : Photographer’s Bookshelf #4

Camera Position 56 : The Parable of the Sheep

Camera Position 55 : Does Size Matter?

Camera Position 54 : Photograph like a Child

Camera Position 53 : Realizing the Image

Camera Position 52 : Tossing Your Preconceptions

Camera Position 51 : Travel Gear

Camera Position 50 : Messages From Your Website

Camera Position 49 : Know Thy Subject

Camera Position 48 : Getting “Unstuck”

Camera Position 47 : Focus/Defocus/Refocus

Podcasting from SPE

Camera Position 46 : Passion & Profession

Camera Position 45 : Back in the Zone

Shutter Stories Magazine Launches

Camera Position 44 : Photographer’s Bookshelf #3

Photocast Network Roundtable Discussion #2

In Search of the Personal:
Photographing Tuscany with Jeff Curto