Great Blue Heron in Flight, Pescadero Marsh. 2013. Click to order a print. Next Workshop :Death Valley in Winter January 11-14, 2014
Welcome to the December 2013 Edition of the Stephen Johnson Photography Newsletter.
This month's View From Here column revolves around some local scenes made with a long lens over Thanksgiving weekend. We hope you find the column interesting and will consider sending us some comments. Our Tutorial Section reminds people of the subjects we have online. LATEST NEWS:
Sentinel Dome. Yosemite. 1997. The end of the year presents a good opportunity to remind people of how much they are appreciated. My staff here at Stephen Johnson Photography make a huge difference in making this place work, Elizabeth Bredall, Fiona McDonnell primary among them. A deep thanks is offered to interns Eleanor Normille and Jennifer Fraser, my part-time assistant and good friend David Gardner and volunteer Carl Schwab. Thanks to you all. Scholarships and Mentoring As part of our ongoing commitment to photographic education, there is one student scholarship spot in many of our classes. Please pass the word along. For discounted time studying with Steve, keep in mind our Mentoring Program. With all of our busy schedules and limited budgets, destination workshops or classes become a challenge, but many of you still have questions you need answered, or feedback on some new work. We want to remind you of our Virtual Online Consulting Program. This service allows all of you out there around the globe to consult online live with Steve on technical, aesthetic and workflow issues using Skype and your webcam. Our Essays and Tutorials from the past couple of years can now be found on Google Blogger. We hope you can come by the gallery and see the new Panoramic Prints we've added to the National Parks Gallery, and the Exquisite Earth exhibition with its accompanying very special Exquisite Earth Portfolio 1. We invite you to join us on a workshop, rent lab space, or just say hello and let us know what you are up to photographically and what you might like to see us offer. We value your input.
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FEATURED PRINT December 2013
Launching Heron. 2013. 9x14 Pigment Inkjet Print on Cotton paper Sometimes an unintentional blur becomes a beautiful sway of motion and color. This one certainly struck me that way. Being ill-prepared for a fast capture ended up being a gift. Serendipity once again makes magic. |
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The misty dark rocks off Pedro Point Headlands are shrouded here in mist and light equal to their strange shape and complexity. |
THE VIEW FROM HERE Local Observations with a Long View Living near the sea is an extraordinary privilege. Although the familiar often becomes harder to see, the Pacific Ocean has a way of reminding me of its presence, the light, the storms, the surf in the distance, the sense of almost infinite space, the pull of the water itself. The earth seems inhumanly vast here, with its largest expanse lapping against America's West Coast on one side and Asia to its east. I recently borrowed a 600mm lens from Canon, in hopes of photographing the now seemingly gone Comet Ison. As the comet doesn't seem to have made it past its encounter with the sun, the lens inspired some alternative long focal length play over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. The opportunity became a sort of improvised photo project: what can I manage to see and record over a few days around the holiday? The coastline along Highway One near my studio and some points south became our wander road. One thing my little mini-project did was make getting outside a priority. The sea, the light, the wildlife all seemed worth seeking out. It shaped the holiday a little differently than normal, but it was good to do exactly that this year.
It was comical at one point while the seals were swimming closer to us, the magnification was so high that I had trouble finding them through the lens. That was also true of following the heron, if I didn't manage to keep him in the frame to begin with, it was impossible to find him during the flight and track his movement. Although I didn't need reminding, it did make clear again why wildlife photography can be so challenging.
I found the compression of space in fog the most interesting of the effects. Already eerie scenes got even more so when appearing to be stacked even closer together. This is particularly true when the effect was mild rather than overt. The space perception change had me stopping along the highway for possible photographs that would not have normally entered my mind as possible. A few vistas with long views that I may have enjoyed but rarely photographed became new opportunities.
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We did make a few casual friends along the way. The seals at Bean Hollow State Beach were intrigued by our presence on the rocks next to a small bay. They did a little dance of approach and retreat, testing, we presumed, that we were ok to come in and check out. The golden highlights and blue shadows on the water didn't hurt the scene one bit.
I also borrowed a Canon 1Dx body to give their higher ISO settings another look. I knew I would need the sensitivity for the comet. The higher ISO's were handy for keeping shutter speed a little high while still holding a little depth of field by stopping down a bit.
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Tidbits |
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First Showing of "Life Form" Work
Steve at his gallery with the first exhibited preview prints from his "Life Form" project. See the new 2014 Calendar below. |
Consulting Programs and Speaking Events Virtual Education: Our Virtual Consulting and Mentoring Program is working well. Readers of this Newsletter can still get a discount by mentioning this reference when you enroll. Our One on One Program links you up with Steve at his bay area studio, or when he is on the road near you. Keep an eye on when Steve will be near your town. Catch Steve Live: Steve will be speaking here and there over the next few months, such as his up coming talk in Palo Alto, at Tualitin near Portland, OR, in San Francisco and New York City in October and Carmel in November.
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A Reminder of the Tutorials We Have Online |
The Stephen Johnson Photography Gift Shop Featured Product 12 page wall Calendar featuring photographs from in and around Pacifica California which is home for Stephen Johnson Photography. Printed by Steve in his studio in very limited numbers on a color laser digital press. |
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2014 Life Form Calendar 12 page wall Calendar featuring photographs from Steve's new flora work. Printed by Steve in his studio in very limited numbers on a color laser digital press.
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National Park Notecards
National Park Color Notecard Set From "With a New Eye" Beautiful 300 line screen offset reproductions with envelopes in clear box. A great gift. |
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PLEASE VISIT US!  Please come visit us at our gallery and see our original prints in person. The subtle detail of the prints and the beautiful texture of the fine art paper have to be seen to be understood. And while you're here, browse through our books, cards, posters, and specially priced prints. We're happy to mail you a copy of our product catalog, just send a note to info@sjphoto.com or call us. We're located at: Stephen Johnson Photography at the Pacifica Center for the Arts 1220-C Linda Mar Boulevard, Creekside Suites, 5-7 Pacifica, CA 94044 (650) 355-7507 http://www.sjphoto.com |
We're open by appointment. To find us, use our map online at: |
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Stephen Johnson Photography at the Pacifica Center for the Arts Gallery Hours are by Appointment. |
