LensWork - Photography and the Creative Process

Here's a Thought… #2736 with Brooks Jensen

Score and Performance, Again

Ansel Adams famously suggested that the negative was the score and the print the performance. Is this still true for the RAW file and the Instagram image? What is the relationship between the RAW capture and the print? And where does the finished digital file fit in this simile? I think this is all tied to the idea of an original print.

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Here's a Thought… #2735 with Brooks Jensen

Losing Faith in Photographic Truth

With increasing frequency, I find myself looking at a photograph and immediately questioning its veracity. For example, every morning when I start up my computer I'm greeted with a lovely landscape thanks to the programmers at Microsoft. Almost without exception, they look fake, with punched up colors, unrealistic sky and water reflections, and a kind of computer generated pristineness that I find difficult to believe. These images are, however, very pretty. Should I care that they are not truthful?

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Here's a Thought… #2734 with Brooks Jensen

Actions of the Creative Process

There is a lot of buzz about "Creativity" in artistic pursuits. Books are prevalent; YouTube videos are offered by the terabyte; even here in LensWorkland find you'll find a lot of references to Creativity. Well and good, but what is Creativity? If we were to observe a person in the actions of Creativity, what would that look like? There is the part of Creativity that happens in our brain that is invisible, but there is also a part we can see, observe, and emulate. Creativity is often as simple as, What If? and rejection.

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Here's a Thought… #2733 with Brooks Jensen

A Box With One of Ones

I recently ran across a box of prints from 1989 I'd almost forgotten about. That is to say, I remembered the project but had forgotten the images. Looking through the images, I fell in love with them all over again. What do I do with these 1/1 Polaroids? I've kept these secured and protected now for 37 years — and perfectly invisible to all but a handful of close friends. Have they fulfilled their purpose?

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Here's a Thought… #2732 with Brooks Jensen

Time to Get Off the Stage

I'm a baby boomer. My generation invented rock and roll music. I'm vicariously proud of that. I must admit, however, that it is time that some of my favorites need to get of the stage and enjoy their retirement. The fires of creativity still burn, but the remaining embers are a dim glow, and an off-key one at that. I wonder if we photographers need to take an honest look at ourselves, too? There is a time to retire our cameras, but will we recognize it when it's our turn?

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