LensWork - Photography and the Creative Process Brooks Jensen

Occasionally a breakthrough in technology opens the door to create a vision that had previously been impossible or at least very difficult. The new AI noise reduction available in Lightroom is a good example. The other day was a full moon and I found that sufficient illumination to make some interesting landscape images illuminated only via moonlight.

There is a definite set of today's photographers who are eschewing the digital workflow in exchange for a more analog process and aesthetic. Nowhere is this more prevalent that in discussions of sharpness. How much sharpness it too much sharpness?

Ours is one of the first generations in all of history to have the ability to so easily record our life. But what should we record? What's worthy of preserving? Which is more important, Who-Where-When, or Stories-Thoughts, and what they Did?

Looking back, I wasted so much of my photographic youth by studiously avoiding going to the obvious and iconic landscape locations. If someone famous had photographed there, I reasoned that they'd "already done it" so there was no reason for me to go there to photograph the same things.

I'm here for a 5-hour layover at the Denver Airport. I was tempted to not record any comments in the hubbub of the airport background noise, but that led to an interesting train of thought.

It's customary to sign your finished prints in the lower right hand corner. Some people sign on the mat board, others sign on the print itself, some sign on the back of the print. They're various strategies and various philosophies about this. But what does it actually mean when you sign your print?