Stephen Johnson Photography News
August 2021
Flowered Field and Willow near San Luis Obispo. 2021.
Upcoming Workshops and Print:
Kinder Gentler HDR Virtual Lecture
August 19, 2021
Many Views: Twenty Print Set
a fine art boxed print set
Welcome to the August 2021 Edition of the Stephen Johnson Photography Newsletter.
As the arc of reopening hits the snag of the Delta variant, our cautions remain. Gallery visits continue as an option by appointment with virus protocols in place. We are anxious to move on from this isolation and distance. I hope my virtual classes, Photo Chats and appointment visits will all help.
— Steve
This month's View From Here column narrates and illustrates my recent trip down through Big Sur to the San Luis Obispo Pismo Beach region. Our Virtual Classes are continuing to broaden with the Virtual Seminars offering Kinder Gentler HDR August 18, a new Virtual Critique Session August 19 and the Black and White Vision and Printing virtual workshop August 21-22. The Masterful Fine Art Digital Printing: Virtual Workshop is offered again August 28-29.
I am offering a new 20 print set Many Views: Twenty Photographs, emerging from these last 18 months of work during very challenging times.
I hope you find the column interesting and will consider sending me some comments. As these Newsletters can cover many subjects, let me know of topics you would like to see addressed.
Workshops are currently balanced between virtual class and field workshops starting again late this year. All workshops currently scheduled are subject to necessary corona virus spread prevention logistics.
FEATURED PRINT August 2021
Downtown Guadalupe California. 2021.
Out on the road again, wandering, seeing what we stumble into. A journey to the Oceano Dunes became a wonderful walk around the nearby community of Guadalupe.
We're offering an 11x11 inch print of the photograph for $195, matted to 16x20 inch board. This print at this price is offered through August 31. We'll be taking orders until then, and shipping them out by September 15.
NEW PHOTOGRAPH
Zebras. San Simeon, CA 2021
Canon EOS R5, RF600mm lens.
Zebras in late afternoon light. Highway One. Hearst Ranch. 2021. These Zebras are descendants animals Wm. R Hearst collected for his private Zoo he built in the 1920s with his Hearst Castle in San Simeon, CA. The Zoo was disbanded in 1937 and some animals left to roam the pastures, Zebras among them. A 2018 Zebra count had 119 animals, 126 were counted in 2019.
LATEST NEWS:
As anti-virus caution continue to tell us to avoid unnecessary exposure to others, masks and social distancing remain a good idea as the variants emerge and our general gallery masked/distance appointment policies are now allowing some visitation.
Gallery Appointments
The Covid-19 restrictions and now cautions that have kept the gallery mostly closed, do allow me to open for special limited viewing appointments. Write to inquire or call 650 355-7507 about an appointment.
Blog Restarted and Growing: Subscribe
As I have mentioned in my last few Newsletters, I have renewed frequent postings on my Blog derived from my Newsletters and Facebooks posts. You can view or subscribe at: https://sjohnsonphoto.wordpress.com
Virtual Classes
During the virus, I have naturally shifted most of my education programs to online experiences. This is frustrating and rewarding. The new virtual experiences are certainly stretching out my geographical reach. I am certainly excited by our new Virtual Classes Program.
My 2021 Workshop Schedule continues to evolve to accommodate the virus precautions and very limited ability to gather indoors.
Some plans are now being made on the assumption that the vaccine is ever more available and will then become a prerequisite for the class.
I remain committed to offering great courses whether in person or virtually. See what a great experience students have had on my Workshops by exploring Workshop Testimonials.
Stephen Johnson Photography Blog.
The 2021-2022 Workshop Schedule is evolving, continuing with the HDR Kinder & Gentler virtual lecture August 18, 2021. I have now scheduled the first of my pandemic cautious field workshops, Highway One Coastal Journey in December, Death Valley in Winter and Yosemite in Winter for 2022.
See what a great experience students have had on Steve's Workshops by exploring Workshop Testimonials.
Other Worldly is up in our galleries having joined the 50 Years of Space Photography Exhibit with the Life Form Exhibition. Hopefully you can visit soon by appointment, socially distanced, masked and limited to two people. I hope to be able to open the galleries to general visitation in the not too distant future so you can see what is on display at Stephen Johnson Photography.
Upcoming Events & Workshops
Valley Drive-in. Lompoc, CA. 2021. Canon R5.
THE VIEW FROM HERE
by Stephen Johnson
On the Road, a Bit
The itch to be on the road got scratched a little with a few days down in Middle California South around Pismo Beach with my good friend photographer Ed Stone. The Oceano Dunes, Nipomo and the Big Sur Coast were all of interest, and all led us down some interesting paths.
After picking up Ed near Monterey, we naturally took Highway One south through Big Sur rather than the inland Highway 101. The Big Sur coast is always full of complex views of land and sea. Our drive had some fog and cloud cover, sometimes obscuring what we could see, but bathing us in beautifully soft light.
At the south end of the Big Sur coast near Hearst Castle, we stumbled onto a very improbable small herd of Zebras. Naturally, we inquired via the net, and found they are descendants of Hearst’s Zoo, a few present of the remaining 126 animals. It was a very curious sight.
Zebras. San Simeon, CA. 2021.
Willow Creek. Big Sur. 2021.
Willow Creek. Big Sur. 2021.
Rock and Creek. Willow Creek. Big Sur. 2021.
The drive down south through Big Sur, human constructs, and the Earth itself, all offered views and suggested perspectives that appealed to my wide ranging photographic tastes.
After arriving at our trip headquarters in Shell Beach, we first headed for the Oceano Dunes, and therefore, through the town of Guadalupe. The strawberry fields north of town and the dunes nearby occupied us for hours. But we also took note as we went through the town that it merited exploration too.
Shade Poles over Strawberry Field. Guadalupe, CA. 2021. Canon R5
Industry. Guadalupe, CA. 2021.
Corner Cemetery. Guadalupe, CA. 2021.
Royal Theater. Guadalupe, CA. 2021
Superhero Window. Guadalupe, CA. 2021. Canon R5.
We found the Oceano Dunes largely inaccessible. Between seasonal bird nesting protection (March-September) on the south end and ORV dune parks further north, a wander across the sand eluded us. I got the feeling that only longer walks along the beach itself would yield any real dune access. Clearly more research ahead of time would have been helpful and will be done before the next visit. Even this map would have been helpful to have sought out ahead of time or while we were still in the area. It’s amazing how much you can miss, including more research, when your eyes and cameras are accumulating imagery. Ironic.
Dunes near Guadalupe, CA. 2021.
Dunes near Guadalupe, CA. 2021.
A Photo Location Search: Migrant Mother, 1936.
The Migrant Mother photograph of Florence Owens Thompson by Dorothea Lange from Nipomo, CA has been important to me for a very long time. It seemed important to know where it was made and acknowledge its importance. The photograph was made as part of Dorothea’s work for the US Government Farm Security Ademintration (FSA) with many other photographers, among them Walker Evans, Marion Post Walcott, and Russell Lee.
My first recollection of encountering this now 85 year old photograph was as a student in Jr. College as I was just exploring photography. This single image from Nipomo California opened up my mind to the power a photograph could contain, and in a completely different way than the landscape photography I was growing to love by Adams and Weston. I ordered a 16x20 print from the Library of Congress in 1978, which I have now used as a source to scan and restore the photograph to a pristine state and make some nice large prints.
It was a good adventure last week, roaming Nipomo, imagining the hard times Florence had experienced, and naturally, wanting to know more.
There seemed to be no local acknowledgement of this historic photograph, it’s influence, or where it was made. In that absence, we found it particularly strange to discover a Dorothea Lange school, far from the site we had come to believe the photograph was made, and Lange’s name now associated with a sports team, the Bobcats.
Dorothea Lange School sign. Nipomo, CA. 2021.
Dorothea Lange on her Ford with her Graflex D. Feb. 1936. FSA.
Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age thirty-two. Nipomo, California. Dorothea Lange. US Farm Security Administration. March 1936.
Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age thirty-two. Nipomo, California. Dorothea Lange. US Farm Security Administration (FSA). March 1936.
In doing research for the possible location where the photograph was made, we came across an old newspaper interview with Cal State University Professor Paul Lester. The article described Dr. Lester’s research searching for the site. While heading for Nipomo, I sent off an email to him via my iPhone while we started searching.
From the information in the article, we found what seemed the likely site, which a reply from Dr. Lester confirmed in an email the next day. The location seemed accurate and we proceeded to go back to the site and photograph, both on the ground and from my drone.
Paul Lester was good enough to allow me to post the intro to his chapter on Photography from his book on Visual Communication to my website for your enjoyment.
Anyone wishing to have a print of the Migrant Mother photograph can download a high res file from the Library of Congress or order my restored version from me.
LOC Image Page for information and file download.
If you would like one of my prints:
8x10, 11x14 and 16x20 inch prints on Luster paper: $50, $75 & $100 respectively.
Likely Farmworker Campsite in 1936. 2021. DJI Drone.
Stephen Johnson with local history book. Nipomo, CA. 2021.
The whole process of exploration, research and likely physical spot turned out to add a totally unexpected emotional content to the trip. After returning to the site for the drone photos, as we drove north toward home, a reality connect to the photograph was much more deeply in place. It felt right to have looked into it a bit, making the photograph even more real.
Wandering San Luis Obispo County
Sunset, Shell Beach.. 2021. Canon R5.
After the initial Migrant Mother exploration, we wandered on down to the now renamed Vandenberg Space Force Base, to Lompoc and its shut-down Valley Drive-in. We stumbled onto flower farms blazing with color near San Luis Obispo and a shop of wonders near the waterfront in Oceano.
Space Force Base. photo by Ed Stone.
The trip also gave me a chance to see my old friend Brian Lawler, early digital printing/prepress adopter, professor of Graphic Arts at Cal Poly. We shared some old stories, told some new ones, and created a new bond between Brian and my friend Ed Stone who worked in the printing industry for 30 years. We always say Ed was a “stripper” which gets a wide variety of reactions.
Among his many projects Brian described to us was digitizing old 10 inch Circuit Camera Panoramic negatives and the giant outdoor murals prints of them he recently made. The story enlarged to those old negatives being made from a local mountain top, later de-capped to make fill for 1938 Highway 101 construction. To re-photograph the scenes, Brian had to calculate the former camera viewpoint from the now gone mountain top which he simulated with a rented scissors lift raised to 60 feet on the now-flattened mountain. It was a great story. The adventures of my fellow photographers and friends have always been a blast and lets me see the world through their eyes.
I love to wander and discover.
Steve and old friend Brian Lawler. 2021. Ed Stone Photo.
Rock off Shell Beach. 2021. Canon R5.
Cliffside Housing tinging of Southern California. Shell Beach. 2021.
Brian Lawler in a 1998 Studio Portrait by Steve. Leaf DCB.
The Place
We stumbled upon “The Place on PCH” in Oceano, a collection of found objects, sculpture, plants, industrial detritus and quirky artifacts. I love these kind of collections. The owner, Darcy, gave us a nice walk through with some good stories. It instantly reminded me of a site I like to visit in San Francisco, Building REsources, or Urban Ore in Berkeley. Art has many forms, and the collected works here often easily fit my definitions, but also rapidly become social commentary, humor, strangeness and twilight zone.
“The Place” Oceano, CA. 2021.
Darcy with evolving Bull Sculpture at his “The Place” Oceano, CA. 2021.
Recently at Stephen Johnson Photography
I am proud to offer for sale a boxed set of original pigment prints from 2020 through May of 2021. A view of my photographic endeavors and fascinations just before and during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Twenty 14 inch prints in boxed set. Signed and sleeved. $4500.
Lectures and Photo Chats
My lecture program continues on with the Virtual Seminar Kinder Gentler HDR. August 18, 2021 6pm to 7:30pm
Photo Chats
I’ve been doing weekly virtual Photo Chats with groups of photo friends to keep everyone encouraged to keep working, share and problem solve. I’ve now built a webpage on the chats. Let me know if you would like to join us.
Virtual Experiences
Steve in his Life Form Gallery. April 2021.
I have now added Virtual Classes and Lectures to the schedule. Critiques are now virtual. In fact, as you might imagine, most all teaching is virtual at the moment. To flush that out, here is a list of the virtual educational opportunities we are offering.
Virtual Classes and Lectures. A series of new online live classes on various topics with limited space and Q&A sessions.
Kinder Gentler HDR. Wednesday evening August 18, 2021 6-7:30pm
Masterful Fine Art Digital Printing: Virtual Workshop. Saturday and Sunday August 28-29, 2021. 9am to 5pm PST.
Come Visit the Exhibitions (masked visits by appointment)
Check out my 50 years of Space Photography Exhibition joining with my Life Form Exhibition as Other Worldly for a mind-blowing journey from the living world close-up to the depths of space.
Although the gallery is not open to regular visits with the corona virus regulations, limited visitation can be arranged by appointment.
Come see the shows when you can. Space and awesome life! A dive into cosmic extremes.
The 50 Years of Space Photography Gallery with the five extra Apollo 11 prints.
In front of the Apollo 14 Panoramic, 3rd. Graders from Ocean Shore School in Pacifica visiting the Space Exhibit. 2019. Photo by Sheila Gamble.
Class Visits
Post-virus, when school is back in classroom, we will again welcome teachers bringing their classes by, kids and college students. The kid’s reactions have been inspiring to me, both for the space exhibition and Life Form.
Workshops Coming Up
The next class is an additional offering of our Mastering Fine Art Digital Editing and Printing on August 28-29, 2021 and has gone virtual with after-class online sessions. All workshops listed are open for enrollment now but subject to virus driven changes. We are exploring more virtual classes.
Please consider joining us on one of our upcoming workshops. Enrollment is the key to continuing to offer these classes and keep the studio running. We hope to hear from you.
Life Form Exhibition
Life Form opened in the Main Gallery at Stephen Johnson Photography in July 2018. The show has been extended into 2021. We have had many visitors come by the gallery since the opening. Many have then joined workshops and certainly helped build community. Please come see the show after the virus. Pass the word.
Seeking Good Venues for Life Form
We are seeking good venues to show the Life Form Series. The series is now available for museum and gallery exhibition.
Life Form Announcement. 2018
Don't forget to Check out our next workshops
Next Virtual Workshop
Next Virtual Seminar
The Studio, Scholarships, Mentoring and Tutorials
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 our Newsletter Archive and some on my neglected Blog.
We hope you can come by the gallery after the virus and see the original prints in the new Life Form Gallery and its new Life Form Portfolio, 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.
Print Mentor Program
Many of my mentoring students have wanted help with their printing, often to make sure they can produce a specific print. Consequently, I am starting a Print Mentoring Program that sets up a 2 hour time slot and the production of a finished print, all with the tutorial video of how we did it together. Prints can be up to 16x20 and on either Hahnemühle Museum Etching or Photo Rag Pearl paper. Fee is $500. Email for more information and to set up times.
Free and For Sale
Free Stuff (a few items still left)
I have been printing out nice copies of the Constitution and Bill of Rights on rich cotton paper. You are welcome to a copy when you can come by the gallery.
Additionally, I rescued a few Beseler Enlargers, a 23c and 4x5, hoping to find good homes for them. Make an offer.
Equipment for Sale
None at this time.
New Space Photography Products
Apollo 11 Collectors Portfolio
A suite of photographs from Apollo 11 including twelve pigment inkjet prints on letter-sized paper selected, edited and printed by photographer Stephen Johnson, in a portfolio box. The set includes a Mission Summary book, original US Postal Stamp commemorating the Mission, the Mission patch and a schematic of the Lunar Module. $250
Apollo 11 Collectors Portfolio examples.
50 Years of Space Photography Exhibition Catalog
The Exhibtion catalog featuring photograhs from Planetary probes, the Hublle Space Telescope, Lunar explorations, the Apollo program and Space Shuttle/Space Station images. Includes an exploration of the imaging technologies emplyed by the spacecraft.
68 pages, 8.5x11 inches
Other Worldly Exhibition Catalog.
Apollo 11 Photography Book
A 96 page 8.5x11 inch collection of Apollo 11 photographs from launch to recovery including contact sheets for every surface Hasselblad photograph.
It’s the collection I wish I could have bought, so I made it.
-96 pages
-7 sections, Lunar Photo Equipment, Preparation, On the Way, Lunar Orbit, Tranquility Base, Heading Home, Relics
-Film Magazine proofs
Life Form Folio
The Life Form Folio
When we premiered the Life Form Exhibition, I wanted to have a collectible item and record of the show prior to the full book I plan. So, now available is the 36 page 11x17 wire bound book, 5 years of work from 2013 to 2018 exploring these magnificent lives.
Photographs from 2013-2018
36 pages
11x17 wire-bound book
$40
Exquisite Earth Exhibition Catalog
Page 41
page 13
The Exquisite Earth Exhibition Catalog
As I've been on a roll on fixing bodies of work into POD books, I decided before the Exquisite Earth show could come down for new upcoming show, I wanted to create a printed record. So, now available is the 56 page 11x17 wire bound book, 5 years of work from 2005 to 2010 traveling this wondrous planet.
Photographs from 2005-2010
56 pages
11x17 wire-bound book
$40
Pacifica Book
A collection of photographs in and around Pacifica California. Include a trail map.
74 pages
11x17 wire-bound book for full lay-flat opening and enjoyment
Pacifica Trail Map
32 years in Pacifica
10 years of calendars
$50
Page 7
Page 27
Pacifica Trail Map by Pease Maps special to the Pacifica Land Trust.
11" x 17" folded
$10 (free shipping) proceeds go the Pacifica Land Trust a non-profit 501c3.
Gift Certificates for Prints and Workshops!
Emailed or shipped with beautiful gift note card.
Life Form Note cards
5x7 inches (sold-out, on backorder)
$25
12 image Note card set with envelopes featuring photographs from Steve's new Life Form work.
Printed by Steve in his studio in very limited numbers on a color laser digital press
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After a few years of working intensely on my Urban Eden Golden Gate Park project, I am excited to offer a two-day photographic workshop in this complex and beautiful landscape. Now 150 years old, this park symbolizes parkland engineering and the earth itself taking its own course of life and fecundity. The park will be explored over two days with a blend of photographic opportunity, assistance, and my growing knowledge of its own back woods. This springtime weekday workshop will avoid some of the weekend crowds.