Stephen Johnson Photography News
January 2022
Surf. Linda Mar State Beach. Pacifica, CA, 2022.
Upcoming Workshops and Prints:
Golden Gate Park
May 15-16, 2022
Many Views: Twenty Print Set
a fine art boxed print set
Welcome to the January 2022 Edition of the Stephen Johnson Photography Newsletter.
We had all hoped 2022 would bring a moving on from the pandemic. Obviously that is not the case. In the meantime, please be safe, for yourself and others. I am continuing my Virtual Classes and Photo Chats. Photography continues to draw me into the world.
— Steve
This month's View From Here column features looks back on photographs from 2021 and explores some new images. As I mentioned last month, a few big framed original finished prints have become available. My Virtual Classes are continuing with the Photographic Composition: Perception Not Rules on January 12, 2022. My next field workshop, Death Valley in Winter workshop January 22-25, 2022 has been postponed due to student concerns with the Omnicron outbreak.
Check out my new 20 print set Many Views: Twenty Photographs, emerging from 18 months of work during very challenging pandemic times is available for order.
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 classes and field workshops. All workshops currently scheduled are subject to necessary corona virus spread prevention logistics.
FEATURED PRINT January 2022
Coyote in Field. Pacifica, CA 2021
While driving to my studio a few days after Christmas, I noticed this handsome creature in the very wet fields next to the road. I pulled over, carefully got out my car, and retrieved my Canon R5 camera. My 24-105mm lens was on the camera and I made a few photographs zoomed to 105mm. There was enough distance between us that she didn't seem to mind my presence, even if very aware I was there.
That morning I had decided to keep my day simple and had left all other lenses at home. After a few photographs with the short zoom lens, I decided to go home after my Canon 800mm lens and to risk the coyote leaving in the interim. She was still there. More on my blog.
Visit my blog: https://sjohnsonphoto.wordpress.com
We're offering an 11x14 inch print of the photograph for $195, matted to 16x20 inch board. This print at this price is offered through January 31. We'll be taking orders until then, and shipping them out by February 15.
NEW PHOTOGRAPH
Hawk Launching to Flight. Pacifica, CA 2022.
This swirl of feathers taking flight was not a planned photograph. This beautiful bird was just moving too fast for the shutter speed I had dialed in. The happy accident on the image caught a moment of magical motion. Accidents can be wonderful.
LATEST NEWS:
I continue to photograph with an ever greater reach into old haunting grounds adding new adventures they come to mind. I’m getting bolder about traveling, still with caution, mostly by car under my own control.
Gallery Appointments
The gallery can now be opened for masked/distanced appointments. Please come visit us!. Write to inquire or call 650 355-7507 about a virus cautious appointment.
Blog Restarted and Growing: Subscribe
As I have mentioned in my last few Newsletters, I have renewed more frequent postings on my Blog derived from my Newsletters and Facebooks posts. I am gradually moving other blog forums now gone to this one central place. 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 very pleased by our new Virtual Classes Program.
My 2022 Workshop Schedule continues to evolve to accommodate the virus precautions and very limited ability to gather indoors. Now that the vaccine is so available it is a prerequisite for any in-person 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 2022 Workshop Schedule is evolving, with the virtual seminar Photographic Composition: Perception Not Rules on January 12, 2022, a Virtual Critique and a virus postponed Death Valley in Winter. Meanwhile Yosemite in Winter and Golden Gate Park for 2022 are still on for 2022.
See what a great experience students have had on Steve's Workshops by exploring Workshop Testimonials.
Other Worldly is the name I’ve given to the two current exhibitions, 50 Years of Space Photography Exhibit and Life Form. 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
Coyote on Hillside.. Pacifica, CA 2021.
THE VIEW FROM HERE
by Stephen Johnson
One Year to the Next: A Look Back at 2021
The end of a year always prompts a look back, wanting to understand what the last year brought. I am often stunned by the range of what I have had the privilage of being visual witness to. The calendar is arbitrary, the experiences are real and full. Grouping some of this work together seems a bit odd. But all of these images and the memories they conjure makes the year seem so full. The family photographs of me with my new grandsons are of course the most meaningful of all.
I know that there is no way these few photographs here can sum up a years worth of work. But here is an attempt.
My first look at what I was up to suggests that is was a year of wildlife photography. Much of this work came from me happening onto a view of an animal, some of it was planned, and some of it needed some serious skill building.
The Falcons of Devil’s Slide
This spring was highlighted by my concentration on trying to photograph our nesting Peregrine Falcons on the ocean side cliffs at the south end of Pacifica.
As I walked through the challenges in my newsletters at the time, I certainly came away with an even greater appreciation of good bird photography.
I loved the pull I felt to go back to the cliffs, again and again, fine tuning lenses, tracking, auto-focus and gradually learning to follow the birds better.
Perigrine Falcon Landing on Cliff. Pacifica. CA. 2021.
Wildlife Discoveries
Most of my wildlife photographs come from chance encounters that I hope to be prepared for. In many cases I get reminded that I need to understand my auto-focus systems better.
Not surprizingly, it became ever-clearer, setting up and just watching for movement and gesture yielded the most interesting photographs.
Sometimes I would benefit from carrying two cameras, one with a shorter lens and one with a longer focal length lens. This has not been an issue for me traditionally, but as I am more able to do reasonable wildlife portraits, the temptation to keep a long lens on is often competing with more normal lens views.
Barn Swallows. Pacifica Center for the Arts. 2021
Egret. Golden Gate Park. San Francisco, CA. 2021..
Egrets. Merced Wildlife Refuge. 2021.
Grazing Zebras near Hearst Castle. 2021
Robin and Grapeseed. 2021.
Raccoon. San Fransico, CA 2021
Anna’s Hummingbird. Golden Gate Park. 2021.
Calf near Half Moon Bay. 2021
Life Breaking Out
Bllossoms. Golden Gate Park. San Francisco, CA 2021.
Oxalis. Half Moon Bay, CA 2021.
Layer of Life. San Luis Refuge. Merced County, CA. 2021.
Human Constructs
Our human created landscape has always been of interest to me. Both cultural manifestations and design travel such a different paths than my more natural landscapes, but both make me appreciate the noticing that my photography encourages.
Industrial Site. Guadalupe, CA. 2021
Downtown Guadalupe, CA. 2021
Scaffolding near Guadalupe, CA. 2021..
Dusk. Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA. 2021.
Light and Sky
San Gregorio Marsh. Highway One. 2021.
Light is always the subject matter of our photographs. Sometimes it is almost exclusively the subject, including scenes depicting a quality of light, shadows, and far too many other possibilities to list. The moments may bring pure abstract patterns of light, or instances where the light is simply the delight.
I think of pastels as light-filled color, often the delicate pallet of the real world that drew me into color photography. Pastel color then seems about light.
Sometimes barely perceptable color occurs when the light is gray and misty. Rain often makes the sky full of silvery light. With a heavy rains we’ve been experiencing in the last few weeks, there have been many examples.
Cloud Shadows. 2021.
Misty Hills in Rain at Stephen Johnson Photography. 2021.
I cannot resist the moon. It is endless wonder. And now with a long lens like the Canon RF800mm that I can actually hand hold, I am amazed at the detail that can be seen with such a casual photograph.
Humans have naturally felt a spiritual, emotional and cosmic pull to moon ever since consciousness connected us to wonder. Sometimes walking down the 50 Years of Space Photography exhibit, I feel chills at the views we now have, the glimpses of a landscape I would so love to explore.
When the full moon rises in the sky, my camera is nearby.
Moonbow. 2021.
Moon over Hills. 2021.
Sensual Form and Landscape
Oceana Dunes. 2021.
I think of the word sensual as relating to being drawn to human form and desire. But it is more than that, it is grace of line and movement, organic form of such variety that it is hard describe.
Sensuality is at the heart of why I photograph.
Complex Tree. Golden Gate Park. 2021.
Wave Bow. 2021.
Fern. Golden Gate Park. 2021.
These catagories seem a little forced, but are an attempt to sort out the wide variety of things I have been noticing, seduced by, and trying hold onto.
As in many years past, I’m exploring pulling together a print on demand book from the years work. This project usually turns out to be too big. Let me know if you might be interested in purchasing such a book.
Recent Photographs
Abstract Wash of Clouds after Sunset. over the Pacifica. 2022.
Sand Hill Crane. Woodbridge Wildlife Refuge. Lodi, CA. 2021.
Every day I walk out the door my camera is with me. Without any specific plans, photographs I might make are a surprise to me. Even when I make a plan to go someplace to photograph, I am still usually surprised by what I find.
I love the visual discovery that photography constantly brings to my life.
And my photographic interests are broad, led by my life curiosities. I keep an app on my iPhone called GoISSWatch that gives me flyover information for the International Space Station. Recently it seemed to be passing very near the moon so I set up to possibly record such an event. The Space Station missed passing in front of the moon, but I was astonished by what I did record.
The ISS is traveling about 17,000 mph at about 250 miles up.
The ISS flying overhead in December. Canon R5 with RF800mm lens. 2021.
Santa with Cross. Highway One. Pacifica, CA. 2021.
Art is Everywhere
Every time I see artwork showing up in less expected places, I’m anxious to share the work here.
Rick McKinney and his Namaskar. Pacific Center for the Arts. Pacifica, CA. 2022
Recently at Stephen Johnson Photography
Spanning the Delta of Mars' Jezero Crater. JPL/NASA. Color and pano stitching rework by Stephen Johnson. 2021.
JPL/NASA blue sky misrendering of Jezero Crater Panorama. 2021.
At Mars Again
A recent and amazing panorama from the Mars Perseverance Rover got my attention in December. I fell in love with the scene and sought a download of a high res photo file without an added blue sky.
Recently, images from the Mars Rover Perseverance have been posted with skies colorized (interpreted) into blue skies and a consequent overall bluish cast. This is apparently to make the images more accessible to a public accustomed to Earth colored skies. I find this strange and very unfulfliing. According to JPL: "The color bands of the image have been processed to improve visual contrast and accentuate color differences. The sky would not actually look blue to a human explorer on the Red Planet."
So I downloaded the file link provided (17078 x 1855 pixels) and proceeded to do my best to re-color the skies (whole file) to the Martian orange we might see if we were standing on the planet looking at the scene. I also attempted to rejoin sections of the panorama that were not lining up and filled the bottom missing imge info with a blank orange.
I added these images to my blog: https://sjohnsonphoto.wordpress.com
I couldn't resist a quick pano print. Me in the 50 Years of Space Photography Exhibition. 2021.
Collector Framed Prints Available
Trees, Fitzgerald Reserve. 1994.
Trees, Fitzgerald Reserve. 1994. 40x50 inch pigment inkjet print in 53x62 inch maple frame. Original price $5900. Make offer.
Framed Prints Available
Steve with 50 inch Fitzgerald Reserve print in his Gallery. 2018.
A collector is downsizing and is trading in a few very large framed prints for smaller versions. This means I suddenly have an inventory of a few very custom prints available for sale. The prints are all framed in beautiful solid maple with a sturdy back brace constructed by San Francisco Art Framing Services.
Alluvial Sweep. Haleakala National Park.. 1996
Alluvial Sweep. Haleakala National Park. 1996. From With a New Eye: The Digital National Parks Project. 27x34 inch pigment inkjet print in 39x47 inch frame. Original price $4200. Make offer.
Drying Staghorn Fern. 2013. From the Life Form Project.
Drying Staghorn Fern. 2013. From the Life Form Project. 27x34 inch pigment inkjet print in 39x47 inch frame. Original price $4200. Make offer.
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.
Virtual Educational Experiences
Steve in his Life Form Gallery. April 2021.
Virtual Classes and Lectures have now become a regular part of my workshop program. 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.
Photographic Composition: Perception Not Rules. January 12, 2022. 6pm-8pm PST.
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.
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.
Links to custom reproductions Steve has created because of his love of the work, with the skills to make beautiful copies, and to let more people enjoy these beautiful photographs and maps.
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, by appointment (masked), or 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 Field 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
Previously owned, but pristine, visually unused.
Canon Lenses
Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM lens $475
Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM Lens $425
Canon RF 600mm f/11 IS STM Lens $625
Gift Certificates Available for Prints and Workshops!
New Space Photography Products
Apollo 11 Collectors Portfolio examples.
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
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.