Stephen Johnson Photography News
March 2022
Green Flash and Dramatic Sunset. Pacifica. 2022.
Upcoming Workshops:
Flora and Form: from Orchid Gardens to Virtual Digital Lab
March 10-12, 2022
Golden Gate Park
May 16-17, 2022
The Icelandic Landscape: A Photography Workshop 2022
September 3-11, 2022
Welcome to the March 2022 Edition of the Stephen Johnson Photography Newsletter.
It’s hard to think about business right now with tyrant Putin killing people in the Ukraine. There is little I can do but write letters of protest and send small amounts of money to refugee relief. Sometimes, working amid tragedy is a choice to counter the feelings of impotence. So, I am going to spend a few days sorting through my photographs, thoughts and ongoing work. Stay safe, we’re not through the pandemic yet either. — Steve
This month's View From Here column features musings on the value of war photography, and recent photographs. As I mentioned last month, a few big framed original finished prints have become available. My Virtual Classes are continuing with the combo field and virtual Flora and Form class on March 10-12, 2022 (one spot left). I’m looking forward to my next full field workshop, Golden Gate Park on May 16-17, 2022. My virtual series on Raw and Photoshop begins again on March 30 with Raw Processing Strategies and Opportunities and continues with the three hour Raw Processing and Photoshop Editing virtual workshop April 9, 2022. I am just now announcing my return to Iceland in September for the Icelandic Landscape Workshop September 3 to 11, 2022
In case you missed it, check out my most recent 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 March 2022
Blooming Magnolia. San Francisco Botanical Garden in Black and White. Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA. 2022
The spring bloom of Magnolia trees in Golden Gate Park is a glorious annual announcement of life reborn. It is a big attraction.
It’s rare that I put color and black and white versions of the same photograph out there, but I was struck by how different these two are. I am happy with the color photograph below, about the classical beauty of nature. The BW version did something else, it was much more about the reach of the tree limbs and the wispy sky and added a hint of abstraction.
Blooming Magnolia. San Francisco Botanical Garden. Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA. 2022
A color view of Magnolias in bloom in Golden Gate Park.
Visit my blog: https://sjohnsonphoto.wordpress.com
We're offering an 11x14 inch print of either photograph for $195, matted to 16x20 inch board. This print at this price is offered through March 31. We'll be taking orders until then, and shipping them out by April 15.
NEW PHOTOGRAPH
Kestral and Moon GGNRA. Pacifica, CA. 2022
An irresistible focus stack of a beautiful American Kestral against the full Moon. Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Mori Point. Pacifica, CA. 2022.
LATEST NEWS:
Back on my feet.
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 no longer supported 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 My Virtual Classes are continuing with the combo field and virtual Flora and Form class on March 10-12, 2022. I’m looking forward to my next full field workshop, Golden Gate Park on May 16-17, 2022. My virtual series on Raw and Photoshop begins again on March 30 with Raw Processing Strategies and Opportunities and continues with the three hour Raw Processing and Photoshop Editing virtual workshop April 9, 2022. I am just now announcing my return to Iceland in September for the Icelandic Landscape Workshop September 3 to 11, 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
Landing Hawk. Mussel Rock. Pacifica, CA 2022.
I have often used the beauty of nature to battle back the ugliness of human behavior. With senseless war raging, the natural world once again is my refuge.
THE VIEW FROM HERE
by Stephen Johnson
Images of War, Document
Photographs have power. The photographs of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine bring us some small vision of the horror now happening. Photography can help be the ally of revealing lies by the powerful as they prey on the weak. They can help bring light to the brutal truth of war.
As early as the Crimean War in the 1850s, yes Crimea, photographer Roger Fenton sent photographic evidence of war home in 1855. His photographs were mostly still lifes, which the photo technology of the time was best suited for.
Less than a decade later, American Civil War photographs by Matthew Brady’s crew of Timothy O’Sullivan and Alexander Gardner started to help make the costs of that war clear, many seen through engravings made for publication.
Both of the 20th. Century’s World Wars began a period where governments used photography to bolster the glory of their soldiers, but photographs of the brutality started to be made and seen. Part of the empowerment to do so came from ever more portable cameras and the new “sub-miniature” format of 35mm. World War I brought so many images of muddy trenches and artillery lines. World War II gave us photographs that made believable the unbelievable, including the death camp liberation photographs from Dacau and Auschwitz.
Hungarian photographer Andre Friedmann, known as Robert Capa, brought us remarkable photographs of the brutality of the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. Capa was the co-founder of Magnum Photos. He was killed by an Indo-China landmine 1954.
David Douglas Duncan was one photographer who stood out with photographs from WWII, Korea and Vietnam. His Korea Photographs were featured in Life Magazine and published the photo book “This is War!” in 9151.
Photographs and film crews changed how the American public saw the war in Vietnam. The Vietnam War is where active disclosure a realistic view of the horror or war became a huge part of the story. One of the most dedicated photographers in Vietnam was Larry Burrows. ICP hosts galleries of his work. There is a nice video tribute to him on YouTube. Burrows died in a helicopter crash over Laos while working. His photographs brought truth home. Larry Burrows brought truth home.
Photographs from Central American conflicts gave us much insight to some of the consequences of our foreign policy. Susan Meiselas work Nicaragua is a good example.
In more recent years, with the internet and speed of digital photography, the flow of disturbing and revealing photographs of conflict around the world has grown to a level previously unknown. A list would be beyond what I’ve kept track of, but I continue to often be impressed by the bravery and tragedy reveling nature of what has now become commonplace.
Photographs have helped make the brutal truth of war more understood. They cannot communicate the real horror, only give the viewer a window into it. But that glimpse is absolutely critical if we ever hope to stop this madness.
A wounded woman stands outside a hospital after the bombing of the eastern Ukraine town of Chuhuiv, February 24, 2022, as Russian armed forces invade Ukraine.
ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/GETTY
There is another face to photography of tragedy, with some photographers being very aggressive, photographing deep pain, often without any permission to do so by the subjects. This brings up all sorts of issues beyond what I’m going tackle right now, but photographers bare responsibility for images they make without permission. Even if legally able to photograph people in public places, we have ethical obligations to those very people. We have to be very careful of what we do “for the greater good” of exposing horror.
I greatly admire those with the courage to go into war zones and record the awful scenes they witness. I have not sought such a career. If war came to me, I would hope that I could display some of that same courage.
My deepest wish would be that we humans never again create such horror. As the Russian war on Ukraine grows daily in brutality and death, that dream seems ever more elusive.
The valley of the shadow of death. Dirt road in ravine scattered with cannonballs. Roger Fenton. 1855.
Confederate Dead. Antietam. Alexander Gardner. 1862.
Omaha Beach during the D-Day landings. Normandy, France. June 6th, 1944. Robert Capa.
Korea 1950. David Douglas Duncan.
Helicopter crew chief James C. Farley shouting to crew as wounded pilot Lt. James E. Magel and Billy Owens lay dying, Vietnam. Larry Burrows. 1965.
Back in Golden Gate Park
Bamboo Stand. San Francisco Botanical Garden. 2022.
A Morning at the Botanical Garden
Springtime has come so quickly, I have been determined not to miss it in Golden Gate Park. My morning visit to the San Francisco Botanical Garden proved very satisfying. Even when walking paths I’ve photographed from before, I’m always moving through different light and weather, and hopefully see new visual relationships.
I love the time spent just walking the paths and looking. I love coming around another turn in the path and see something entirely new. I also enjoy revisiting sites, remembering successes and disappointments, trying again to see with sensitivity and care.
The Garden is a very easy place to visit, without even an entrance fee before 9am. Parking is easy early, and the two hour limit of the weekday park does not apply on weekends.
One downside of the visit was an encounter with a family carving their initials into stalks in the bamboo forest. I asked them to stop, reminded them that these plants are living beings, to little avail. The two kids were listening to every word, the mother was silent, and the dad mildly combative. After some push back, they did stop carving and walked away. I moved on feeling bad about the damage I witnessed, the failure of the adults to lead the kids toward protection and the feeling of angst after conflict.
I did manage to go on with my work, and continued to enjoy the place, but was walking in a different state of mind. I couldn’t help but ponder the rights of all of these living beings in this human reworked landscape. Golden Gate Park is man-made, but all of the life and its inevitable wildness is a product of nature itself.
Old Cypress. San Francisco Botanical Garden. 2022.
San Francisco Botanical Garden. 2022.
Complex Forest. San Francisco Botanical Garden. 2022.
Night in the Park
A foggy evening here in Pacifica sent me heading into Golden Gate Park for a foggy night.
JFK Drive, at Lindley Meadow. Golden Gate Park. 2022.
I love the mystery of the night. The park becomes an entirely different place. It is quiet, almost empty of people and light is as likely to be ambient city light reflected back by the sky, moving car lights, the often eerie lights built into the park design.
Long exposures, sometimes high ISO, careful attention to noise and moving subjects. Always a tripod, moving slow, checking the results and re-making the photograph as needed.
On this particular night I was alone. It was not the best idea as it did keep me pretty alert about my surroundings and distracted form the photography. All was fine.
Star Wheel. Museum Concourse. Golden Gate Park. 2022.
Beach Chalet Athletic Fields Golden Gate Park. 2022..
A Foggy Morning in the Park
Sycamores at Mallard Lake. Golden Gate Park. 2022.
Waking up early one foggy morning took me into Golden Gate Park for a quiet exploration. As I say, I was out for a wander. I do love what I do.
Above Lindley Meadow. Golden Gate Park. 2022.
Recent Photographs
The sun at the end of the day here along the Pacific coast keeps giving me glimpses into the wonders of day to night transitions. Every sunset is different, particularly when seen close. I often just keep the Canon RF800mm lens on my R5 to go down to the sunset, as I am amazed at the variety of structure, color and abstract form the sun evolves through as it sinks into the sea.
Line of Fire. Sunset, Pacifica, CA. 2022.
Sunset Cloud Abstract, 2022.
Recently at Stephen Johnson Photography
In Yosemite
A coming of rain to the Bay Area made snow likely in the Sierra and Yosemite. Having missed most of the winter with my falling injury, I leaped at the chance in early March for a quick trip to Yosemite. Along with my dear friend Ed Stone, we hit the road to catch the aftermath of what I assumed might be the last snowfall this season.
I’ll post more in next month’s Newsletter.
Trees. Sentinel Meadow. Yosemite Valley. 2022.
Ice on Merced River. Yosemite Valley. 2022.
Around Town
Farallon Island Mirage from the cliffs of Pacifica.
Double Islands. Farallon Mirage. 2022.
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.
Raw Processing Strategies and Opportunities March 30, 2022. 6pm-8pm PST.
Raw Processing and Photoshop Editing April 9, 2022.. 9am-12pm PST.
Photo Chats
I’ve been doing weekly virtual Photo Chats with groups of photo friends to keep everyone encouraged to keep working, creates a forum to 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.