Stephen Johnson Photography News
November 2022
Tail feathers and Wake. Diving Ruddy Duck, Mono Lake. 2022..
Upcoming Workshops:
Pt. Lobos, Big Sur and Carmel
December 2-4, 2022
Fine Art Digital Printing Hands-on in Studio
January 2023
Welcome to the November 2022 Edition of the Stephen Johnson Photography Newsletter.
I’ve been on the road a bit, for my Mono Lake Workshop and some restoration work for the At Mono Lake Exhibit at the USFS Visitor’s Center there. New photographs, new experiences, visiting some relatives, old friends and wide open spaces.
News! I’m offering a return to an in-studio class with my Fine Art Printing hands-on workshop January 2023 at Stephen Johnson Photography, with Covid-19 precautions in place. My popular Pt. Lobos, Big Sur and Carmel Workshop is coming right up December 2-4, 2023.
— Steve
This month's View From Here column explores my recent work at Mono Lake, landscape, teaching, wild horses and exhibit restoration. My field workshop offerings continue with my return to Death Valley in January and Yosemite in Winter during February to start 2023.
I am offering my first in-studio workshop since Covid began with my Fine Art Digital Printing class at Stephen Johnson Photography in Pacifica, CA January 21-24, 2023. This is a masked workshop with vaccination required.
As I mentioned in the last few Newsletters, a few big framed original finished prints have become available. My most recent print set is 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 November 2022
Wild Horses. Mono County, CA. 2022
We were told of wild horses wandering through the Mono Basin. Our workshop went looking and found scores of them in the open desert.
It was unclear if the momentary encounter here was play or dominance, but it was fascinating to watch.
I’m offering an 11x14 inch print of this photograph for $195, matted to 16x20. This print at this price is offered through November 30. I'll be taking orders until then, and shipping them out by December 15.
NEW PHOTOGRAPH November 2022
Wild Clouds above Mt. Madonna near San Martin, CA. 2022. “Seeing Around” Two Photo Combination.
Wild Clouds near San Martin, CA. 2022
These clouds caught my attention gazing out the window while driving home up Hwy. 101. Down the road they just got better and better. After a few iPhone snaps through the car window, I finally pulled over and made a more serious effort. I was on my way home from the Mono Lake Workshop, which reminded me again that wonders are everywhere.
This photograph brought up a visual and ethical issue worth discussion. There were big light poles sticking up just above the horizon which were distracting. They were not in my view as I was driving along looking for a safe place to pull off the highway before the light disappeared. When I found a safe place, I found the light poles. Without even giving it much thought, I made two views of the scene, about 10 feet apart, just enough to “see around” the poles with real sky if the photos were combined so that neither contained the poles. This “seeing around” feels different to me than cloning them out, which I would be reluctant to do. Still, I don’t want to show the photograph without disclosing that it is really two photographs combined to see sky behind both light poles, and render neither pole into the scene. Although this mimics what I saw from my car, it is not literally what I saw at the moment that I made the exposures. As is also obvious, I did not see the scene in black and white. The “seeing around” disclosure is important to me as I strive for visual truth in my photography. As I have also said for decades of digital empowerment, an artist using photography must still have the freedom to journey down any path of artistic curiosity, but if the scene is depicted as real, and it has been altered in some way, simply tell your audience what they are being shown, as I am now..
LATEST NEWS:
I’m spending more and more time back working at the studio and generally open the galleries when I’m there. People are visiting more and more, still masked of course. Please set up a time to come by and we can walk through the galleries together.
Gallery Appointments
The gallery is now open to masked/distanced appointments. Please come visit us!. Write to inquire or call 650 355-7507 about a time for a virus cautious appointment.
Subscribe to my Blog
As I have mentioned in my last few Newsletters, I have renewed more frequent postings on my Blog derived from my Newsletters and Facebook 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
Stephen Johnson Photography Blog.
Virtual Classes
During the virus, I naturally shifted most of my education programs to online experiences. This was frustrating and rewarding. The virtual experiences certainly stretched out my geographical reach. I have been very pleased by our Virtual Classes Program.
My 2023 Workshop Schedule is evolving to accommodate virus precautions and cautious options for gathering 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 satisfying experiences students have had on my Workshops by exploring Workshop Testimonials.
Workshop Recap
The 2022-2023 Workshop Schedule continues with a Point Lobos, Carmel and Big Sur workshop Dec 2-4, 2022. My Fine Art Digital Printing class at Stephen Johnson Photography is January 21-24, 2023. This is a masked workshop with vaccination required. Other workshops continue with my return to Death Valley in January and Yosemite in Winter during February.
See what a great experience students have had on Steve's Workshops by exploring Workshop Testimonials.
Current Exhibitions
Other Worldly is the name I’ve given to the two current exhibitions, 50 Years of Space Photography Exhibit and Life Form. Now that we are open for visits by appointment (socially distanced, masked and limited to two people) please set up a time to come by. 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
View From Here
Dawn, North Shore. Mono Lake. CA. 2022. Fuji GFX 100s three image stitched panorama.
THE VIEW FROM HERE
by Stephen Johnson
Mono Lake: Past and Future
Mono Lake has been the subject of my heart and lens these last few weeks. In mid-October, I was out on an art exhibit restoration project and photo workshop at Mono Lake.
Of course my love of Mono Lake began much earlier, on a UC Santa Cruz Extension Photo Workshop with Al Weber and Ralph Putzker in 1975. That romance with the place led to me dream up and create the At Mono Lake Exhibition in 1979-1980.
The Workshop
We had a productive four days with a wide view of the basin and some unexpected treats. Fall color was out in various stages, the air was clear and the weather still mild.
Exhibit Work
The 40 year old At Mono Lake Exhibition is in need of some sprucing up and modern documentation. My old friends, and some of my original helpers, David and Mary Gardner came up to lend a hand to the work I had organized for two days before my workshop began. Cleaning issues and fading on the once beautiful color prints are problems needing to be addressed. The beautiful black and white prints that were always the bulk of the show remain gorgeous.
My love of fine-art photographic prints and exhibitions with beautiful prints is why my first in-studio class, since the pandemic began, is a printing class, Masterful Fine Art Digital Printing Hands-on Workshop January 23-26, 2023.
Tufa Towers at Dawn. South Shore. Mono Lake, CA. 2022.
Rising Sun on Mono Lake. 2022. Fuji GFX 100s three image stitched panorama.
A Herd of Wild Horses in the Desert
An imperfect panoramic stitch of part of the horse herd, but enough promise to work on the image more. 2022.
We were told there was a herd of wild horses wandering through the Mono Basin and places southeast of Mono Lake. So we went looking and found scores of them in the open desert. The first four we encountered were happily grazing near some water. The Featured Print above shows some of the interaction.
The herd we saw off in distance looked huge, with at least dozens of horses. One male seemed dominate among them and led the whole heard across the road in front of us, making for a great view, but challenging photographs with so many, all moving and for me at least, with the 800mm lens on. Some of my students had a greater variety of views with their shorter lenses. The old photojournalist technique of multiple cameras with different focal length lenses would have been a good option. Perhaps I’ll start carrying the second Canon R5 body…
I made so many photographs of these horses (nearly 700) that it will take me while to go through them. I did want to put a few up in a timely manner.
Wild Horse. Mono County., CA. 2022.
The Mono Lake Committee website has a whole page on the wild horse issue, including these photos of the horse damage to a warm springs at Mono Lake.
From Mono Lake Committee Website.
Exhibit Restoration
Steve with his copying set-up. Lee Vining, CA 2022..
In 1979 I organized an exhibition displaying the beauty and value of Mono Lake. The lake has been in decline since the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power began exporting its feeder streams in 1940. Unreplinished evaporation has dramatically shrunk the million year old lake, dropping the almost 100 square mile lake 40 vertical feet and making it much more salty. The declining lake level has also bridged the safety of the Negit Island California Gull rookery leading gulls to nest in the islets nearby. The huge brine shrimp and brine fly population is threatened as well as the millions of migratory birds that depend on them as food sources.
To call attention to this decline, I decided to use photography to clearly show the value of the place by assembling the traveling exhibition At Mono Lake. I was very fortunate to have the help of my co-curators Al Weber and Don Worth. Ansel Adams and Brett Weston helped with photographs and a public commitment to help early on. David Brower at Friends of the Earth helped with non-profit sponsorship and George Lindsey at the California Academy of Sciences helped set in motion a major showing of the work. The exhibit featured 40 photographers and spanned 150 years of photography. It toured the country from 1980 to 1983, was seen at a few locations after that and has been on display in a special gallery the US Forest Service Mono Basin Scenic Area since 1992. The USFS gallery never had the room to display the whole show, so a photo rotation plan was put in place that has not been as regular as planned. Every visit I make now seeks to rotate more images from crate to wall.
For a 40 year old exhibit, it’s in pretty good shape. The black and white prints look fine, but many of the color prints have faded into bare resemblance of the prints they were. Debris has somehow migrated into some of the frames, and the years of touring and display has taken its toll on the acrylic glazing.
Making sure there is a good visual record was a big task this time around, along with cleaning and documentation of print condition, and exact size. Copying everything in the crates (prints not currently on display) was the biggest task. This time we left them in the frames, next time many will have to be unframed to get good copies.
There is much work yet to do, replacing faded color prints where possible, controlling the room lighting and color temperature, building an interpretive program to display with the show, and printing an expanded version of the 1983 88 page catalog to include every photograph in the exhibition.
A Kickstarter fund will be created to help crowd-source money for these projects. Let me know if you would like to help.
Mary Gardner helping with copy stand set-up. 2022..
Shipping/Stoprage Crates with prints currently on exhibit removed. 2022.
David Gardner helping with plex cleaning.,
Willard Morgan’s 1929 Photograph of Black point is now up beside his wife Barbara Morgan’s photograph.
The Morgan’s Prints Together. Again.. 2022.
Mono Lake Current Status
The lake level is low, with the coyote traversing landbridge to Negit Island and gull-nesting islets emerging again from the lake bottom as the evaporating water causes the lake level to fall. The lake level has been falling since Los Angeles started exporting water from Mono Lake’s feeder streams in 1940. As a result of a lawsuit brought in the early 1980s by the Mono Lake Committee and the National Audubon Society, in 1994 the State Water Board Permit was modified ordering LADWP to allow more water to go into the lake until it reaches 6392’ feet above sea level. It is currently at 6378’. The drought has negatively impacted that effectiveness of that agreement and the lake level.
As far as we could tell when the workshop visited the water diversion site at Lee Vining Creek, all of the creek’s water was flowing into the lake. We did not go south to the Rush Creek Diversion from Grant Dam to check it out, although I understand water is being taken there.
The Mono Lake Committee is continuing its work to save Mono Lake. Please help if you can.
Downstream from the Lee Vining Creek Diversion Dam with water flowing on down toward Mono Lake. October 16, 2022.
Along the Way
So much to see…
Dana Plateau. Edge of Yosemite. 2022.
Smoky Sunset above old Fire Trees. Yosemite. 2022.
Granite Cliffs and Forest. Tenaya Lake. Yosemite. 2022.
Yosemite, Mono Lake and places along the way…even the list fills my imagination. Of course, there are more in this Newsletter from the trip, but this section seemed like good place to do a catch-up on a few additional photographs just made and an appreciation for the visual memories they hold..
Grasses. North Shore. Mono Lake. 2022.
Lee Vining Creek. Mono County. 2022.
Recently at Stephen Johnson Photography
On the Way Home on Highway One
San Mateo Coast, CA. 2022.
An add-on back-up camera to an older vehicle has one advantage over newer built-in cameras, it can easily be always on. Sometimes there is a very cool view that comes out of that possibility.
Wave Towers at Devil’s Slide. 2022.
I went out to immerse myself in ocean views, and the cliffs at Devil’s Slide brought me a great wave action. The incoming surf kept hitting the receding waves and made for huge intersection towers. It was amazing to watch.
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.
A Parade of Influences: A History of Photography through My Eyes August 20, 2022
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.
Class Visits
Post-virus, we will again welcome teachers to bring their classes by, from kids to college students. The kid’s reactions have been inspiring to me, both for the space exhibition and Life Form.
In front of the Apollo 14 Panoramic, 3rd. Graders from Ocean Shore School in Pacifica visiting the Space Exhibit. 2019. Photo by Sheila Gamble.
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. Free to anyone who will use them.
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 13
Page 41
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: A Photographic Portrait of Land and Sea
Page 7
Page 27
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
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.