Stephen Johnson Photography News

January/February 2021

Last light, Purisima Creek Redwoods. 2020.

Last light, Purisima Creek Redwoods. 2020.

Prelude: Above all else, Stay Safe. Our guard against the virus must be even higher now with the huge surge and mutated strains. It is all of our mutual responsibility to protect ourselves and others. Please wear a mask and keep socially distant. No matter how tired we all are of this damned pandemic, now would be the worst time to let our guard down.


Upcoming Workshops and Sales:

Fine Art Printing Virtual

February 6-7, 2021

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No Gallery Print Sale

40% off all prints during shutdown


Welcome to the January/February 2021 Edition of the Stephen Johnson Photography Newsletter.

Looking back on 2020 for good is an exercise in expanding selective memory. I experienced much more good than bad this year, and made many more photographs I care about than might be casually remembered. I have much to be grateful for, even amid the disaster that 2020 was.

  — Steve

This month's View From Here column looks back at 2020 A Year of Improvisation and Small Adventures. Our new Virtual Classes are continuing to broaden with new offerings including my new Projects Lecture Series continuing with With a New Eye: The digital National Parks Project on February 17. 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 moving to virtual where possible. All workshops currently scheduled are subject to necessary corona virus spread prevention logistics.


Penguin. Antarctica. 2005.

Canon EOS 1DS II..

King Penguin in the snow walking up an ice slope.

We're offering an 11x14 inch print of each photograph for $195, matted to 16x20 inch board. This print at this price is offered through February 28. We'll be taking orders until then, and shipping them out by March 15.


NEW PHOTOGRAPH

Sunset with  Wild Sky. Crystal Springs. 2020.

Sunset with Wild Sky. Crystal Springs. 2020.

Sunset with Wild Sky. 2020.

Canon EOS R5, RF600mm lens.

The day had been overcast and I sought sun. I found the sunlight and warm skin, but never expected this sky. You just never know what you’ll find out in the world.


LATEST NEWS:

As the response to the virus continues to tell us to avoid unnecessary exposure to others, masks and social distancing remain in order, our general gallery closure continues.

Gallery Appointments

The latest Covid-19 restrictions have closed the gallery again. I hope to at least be able to open for special limited viewing appointments again soon. Write to inquire or call 650 355-7507.

With our shutdown closed gallery, I am offering a print sale reducing prices to what I would normally earn from a gallery sale, 40% off my normal prices. This sale has continued through the shutdown and has been a good contribution to my business continuing and keeping the studio. Thanks to all of you who have taken advantage of the sale and your words of appreciation on having the prints in your hands.

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 emerging 2021 Workshop Schedule is being modified to accommodate the virus shutdown and unlikely ability to gather indoors. 

Some plans are being now made on the assumption that the vaccine will be available later this year 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

The Last Full Moon of 2020 Looking Across San Bruno Mountain and South San Francisco. 2020.

The Last Full Moon of 2020 Looking Across San Bruno Mountain and South San Francisco. 2020.

The early 2021 Workshop Schedule includes one of my favorites, the Fine Art Digital Printing class as a virtual lecture, multi-session follow-up February 6-7, 2021. I will also continue with my Project Sessions With a New Eye: The Digital National Parks Project February 17, 2021.

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 new Space 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


Purisima Redwoods. IR. 2020. IR Converted Canon 5D II.

Purisima Redwoods. IR. 2020. IR Converted Canon 5D II.

THE VIEW FROM HERE
by Stephen Johnson

A Year of Improvisation and Small Adventures

My Anti-Virus Kit. Always in my Pocket.

It is easy to summarize 2020 as a disaster. And in so many ways, it certainly has been. But it has also been much more than that. There were many moments of wonder, before the shutdowns, and since.

I have largely been spared the horror of the year that has brought loss and great trauma to millions across the earth. I have stayed very close to home since the shutdown to stay safe, and although I cannot count on that, my faith is that has helped keep me safe.

Human interaction is masked, brief or virtual. “Chill” has become my mantra, “this will pass,” ”just be cool” are my repeated self-admonitions.

Birds in the Surf. Pacifica. 2020. Canon EOS R5, 100-400mm lens.

Birds in the Surf. Pacifica. 2020. Canon EOS R5, 100-400mm lens.

Small wonders still abound. The wonder of weather and wildlife. The wonder of love when my son said they were expecting babies. The wonder of colorful birds flitting about my front yard.

I do find birds irresistible to photograph. I can’t say I often get wonderful photographs, but I get to see them so much better in photographs than their rapidly moving real world movement allows. Photographs have often brought the benefit of a more leisurely look at something than real world time allows. It is one of photography’s great seductions, to hold light captures in a form we can revisit, re-experience our amazement, confirm our memories and study for greater comprehension. It is peculiar that photographs often make clear how much we miss by only looking, even looking intensely. Time becomes a real factor. Too much happens too fast. A single frame can freeze a moment passing too quickly to see.

Birds with wings expanded can be visually amazing. Even after a lifetime of watching birds, their flight still seems magical. I hope such wonder is never displaced by my knowledge that birds fly. Flight should always remain a wonder.

Townsends Warbler. Pacifica, CA.  2020. Canon R5, RF600mm lens..

Townsends Warbler. Pacifica, CA. 2020. Canon R5, RF600mm lens..

Stretching Heron. Golden Gate Park. San Francisco, CA. 2020.

Stretching Heron. Golden Gate Park. San Francisco, CA. 2020.

Looking Back at 2020, Photographically

The year started with anticipation of travel, new adventures and some reconstructing of personal life. I never dreamed the year would turn into how we would cope with a pandemic. I feared Trump might be returned to office. Fortunately he lost the election, making that truth one of the high points of 2020 for me.

2020 began with no sense of a new project being undertaken, nor of cosmic events that would include a comet and a planetary confluence. I had no real notion of the influences a new camera from Canon would have on my work. There was no anticipation of the visuals and constrained movement wildfires would bring. Drone work and infrared photography made reappearances in unanticipated ways.

Clearly, neither the dread nor the upswings were seen, which is normal life, without visions of the future.

But the real world brought new stories. Plans were scrapped and reinvented as the year passed. Improvisation became the norm as human contact became mostly virtual. 2020 was a strange time.

The looking back this Newsletter has prompted has been good for me. The more than 31,000 images discouraged seeing mostly darkness, which simply would not have been true. For me, there was so much light keeping this darkness at bay that the real year is a much different story.

Of course any pondering of the year can easily collapse into sorrow at the huge losses of so many to the virus, all of their stories and loved ones left behind. That sorrow needs to be felt, empathized with, kept in mind. But it must not conquer our hearts.

Comet Neowise. 2020.

Comet Neowise. 2020.

Comet Neowise. 2020.

Comet Neowise. 2020.

A 2020 Chronology

The year started with quite an adventure, a journey with my good friend Ed Stone to Nashville and Memphis Tennessee, to Muscle Shoals and Huntsville Alabama.

I was lecturing for Canon at Imaging USA in Nashville, which gave the whole trip its impetus, but soon evolved into a music and space adventure. My trips almost always evolve into much more than I initially imagine. I treasure those evolutions.

I try to live life fully, and I am very fortunate to have largely done that. Still, I am often surprised by what I have done within these annual markers of time. I’ve been assuming 2020 would feel emptier because so much travel plans and potential was cut-off by the pandemic. But in looking back, as usual, there was far more squeezed in than a casual recollection would have suggested. I was pleased this newsletter gave me that incentive to look.

Elvis Statue, downtown Memphis, TN. 2020.

Elvis Statue, downtown Memphis, TN. 2020.

Korean War Memorial Bridge. Missouri River. Nashville. 2020.

Korean War Memorial Bridge. Missouri River. Nashville. 2020.

Nashville

Our first foray into Nashville was a quick look at Music Row, then on to a performance at the Ryman Auditorium. It was a great introduction to the historic downtown and music traditions I had grown up with far away in California’s Central Valley..

The Ryman show was a variety of performers including Alan Jackson, Riders in the Sky, Ricky Skaggs, and Vince Gill. I kept imagining all of the people that had stood on that stage and sang, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, even Neil Young, and so many legends of Country Music.

After the show, I remember wandering some more, taking in the neon signs along Broadway and a few bar performances. It was a great night, with a little photography mixed in.

I had originally thought of heading east, toward the Great Smokey Mountains, but we had started on a musical journey and although in the opposite direction. Memphis called.

Driving through hill country on our way to Memphis, we came across Loretta Lynn’s Kitchen Restaurant, Museum, Gift shop in Hurricane Mills. We had to stop. A perfectly fine breakfast followed, surrounded by commemorative paintings, dioramas and other memorabilia.

Broadway Neon, Nashville. 2020. Canon 5DSr.

Broadway Neon, Nashville. 2020. Canon 5DSr.

Loretta Lynn’s Kitchen Restaurant, Museum, Gift shop. Hurricane Mills, TN. 2020.

Loretta Lynn’s Kitchen Restaurant, Museum, Gift shop. Hurricane Mills, TN. 2020.

Sun Studio. Memphis. 2020.

Sun Studio. Memphis. 2020.

Memphis

After starting our musical journey in Nashville, it became irresistible to go to Memphis and Sun Studios.

We took a great tour through the still operating Sun Studios where Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison all got their start, all following their dreams. Lingering, we soaked up all of the ambiance we could, and took a few snapshots along the way.

Of course Memphis is much more than Sun Studios, we spent time walking Beale Street, went in a few clubs and listened to some great music. My friend Ed wanted to go to Elvis’ home Graceland, so we did, though skipping the tour.

Memphis is right on the Mississippi River which pulled us down to the waterfront, across its bridges and exploring a misty morning on the river.

According to our Sun Studios tour guide, the very microphone used by Elvis and others for their first recordings. iPhone 7. 2020.

According to our Sun Studios tour guide, the very microphone used by Elvis and others for their first recordings. iPhone 7. 2020.

Graceland from Street. Memphis. 2020.

Graceland from Street. Memphis. 2020.

The Interstate 40 Bridge over the Mississippi River. Memphis, TN. 2020.

The Interstate 40 Bridge over the Mississippi River. Memphis, TN. 2020.

Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. Shelfield, AL. 2020

Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. Shelfield, AL. 2020

Me playing "Imagine" at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Alabama today. According to the docent, I was playing the same piano Leon Russell recorded Carney with, in the studio where it was recorded. Very cool. Photo by Ed Stone

Me playing "Imagine" at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Alabama today. According to the docent, I was playing the same piano Leon Russell recorded Carney with, in the studio where it was recorded. Very cool. Photo by Ed Stone

With our obvious delight on the Sun Studios tour, our guide suggested we would likely enjoy a visit to Muscle Shoals Recording Studio.

Muscle Shoals

How could we be standing in Sun Studios in Memphis and not think go of going to Muscle Shoals Recording Studios? So the trip enlarged and deepened.

The route took us down through a NE tip of Mississippi and rural north Alabama to Sheffield and an unassuming rectangular stand-alone building that had been, and was once again, Muscle Shoals Recording Studio.

So many influential albums were recorded in those rooms, from Boz Scaggs debut, to parts of the Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers, to Leon Russell’s Carney. It was very special to be there. We spent hours, and I even got to play the piano, supposedly the very same one used on some of those recordings.

Huntsville

Any child of the Space program knows of Huntsville Alabama. It is where the Saturn V was developed and built. It was only a bit of an extension of our loop back up to Nashville for my photo talk. My friend, former Saturn V engineer Eugene Worley, couldn’t get together as I hoped, but we had great visit to the US Space and Rocket Center, complete with a real Saturn V, a centrifuge 3G ride and a chat with one of the designers of the Lunar Rover.

Third Stage Saturn V, Instrument Stage and Payload Section (Lunar Module/Command Module). US Rocket and Space Center. Huntsville, AL. 2020

Third Stage Saturn V, Instrument Stage and Payload Section (Lunar Module/Command Module). US Rocket and Space Center. Huntsville, AL. 2020

Saturn V F1 Rocket engine array. US Rocket and Space Center. Huntsville, AL. 2020.

Saturn V F1 Rocket engine array. US Rocket and Space Center. Huntsville, AL. 2020.

Big Horn Sheep in Titus Canyon. Death Valley. 2020.

Big Horn Sheep in Titus Canyon. Death Valley. 2020.

Death Valley

My annual winter visit to Death Valley took me to many of my favorite places like the Dunes at Stove Pipe Wells and Titus Canyon.

Seeing some Bighorn Sheep in Titus Canyon was a real highlight for me. Initially we saw them up on a ridgeline, watched as they came down into the canyon, then walking about 20 feet in front of us, lingering just opposite our stopped cars.

Sand Dunes. Death Valley National Park. 2020.

Sand Dunes. Death Valley National Park. 2020.

Yosemite in Winter

A February excursion to Yosemite with some photo friends got me back to some places and experiences I do love. I can never really get enough of Yosemite and usually visit a few times a year. Not this year though, so looking back on fall of 2019 and winter of 2020 had to suffice this year.

I kept thinking I would get up to the park, and the high Sierra, see that summer starry nights from 10,000 feet, but the forest fires then held me at bay. There were a few in-between times I could have gone, if I had only know what was to come.

Giant Sequoia. Merced Grove. Yosemite. 2020.

Giant Sequoia. Merced Grove. Yosemite. 2020.

Yosemite Falls and Morning Mist Ice. 2020

Yosemite Falls and Morning Mist Ice. 2020

Goblin Valley. Utah. 2020.

Goblin Valley. Utah. 2020.

A lecture in Salt Lake City created an opportunity for mid-Utah exploration of being out and about, and a whole slew of new photographs. Heading south out of Salt Lake led me to an old friend in Spring City, then south to Goblin Valley, Escalante and Bryce Canyon. It was an amazing week in wander.

As it turned out, it needed to be a good wander as it was the last real trip of 2020, the California virus shutdown came a few days after I returned. Even though that last trip aspect was a shame, it was a very good wander.

May 2020 View from Here Column for full essay.

The Pandemic

It would be easy to say that COVID-19 dominated the year, and in some ways it did. But in other ways it forced a re-orientation of life and that has many ups and downs. I’ve been piddling with growing some of my food/herbs and walking much more. The photographic subjects became more local, often drawn from the same locations. This made for noticing daily differences in light, color and points of view that created its own kind of visual growth.

Great Blue Heron. Stow Lake Golden Gate Park. San Francisco, 2020. Canon 5DSr.

Great Blue Heron. Stow Lake Golden Gate Park. San Francisco, 2020. Canon 5DSr.

Golden Gate Park

A visit to Golden Gate Park to see nesting baby herons turned into a whole photo project, drawing on a long-existing idea/work and photographs as far back as the 1980s.

Since May 14, 2020, I have made 43 trips into the park and have been imagining the breadth of possibility that this project can entail.

As I look at Golden Gate Park again, so many past strolls and events have come to mind. Meeting my ex-wife on the front steps of the California Academy of Sciences, to receiving confirmation there of our first child on the way, to a 15 year old Steve at a huge Peace March in 1971, concerts and loving strolls all come to mind. That has led to digging out older photographs, historical imagery, making a concerted effort anew, and that has proved more rewarding than I could have imagined.

The project will continue to evolve, at least through May 2021.

Aids Memorial Grove. Golden Gate Park. San Francisco. 2020. Canon 5DSr.

Aids Memorial Grove. Golden Gate Park. San Francisco. 2020. Canon 5DSr.

Cosmos

Comet Neowise in August and the confluence of Jupiter and Saturn in December created cosmic viewing opportunities.

Although a long lens is no substitute for a telescope with a camera mounted and a clock drive, I did have fun recording Comet Neowise and a hint of Saturn’s Rings with Jupiter’s Moons.

The new Canon R5 helped with its cleaner high ISO, a borrowed Canon 600mm, then the new RF600mm provides the reach. Exposures were a balance between the movement of the Earth’s rotation and high ISO. The magnification of the 600mm lens of course made Earth rotation even more pronounced requiring a faster shutter speed.

On the Jupiter/Saturn set, the brightness differences in Jupiter, it’s moons and Saturn were put together from at least three different exposures.

Jupiter and its Gallelian Moons with Saturn. 2020.

Jupiter and its Gallelian Moons with Saturn. 2020.

Great Blue Heron and fish. Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. 2020.

Great Blue Heron and fish. Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. 2020.

A New Camera: The Canon R5

The new Canon R5 came into my life mid-summer and cemented my exploration of a mirrorless approach to cameras rather than DSLR. One of the biggest benefits for me is Canon’s new lightweight EOS RF f11 600mm lens. Combined with the R5’s good high ISOs, it makes for a fine wildlife camera combo.

There are a number real differences in the photographic experience with a mirrorless and dSLR cameras. As the viewfinder is also an electronic image, photographs are instantly viewable while still looking through the camera. All menus are available through that same viewfinder so everything is available without removing your eye from the camera.

Sharp Park under Martian Skies, Pacifica. 2020.

Sharp Park under Martian Skies, Pacifica. 2020.

A Martian Day

I woke up on September 9th to a sky that looked more like Mars than the Earth. I explored around Pacifica at first, then felt compelled to drive into downtown San Francisco for the first time in months to see it under the strange smokey skies. I went to San Francisco’s waterfront along the Embarcadero near the Bay Bridge, the view back downtown from Upper Market, Golden Gate Park and the Golden Gate Bridge. It was one of the strangest days I’ve ever witnessed and a testament to what we could do to this Earth.

August 2020 View from Here Column for full essay.

Biolumenesence in the Surf

The Pacific surfline started to glow blue in mid-August. It was eerie, wonderful and otherworldly. I spent a few nights out along the cliffs and down at the water’s edge watching the glowing phytoplankton stirred by the breaking waves. It was not bright. I found I needed a fast lens and high ISO. It was magic.

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Flying the Drone Again

A desire to see Golden Gate Park from the air had me playing with my drone again. It has been a good reintroduction into aerial perspectives leading to many local photographs as well.

December 2020 View from Here Column for full essay.

More Infrared

Toward the end of the year a loan of an IR converted Canon 5D II gave me an infrared kick in the butt, which has been fun. The conversion to infrared removes the IR cutoff filter from the camera, thus flooding the sensor with IR but with the the sensor’s RGB filters still in place. Not much color difference gets recorded by the green and blue channels as the red dominates with its near IR sensitivity. As I have little interest in red photographs, I normally convert the images directly to black and white. Of course some wild false-color interpretations are possible doing color channel swapping.

The view north from Mussel Rock toward San Francisco and Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County. 2020. Canon 5DII IR Converted.

The view north from Mussel Rock toward San Francisco and Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County. 2020. Canon 5DII IR Converted.


Staying Local

The shutdown made everything local, so where I can drive to on day trips, or whatever I can find in my coastal town became my subject matter. For me, that amounts to quite a range of possibilities, from Napa and Sonoma north, Monterey Bay to the south. In reality I’ve stayed closer to home, not much farther than 50 or so miles either way. But that does also include all of the glories of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Looking South from the Connemara Trail, Milagra  Ridge, Golden Gate National Parks. Pacifica, CA. 2021.

Looking South from the Connemara Trail, Milagra Ridge, Golden Gate National Parks. Pacifica, CA. 2021.


Recent Work

Point San Pedro. Pacifica. 2020.

Point San Pedro. Pacifica. 2020.

One of my normal activities during the pandemic was to make sure I get out to the ocean just half mile from my house. I often squeeze such a visit in at the end of the day, the coming sunset being the kicker to make sure I get out. I have been surprised how many of the resulting photographs have engaged me. I would have thought they would be far more repetitive and less diverse than has turned out to be the case.

My normal practice is to do a Facebook post, just to the get the experience out there. It has been nice to have so many people encouraging the posts, even as I remain a bit skeptical of so many sunsets.

Flying Santa. Mussel Rock. 2020.

Flying Santa. Mussel Rock. 2020.


Recently at Stephen Johnson Photography

Lectures and Photo Chats

My lecture program continues in with the Project Lecture With a New Eye: The Digital National Parks Project on February 17, 2021.

I have also been doing weekly virtual Photo Chats with a groups of photo friends to keep everyone encouraged to keep working, share and problem solve. Let me know if you would like to join us.


Featured Print Deal and No Gallery Print Sale

This month’s Featured Print offers another original print for $195.

Our 40% Off Sale Original Signed Prints continues. Back in April, virus income shifting and our closed gallery suggested we offer a big print sale. Thanks to those of you who have taken advantage of the offer. Prices have been reduced to what would normally be earned from a gallery sale, 40% off normal prices. This sale is planned to only last through the California shutdown while our gallery and others are closed.

Steve on Ocean Beach. San Francisco. 2020. DJI Phantom 4 drone.

Steve on Ocean Beach. San Francisco. 2020. DJI Phantom 4 drone.

Virtual Experiences

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.

Masterful Fine Art Digital Printing: Virtual Workshop. 9am to 5pm PST. Saturday and Sunday February 6-7, 2021

With a New Eye: The Digital National Parks Project on February 17, 2021. 6pm-7:30pm PST

Virtual Mentoring/Consulting

Existing Online Tutorials


Come Visit the Exhibitions (after the shutdown)

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 currently closed to regular visits for the corona virus shutdown, limited visitation can be arranged by appointment when current restrictions lift.. 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.

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 our Mastering Fine Art Digital Editing and Printing may be going virtual with an after-class online sessionsAll 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.


I’ve always been drawn to historical photographs and maps. I’ve been collecting 19th century books, engravings and now making scans of photos and maps. Printed on just the right paper and sheen, the reproductions are often vey special in their own right. So I’ve decided to make some of these prints available as I print them and discover more.

The first few are from the San Francisco Bay Area, local to my home in Pacifica, We’ll make them both available as 8x10 ($35-$45) and 11x14 ($75-$85) with larger sizes available for quote. The Gallery of current offerings where you can place orders can be found here.


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.


Don't forget to Check out our next workshops

Next Virtual Workshop

Next Virtual Lecture

Red Pass. Death Valley National Park. CA

Red Pass. Death Valley National Park. CA


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 Google Blogger.

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.

Workshop Testimonials


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. 12 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.

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.

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

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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 41

page 13

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 7

Page 27

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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