Stephen Johnson Photography News

May 2023

Bridalveil Fall. Yosemite, CA. 2023


Welcome to the May 2023 Edition of the Stephen Johnson Photography Newsletter.

This month's View From Here column reflects on connecting with audiences, familiar scenes, my recent open house, and some new wildflower explorations. The next session of my Masterful Fine-Art Printing hands-on workshop is scheduled for May 20–23. The Digital Black and White Vision and Printing Workshop has been added to the schedule for June 24-25.

— Steve

As these newsletters can cover many subjects, let me know of topics you would like to see addressed.


Hummingbird at Jeff’s. Merced, CA 2023.

Hummingbird at Jeff’s. Merced, CA 2023.

I was back in the Central Valley for a funeral, staying with friend of 45 years Jeff, getting in a work day in between travels. Jeff’s hummingbird feeder was really drawing the birds in, and it became impossible to not try photographing them. Initially I tried photographing through the window and screen, which didn’t work at all, then cleaned the window and removed the screen, which also didn’t work with distortions of the glass. The feeder was so close to the window, that we feared opening it up might lead one of the birds to fly into the house. I’ve been through that many times, so we cracked the window just enough for the camera lens, draped a sheet over the rest of the opening and proceeded to work on focus tracking, shutter speed, and patience. Over 600 frames later, I figured I had enough, with a huge variety of wing positions and focus variations with both female and the colorful males. There are so many among them I rated 5 stars in the folder that it was hard to pick. Ultimately it became not a matter of the best, but simply the beauty of this female Anna’s hummingbird almost frozen in midair, symmetrically hovering before me. The sky was stretched a bit here.

I’m offering a 14-inch-wide print of this photograph for $195, matted to 16”x20”. This print at this price is offered through May 31. I'll be taking orders until then, and shipping them out by June 15.

I’m also pleased to report my ongoing Donate to Ukrainian Relief Featured Print option has yielded funds to help victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In one case, my notice of completing the donation prompted the print buyer to donate additional funds.


NEW PHOTOGRAPH May 2023

Coastal Wildflowers, Sea and Sky. Mori Point. Pacifica, CA. 2023.

Coastal Wildflowers, Sea and Sky. Mori Point. Pacifca, CA. 2023.

On the morning drive to my studio from my home, I have the privilege to watch the sea and hills. Last week, I noticed a burst of yellow on the north side of Mori Point, so I made a plan to get up there the next day. There was a bit of rain the next day, but I waited for a lull, checked my weather app, and went up for a hike with my friend Holly. We did get blown around a bit by the wind, heavily misted now and then, but the bloom was lovely. I hope to go back again over the next few days.


LATEST NEWS:

New Prints in the Gallery

There are now new prints available to see in the gallery from the Golden Gate Park Project and the evolving Animal Series.

Silicon Valley Open Studios on May 6–7

The open house went well. Some pictures below.

Current Exhibitions

The current exhibitions in the gallery include 50 Years of Space Photography and Life Form—a collection I call Other Worldly.

Visiting the Gallery

My galleries and studio are generally open 10am–5pm. Write to inquire or call 650 355-7507 to schedule an appointment. Masks required.

Subscribe to my Blog

As I’ve mentioned in my last few newsletters, I’ve renewed more frequent postings on my blog derived from my newsletters and Facebook posts. I’m 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

My virtual classes program, launched in 2020, has allowed me to reach students around the world. 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

Stephen Johnson Photography Blog.


Upcoming Events & Workshops


View From Here

Majestic Rock. Yosemite, CA. 2023.

THE VIEW FROM HERE
by Stephen Johnson

Springtime, Icons, and Exploration

Wandering likely wildflower breakouts this past month led me all over the place, with some big loops around central California. There was some bloom-contact success, some too early, all together with the always unexpected that had nothing to do with flowers at all.

Carrizo Plain National Monument lived up to the promise of a great bloom after our very wet winter. I wandered the highways and small roads on two different trips during the month. A ravine road led to some complex geography, great views, and ultimately very primitive and adventurous driving with some friends. A few hours north the next day, I was seeking out walls of poppies that it turned out had not yet bloomed, but the search brought me to Yosemite Valley, now twice in one month.

Yosemite Valley is always a visual delight and almost too full of photographic opportunity. After this past winter’s snowfall, it was very wet. Waterfalls were pouring over cliffs where I’ve never seen them before. But as I’ve said, Yosemite’s most spectacular formations are photographed so often as to make it deeply challenging to see them anew. But when I’m there, I don’t hesitate to be taken in by whatever I see, majestic or simple and small. One of my favorite photographs of the valley remains a small fungus I saw on a fallen log 44 years ago.

In Yosemite, I’m often telling people to look down, not just up at the majestic granite domes or waterfalls. The small twists of branch in the Fen, the ice along the Merced River on cold mornings, the currents in the river, all visually interesting. Even the towering cliffs have faces of complexity and and intrigue. There is so much in this singular valley.

Locally, I’ve started re-checking bird nesting areas to see and saw four chicks. There is certainly lots of mating activity out and about.

Waterfall Breakout. Yosemite, CA. 2023.

Fungus. Yosemite Valley, CA. 1978.

Peregrine Falcon. Devil’s Slide. Pacifica, CA. 2023.

My first Falcon of this season.


Thoughts on an Open House

Open House. Stephen Johnson Photography. 2023.

I invested some time in April preparing the galleries for an open house. This is the first public invitation in since the pandemic began.

There was considerable labor spent moving things about, preparing collateral, and working to paint a picture of what my work has been about these last few years. It was clear early on that I was out of practice at many things; it was even a task to find sales and workshop brochure files to update after the internet-only promotion during the pandemic.

Good conversations came out of the weekend. I want my work to cause reaction, at its best, build sensitivity, tap inner connection and stimulate care for the natural world.

We make our work for ourselves. But when our art connects with others there is a fundamental impulse satisfied, to share, to move, to amaze. We live far too separated from the natural world. My photography attempts to make our Earth approachable, intimate, even when large spaces are being rendered. Even the space photographs now on display, were intended to make both the Apollo moon missions and and deep space more real, more tangible, more connected, even as they can make us feel small. All make me feel mind stretched in a deeply connected way.

The 50 Years of Space Photography and Life Form exhibitions were on display. This was also chance to show some of the new Golden Gate Park work, both with a few prints and my three-volume preview book set. It was also a chance to show a couple of prints from the evolving Animals project in its infancy. It was the soft opening, so to speak, for my Water: a photographic portrait book, and we had some happy buyers. All of this felt good, and was a step forward out of pandemic isolation. Of course I got to see a few old friends and perhaps made some new ones.

Even as I fought back prep-panic at all of my aspirations for what I could show, I knew that it would all be fine, the work is solid, and some appreciation, good conversation, and a few sales would make it all good. That had already happened on the first day, and second day only brought more of the same.


A New Print for the Open House

Wildflowers Carrizo Plain. April 2023.

I wanted a new print to display during the Silicon Valley Open Studios last weekend. An image from this year’s first trip to the Carrizo Plain was in my imagination on my Hahnemühle Museum Etching paper.

I thought I had a frame wrapped in the back of the studio, and I did. I was very pleased to finish this print and display it in my "Life Form" gallery.

In my Life Form Gallery during the SVOS Weekend. Photo by Carl Schwab. 2023.


Out and About

A return to Carrizo and Yosemite…

Half Dome Wall. Yosemite, CA. 2023.

Wildflowers and Clouds. Carrizo Plain, CA. 2023.


Recently at Stephen Johnson Photography

Open House Weekend

Stephen Johnson Photography and Silicon Valley Open Studios

Pacifica Center for the Arts and my studio participated in the annual Silicon Valley Open Studios event on May 6–7. Hundreds of folks came by and joined the arts scene in my studio at the Pacifica Center for the Arts.

Exhibitions on display included Life Form, 50 Years of Space Photography, and new work including prints and a sample book set from my work-in-progress, San Francisco’s Urban Eden: Golden Gate Park. It was also the first public showing of my new book Water: A Photographic Portrait.

Open House. Stephen Johnson Photography. 2023.


Virtual Educational Experiences

Steve in his Life Form Gallery. April 2021.

Virtual Classes and Lectures, online live classes on various topics with limited space and Q&A sessions, are now a regular part of my workshop program. Critiques are now virtual.

Virtual Mentoring/Consulting

Existing Online Tutorials

Photo Chats

I’ve been doing weekly virtual Photo Chats with groups of photo friends to keep everyone encouraged to keep working, creating 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)

The 50 Years of Space Photography Gallery with the five extra Apollo 11 prints.

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. Space and awesome life! A dive into cosmic extremes. Email to book an appointment.

In front of the Apollo 14 Panoramic, 3rd. Graders from Ocean Shore School in Pacifica visiting the Space Exhibit. 2019. Photo by Sheila Gamble.

Life Form Exhibition

Life Form opened in the Main Gallery at Stephen Johnson Photography in July 2018. I’ve had many visitors come by the gallery since the opening. Many have then joined workshops and certainly helped build community. Come see the show by appointment.

Seeking Good Venues for Life Form

I’m seeking good venues to show the Life Form Series. The series is now available for museum and gallery exhibition.


Links to custom reproductions I’ve created because of my love of the images. I work to make beautiful copies, and to let more people enjoy these photographs and maps.


The Studio, Scholarships, Mentoring and Tutorials

As part of my ongoing commitment to photographic education, there is one student scholarship spot in many of my classes. Please pass the word along.

For discounted time studying with me, keep in mind my 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. I want to remind you of my Virtual Online Consulting Program. This service allows all of you out there around the globe to consult online live on technical, aesthetic and workflow issues.

My Essays and Tutorials from the past couple of years can now be found on my Newsletter Archive.

I hope you can come by the gallery 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. I invite you to join me on a workshop, rent lab space, or just say hello and let me know what you are up to photographically and what you might like to see me offer. I 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, my Print Mentoring Program 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

Email your interest

 

Gift Certificates Available for Prints and Workshops!


Water book cover.

Water: A Photographic Portrait

My new book Water: A Photographic Portrait, now available to order.

  • 88 pages of color and black and white photographs

  • 11x17 inches

  • Wire bound for completely flat enjoyment


50 Years of Space Photography Exhibition Catalog

The Exhibition catalog featuring photographs from Planetary probes, the Hubble Space Telescope, Lunar explorations, the Apollo program, and Space Shuttle/Space Station images. Includes an exploration of the imaging technologies employed 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 I 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-inch, wire-bound book, featuring five years of work from 2013 to 2018 exploring these magnificent lives. 

  • Photographs from 2013–2018

  • 36 pages

  • 11x17-inch 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 print on demand 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-inch wire-bound book, featuring five years of work from 2005 to 2010 traveling this wondrous planet.

  • Photographs from 2005–2010

  • 56 pages

  • 11x17-inch, 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. Includes a trail map.

  • 74 pages

  • 11x17-inch, 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.


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