Stephen Johnson Photography News

May 2026

Hello to my subscribers and guest readers. Thanks for visiting this May 2026 newsletter.

This month's View From Here column explores photographs from simple walks near my home to my inclusion in a Santa Fe show and a recent lecture. I’ve also included downloadable printer profiles I’ve made over the years that might be useful to some of you.

We are again participating in Silicon Valley Open Studios (SVOS) the first weekend in May, the 2nd & 3rd. 11am to 5pm. Come join us for this Art Center-wide celebration of creative expression.

A video of the talk on my Urban Eden Golden Gate Park at the Odd Fellows Club in Half Moon Bay last month is now up in an early edit form.

As I mentioned in the January Newsletter, with my studio/gallery closing, the existing exhibitions I have created are available for loan to museums and galleries. They include Life From, With a New Eye: The Digital National Parks Project, Exquisite Earth, selections from The Great Central Valley Project and the 50 Years of Space Photography. You can check out the exhibit loan possibilities here.

There is still much to give away, monitors, some older iMacs, and color management equipment. See below.

Having now successfully run my first class in the new studio, I have scheduled another session of my Fine Art Digital Printing class for September 17-20, 2026. An August 8-11 session is now full. I am reducing the class size to three and If you want to join me, register soon.

— Steve

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

Scholarships

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.

Mussel Rock Panoramic Sunset. 2024

I frequently stand at the edge of the Mussel Rock cliffs in north Pacifica/Daly City. The wide ocean horizon stretches around me. The iPhone pano feature renders this curved field flat and makes for some spectacular sweeps of space.

I’m offering an un-matted 14-inch-wide print of this photograph for $195. Larger prints can be ordered. This print at this price is offered through May 31. I'll be taking orders until then, and shipping them out by June 15, 2025. The image reverts to its normal price after that, $800 for an 11x14, $1500 for a 16x20 print.

Clouds and Hills. Henry Coe State Park. 2025

I’ve been wanting to visit California’s largest state park again and was pleased to squeeze in a drive this month. It is a hiking park and I will go back with that in mind. The clouds reaching over me were very impressive.

THE VIEW FROM HERE
by Stephen Johnson

Reshape

Life evolves. Agendas reshape. Ethics and commitment to this earth and its life forms inspire and sustain me.

I am thinking through how I will reshape my life without my studio/gallery and its underlying obligation to be nearby for the next thing, the next idea, the next public event. Some of that feels like a loss, some of it feels like liberation and with opportunities to discover.

I’m planning a trip up the west coast in May, at least mid-California to southern Washington. A ROAD TRIP!

Golden Gate Park Talk at the Odd Fellows

Walking

Living by the sea, near forests and mountains, offers me plenty of places to simply walk and wander, immersed in the natural world. I am so grateful for these trails, cliffs and beaches. It’s part of why I have lived here on the coast for forty years. It’s clearly part of what keeps me going.

Canon Pro1000

• http://www.sjphoto.com/profiles/CanonP1000-HahME-HvyWt-D65C+.icc

• http://www.sjphoto.com/profiles/canonP1000-HahME-HW-highD65C+.icc

• http://www.sjphoto.com/profiles/canonP1000-HahPRP-lust-highD65C+.icc

• http://www.sjphoto.com/profiles/canonP1000-lust-high-D65-C+.icc

Canon Pro4000

• http://www.sjphoto.com/profiles/Canon4000-Luster-3-2021

Canon Pro 1

• http://www.sjphoto.com/profiles/canon-pro-1-21-23.icc

Epson 2200

• http://www.sjphoto.com/profiles/Epson2200VelExhFibrMKD65pcgray

Epson 2400

• http://www.sjphoto.com/profiles/Ep2400VelHahMEBest4-10d65PGrColo

Epson 3800

• http://www.sjphoto.com/profiles/Epson3800ExFibVel2880-osx10.4D65

• http://www.sjphoto.com/profiles/Epson3800Lust1440-D65papGRcolorf

• http://www.sjphoto.com/profiles/Epson3800VelMuseoSR2880D65

Epson P600

• http://www.sjphoto.com/profiles/EpsonP600hahMEvel1440-800.icc

• http://www.sjphoto.com/profiles/EpsonP600hahPRPlust1440-296.icc

Epson 9600

• http://www.sjphoto.com/profiles/epson9600-canonFA.icc

The new studio walls carry forward the display of larger prints from from the previous studio/gallery drawn from various projects in my career.

Currently my up on the walls are my Trees, Firtzgerald Reserve, Last Light on Half Dome Yosemite, Wildflowers Carrizo Plain, Carrizo Flowers and Storm, the Hale Telescope Palomar Observatory, the Life Form featured print Staghorn Fern, prints from the new and forming Organic Landscapes work and Point Reyes Aurora. I seem to always find a place for my 20 inch print of Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother. Four print bins remain browsable through subjects ranging from Rock and Roll, Ireland, Iceland, parks, and local photographs as well as my library of books I’ve created over the last 44 years..

Virtual Educational Experiences

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 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. 

Virtual Mentoring

Set up time for me to help with your photographic work, remote or in-person. Mentoring Program.

Virtual Consulting

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.

Virtual Mentoring/Consulting

Existing Online Tutorials

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

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.

Most every Tuesday morning since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, I have been doing weekly virtual Photo Chats on Zoom with groups of photo friends. They are casual, virtual get-togethers, and have created a little community with regular sharing, guest presentations, demos, and photo feedback. Let me know if you would like to join us.

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 produced the print 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. 

Print On Demand Book Projects over the last few years

Click on the book covers above to learn more and purchase.

I finished three new books in 2023. Water: A Photographic Portrait launched the winter, and the new Cliffside Peregrines and Fauna books were finished at the end of the year.

I sold out of the first run of the Fauna book and have reordered all three of the new books for the studio stock.

The links here go to my printer Magcloud, where you can order them directly.