Stephen Johnson Photography News

November 2024

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.

Pelicans at Bird Rock. Point Lobos Reserve. Carmel, CA. 2024.

Strolling Point Lobos is always enjoyable, even after I’ve been so many times. In open sun if often looks much the same, but on this day I was greeted with huge numbers of Pelicans on the rocks between the trail and the island. Late afternoon light had this bird gathering backlit and made for a very inure experience.

I’m offering a 14-inch-wide print of this photograph for $195. Larger prints can be ordered. This print at this price is offered through November 30 2024. I'll be taking orders until then, and shipping them out by December 15, 2024. The image reverts to its normal price after that, $800 for an 11x14, $1500 for a 16x20.

San Francisco and the Bay above Sausalito, Mill Valley and Tiburon, CA 2024.

Driving up to Mt. Tamalpais to rise above days of evening fog blocking a view of the comet led to this wonderful sunset view of San Francisco and it’s surrounds.

THE VIEW FROM HERE
by Stephen Johnson

20th Anniversary, New Show and New Photographs

This month’s news features a new exhibition, photographs from recent outings, project research for my Golden Gate Park exhibit and an announcement for my 20th Anniversary Holiday Open House on Sunday December 8 from noon to 4pm.

My friend Ted Orland’s guest artist exhibit wraps up November 21. Come see it while you still can. Photographer Marion Patterson’s show opens next on November 24.

Twentieth Anniversary Celebration: December 7, 1-4pm

Come join me to celebrate the holidays and the Twentieth Anniversary of my studio at the Pacifica Center for the Arts!

In mid-2004 we started building out three classrooms and big hallway on the old Sanchez Elementary School into what I envisioned as a first class gallery, digital classroom and working studio. By the time we had our Grand Opening that December, the transformation was complete and we have been running classes, lectures, exhibitions and creating decades of new work ever sense. Hundreds of students and thousands of visitors later, we are celebrating those 20 years this December.

20th Anniversary Holiday Open House on Saturday December 7 from Noon to 4pm. Free Posters, print discounts and same day workshop discounts.

Next Guest Photographer Exhibition

Marion Patterson’s Intimate Landscapes exhibition will be on display November 24 to December 31 with her Opening Reception on November 24 from 1 to 4pm.

I’m not sure when Marion and I first met, but we agree it was a long time ago. We had been friends for years when she invited me to apply to teach with her at Foothill College for a full-time photography instructor position. Although after a year into my time there, I came to the conclusion I did not want the job, Marion and I have remained friends for decades. I’ve always admired the directness and sensitivity of her photographs. Marion’s photographs were among the first I thought of when I decided to start my Guest Photographer Series.

It is my pleasure to share some of Marions beautiful gelatin-silver prints on my gallery walls.

from the introduction to her book Grains of Sand

To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour.

- William Blake

My photographs are meditations on the light that illumines and transforms the ordinary, the often overlooled. There are those rare moments when the everyday reality of our world is transcended and one glimpses the eternal and infinite. Through the alchemy of photography, I have tried to reveal those moments, those grains of sand, those reflections of the Eternal One.

January 2002

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Golden Gate Park Research

I’ve been working on the various historical pathways of understanding Golden Gate Park. The wealth of material is beyond what I can use, but with every new discovery, my understanding of this park deepens..

Here and There

A few photographs from recent experiences…

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park

After a great opening for Ted Orland, I raced up to Golden Gate Park to catch Patti Smith’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass performance. After, I walked east to see Emmylou Harris, and just after I arrived, she brought on my heroine Joan Baez. It was a real treat.

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Naturally I stopped on Highway One along the way to the Rendezvous, at Pebble Beach and Pt. Lobos.

Saturday Hours for November

The gallery will be open every Saturday in November from 11am to 4pm.

Recent Prints in the Gallery

There are always new prints available to see in the gallery, from the Hale Telescope, to the Golden Gate Park Project, to the evolving Animal Series and new selections in the discounted print bins. Selections from With a New Eye remain up.

Current Exhibitions

The current exhibitions in the gallery include my new Guest Exhibitors Gallery with Ted Orland’s Old Favorites & New Discoveries: exhibition through November 21 with Marion Patterson’s show opening November 24 1-4pm. Continuing in the gallery are my Life Form and With a New Eye selections.

Visiting the Gallery

The Gallery is open every Saturday through November 2024, 11am to 4pm. My galleries and studio are generally open by appointment, but I am often there 10am–5pm on weekdays. Write to inquire or call 650 355-7507 to schedule an appointment.

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. 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.

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. 

2023 Print On Demand Book Projects

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

I finished three new books in 2023. Water: A Photographic Portrait launched last 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.