Stephen Johnson Photography News
October 2022
Storm, South Shore, Mono Lake. 1979.
Upcoming Workshops:
Mono Lake in Autumn
October 13-16, 2022
Fine Art Digital Printing Hands-on in Studio
October 22-25 2022
Welcome to the October 2022 Edition of the Stephen Johnson Photography Newsletter.
I’m very pleased with a new photograph I made about a week ago, “Clouds and Sea. Pigeon Pt. San Mateo Coast” which I’ve selected as this month’s Featured Print. That combined with my pleasure in digging out some of style-birthing photographs from Mono Lake gave me a solid photographic boost the past month.
I’m excited at my Mono Lake Workshop coming up next week! I fell in love the with the lake and Mono Basin in the mid-1970s and made it the subject go my first big photographic project, creating and organizing the “At Mono Lake” photographic exhibition in 1979. I’m proud to be working on the exhibition’s restoration just before the workshop. Please consider joining us the the restoration and the workshop!
Additional Big News! I’m offering my first return to an in-studio Fine Art Printing class at Stephen Johnson Photography, with Covid-19 precautions in place.
— Steve
This month's View From Here column explores recent play, work, and beauty. My field workshop offerings continue with my return to Mono Lake in October for the Mono Lake in Autumn Workshop October 13-16, 2022. Death Valley in January and Yosemite in Winter during February have also been added to start 2023.
I am offering my first in-studio workshop since Covid began wit my Fine Art Digital Printing class at Stephen Johnson Photography October 22-25, 2022. 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 October 2022
Clouds and Sea. Pigeon Pt. San Mateo Coast, CA. 2022
On our way back up Highway One from Pt. Lobos, these cloud formations were grandly floating above a silver sea.
I’m offering an 11x14 inch print of this photograph for $195, matted to 16x20 inch board. This print at this price is offered through October 31. I'll be taking orders until then, and shipping them out by November 15.
NEW PHOTOGRAPH October 2022
Sand Patterns. San Francisco, CA. 2022
A simple walk on the beach seems to always find unique beauty.
LATEST NEWS:
I’m spending more and more time back working at the studio and always 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 good mutual time for a virus cautious appointment.
Blog Restarted and Growing: Subscribe
As I have mentioned in my last few Newsletters, I have renewed more frequent postings on my Blog derived from my Newsletters and Facebooks 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 2022 and now 2023 Workshop Schedule continues to evolve to accommodate the 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 Workshop Schedule continues with my Fine Art Digital Printing class at Stephen Johnson Photography October 22-25, 2022. This is a masked workshop with vaccination required. Other workshops continue with my return to Mono Lake in October for the Mono Lake in Autumn Workshop October 13-16, 2022. Death Valley in January and Yosemite in Winter during February have also been added to start 2023.
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
Cypress Ridgeline. Bluefish Cove. Pt. Lobos. CA. 2022.
THE VIEW FROM HERE
by Stephen Johnson
Purpose, Play and Work
What is our purpose in doing photography? Why do we do it? Big answers, if anything literal even comes to mind, vary widely. Instead of answers we sometimes gravitate to intuition, the simple pleasure of working a craft, making something, or being engaged in nature or each other.
In the Inroduction to his book Minamata, photographer W. Eugene Smith wrote “To cause awareness is our only strength.” That might be at our best, Smith certainly achieved that with his Minamata work. I gravitate toward witnessing wonder and sharing it. For inspiration, for comprehension, to stimulate more wonder.
I have no desire to make pretty pictures. But I do seek beauty. I have no desire to synthesize over-the-top enhanced versions of the Earth. I seek sensitivity. I seek human visual reality and heart. I seek transitions in light and weather. I seek compositional grace in an honest look at the real Earth. I suppose I might be engaged in a kind of Earth worship, knowing full well my 21st century life lives at best only on the edge of nature.
Every print I make, I make for my inspiration. I want it to be seen, but primarily I want to see it, hold it, touch it, feel it. Printing is tactile. It is making the ephemeral image real, tangible. It may be the only record of our work, the prints we make may have the best chance of lasting. But to have good chance of lasting, prints should be pigment based and on acid free paper. Your print should be treated with great care.
That love of prints is why my first in studio class once the pandemic began, it a printing class, Masterful Fine Art Digital Printing Hands-on Workshop Oct. 22-25, 2022.
Surf. Sea Lion Point. Point. Lobos, CA. 2022.
Backlit Cypress. Point. Lobos, CA. 2022.
Pianos in the Park
Brahms trio at the Moon Viewing Garden Pond.
We went playing in Golden Gate Park in mid-September to be a part of a beautiful experience, grand pianos and music lovers scattered around the Strybing Arboretum. The Flowers in the Park at the San Francisco Botanical Garden is an event placing 12 grand pianos around the gardens with invited performers to come play. This year, the fundraising event came back after the pandemic and was held September 16-20. It was the first year I attended. It was a great contribution to my Golden Gate Park Project.
Set performers and times were on a calendar, otherwise the pianos seemed open to anyone who wanted play. There was a feeling of celebration, love of music and the magic of the setting, all freely floating through the Gardens.
We loved the experience.
At the Main Gate Monday Afternoon.
Neil and Brian. Ancient Plant Garden.
David, Marcie and Martie.in the California Native Garden.,
At the New Zealand Collection.
At the Garden of Fragrance
The Zellerbach Garden
Along the Coast
Where land meets sea, I seem to want to be.
Beach Art. Ft. Funston. San Francisco, CA. 2022.
Any time walking the ocean shoreline seems like good times, feeling at home on the Earth. There may be some ongoing deep-seated sense that we came from the sea, it may be the rhythm, it may simply be the sense of enormous and mysterious space.
As many have said, in volumes and short poems, the sea has touched my soul.
It is also true that you never know what you’ll find. A few weeks ago, a long planned walk down to the beach from the Ft. Funston cliffs above in San Francisco engaged our hearts in many ways. A still pulsing jellyfish was a very emotional encounter, watching birds and surf was curious and soothing. The graffiti on the storm drain outflow structure was the most curious of views. It felt like a modern time capsule recording so many symbols and worldviews. It was fascinating.
The Beach Trail. Ft. Funston. San Francisco, CA. 2022.
Still pulsing Jellyfish. 2022.
Beach Art. 2022.
Recently at Stephen Johnson Photography
Evening on the Water
Yet another great sunset. Pacifica, CA. 2022.
Cargo ship in prime whale collision zone. Please slowdown. Gulf of the Faralones. 2022.
Pacifica Fog Fest: Our Local Street Arts Festival
The Fog Fest is our Local Street Arts Festival here in Pacifica. I made some photographs for the City of Pacifica, including a few 45 feet in the air on a vey cool industrial lift. It’s Americana, its West Coast, it’s street vending, regional arts and crafts, and a Parade. As if often the case, the Food Fest name teasing Pacifica’s stereotype was a beautiful sunny day.
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, when school is back in classrooms, 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.
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.