Stephen Johnson Photography News

September 2020

Prelude: For the time being, virus safety is the new norm. Workshops have gone virtual, while encounters with nature are even more critical. Stay safe, stay healthy. I hope your art/photography can help you through this challenging time.

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Upcoming Workshop:

Peace Lilly. 2020.

Canon EOS R5. EF 100mm Macro.

These Peace Lillies have been at the entrance to my gallery for years. Each year I watch the blooms and marvel at their symmetrical beauty. This year I spent awhile seeing if I could distill that beauty into a photographic composition.

We're offering a 9.5x14 inch print of the photograph for $195, matted to 16x20 inch board. This print at this price is offered through September 30. We'll be taking orders until then, and shipping them out by October 15.

San Francisco Bay Bridge Fire Smoke Sky. 2020.

Canon EOS R5. RF24-105mm F4 L IS USM

Waking to a appocalyptic dark orange sky last Wednesday left me no choice to go out and photograph. I wandered around Pacifica a bit, then decided I had to go into San Francisco and visit a few iconic spots, the Bay Bridge and downtown, the view back from Twin Peaks, Golden Gate Park and the Golden Gate Bridge.

It was one of the strangest outings of my life. The skies may look like Mars, but it's right here on our precious Earth. And it's not ancient iron oxide, it's smoke from burning California forests. A taste of what's to come. We ignore climate change at our own peril.

According the US Dept. of Agriculture, the smoke is likely to contain carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, irritant volatile organic compounds, air toxics and very small particles. 

THE VIEW FROM HERE
by Stephen Johnson

There is wonder in capturing the movement of life in a moment of light…

Fauna

I love watching my fellow creatures of this earth. I watch them in wonder, marvel at their uniqueness and am constantly reminded that we are just one of millions of species on this earth, even as we act as if this planet is ours.

The wonder of capturing the movement of life in a moment of light, if only to study what I saw a glimpse of, makes the effort very worthwhile. I am almost always amazed by what was actually present, and all that I could not take in without the camera. It is not new to use the camera as a tool of exploration and revelation, watching animals being just another example of how eye-opening holding slices of moments can be.

What gets revealed in looking closely at animal photographs can often reveal a level of detail and personality that is elusive to our glancing witness of motion, and the distance necessary to observe. Time spent in the observation is the investment, the reward is also that same time spent. It is the being there. The photographs are almost a bonus.

This is true of so many aspects of photography. It is often a medium that demands experience of the moment to even have subject matter. It is in our scared gift of sight that cameras mimic, and their unique ability to hold impressions of that light, that makes photography so precious. My art-heart lives in that chasing of the real experience. It’s why I have no interest in faked skies or exaggerated “enhancements.” It is the real that is vital, alive, the light-based truth of the moment, our hearts opening to that moment that matters to me.

The photographer W. Eugene Smith in his book Minamata (a Japanese fishing village suffering from industrial Mercury poisoning), said that as artists "to cause awareness is our only strength." As artists we can only hope to rise to that challenge. I would add a variation on that thought:

Being witness to wonder is our greatest strength.

Wildlife Photography

There are naturally technical challenges to wildlife photography, timing, focus, shutter speed, depth of field, high ISO noise. But there is also great pleasure in the observation. I frequently review the images, even while still watching, to see how well the images are working. Those judgements might be technical or aesthetic. And I have missed some additional opportunities in that review, but have more often improved the subsequent photographs.

Instant image review in the viewfinder has been a clear advancement I’m finding with the new mirrorless cameras like the Canon R5 I’ve been using for a few months. Although it is not useable when tracking movement, I’m finding the quick review to be very helpful. Without even taking my eye away from the camera viewfinder I can assess intention realized (or not) and catch technical issues quickly. Of course the obvious downside to that quick review is missing the next moment. I’m getting very good at intuitively touching the play button for that review, but then letting the flow of time be uninterrupted after that gained confidence.

If art helps us feel what we don’t yet understand, photographs can become a bridge between those states. I know I make art as a path to greater comprehension of the world around me, and to discover what I haven’t previously noticed. I don’t know what wisdom I might have gained, but I do know the sacred a little better with each experience.

The best of it, wildlife or landscape, is the being there.

Sometimes only video can summarize the magic.

Despite interesting and pleasant color. sometimes a black and white image is just simply more powerful. In form, design and movement within the frame, the added abstraction of black and white can be transformative. Black and white photographs are a non-human distillation of the scene, and have captured part of my heart since I first took interest in the medium.

I love holding magical little moments, gesture, elusive presence, the unexpected movement of decisions made by another kind of mind.

The exotic nature of another life form is inherently seductive. Birds in flight have a particular magic.

as do lunging cetaceans.

and rapidly swimming dolphins

…it feels an honor and privilege to share the Earth with them.

So where does that leave me, in this world where the sentience and life-value of our fellow creatures of the earth are minimized? As I have mentioned in earlier writing, I became a vegetarian when i was 13. It took me another 50 years to become exclusively a vegan. Not from another planet, but so deeply a native of this Earth that my respect for life is profoundly felt.

I’ve never been satisfied that my photography can make a big difference in animal rights. Although I do believe that my work has made a difference toward greater appreciation of the natural world and the need for us all to help care for the earth, it has never felt like enough. I will continue to explore what I can do. In the meantime, I hope this collection of images pulls people a little ways down that path of appreciation and wonder that helps protect our fellow living, breathing, thinking, feeling beings. And as we learn more about plants, their ability to communicate and aid each other, those thoughts and desires extend to flora as well.

Some References

Scientists Conclude Nonhuman Animals Are Conscious Beings

The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness

A Universal Declaration on Animal Sentience: No Pretending

World Animal Protection, formerly The World Society for the Protection of Animals

Searching for Animal Sentience: A Systematic Review of the Scientific Literature

Observations

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. Come see the shows when you can. Space and awesome life! A dive into cosmic extremes.

Class Visits

Post-virus, when school is back in session, 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 which is going virtual with an after-class online sessions. We are working on ways to conduct he popular Flora and Form Workshop by reducing the total enrollment to 4 students in the nursery and substituting our lab time with a virtual session. All are open for enrollment now but subject to virus driven changes. We are exploring some 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.

Don't forget to Check out our next workshops

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. 

New Space Photography Products

Exquisite Earth Exhibition Catalog

Emailed or shipped with beautiful gift note card.

National Park Note cards