Introduction

No photographer is an island. We all have people that influence us, and resources we rely upon. Here's links to some of the most important in my life. Feel free to visit my firends, and to exploit the resources for your own benefit.

 

Friends

Mostly artists and photographers.

David Zeiset, digital and traditional artist.

Richard Kowalchuk, painter, cartoonist, occasional sculptor and potter. 

Jim Ainslie. Jim has been a mainstay of art photography in Edmonton for decades. Check out his blog for his picture of the day, and browse his archives. You will not be disappointed! 

Calvin Binnema. Calvin is an extremely accomplished abstract photograapher. He also publishes images on Instagram.

Emogene. Member of the IACC, and a fantastic abstract photographer. Take a look at her work, and you'll see why I like it!

Steve Ricketts. Member of the IACC, and good photographer. His drone work is especially noteworthy, but don't sleep on his other images!

 

 

Resources

Images Alberta Camera Club, Edmonton, Alberta. My current photographic home.

Photoshop Cafe. A great site for learning about Photoshop, especially for keeping up with new features.

Anthony Morganti. My go to source for Lightroom related information. He also covers other software.

 

Readables

I read a lot, and think a lot about what I read. Here are some photgraphic books, articles, websites, and such that I recommend. You will not find much about technique here, but a lot about art and art history. While it is possible to get so involved in thinking about art that you don't actually do any, I believe that thinking about it helps me produce better images. 

From time to time, I may do short reviews of these in my blog.

Beaumont Newhall. 1982 (1949). The History of Photography: from 1839 to the Present. New York : Museum of Modern Art.

• The first comprehensive history of photography, and still one of the best. Later works draw extensively on Newhall.
   

Robinson, Henry Peach. 1869. Pictorial Effect in Photography: Being Hints On Composition And Chiaroscuro For Photographers. London: Piper & Carter, 1869.

• Robinson is mostly remembered as the creator of the pictorialist style, which dominated art photography from 1870 to the late 1910s. This style was supposed to make photography more acceptable to artists, by aping elements of painting, and by making photography hard work. To do this, he advocated conscious use of allegory, symbolism, and story, used with a technique called composite printing. These were supplemented by some overly complex and poorly articulated ideas about composition. Later practicioners of the school focused on the idea that images should be soft and hazy, something not a feature of Robinson's own work. Despite his shortcomings, his book includes many comments and observations that resonate with the modern photographer.

Adams, Ansell. 1985. An Autobiography. Boston: Little Brown and Co.

• The best know practicioner of sharp focus modernism, the style that replaced pictorialism. The master lays it all on the line. A very worthwhile read for any modern photographer, even if you reject his style.