My old bandmate Yuri told me once that the secret to seeing the world anew was to look up. The lesson was offered as we strolled down a busy street, kicking trash and our thoughts into the gutter. I have followed his advice. A world of architectural oddities and shapes spiraling off into the sky or entangled with trees and wires emerge above us in cities. It … [Read more...]
Don’t Take Photos, Smell The Mangos.
Worry less about your gear and focus more on the image you want to create. Good photographs are not taken; they are created. Yes, the technique is important but it is also the easiest part to learn by applying some elbow grease, researching, and practicing. But growing as a photographer means learning the part of the craft that is the least concrete, and that’s the artistic e … [Read more...]
Turning Photographs into Art Part 1: Letting Go
Art is difference, innovation and aesthetics. Alain Briot 1 - Introduction This is the first essay in a new series focused on turning photographs into art. My previous series focused on collecting art. This new series focuses on creating art from photographs. Not all those who collect create and not all those who create collect. However, there is a connection between the … [Read more...]
A moment of clarity: The Leaning Tower of Pisa and Florence
The danger of going somewhere well known is everyone’s going to have the same image. My images of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Florence were taken on a private photography workshop I was running with a working photographer who wanted to learn my methods. In a small way, it was a defining moment for me – even after 35 years as a professional photographer, they happen now and aga … [Read more...]
Photography Beyond The Landscape
My Quest As A Photographer To Maximize The Power Of Photographic Art Through Photorealistic Compositing by James Porto I fell in love with photography at age 11 yet even then longed to expand the meaning contained within images that I was printing in the darkroom. I started to combine several negatives onto a single sheet of photographic paper in an attempt to magnify t … [Read more...]
