Jeff Curto's Camera Position

Summer’s lazy days put me in the mind of childhood and a recent encounter with some ideas by Pablo Picasso and some photographs by French photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue (1894-1986) made me think about how important a childlike sense of wonder is to photographers. Picasso said: “All children are artists. The problem is how to … Continue reading Camera Position 54 : Photograph like a Child →

An image isn’t finished until it starts to feel like what you saw. Here is a brief look at the way I approached the post-production (what we used to call “darkroom work”) of this recent image from Gubbio, a marvelously medieval town in northern Umbria, Italy. The differences are subtle, but the idea is to … Continue reading Camera Position 53 : Realizing the Image →

Preconceived notions about what you’re going to photograph can keep you from finding good images that you may have missed. This episode of Camera Position examines how I nearly fell into that trap in Gubbio, a beautiful town in Italy’s Umbria province. Images of La Festa Dei Ceri, Gubbio, Umbria by Jeff Curto click images … Continue reading Camera Position 52 : Tossing Your Preconceptions →

Traveling with a camera involves planning. A lot of folks have asked me about traveling with the large format camera, and in this episode of Camera Postiion, I detail the gear that I take on the road. Links for this podcast: Deardorff History Page Harrison Film Pup Tent Pentax Digital Spot Meter

What does your website say about who you are as a photographer? Does your site clearly define your goals or do you use your site’s pages as a dumping ground for every photograph you’ve ever made? In this episode of Camera Position, I look at the way in which web pages can tell us whether … Continue reading Camera Position 50 : Messages From Your Website →

In order to make photographs that are meaningful, it really helps to know your subject in intimate detail. In this episode, I talk about subject research, and about how knowing your subject can be one of the best paths to good photographs. Gubbio, Umbria – Photograph by Jeff Curto Links for this episode: Alec Soth … Continue reading Camera Position 49 : Know Thy Subject →

What do you do when you get “stuck” photographically? Here are a few ideas about how to find your way out of “Photographer’s Block,” with some references to how other photographers handle the problem. Photograph by Jeff Curto (left) and David Quigg (right) Photograph by Suzanne Szucs (left) and Nicholas Nixon (right) Click images and … Continue reading Camera Position 48 : Getting “Unstuck” →

In this episode, I talk about shallow depth of field as a creative tool and its use by several photographers who are using it in inventive and interesting ways. I also look at how focusing yourself on a project can help you be more creative. Photographs by Jeff Curto – Jeff Curto’s Website Photographs by … Continue reading Camera Position 47 : Focus/Defocus/Refocus →

This episode of Camera Position is about combining passion with profession. We need to photograph what we love, but we also can’t lead an insular life; we need to be out there, casting our lines into the river of photographic experiences. This week, March 15 to 18, is the Society for Photographic Education conference in … Continue reading Camera Position 46 : Passion & Profession →

In this second part of the Zone System overview, we look at a few more specifics about how the Zone System works and is implemented. Don’t forget to download the PDF handouts! Click any image below for a larger view. The first part of the Zone System overview was in Camera Position #43 Download part … Continue reading Camera Position 45 : Back in the Zone →

This episode of Camera Position is the third entry in an irregular series of suggestions for the serious photographer’s bookshelf. This time, the selection is “On Photography,” an important – and occasionally somewhat difficult – book of photographic criticism and thought from writer Susan Sontag. Click on images above for a larger view Links for … Continue reading Camera Position 44 : Photographer’s Bookshelf #3 →

Creative photography benefits from mastering technical content. This first installment of a discussion of The Zone System of exposure will help you stop worrying about whether the photograph will “work out” so you can concentrate on being creative. In the photographs below, the highlighted side of the ball (left image) was “placed” on Zone VIII … Continue reading Camera Position 43 : There’s Creativity in The Zone →

Another exploration of color in photography and the way it has been used by two of the great masters of color, WIlliam Eggleston and Stephen Shore. Also, I mention Adobe’s fabulously fun and useful online application “Kuler.” Photograph by William Eggleston (above) (click images for larger views) Photograph by Stephen Shore (below) Links for this … Continue reading Camera Position 42 : Color Pioneers →

I’m back! After a month-long hiatus, I’m back with a podcast about color. Using a Christmas present of a book of Pete Turner’s photographs that have been used on jazz album covers as a springboard, we talk about color, color relationships and how color works in the photographic world. Links for this episode: Pete Turner’s … Continue reading Camera Position 41 : Color Me Back! →

Lens choice, tripods, negative and positive space, image sequence and selection of a small group of images… it’s a “holiday leftovers ” group of ideas and thoughts for this episode of Camera Position. Above photographs by Jeff Curto Links for this episode: Images referenced in this episode of Camera Position Ralph Gibson’s Website College of … Continue reading Camera Position 40 : Leftover Hash →

Mission statements don’t have to be about dull, corporate stuff… they can also be about the creative process and act as a compass to point you in the right direction. Your photographic mission statement can be about your audience, your passions and your goals. Example and blank “audience circles” (click for larger images) Links relevent … Continue reading Camera Position 39 : Your Mission & Your Audience →

It’s about time. It’s about time to talk about time in photography and time as it relates to how photographs function. Using photographs by Garry Winogrand and Tokihiro Sato, we examine two different approaches to dealing with time in the photograph. Photographs by Garry Winogrand (left) and Tokihiro Sato (right) Click images for a larger … Continue reading Camera Position 38 : It’s About Time →

Photographers are not creators, they are editors. Unlike the painter, who starts with a blank canvas, we start with the whole world and our job is to remove all the “stuff” that doesn’t make our picture better; to pare down to the essence of the image. Ideally, we do this with the camera’s viewfinder, but … Continue reading Camera Position 37 : Hey! Crop it Out! →

Who is in your critical circle? Who looks at your work to help you define what is good and what “works”? Do you do it yourself? Can you trust yourself to be a good critic of your own work? This episode examines the idea of being your own best friend and your own best enemy. … Continue reading Camera Position 36 : Who’s Lookin’ At You? →

Another in an irregular series of suggestions for the photographic bookshelf. My selection this time is the Aperture monograph of the work of Ralph Eugene Meatyard, but you may substitute that one book that made you realize new and different things about your medium; that changed your ideas about what photography could be. I also … Continue reading Camera Position 35 : Bookshelf #2 →