Photographic Interpretations

NFTs or  Non-Fungible Tokens have grabbed the attention of artists all over the world.  With the digital collage art selling at Christie's for $69 Million, artists are not starting to take notice of this interesting way to sell art. But what is a NFT?  And how do I get in on this? We all know a digital image can be copied, shared and duplicated over and over again. This is where NFTs have changed the digital art world. They allow you to create something that can't be duplicated, the actual ownership of the artwork. This is your digital signature or certificate of authenticity of your photo. NFTs allow you to create limited editions of your digital artwork, all while retaining the copyright. What makes them valuable is the ownership recorded on a blockchain. A block chain is a digital ledger similar to the networks that support cryptocurrency. Each NFT is unique and can't be duplicated. They are unique digital artworks no one else can own. Of course, people might have a copy

Well, it looks like in-person workshops are happening again! Covid kind of put them on hold but they are back. Even though I did a few Zoom workshops over the past 12 months, there is nothing like getting together and working with a live model. My Fine Art Nude Photography Workshop will be  4 hours and will also have a Zoom component where I'll retouch and tweak a few images live so you can see my workflow.  The nude photography workshop will be May 1st at the Art Establishment in Fountain Hill, PA, from Noon until 4:00 I will be focusing on lighting the nude model using only one light source. By using strobes, an LED light panel and an Ice Light, along with various modifiers, we'll create dramatic nude portraits and body scapes. Plus at the end of the workshop you'll be able to work with our model one-on-one to create your own images. For this workshop I was lucky enough to book as our model the beautiful Carissa Santigate.  IG @freshcinnamonrols     If you're interest

 For the longest time, we always though that what we saw in a photograph was reality. The camera doesn't lie. Then came the dawn of digital photography and the programs for photo manipulations, and our idea of what's real, changed. Recently, I've seen the debate about photography purism spring up again. Specifically due to the new updates in Photoshop 2022 and other such programs that has made it easier and easier to manipulate, change, remove and add things to photographs. This top photo, is a photo I took of Steel Stacks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on a pretty but cloudless day. In about 3 minutes I was able to change what was once a very average photograph to one that has more impact and drama. Is this wrong? Am I not telling the truth? Or am I just creating an image with more feeling and drama, just like any other artist would do? Photographic manipulation is this is nothing new to photography.  Photographic artists have manipulated images almost since the medium was inv

Morning Sunlight  #ZenPhotoChallenge   If you are like me, these last few months have been surreal. With all the shelter in place orders, closed stores and for a time, closed parks and paths, it's been hard to keep any sense or normalcy.  I've seen a lot of photographers photographing things in their home, flowers, spoons just to keep busy. Keep shooting. But for me this didn't work. For the last 35 years I have always felt I needed to say something with my photography. Get a point across, push and issue. But now, I have struggled with a complete creative block. The lack of even wanting to pick up my camera. That was, until I remembered a few things I actual teach my students. I have forgotten over the years the shear joy of just shooting. Picking up my camera and taking photos just to take them, with no expectations, no story to tell. What got me shooting again was actually teaching my wife photography. She has always been interested and I really am not su

"Face of Fear"       We are in unprecedented times. A time of extreme uncertainty, confusion and cause for great fear and nervousness. It is not a time for party politics and boastful pride to take center stage. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, our leadership has been confused, contradictory and extremely slow to act. These qualities are not what we look for in a leadership and especially our President. This President relies on grand gestures, lies, self-praise,  fear mongering and threats. All of these things came to light during his press conference on Friday. If this was just some political gesture with no repercussions other than another get out of jail free card for him, it wouldn't be an issue. But with a global pandemic creeping over the world, direct, decisive and true action is needed. We are seeing shelves in grocery stores bare of essentials. Local governments shutting down all commerce and a stock market in free fall. There is no doubt that sw

In my over 35 years of being a professional photographer and artist I have been censored more times than I can remember. Yes, my form of expression is photographing the nude form and yes, some of my work, about 10 years ago, did push boundaries. But they were only shown in a gallery space where the visitors knew what was being show and had to be over 21. So now, besides shooting, I teach. I teach basic photography, advanced techniques, and also studio workshops. One of which is a figure study workshop. So, in this day and age where do you advertise but on social media. The video above "was" posted on facebook but it seems it now violates their standards. even thought I was vert careful not to show anything explicit and show less than some regular posters do from their bathrooms or in their bathing suits. When a media giant like facebook who also owns Instagram dominate the market and bans a user what can be done? It seems nothing. So, I now need to find alternat