Harold Davis's Blog, page 33
June 21, 2021
The Blossfeldt Effect webinar video recording
We’ve posted The Blossfeldt Effect video webinar recording. Here’s the description:
In this unique and creative webinar, Harold starts with a look at the characteristics of a Blossfeldian composition. What kinds of subjects did Blossfeldt choose to photograph, and why? What makes a particular botanical specimen visually exciting?
Next, Harold explores two possible places to start with Blossfeldian botanical compositions: the black background and the light box.
To cap it off, Harold demonstrates how he processes his Blossfeldt-like images using some surprisingly simple yet tricky steps.
I think you’ll enjoy this one, it is one of our best!
Click here for The Blossfeldt Effect video, here for a catalog listing of our video webinar recordings, here for my YouTube channel, and here for upcoming Workshops & Events.
California Live Oak © Harold Davis
June 17, 2021
A white poppy and a mandala
White Poppy © Harold Davis
Please keep in mind our in-person Photographing Flowers for Transparency workshop the weekend of September 25-26 located in Berkeley, California. There’s a $200 early-bird discount until the end of June. Click here for more information.
Full Nelson (Mandala) Black version © Harold Davis
Full Nelson (Mandala) © Harold Davis
June 12, 2021
Some blasts from the past!
Museum Stair, Saigon © Harold Davis
Some blasts from the past: A back staircase in the Fine Arts Museum in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon, 2017) above; geometric patterns in the arches, shadows, reflections of the Pont Valentré, spanning the Lot River (Cahors, France, 2018).
Geometry © Harold Davis
June 8, 2021
The Blossfeldt Effect Webinar coming up on Saturday June 12
Karl Blossfeldt (1866-1932) began his career at a decorative ironwork manufacturer. He was assigned the task of creating reference botanical photographs to use for wrought iron designs. Eventually, his iconic botanical images became celebrated in their own right, and today he is known as one of history’s foremost botanical photographers.
I’ve long been fascinated by Blossfeldt’s botanical imagery and have developed a set of techniques for emulating the beautiful photographs of this master.
Some of my work in homage to Blossfeldt has even been mistaken for the real thing on a certain art consolidation website that shall not be named!
You can check out a portfolio of my (genuine, authorized Harold Davis) prints after Blossfeldt on Saatchi Art.
Click here to read more, and here to register for this webinar!
Queen Anne’s Lace © Harold Davis
June 4, 2021
Some flowers from our garden
The Way Things Were © Harold Davis
Papaver rhoeas © Harold Davis
Click here for our upcoming (September) Photographing Flowers for Transparency in-person workshop!
June 1, 2021
Photographing Flowers for Transparency: Early-bird discount of $200 applies through June
I am beyond delighted to announce an in-person Photographing Flowers for Transparency workshop here in Berkeley, California towards the end of September, 2021. This is always an incredibly festive occasion, with the workshop room decked out in myriad flowers. It’s great working through the process, and helping folks get over the bumps. We always have a fun time enjoying botanicals with like minded folks, learning together and making translucent floral images, and investigating LAB color.
This year, we’re adding an included bonus feature: a Zoom follow-up so participants can show their work, and get help with any issues. We want you to learn!
Note that an early-bird tuition discount of $200 applies through June 30, 2021.
Click here for complete information including the curriculum. To register, visit the listing on Meetup to register using Paypal (RSVP YES, and pay the discounted tuition using any credit card), or contact us for direct registration by check or credit card. Please do contact us if you need help with registration, or have any questions.
Mass Delusions of Poppies © Harold Davis
Here’s part of the workshop description: Harold Davis is well-known for his often imitated—but seldom equaled—digital images of luscious transparent and translucent flowers.
In this unique workshop offering, Harold Davis shows the techniques he uses to create his floral masterpieces. Arrangement, composition, photography, post-production will all be covered, as will Harold’s special techniques for shooting on a light box.
There is no better way to learn the floral transparency techniques that Harold Davis has pioneered. The multi-day format will give participants the chance to complete their imagery using the techniques that Harold will demonstrate, with input and help from “the master”. We will follow up with an online Zoom session for further critique and help with work.
Click here to learn more and for the curriculum!
Splitting up my Long Exposure Waves workshop
I’ve been contemplating a Long Exposure Waves workshop, and trying to see where this would fit into my schedule. My idea has been to combine a webinar prep session with an in-person session at the ocean, followed by another webinar to review results.
Long Exposure Wave Study, South Beach © Harold Davis
The request I’ve received from several photographers is to split the workshop up for separate enrollment, by doing the before and after webinars separately from the in-person session. Pro: Folks who just signed up for one or both of the webinars could practice on beaches anywhere. Con: In the past, when I’ve done this as a live workshop I’ve had before and after classes. My idea of the webinars is to replace these classroom sessions. It would be harder for me to keep a tightly focused group if the registrations were decoupled, and I might worry that some participants didn’t have adequate preparation.
As you can see, I am still thinking this through. In our new normal world, there are certainly uses for remote learning and Zoom as a way to make learning more available and flexible, and it is not entirely clear how to best take advantage of this capability.
Exposure data: +4ND, Circular Polarizer, five minutes at f/16 and ISO 64. Check out Five Minute Wave Exposures.
May 30, 2021
Long Exposure Waves
Now that things are opening up, I’ve been thinking about giving a long exposure waves workshop again. It’s been several years since I’ve given this workshop in person and with an ocean at hand.
The idea behind this technique is that with the camera on a tripod even the most violent action of the ocean can be stilled. The results can be an abstraction. Depending on the length of the exposure, the effect can be fairly subtle and attractive, or with really long exposures produce imagery that seems like fields of color. I think this kind of work is great, but it does take some know-how and a great deal of patience to pull-off successfully.
Long Exposure Wave Study 2 © Harold Davis
To make Long Exposure Wave Study 2, shown above, with my camera on a tripod, I added a +4 neutral density filter and a circular polarizer to the front of my lens, and exposed for five minutes at f/29 and ISO 31.
In a Blue Hour, shown below, is a shorter duration exposure. Once again, I had the camera on a tripod and used a polarizer. I exposed for 10 seconds at f/29 and ISO 200.
In a Blue Hour © Harold Davis
My conception of a new, improved Long Exposure Waves workshop is a hybrid format, with an introduction and technical preparation session held over Zoom, followed by a week later an actual in-person session at a photography-friendly beach. We’d follow up after the live session a week or so later on Zoom to review images and discuss technical issues that came up.
Anyhow, in terms of my calendar, I haven’t been able to schedule this workshop yet. There’s just been too much on my plate between family, travel, and existing commitments. But, when I can I will put it on our calendar—you can keep an eye out for it on my Workshops & Events page!
May 28, 2021
Save the Last Dance
For this image, I framed essentially a portrait view of the mallow (upper left) and the poppy (along the right, purple and red).
For some reason, the Save the Last Dance song, melody and lyrics, went through my head as I composed and honed the image. So I used the song as the name for my image. Perhaps the poppy is addressing the mallow? Flowers are so ephemeral.
Save the Last Dance for Me © Harold Davis
May 27, 2021
Fantasy in the Key of Campanula
Often when I am through with the primary photography in a light box design, I continue to experiment by adding lines, weaving botanicals, getting closer, and anything else that is fun that I can think of. Fantasy in the Key of Campanula is an example of this kind of improvisation, with the lines of the Campanulas (Bell flower) laid over the original design, then photographed close for a different kind of composition.
Fantasy in the Key of Campanula © Harold Davis
