Harold Davis's Blog, page 91

Vitruvian Woman

Vitruvian Woman © Harold Davis

I titled this piece Vitruvian Woman, after the famous Leonardo da Vinci drawing of an ideal man. The model is Muirina Fae; click here for her IG stream, this model is also shown in Devotional Pose and Avatar.

You can see more of my Multiple Exposure series, made, as was Vitruvian Woman using in-camera multiple strobe exposures, by clicking here.

Bouquet for Phyllis

Bouquet for Phyllis © Harold Davis

With love, gratitude, and appreciation to Phyllis for all she does to make my life complete, and for our family—and her patience, strength, and fortitude in the face of life’s vicissitudes. Thank you, Phyllis! I love you always.

FAQs on how I make this kind of image: Photographing Flowers for Transparency and Using a High-Key Layer Stack.

Devotional Pose

Devotional Pose © Harold Davis

Click here for a related image, and here for more in my Multiple Exposure series.

Model: Muirina Fae

Avatar or Artifact?

I made this image in collaboration with the beautiful model Muirina Fae. It’s an in-camera multiple exposure. There are some more details about how I made the image below. If you are interested in seeing more images like this one, you can click here to see more from my Multiple Exposures series.

Avatar © Harold Davis

It’s interesting to me that you can see different subject matter when the image is thumbnail sized, perhaps something organic, like a vegetable, rather than the actual, human form of the model.

Perhaps you see this too?

The model and I collaborated to make six choreographed exposures on a black background. Each exposure was lit by a single strobe from right and above. The camera was on a tripod to keep its position constant.

The model stood mostly on her right leg, and raised her left leg. Following some experimentation, we put her right leg in a black stocking, so that it blended into the black background, and makes her appear to be off the ground for the entirety of the exposures.

The six RAW exposures were combined in my camera using the Nikon D850’s multiple exposure menu. Following retouching and adjustments in Photoshop, I converted the image to monochromatic, then applied sepia and antiquing effects using Photoshop and plugins.

Paul Klee in Wabi-Sabi’s Garden

Paul Klee in Wabi-Sabi’s Garden (Inversion) © Harold Davis

Paul Klee in Wabi-Sabi’s Garden © Harold Davis

Detailed Malta Day-by-Day Itinerary; Workshop Opportunities

We’re delighted to have available the detailed itinerary for our November 2018 Destination Photography Workshop to Malta (as a PDF download). Making this visit especially timely: Valletta, Malta will be hosting the title of European Capital of Culture in 2018! This destination photography workshop includes many extras such as a Heritage Malta pass to most Maltese attractions for each participant. Click here for the detailed day-by-day itinerary (PDF) and here for the Reservation Form.

Other workshop notes: 

The early-bird discount for Paris in the Spring with Harold Davis (April 27-May 5, 2019) ends June 1, 2018. Please consider joining Mark Brokering and myself for a grand time in the City of Light. This destination photography workshop includes after-hours access to Monet’s famous gardens at Giverny.
Please consider joining Steven Christenson and myself for a reprise of last year’s successful Dark of the Moon Night Photography in the Eastern Sierras (Sept 2018). Only a few spaces are still available.
There is still limited space availability in Night & Low-Light Photography (Heidelberg, Aug 2018), Black & White (Heidelberg, Aug 2018), and Capturing the Great Gardens of Maine (Maine Media Workshops, Aug 2018).
There is only one space left in the June, 2018 session of Photographing Flowers for Transparency.

Long Exposure Wave Study 2 © Harold Davis

New print on Moab Entrada Rag Textured

As you can see here, I just made a new print on Moab Entrada Rag Textured. I’m pleased with the way this came out, and I think the moderate texture of the paper contrasts but works very nicely with the styling of the image—a rendering of a coastal oak tree, with the image shown at the bottom of this story!

New Print on Entrada Rag Textured © Harold Davis

California Oak Tree © Harold Davis

The Bouquet I left Behind

This is a handheld iPhone capture of a light box flower arrangement (the full resolution “big boy” camera version will follow in the due fullness of time). The light box in this capture is turned off, so essentially it is a white background with ambient front lighting. I processed the image on my iPhone using the Snapseed, Mextures, and DistressedFX apps.

The Bouquet I left Behind © Harold Davis

 

Nicky Now and Then

Nicky Now © Harold Davis

Nicholas [“Nicky”] was three when I started this blog, and the subject of one of its first stories (photo below of Nicky Then)—the fourth story to be precise.

You can see from the photo of Nicky Now (above) that he has grown a great deal in the intervening years—but the essential character is still the same! I am very proud of Nicholas, he is truly a great guy.

My blog has also grown. In the thirteen intervening years I have posted literally thousands of stories, and thousands of photos.

Nicky Then © Harold Davis

Ask Me Anything about Creativity and Inspiration

I am hosting an event on the Ask Me Anything feed. The way this works is that folks post questions (hence the “Ask Me Anything”) and I answer them, hopefully starting a dialog. The theme of my event is “inspiration and creativity.”

You can ask me a question whenever you like, but my answers will only be public once the event “goes live” on Sunday, March 4, 2018 at 4PM PST. Here’s a description of the event:

Ask Me Anything: Harold Davis, Internationally-Recognized Photographer, Workshop Leader, and Best-Selling Author

I am fortunate today to make my living licensing photos, making and exhibiting prints, leading workshops, and writing books. My work takes me all over the world and leads me into many adventures. I am a “photographer as poet,” meaning that my photographs have a poetic narrative. I make the images I want, and make a living from them.

You can learn more about my work on my website digitalfieldguide.com, also read my blog, and note my upcoming workshops and events, and browse my published book titles on Amazon.

Besides photography and writing, I have been a fine art painter, have a law degree, and have worked as a computer programmer and software developer. I have crossed the Brooks Range—the northern most mountains in Alaska—as a solo hiker. In the early days, I had a studio in New York, and hung from helicopters photographing the World Trade Towers. 

In my life and work, the most important aspect of my talent is inspiration and creativity. So inspiration and creativity always interest me, no matter what the field, whether it involves technology, writing, photography, or art. How do we find inspiration, and how do we stay passionate and creative?

Click here to ask me anything about passion, inspiration, and creativity!