Search Results for: Blossfeldt

The Blossfeldt Effect webinar video recording

June 21, 2021 by Harold Davis | 0 Comments

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

Posted in Monochrome, Photography, Workshops

The Blossfeldt Effect Webinar coming up on Saturday June 12

June 8, 2021 by Harold Davis | 0 Comments

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

Posted in Monochrome, Photography, Workshops

The Blossfeldt Effect Webinar

May 5, 2021 by Harold Davis | 0 Comments

What: The Blossfeldt Effect

When: Saturday June 12, 2021 at 11AM PT.

Where: Zoom authenticated registration and a tuition payment of $29.95 is required for enrollment in each session. Seating is limited. The registration link is https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WdzXDLdfQ0Gs1dnzjuj08Q

Details: 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.

Harold has long been fascinated by Blossfeldt’s botanical imagery and has developed a set of techniques for emulating the beautiful photographs of this master. Some of Harold’s work in homage to Blossfeldt has even been mistaken for the real thing! You can check out a portfolio of Harold’s prints after Blossfeldt on Saatchi Art.

Click here to read more, and here to register for this webinar!

Papaver Pod from above © Harold Davis

Posted in Workshops

The Blossfeldt Effect

What: The Blossfeldt Effect

When: Saturday June 12, 2021 at 11AM PT.

Papaver Pod from above © Harold Davis

In this unique and creative webinar, Harold will start 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 will explore two possible places to start with Blossfeldian botanical compositions: the black background and the light box.

To cap it off, Harold will demonstrate how he processes his Blossfeldt-like images using some surprisingly simple yet tricky steps.

There will be ample time for Q&A.

Who should attend: Everyone interested in the extraordinary work of Karl Blossfeldt; those interested in botanical art; anyone who would like to take the creative techniques that Harold will demonstrate into their own work.

Number of Seats and Tuition: Zoom authenticated registration and a tuition payment of $29.95 is required for enrollment in this webinar. Seating (on a first come, first served basis) is limited. You must register via Zoom to be enrolled in this webinar! The registration link is https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WdzXDLdfQ0Gs1dnzjuj08Q

Queen Anne’s Lace © Harold Davis

About Harold Davis: Harold Davis is an artist, photographer, educator, and the bestselling author of many books, including most recently Creative Garden Photography from Rocky Nook. He is the developer of a unique technique for photographing flowers for transparency, a Moab Master, and a Zeiss Ambassador. He is an internationally known photographer and a sought-after workshop leader. His website is www.digitalfieldguide.com.

Announcing new Homage to Blossfeldt limited edition prints

October 24, 2020 by Harold Davis | 1 Comment

We’re pleased to announce a new series of eight limited edition Harold Davis prints in homage to the great botanical photographic artist Karl Blossfeldt, now available for sale on Saatchi Art. Click here for the collection of Homage to Blossfeldt prints, and here for Harold’s Saatchi Art page.

Queen Anne’s Lace © Harold Davis

There are eight images in the series, with five number prints for each image in the edition. Here are some specifics for Queen Anne’s Lace:

“Queen Anne’s Lace” is a fine art archival photograph created in the Harold Davis Studio. This artisanal limited edition print is hand signed and numbered. The mode and style of this print was inspired by the great botanical artist Karl Blossfeldt.

Queen Anne’s Lace comprises five seed-flower heads of the species Daucus carota which is related to the wild carrot. The artist placed the flower heads on a back-illuminated light box and photographed the ensemble using a special multi-capture technique. He then inverted the image so that the flower heads appear on black, and applied a Blossfeldt effect to create an image that is at once exciting, serene, and moving.

This richly detailed photograph is printed on archival 100% cotton Moab Entrada Rag Bright 300gsm using archival UltraChrome wide-color gamut inks.

The print is shipped flat in its own custom presentation folder, protected with a vellum overlay. A Harold Davis Studio certificate of authenticity is included with the print.

Please note that the paper size for this limited edition fine-art print is 32″ W x 24″ H. I have printed this work in my studio to be attractive on the paper with a nice border. The actual image size is 23″ W x 16″ H.

Tulip Petal Detail after Blossfeldt © Harold Davis

Posted in Monochrome, Print of the Month

From O’Keeffe to Blossfeldt…or, is it a Davis photo?

August 6, 2019 by Harold Davis | 1 Comment

I’ve long been tickled to find my Kiss from a Rose attributed as a Georgia O’Keeffe painting. To be clear: tickled for my work to be confused with the great artist O’Keeffe, but way less than thrilled to have my image used all over Pinterest and other websites without correct attribution (that would be to me!), permission, license, or fee.

Kiss from a Rose © Harold Davis

Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932) was a great German botanical photographer. In my new book, Creative Black & White 2nd Edition, I included a section on simulating the “Karl Blossfeldt effect” using digital monochromatic post-production techniques.

Recently, I found that a major European art publisher and distributor was selling an image of mine (shown below) as a Blossfeldt image, and has included my image in a catalog page of Blossfeldt imagery. Once again I am subject to competing emotions: honored to have my work mistaken for one of my photographic heroes, but outraged that my work has been pirated without attribution, permission, license, or fee for someone else’s profit. What were they thinking? Did they not read my copyright notice?

Queen Anne’s Lace © Harold Davis

Posted in Photography

Tulip Petal Detail after Karl Blossfeldt

June 26, 2018 by Harold Davis | 1 Comment

Who knew that tulip stems could curl symmetrically with four looping branches? When I saw this, it reminded me of some of the flora photographed by Karl Blossfeldt. Blossfeldt’s original purpose was to present plant-world designs that could be used for ornamental architecture and ironwork, but of course his work has long since been recognized as far more profound than decorative.

I used a macro lens to capture the tulip petal detail, and used a post-production recipe that I had scripted this spring to simulate (or emulate) the look-and-feel of a Blossfeldt plate.

Tulip Petal Detail after Blossfeldt © Harold Davis

Some other images of mine that offer homage to Karl Blossfeldt: Decorative Grasses; Queen Anne’s Lace and Crassula ovata (both shown below).

Queen Anne’s Lace © Harold Davis

Crassula ovata © Harold Davis

Posted in Flowers, Photography

Poppy Dancer and All Along the Watchtowers

June 27, 2021 by Harold Davis | 3 Comments

Lately, I’ve been photographing poppy pods, dried poppies from our garden. In a few instances, these remains-of-the-day poppies look like fantastic figurines, as in Poppy Dancer, immediately below.

Poppy Dancer © Harold Davis

For me, this image of a dried poppy resembles a lithe dancer, in a tutu and with a hat. Ironically, I once used in-camera multiple exposures to photograph a human dancer with “poppy” in her name as a model.

Many of the poppy pods are architectural, in the way of sculpture or pottery, when you look at them highly magnified—architectural forms from nature, like those used by Antonin Gaudi. Or perhaps All Along the Watchtowers (below) most resembles a portion of a Southeast Asia Opium Warlord’s palace.

All Along the Watchtowers © Harold Davis

Gear and post-production stuff: I photographed on a velvet background using my Nikon D850 on a heavy-duty tripod. The lens was the Nikkor 200mm f/4 macro, with a 50mm Nikon PN-11 extension tube between the lens and camera. For the images that resembled architecture, the biggest problem was to angle the perspective so the viewer can see the “arcades” and “arches.” To help with this, I added a +4 close-up lens.

Exposure and processing were using a sequence of low-key HDR captures, as explained in my webinar video recordings Photography on Black and The Blossfeldt Effect.

Posted in Flowers, Photography

Master Panel with Anne Belmont and Bryan Peterson this Saturday!

November 9, 2020 by Harold Davis | 0 Comments

Please consider joining us for an extraordinary Master Photographer panel on Saturday November 14, 2020 featuring Anne Belmont and Bryan Peterson. This webinar will benefit a great cause, the Center for Policing Equity. Click here for registration, and here for more information.

You will find Anne’s close-ups and floral art expressive and sensuous. Bryan is one of the bestselling photographic book authors of all times, and his presentations are always thought provoking. Best of all, this presentation will benefit a worthy cause via an organization of great integrity.

Please also keep in mind Creative Projects for Wintering in Place (November 21) and Harnessing the Power of Composition in Your Photography (December 5).

Click here for our currently scheduled webinars and workshops.

We are proud to announce a new series of limited edition prints based on my homage to Karl Blossfeldt. Click here for more information.

As the flowers turn © Harold Davis

With: A deep felt happiness that it looks like we may be at the dawn of a new era, with hope that we come out the other side safely!

Posted in Workshops

Webinar Noir on Saturday

September 16, 2020 by Harold Davis | 0 Comments

Please consider joining us this Saturday, September 19, 2020 at 11am PT for our very special and distinctly somewhat offbeat webinar noir.

Noir is black, or dark. So “noir” can refer to a style that employs blackness of attitude and affect, black and white imagery, and/or a specific look—classically that of 1940s Hollywood, with Dames, Private Eyes, Fedoras, and more. Noir imagery, as in our webinar, is usually, mostly, but not always, monochromatic.

In this webinar, Harold will take a deep dive into noir as a style, and how noir can be used to create contemporary photos. Along the way, you can expect readings from Dashiell Hammett and Thomas Pynchon, and even a guest appearance from a Maltese falcon.

In the second half of the webinar, Harold will use examples from his own work to demonstrate implementing noir in specific Photoshop case studies.

Click here for registration and here for more info. Please also keep in mind Printing, Proofing, and all about Paper (a benefit for the Equal Justice Initiative) on Thursday, September 24.

Click here for our upcoming webinar list.

Alone © Harold Davis

What: Noir | Stylish Black & White

When: Saturday, September 19, 2020 at 11am PT. Duration between one and two hours, including Q&A

Where: On your computer or mobile device from anywhere via Zoom. Zoom authenticated registration and a tuition payment of $29.95 are required for enrollment. Seating is limited. The registration link is https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SraMSnHCTnS2dTol-JlzIA

Details: Noir evokes black and white films of the 1940s with “dames”, private eyes in fedoras, low-key lighting, and harsh shadows. More generally, a sense of “noir” has come to mean a range of stylish black and white techniques.

This webinar noire will look at a range of monochromatic techniques, from the subtle to the wonderfully crude and edgy. Low-key imagery, working with harsh shadows, the Blossfeldt effect, and LAB inversions will be covered. The webinar will conclude with suggestions for incorporating more noire in your own work.

There will be ample time for Q&A.

Tuition: The tuition for this webinar is $29.95, and requires prior registration. Seating (on a first come, first served basis) is limited. You must register via Zoom to be enrolled in this webinar! The registration link is https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SraMSnHCTnS2dTol-JlzIA

About Harold Davis: Harold Davis is a bestselling author of many books, including Creative Garden Photography and Creative Black & White Second Edition, both from Rocky Nook. He is the developer of a unique technique for photographing flowers for transparency, a Moab Master, and a Zeiss Ambassador. He is an internationally known photographer and a sought-after workshop leader. His website is www.digitalfieldguide.com.

Posted in Photography, Workshops

Noir: Stylish Black and White

What: Noir | Stylish Black & White

When: Saturday, September 19, 2020 at 11am PT. Duration between one and two hours, including Q&A

There will be ample time for Q&A.

Creative Black & White | Part 3: Creative Opportunities

What: Creative Black & White | Part 3: Creative Opportunities

When: Tuesday June 2, 2020 at 10am PT. Duration between one and two hours, including Q&A

Where: On your computer or mobile device from anywhere via Zoom. Zoom authenticated registration and a tuition payment of $19.95 are required for enrollment. Seating is limited. The Registration link is https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RfhJ8WFlRDWCUEfD_hnPyA. No new sessions are currently scheduled. We will schedule a new session as soon as possible. Recordings of previous sessions available on YouTube with a time delay for light editing.

Details: This webinar focuses on the numerous monochromatic creative opportunities once basic black and white conversion has been achieved, including monochromatic HDR, LAB L-channel inversions, the ‘Ansel Adams’ effect, the ‘Karl Blossfeldt’ effect, and more. Examples will be shown, and detail recipes explained. There will be ample time for Q&A.

Harold Davis is the author of highly-acclaimed books about black & white digital photography, including Creative Black & White 2d Edition from Rocky Nook and The Photographer’s Black & White Handbook from Monacelli Press. Harold’s digital black and white work has been compared to that of Ansel Adams.

Tuition: The tuition for this webinar is $19.95, and requires prior registration. Seating (on a first come, first served basis) is limited. You must register via Zoom to be enrolled in this webinar! The Registration link is https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RfhJ8WFlRDWCUEfD_hnPyA.

A lightly-edited recording of this Webinar will be posted following a time delay on our YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnn_fjc44y07sa6ks-W8lCg

Along the Old Schoolhouse Trail © Harold Davis

About Harold Davis: Harold Davis is a bestselling author of many books, including Creative Garden Photography from Rocky Nook, which can now be pre-ordered. He is the developer of a unique technique for photographing flowers for transparency, a Moab Master, and a Zeiss Ambassador. He is an internationally known photographer and a sought-after workshop leader. His website is www.digitalfieldguide.com.

Creative Black and White Opportunities Webinar

September 5, 2019 by Harold Davis | 2 Comments

The replay of my Creative Black and White Opportunities webinar is now available for viewing on YouTube. I had a bit of problem with managing the software, and got “out of the gate” a little slowly, but if you have patience with the webinar I think you’ll find some worthwhile ideas about creative monochrome.

This webinar was organized and sponsored by Rocky Nook, the publishers of my new book Creative Black & White, 2nd Edition. In this webinar, I discussed the monochrome vision, and tips and tricks related to digital black and white photography, and included material on LAB inversions, solarization techniques, the Karl Blossfeldt effect, and x-ray imaging.

My new book, Creative Black & White, 2nd Edition, is now available. The publisher, Rocky Nook, is offering a 40% discount. Click here to buy Creative Black & White 2nd Ed directly from the publisher. Use the code “HDAVIS40” [no quotes] at checkout to apply the discount (you can also use my discount code for all other Rocky Nook books, by the way!).

Here are the links for my book on Amazon.com and on B&N as well, so the choice of supplier is yours, and here’s the link for the webinar replay on YouTube.

Under the Yaquina Bay Bridge (B&W) © Harold Davis

Posted in Photography

Free Webinar: Creative Black and White Opportunities

August 20, 2019 by Harold Davis | 0 Comments

Please join me for a free webinar about Black and White creative opportunities. The webinar is scheduled for Tuesday August 29 at 11AM PT, with free registration on a first-come-first-served basis. Click here to register for my webinar, which is sponsored by Rocky Nook, the publishers of my new book.

In this webinar, I will discuss tips and tricks related to digital black and white photography, and will include material on LAB inversions, solarization techniques, the Karl Blossfeldt effect, and x-ray imaging.

Here are the links for my book on Amazon.com and on B&N as well, so the choice of supplier is yours.

Click here to register for my webinar, which is sponsored by Rocky Nook, the publishers of my new book.

Posted in Photography, Writing

Papaver Poppy Pods Gone to Seed

July 11, 2018 by Harold Davis | 0 Comments

When Papavers go to seed, they produce pods that hold the seeds. You can scrape out the pod to harvest the seeds. When one puts a clump of these seeds into a mortar and pestle and grinds them into a paste then one is well on the way to refining opium. Of course, to be clear, you have to start with a Papaver somniferum rather than some other Papaver variety to get opium. Who me? Lest anyone is curious, mine are purely decorative, and I have absolutely no interest in growing my own opium patch in my garden. I swear…

I think the Papaver gone to seed looks almost like a marine sea creature, perhaps more like a sand dollar than a flower!