Monthly Archives: April 2020

Webinars this week: Flower Part 3 (April 30) and Creative LAB (Part 1) May 2

Click here to register for Photographing Flowers for Transparency Part 3: Processing a High-Key Layer Stack on Thursday April 30 2020 at 10am PT, and here to register for Creative LAB Color Part 1: Getting Started on Saturday May 2 2020 at 11am PT. Hope to see you there!

What: Photographing Flowers for Transparency | Part 3: Processing a High-Key Layer Stack

When:  Thursday April 30, 2020 at 10AM PT

Where: On your computer or mobile device from anywhere via Zoom.

Tuition and Registration:  Tuition is $19.95 and advance registration is required. Click here to register. Seats are limited.

Description: In this live webinar, Harold shows how to process and combine the high-key layer stacks of light box images photographing in the Photographing Flowers for Transparency (Floral Arrangement and Exposing) webinar. Topics covered include workflow, RAW processing, high-key HDR processing, layer stacks in Photoshop, masking, and how to avoid or mitigate the dreaded gray blur.

Clematis with Friends © Harold Davis

What: Creative LAB Color | Part 1: Getting Started

When:  Saturday May 2, 2020 at 11AM PT

Where: On your computer or mobile device from anywhere via Zoom.

Tuition and Registration:  Tuition is $19.95 and advance registration is required. Click here to register. Seats are limited.

Description: This detailed presentation shows you how LAB color works, and explains its implementation in Photoshop. You’ll learn about LAB channels, colors, and inversions. Harold will illustrate the webinar with step-by-step examples from his work, and show you how you can download and install his free Photoshop LAB action software. There will be time for Q&A.

Curled Epiphany © Harold Davis

Posted in Photography

All Things Photographic: An Online Q&A [Free Webinar]

What: All Things Photographic: An Online Question and Answer session with Harold & Phyllis Davis, with guest panelist Mark Brokering

When: Saturday May 30, 2020 at 11am PT. Duration between one and two hours

Where: On your computer or mobile device from anywhere via Zoom. This is a free webinar, but Zoom authenticated registration is required for security reasons. You must register in advance. The registration link is https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TK8gup-oTeqpvrNQ-Pz0aA.

Details: Please join us for a freewheeling question and answer session with Harold & Phyllis Davis covering all things photographic and post-production. Questions can be submitted in advance or in real time during the session via online chat. Mark Brokering will add his wit and wisdom as a panelist on the session.

Ask your questions! This discussion will cover all things photographic and post-production. We may even touch upon issues of philosophy, creative vision, and photographic narrative. Big or small, ask them all!

++ Questions can be submitted by real-time chat during the webinar.

++ Also, you can send questions in advance to phyllis [at] bearhome.com. **Please** put “All Things Photographic Question” in the subject of your email. Thanks!

We’ll do our best to answer your questions about all things artistic, photographic, and Photoshop!

This is a free webinar: This webinar is free, but 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_TK8gup-oTeqpvrNQ-Pz0aA.

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

Night at Point Reyes Lighthouse © Harold Davis

Night at Point Reyes Lighthouse © 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.

Posted in Photography

Creative Expression with your iPhone [Webinar]

What: Creative Expression with Your iPhone

When: Tuesday June 23, 2020 at 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_vDgcA9eWQHiFBXhkFRvNrg.

Details: The best camera to use is the one you have with you, and most often we have our iPhone cameras with us. Harold loves to use his iPhone camera, both as creative sketchbook and as a powerful creative tool in its own right.

In this exciting webinar, Harold shares his successful iconography, and explains which iPhone images have been most successful as prints, and in the licensing marketplace. He details his line of thought with the iPhone, and shares the apps he uses to create his much-admired iPhone imagery. Workflow, techniques, and ideas will be shared. What better time to master the power in the camera and computer you always have with you?

There will be ample time for Q&A.

Tuition: The tuition for this webinar is $19.95, but 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_vDgcA9eWQHiFBXhkFRvNrg.

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

Window and Shadow © 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.

Poppies © Harold Davis

Poppies © Harold Davis

Posted in Photography

World Premier: Staying Creative in Tough Times [Free Webinar]

I am very pleased to announce the first showing of my live webinar presentation Staying Creative in Tough Times. The webinar will be live on Tuesday April 28, 2020 at 11am PT. The sponsor is Moab Paper. Attendance is free, but requires registration. Click here for the registration link!

The detailed description follows below.

By the way, since I’ve had a number of questions about this, I’ll be giving a webinar on the same topic again on Saturday May 16 at 10am PT. These are live “performances”, so while the subject matter, structure, and likely most of the visuals will be the same, what I say and my emphasis will be different, Both webinars are free; try either, or both, if you’d like!

Description: In tough times, how do we stay creative? Artist, photographer, educator, author, and Moab Master Harold Davis addresses this important topic as a two-way street: In these days of “sheltering in place” how can we keep our creative mojo going? And, how can we take advantage of ourselves as creative beings to help cope with the uncertainty of these times?

​​​​​​​Harold will talk about creative and artistic psychological ideas for staying creative during these turbulent times in the context of his imagery, and provide examples and exercises based on his book Achieving Your Potential as a Photographer (Focal Press).  His presentation will be followed by a Q&A.

Platala © Harold Davis

Platala © Harold Davis

Posted in Photography

Creativity Bootcamp: Awaken Your Inner Photographic Dragon [course]

We’re happy to announce a new four-session course delivered via Zoom webinar: Creativity Bootcamp: Awaken Your Inner Photographic Dragon! Details follow below, but keep in mind the course is limited to twelve (12) participants. I hope to see you there.

As a side note, I’ll be giving a free webinar on Tuesday at 11am PT, sponsored by Moab Paper on Staying Creative in Tough Times. Here’s the link to join the webinar on Tuesday.

Here’s more information about my course and how to register for it (if you can’t tell, I am very excited about it!).

What: Creativity Bootcamp: Awaken Your Inner Photographic Dragon! This is a four session course.

When: First session Saturday June 6, 2020 at 11am PT. The four webinar class dates and times are:

– Saturday, June 6, 2020 at 11 am (PT)
– Saturday, June 13, 2020 at 11 am (PT)
– Saturday, June 20, 2020 at 11 am (PT)
– Saturday, June 27, 2020 at 11 am (PT)

Where: On your computer or mobile device from anywhere via Zoom. Zoom authenticated registration and a tuition payment of $295.00 are required for enrollment. The tuition covers all four sessions, as well as individualized instruction from Harold. Seating is limited to a total of twelve (12) participants. The registration link is https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dDw1nkdWTR6qtsOlk1Mqqw.

Details: This course is intended to enhance and extend photographic creativity and intuition. Master photographer Harold Davis states, “One thing I have never had a problem with is staying creative. My goal in presenting the Creativity Bootcamp is to pass on to you what I have learned so you can enhance your own photographic interests and creativity.”

The Creative Bootcamp course consists of four class webinar sessions. Assignments will be given, and participants will show and approach discussion of their work and creativity with clarity. Harold will guide and suggest the best approach tailored to each participant.

The tuition of $295 includes all 4 classes, as well as critique of student work. Class size is limited to 12 participants so that everyone can receive individual attention.

Number of Seats and Tuition: The tuition for the entire course is $295.00, paid when registering for the first session, and requires prior registration. Seating (on a first come, first served basis) is limited to twelve (12). You must register via Zoom to be enrolled in this webinar! The registration link is https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dDw1nkdWTR6qtsOlk1Mqqw.

Participants will receive their own copies of the videos of the sessions for their personal reference.

Dawn of the Dragon © Harold Davis

Dawn of the Dragon © 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.

Temple Dragon © Harold Davis

Temple Dragon © Harold Davis

Click here for our current complete online webinar and course listings!

Posted in Photography

Announcing New Online Webinars: Black & White

We are pleased to announce a series of four live photography webinar sessions via Zoom. These webinars are all about black & white photography in the digital era. Registration is on a first come, first served basis. Here’s the schedule for the Creative Black & White Series with registration links:

Click here for our current complete online webinar and course listings!

Along the Old Schoolhouse Trail © Harold Davis

Along the Old Schoolhouse Trail © Harold Davis

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.

Nautilus in Black and White

Nautilus in Black and White © Harold Davis

Posted in Photography

Photographing Flowers at Home

So I am sheltering in place at home, like many (or most) of us. In some alternative universe, my travel plans have proceeded, well, according to plan—and I would be in the midst of a long trip to Germany, France, and trekking along the Camino de Santiago. Since I seem unable to predict what groceries we will have tomorrow, or when there will be plentiful TP again, or indeed anything at all about the Zombie Apocalypse that is upon us, predicting when I will travel again with my camera seems a true exercise in futility.

For me, there is some good news in all the awful stuff going on. First, we remain very busy. Also, our four kids are actually happier on Zoom and at home than they were in school. In contrast to some parental angst I have been reading about being cooped up with one’s kids, they have been getting along very nicely together, and we all have been enjoying spending time together.

And the garden is going into full bloom! If I can’t photograph the world at large, I can have a great time photographing at home. Here are some of my floral images from recent days! No social distancing for these flowers. Which one is your favorite?

Poppies from our Garden Path © Harold Davis

Poppies from our Garden Path © Harold Davis

Flowers as a Group © Harold Davis

Flowers as a Group © Harold Davis

Papaver Party © Harold Davis

Papaver Party © Harold Davis

Posted in Flowers, Photography

Photo Challenge: How to Capture and Photograph Bottled Light

I will be leading a photography challenge on behalf of the Out of Chicago Live! World Online Photography Conference on Tuesday April 21 at 10AM PT. This is a free event, and anyone can watch the livestream using this link.

Seeing Rothko through a bottle.

PHOTO CHALLENGE
How to Capture and Photograph Bottled Light with Harold Davis

Tuesday, April 21st, 10am PT

How creative can get you get with colored liquid, sunshine, some glass bottles, and a camera? In this challenge, Harold will show you how he used these simple materials to come up with entire new worlds, recreations of Mark Rothko paintings, abstractions, highways at night, and much more! Even if you don’t have any food color sets around, you probably have colored liquid (soda pop, brandy, maple syrup, cherry juice, red wine, and blue Gatorade all work well). Be creative! What can you do while sheltering in place with these everyday materials?

Click here to watch the live stream at 10am Pacific Time on Tuesday, April 21st.

Harold Davis
Harold Davis is a bestselling author of many books, 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. To learn more about him, click here.

Out of Chicago LIVE! brings together over 70 world-class photographers online for one weekend to share with you what inspires them most. Be part of a very special event with 3 days of LIVE! instructor guided learning with 100+ interactive sessions, including panel discussions, tutorials, individual photo challenges and group image reviews. To learn more and register for the full conference and participate in all the challenges, click here.

Posted in Photography, Writing

Online Global Photography Conference Coming Up Soon

Please join me at the Out of Chicago LIVE! Online Global Photography Conference taking place April 24-26, 2020. Immerse yourself in photography inspiration with three days of live presentations and 100+ interactive sessions, including panel discussions, tutorials, individual photo challenges and group image reviews. Learn online face to face from over 60 world-class professional photographers that love to teach. For more information, visit www.outofchicago.com/live.

Posted in Photography

New Webinars Coming Soon to a Computer Near You

Painterly Floral Triptych © Harold Davis

Painterly Floral Triptych © Harold Davis

Coming soon to a computer near you…click here to subscribe to our email list to receive notifications when these webinars are scheduled. Click here for our currently scheduled webinars now available for registration.

  • Creative Black and White
  •             Part I | The Monochromatic Vision in the Digital World [Free]
  •             Part II |  Black and White Conversion
  •             Part III | Creative Opportunities in Black and White
  •             Part IV | Over to You, Critique and Review
  • All Things Photographic | Q&A Session with Harold and Phyllis and Guest panelist Mark Brokering [Free]
  • Creative Expression with Your iPhone
  • The Business of Art and Photography
  •             Part I | The View from the Gallery | Panel TBD [Free]
  •             Part II | The Art of Publishing and Publishing Art | Panel TBD [Free]
  •             Part III | Understanding Copyright and IP | Guest panelist Attorney David Deal and TBD
                                 [Free]
  •             Part IV | Building a Platform as an Artist
Posted in Photography

Ten things to make me happy come the Zombie Apocalypse

  • Toilet paper. Who really cares? I don’t. Folks will generally find a way to clean their you-know-whats. Feel superior (but still kindly and compassionate) to folks obsessing about TP.
  • In a Zombie Apocalypse you don’t have to drive the kids to school, or pick them up.
  • There’s no need to get dressed for meetings during a Zombie Apocalypse, at least below the waist. You can wear your bedroom slippers all day, if you’d like.
  • A Zombie Apocalypse is a great time to finish all those creative projects you have on hold.
  • Staying at home is good for gardening, and for flower photography.
  • Coffee. We have a blend from Scarlet City Roasting that is guaranteed to see us through the Zombie Apocalypse.
  • Keto-friendly chocolate. I have a box of very low carb chocolate bars coming from the Good Chocolate Company. This delicious chocolate is actually pretty good for you even if you are staying away from sugar. Discount code: STAYHOMEWITHCHOCOLATE.
  • I know we won’t go nuts because we get nuts delivered quickly and in certified gluten-free style from Nuts.com.
  • All the inspirational musicians playing from home on YouTube every day. Particularly Mary Chapin Carpenter.
  • Cleaner air. This is a wonderful thing, and should make us all plan to have cleaner air without a pandemic.

Okay, so there are actually eleven things: last, but hardly least, staying home and spending time with my wonderful family!

Point Bonita Lighthouse © Harold Davis

Point Bonita Lighthouse © Harold Davis

Posted in Coronavirus times, Writing

Under the Yaquina Bay Bridge

Under the Yaquina Bay Bridge has become, somewhat to my surprise, one of my iconic images in the sense that there have been quite a few prints sales, image licenses and so on. Thanks to all who have made this image a success! Here’s the original blog story from 2016. In answer to the question posed in that story, the marketplace has voted pretty overwhelmingly for the black & white version.

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

Under the Yaquina Bay Bridge © Harold Davis

Posted in Monochrome, Photography

Water Drops in the Morning

It rained overnight. In the morning the sun came out. I was up early with camera and macro lens, crawling on my belly to seek out nature’s most unfathomably beautiful gems: water drops in the garden.

Water Drops on a Young Columbine at Sunrise © Harold Davis

Water Drops on a Young Columbine at Sunrise © Harold Davis

Morning Jewel © Harold Davis

Morning Jewel © Harold Davis

Posted in Photography, Water Drops

Spring of our Discontent

White Papaver Nudicaule Inversion © Harold Davis

White Papaver Nudicaule Inversion © Harold Davis

This is the spring of our discontent. Or at least the spring of isolating in place. As long as we are on Shakespeare near-quotations, “Sweet are the uses of adversity which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in his head.”

In that spirit, keeping to our quarantined state has given me time to pursue projects I have long been putting off, like mastering video creation and leading remote webinars.

My garden is in glorious April bloom, and I have flowers to photograph. Like the white Papaver nudicaule (Icelandic poppy) shown in this story.

White Papaver Nudicaule © Harold Davis

White Papaver Nudicaule © Harold Davis

To make the image on white, I cut the flower and placed it on my light box. Making the exposure, I decided not to use a macro lens. I picked a great piece of glass, my Zeiss 135mm f/2 moderate telephoto lens. I have used this lens for this kind of composition with success before, for example in Matilija Poppies and Mallows. I added a 12mm extension tube between the lens and camera so I could focus closer.

I made six exposures with the camera on the tripod at shutter speeds between 1/13 of a second and 2.5 seconds. Each exposure was at f/22 and ISO 64. I processing the captures as a high-key layer stack in Photoshop.

With the final version on white processed, I decided to see what would happen using creative LAB color techniques, specifically an L-channel inversion. Since the L-channel inversion swaps white for blacks and black for whites, to some extent it will leave a fairly neutral mid-gray (such as this flower’s petals) close to untouched, while swapping the background colors.

I was pleasantly surprised at the results of the LAB L-channel swap (shown at the top of this story), followed by a few additional Photoshop tweaks.

Enjoy this time, and use it for staying creative!

Posted in Flowers, Photography

New free session: Intro to Photography Flowers for Transparency

By popular demand, we have scheduled a second free session of Photographing Flowers for Transparency | Part 1: Introduction because the first session filled up right away to the capacity of our Zoom Webinar account. As requested, you will be able to attend this new introductory session prior to attending Photographing Flowers for Transparency | Part 2: Floral Arrangement and Exposing on April 16. Here are the second session details.

Harold Davis is proud to present a live webinar! Stay healthy, be creative, make art, and be mighty!

What: Photographing Flowers for Transparency | Part 1: Introduction

When (second session):  Photographing Flowers for Transparency | Part 1: Introduction Saturday April 11, 2020 at 2PM PT FREE, click here for advance registration (required). Seats are limited.

Where: On your computer or mobile device from anywhere via Zoom.

Tuition and Registration:  This is a free webinar, but advance registration is required. Seats are limited.

Description: In this detailed presentation, Harold Davis shows his stunning floral imagery and explains in detail his process for light box photography. Botanical composition, exposure, and post-production will be explained. There will be time for Q&A.

Touching Petals in the Garden of Social Distancing © Harold Davis

Touching Petals in the Garden of Social Distancing © 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.

Posted in Workshops