Jeff Curto's Camera Position
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
Camera Position 113 : Tension and Resolution with Ludwig Van
05 Jul 2012
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when you give your viewer some visual tension? What does that visual tension feel like when it gets resolved in the viewer’s mind? By h...
Camera Position 112 : Chance Favors the Prepared Mind
25 Jun 2012
Contributed by Lukas
“Chance favors the prepared mind.” This great quotation by the important 19th century chemist Louis Pasteur is a springboard for some thoughts on ...
Camera Position 111 : A Real Time for Things
18 Jun 2012
Contributed by Lukas
A pair of emails from podcast listeners provided the impetus for this episode and its brief discussion of “a real time for things.” Kristian wrote...
Camera Position 110 : Mary Virginia Swanson – Part 5: Story & Narrative
11 Jun 2012
Contributed by Lukas
In my fifth and final piece of conversation with Mary Virginia Swanson, we talk about the relative importance of story and narrative in photographic w...
Camera Position 109 : Mary Virginia Swanson – Part 4: Public Art, Galleries & Image Size
04 Jun 2012
Contributed by Lukas
The 4th part of my conversation with Mary Virginia Swanson, where we discuss public art, galleries and work for the wall, image size and the life of i...
Camera Position 108 : Mary Virginia Swanson – Part 3: Craft, Publishing & Folios
28 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
I continue my conversation with Mary Virginia Swanson, covering the importance of photographic craft, the world of print-on-demand publishing and how ...
Camera Position 107 : Mary Virginia Swanson – Part 2: Books, Blogs & Salons
21 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
In part 2 of my conversation with Mary Virginia Swanson, we talk about the rise of the small group Salon, various online presences in the photo world ...
Camera Position 106 : Mary Virginia Swanson – Part 1
17 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
I recently had the good fortune to interview my longtime friend Mary Virginia Swanson, one of the most important photography consultants working today...
Camera Position 105 : Stay Ready
07 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
“Always stay ready so you never have to get ready.” So said the great modern artist Constantin Brancusi, whose statement seems to be about both be...
Camera Position 104 : Don’t Check the Checkboxes
23 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Learning to do photography well isn’t about checking a series of checkboxes about “how to do” the medium. Instead, it’s more about figuring ou...
Camera Position 103 : The Importance of Exploration
17 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
How important is exploration to the creative process? The great author John Steinbeck thought it was supremely important: “This I believe: that the ...
Camera Position 102 : Creative Process in Stages
10 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
The creative process can be broken down into four distinct processes, most of which we can foster in ourselves. We look at preparation, incubation, il...
Camera Position 101 : Creativity “Defined”
01 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” that’s what Socrates said. By looking at our past and both remembering and forgetting its lessons, we...
Camera Position 100 : Conferring Significance
25 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
When we make a picture of something, we elevate the importance of that subject merely by the act of paying attention to it with our camera. This basic...
Camera Position 99 : Harder Seeing
18 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Photographer Robert Frank said, “It is always an instantaneous reaction to oneself that produces a photograph.” Reading that quote in a wonderful ...
Camera Position 98 : Passion & Direction
11 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Passion for the medium is, in the end, the thing that keeps us going. This episode of Camera Position discusses passion and its strange bedfellow, dir...
Camera Position 97 : Pictures From The Exhibition
04 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
The Gallery Photographica Exhibition, which opened March 3 at the Michelle O’Connor Gallery in San Francisco is showing some really excellent photog...
Camera Position 96 : Three Prizewinners
27 Feb 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This episode examines the three “prizewinner” photographs for the Gallery Photographica exhibition and competition. Photographs by Micah Garen, Di...
Camera Position 95 : The Juror’s Experience
19 Feb 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This episode introduces a small set of podcasts about my recent experience of being the juror for the 2012 San Francisco International Photography Com...
Camera Position 94 : How To Do vs. What To Do
13 Feb 2012
Contributed by Lukas
There is a difference between knowing “how” to do something vs. knowing “what” to do. In this episode we talk about the difference between m...
Camera Position 93 : Symbolism & Metaphor
07 Feb 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Camera Position is back! After a too-long hiatus, I’m back with a great series of ideas about the creative side of photography. In this episode, met...
Camera Position 92 : A Gallery for Fine Photography in New Orleans
17 Mar 2011
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Camera Position takes a field trip! A great visit to A Gallery for Fine Photography in New Orleans, Louisiana and a great conversat...
Camera Position 91 : Living With Art
23 Feb 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Living with art… if we were wanting to be writers, we’d read books and we’d collect work by our favorite authors. As photographers, living with ...
Camera Position 90 : Inertia & Inspiration
03 Feb 2011
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes inertia gets the best of us and inertia was responsible for Camera Position’s absence these last few months. And photography can be like t...
Camera Position 89 : Camera Position & Camera Distance
19 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Camera position and camera distance… are they the same thing? As we position the camera, are we also thinking about how we position ourselves relati...
Camera Position 88 : Desert Island Photographs – Part 2
12 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
In this, the second of a two-part “desert island photograph” project, we cover more Camera Position listeners describing that one image that they’...
Camera Position 87 : Desert Island Photographs – Part 1
05 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Back in Camera Position #83, I asked Camera Position listeners to pick their one “desert island photograph;” that one image that they’d take wit...
Camera Position 86 : Italy Photo Workshops – Photographing and Editing in Rome & Tuscany
26 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
One of my goals for my workshops is to help the participants learn how to cope with the volume of images that they are making and to edit their images...
Camera Position 85 : A Bazillion Photographs
23 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
In a world populated by billions and billions of images, with more being made every second, how do we find a path for ourselves as image makers? We lo...
Camera Position 84 : Interesting Visual Friends
19 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Nurturing a set of “interesting visual friends” is one of the ways we can help create an environment of creativity around us. We can do that by ne...
Camera Position 83 : What’s On Your Desert Island?
08 Jan 2010
Contributed by Lukas
If you were stranded on a desert island, what one photograph would you bring along to sustain you visually? I’m soliciting Camera Position listeners...
Camera Position 82 : Beauty Begs to be Recorded
27 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
“Many times beauty begs to be recorded and it is only later that its position in the overall order of things becomes apparent.” So said podcast li...
Camera Position 81 : Project Planning Roadmap – DAM!
22 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
In our final “Project Planning Roadmap” podcast, we talk about DAM – Digital Asset Management – trying to get a handle on what these software ...
Camera Position 80 : Project Planning Roadmap – A Place For Your Stuff!
22 Sep 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A place for your all your stuff! The next part of planning and producing a project has to do with managing your content. Where do you store it? How do...
Camera Position 79 : A Workshop Overview
31 May 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Taking a quick break from our project planning roadmap series, this episode of Camera Position spends some time looking at a few of the wonderful phot...
Camera Position 78 : Project Planning Roadmap – Audience & Distribution
18 May 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Who is your audience and how will they best see the work? Audience and Distribution considers not only who is interested in the work you’re producin...
Camera Position 77 : Project Planning Roadmap – Production: Needs, Habits & Goals
12 May 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Now that we have an idea for a project and a mission for what that project will do and for whom, we have to start making some images and actually crea...
Camera Position 76 : Project Planning Roadmap – Passion & Mission
31 Mar 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Taking passion and combining it with purpose gives you a direction in your work. This episode talks about taking the list of 20 things that are import...
Camera Position 75 : Project Planning Roadmap – What Do You Care About?
23 Mar 2009
Contributed by Lukas
What do you care about? What things are really important to you as a person in the world? The next step in the project planning roadmap is to make a l...
Camera Position 74 : Project Planning Roadmap – New Idea Germination and “Hard & Soft”
17 Mar 2009
Contributed by Lukas
The second part of the Photographer’s Project Planning Roadmap series looks at idea germination; how do you find new ideas and nurture them? Downloa...
Camera Position 73 : The Project Planning Roadmap – An Introduction
12 Mar 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Defining and planning a project is one of the most useful ways to build a body of work, learn about yourself and learn about your personal response to...
Camera Position 72 – Photographer’s Bookshelf #5
01 Feb 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Photographer’s Bookshelf #5 highlights a stunning and interesting reprinting of Robert Frank’s important 1959 book “The Americans,” a must-hav...
Camera Position Special Edition : Tuscany Workshop Announcement
18 Jan 2009
Contributed by Lukas
I am very pleased to announce that I will be leading a workshop to Tuscany this May. In Search of the Personal: Photographing Tuscany with Jeff Curto ...
Camera Position 71 : How To Get Really Good at Photography
14 Jan 2009
Contributed by Lukas
How to get really good at photography! Finally, the secret is revealed. Turns out, it’s not all that hard… just live a life in the world. And make...
Camera Position 70 : Go With the Gestalt (part 2)
04 Jan 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Part two of our examination of the concepts of Gestalt in composition. Gestalt is a psychology of visual communication that helps explain how the mind...
Camera Position 69 : Go With the Gestalt (part 1)
26 Dec 2008
Contributed by Lukas
We examine the concepts of Gestalt as they relates to composition. Gestalt is a psychology of visual communication that helps explain how the mind wor...
Camera Position 68 : Zoom With Your Feet!
21 Oct 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Zoom with your feet! Zoom lenses can interfere with the creative process by letting you get lazy with where you’re positioning your camera. Switchin...
Camera Position 67 : The Mind as Camera
02 Sep 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Photographers must love the act of photographing; the mechanics of making a picture. But, before that, they have to love the simple act of seeing the ...
Camera Position 66 : Memory and the Photograph
08 Jul 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Human memory is a curious thing; sometimes it’s spot-on perfect, other times it’s altered by the passage of time. Photographs are a way that we ca...
Camera Position 65 : What Are You Lookin’ At? How do you Know?
01 Jun 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Photography is about doing, but it’s also about thinking… looking, seeing, appreciating. It’s possible to learn more about photography just by d...
Camera Position 64 : Old Tools
16 May 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Those of us who work with traditional photographic tools sometimes wonder… will those things disappear in the face of the digital revolution? Will w...
Camera Position 63 : Beauty and Background
07 May 2008
Contributed by Lukas
What is an “arts background”? Whether we know it or not, I think we all have one. Having a background in creativity is about synthesizing things t...
Camera Position 62 : Is Beauty Enough?
12 Mar 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Is beauty enough in a photograph? It’s an odd concept in photography, especially in today’s visual world where so many photographers seem to ignor...
The Camera in The Cathedral: Camera Position goes Historical
25 Feb 2008
Contributed by Lukas
The Camera in The Cathedral: A Brief History of Photography of the Natural World In a bit of “podcast cross-pollination,” I’m presenting an epis...
Camera Position 61 : Summer Peaches on a Winter’s Day
14 Feb 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A cold winter’s day prompted me to work on a warm-day photograph, then to make a cold-day photograph. Also, we celebrate Camera Position’s 2nd bir...
Camera Position 60 : Back to Basics – Composition
14 Jan 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Camera Position goes back to basics with an overview of the essentials of photographic composition, including the Rule of Thirds, Leading Lines, Frami...
Camera Position 59 : Evidence of Hands on Stone
23 Nov 2007
Contributed by Lukas
After an insanely busy fall, I’m back in front of the podcast mic, talking about photography. In this episode of Camera Position, we go to the Midwe...
Camera Position 58 – Pictures of an Exhibition
17 Oct 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Getting your work out there… how do you do it? We take a look at some responses to an exhibition I just had at the University of La Verne in Califor...
Camera Position 57 : Photographer’s Bookshelf #4
20 Sep 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Can you become a selfless photographer and reach a state of Zen with your camera? Fourth in an irregular series of “books for photographers’ books...
Camera Position 56 : The Parable of the Sheep
06 Sep 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Abruzzo Sheep – Photograph by Jeff Curto (click for a larger view) Photographers should always use the right tool for the job, right? But what if yo...
Camera Position 55 : Does Size Matter?
30 Aug 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Montepulciano, Toscana, 1998 – Photograph by Jeff Curto Yes, it’s the age old question… does size matter? Does the size of the prints we make ch...
Camera Position 54 : Photograph like a Child
12 Jul 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Summer’s lazy days put me in the mind of childhood and a recent encounter with some ideas by Pablo Picasso and some photographs by French photograph...
Camera Position 53 : Realizing the Image
08 Jul 2007
Contributed by Lukas
An image isn’t finished until it starts to feel like what you saw. Here is a brief look at the way I approached the post-production (what we used to...
Camera Position 52 : Tossing Your Preconceptions
04 Jul 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Preconceived notions about what you’re going to photograph can keep you from finding good images that you may have missed. This episode of Camera Po...
Camera Position 51 : Travel Gear
27 Jun 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Traveling with a camera involves planning. A lot of folks have asked me about traveling with the large format camera, and in this episode of Camera Po...
Camera Position 50 : Messages From Your Website
16 May 2007
Contributed by Lukas
What does your website say about who you are as a photographer? Does your site clearly define your goals or do you use your site’s pages as a dumpin...
Camera Position 49 : Know Thy Subject
07 May 2007
Contributed by Lukas
In order to make photographs that are meaningful, it really helps to know your subject in intimate detail. In this episode, I talk about subject resea...
Camera Position 48 : Getting “Unstuck”
22 Apr 2007
Contributed by Lukas
What do you do when you get “stuck” photographically? Here are a few ideas about how to find your way out of “Photographer’s Block,” with so...
Camera Position 47 : Focus/Defocus/Refocus
30 Mar 2007
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I talk about shallow depth of field as a creative tool and its use by several photographers who are using it in inventive and interes...
Camera Position 46 : Passion & Profession
11 Mar 2007
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of Camera Position is about combining passion with profession. We need to photograph what we love, but we also can’t lead an insular li...
Camera Position 45 : Back in the Zone
19 Feb 2007
Contributed by Lukas
In this second part of the Zone System overview, we look at a few more specifics about how the Zone System works and is implemented. Don’t forget to...
Camera Position 44 : Photographer’s Bookshelf #3
03 Feb 2007
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of Camera Position is the third entry in an irregular series of suggestions for the serious photographer’s bookshelf. This time, the se...
Camera Position 43 : There’s Creativity in The Zone
29 Jan 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Creative photography benefits from mastering technical content. This first installment of a discussion of The Zone System of exposure will help you st...
Camera Position 42 : Color Pioneers
13 Jan 2007
Contributed by Lukas
Another exploration of color in photography and the way it has been used by two of the great masters of color, WIlliam Eggleston and Stephen Shore. Al...
Camera Position 41 : Color Me Back!
01 Jan 2007
Contributed by Lukas
I’m back! After a month-long hiatus, I’m back with a podcast about color. Using a Christmas present of a book of Pete Turner’s photographs that ...
Camera Position 40 : Leftover Hash
27 Nov 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Lens choice, tripods, negative and positive space, image sequence and selection of a small group of images… it’s a “holiday leftovers ” group ...
Camera Position 39 : Your Mission & Your Audience
17 Nov 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Mission statements don’t have to be about dull, corporate stuff… they can also be about the creative process and act as a compass to point you in ...
Camera Position 38 : It’s About Time
07 Nov 2006
Contributed by Lukas
It’s about time. It’s about time to talk about time in photography and time as it relates to how photographs function. Using photographs by Garry ...
Camera Position 37 : Hey! Crop it Out!
31 Oct 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Photographers are not creators, they are editors. Unlike the painter, who starts with a blank canvas, we start with the whole world and our job is to ...
Camera Position 36 : Who’s Lookin’ At You?
20 Oct 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Who is in your critical circle? Who looks at your work to help you define what is good and what “works”? Do you do it yourself? Can you trust your...
Camera Position 35 : Bookshelf #2
16 Oct 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Another in an irregular series of suggestions for the photographic bookshelf. My selection this time is the Aperture monograph of the work of Ralph Eu...
Camera Position 34 : Sequencing
10 Oct 2006
Contributed by Lukas
The order in which we see images changes how we perceive them. In this episode, we look at how sequencing photographs can take one set of images and c...
Camera Position 33.3 : I’m Guest-Hosting “Tips From The Top Floor”
03 Oct 2006
Contributed by Lukas
This brief “Thirty-Three-and-a-Third” epsisode of camera position is just a quick “pointer” to my guest-host appearance on Chris Marquardt’s...
Camera Position 33 : What’s on Your Bookshelf?
01 Oct 2006
Contributed by Lukas
See this book at Amazon This episode is the first in an irregular series that explores important photography books that should be in every photographe...
Camera Position 32 : Gallery Talk
24 Sep 2006
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we go into the “field” to a gallery talk I gave at an exhibition of my work. My comments give some background on my 17-year photographi...
Camera Position 31 : Editing as Creative Process
13 Sep 2006
Contributed by Lukas
How many images does it take to say what you want to say? Editing your work to create a group of images that projects a coherent voice is an important...
Camera Position 30 : After The Shutter Closes
05 Sep 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Once we get back to the darkroom-digital or chemical-how do we maximize the vision and idea we had when we were in the field making the photograph? We...
Camera Position 29 : Where Are You From?
23 Aug 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Where do creative ideas come from? How do we figure out what’s the most interesting thing to photograph? Using the photographs and ideas of photogra...
Camera Position 28 : Which Came First?
16 Aug 2006
Contributed by Lukas
– – –– Photographs by Philip Trager – click images for a larger view When we choose a subject, sometimes we need to choose the right machine...
Camera Position 27 : The Mind & The Machine
04 Aug 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Click image for a larger view Whether we like it or not, photography has technology at its base. Sometimes, changing up the equipment we use can allow...
Camera Position 26 : Weston & The Edges
27 Jul 2006
Contributed by Lukas
The edges of the frame change everything about how we see a photograph. One of the great masters of the use of the photographic frame edge was Edward ...
Camera Position 25 : Pick a Pair of Portraits
21 Jul 2006
Contributed by Lukas
For the last 16 years, I’ve been photographing structures and the landscape in Italy. Over the last two years, though, I’ve tried my hand at portr...
Camera Position 24 : Looking & Looking Back – Stieglitz & “The Steerage”
13 Jul 2006
Contributed by Lukas
As I’ve worked with one of my newest photographs, I’ve noted a loose relationship Alfred Stieglitz’ “The Steerage” from 1907. It reminded me...
Camera Position 23 : Take a Left Turn
09 Jul 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Photographs by Jeff Curto Sometimes, when you think that there is a photographic subject in front of you, you can’t see the picture you want to make...
Camera Position 22 : Getting Back Your Box of Crayons
02 Jul 2006
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of Camera Position is a bit different from previous episodes. First off, it is a lot longer. Weighing in at a little over an hour, it is ...
Camera Position 21 : Caravaggio and the Road to Rome
30 Jun 2006
Contributed by Lukas
As I return to Camera Position after a month-long hiatus, I give you a few minutes with one of my favorite paintings, “The Calling of St. Matthew”...
Camera Position 20 : The View Through
31 May 2006
Contributed by Lukas
The visual device of a "view through" from one place to another is a fairly common one in photography, and one that I tend to use often. This episode ...
Camera Position 19 : When Less Really Is More
23 May 2006
Contributed by Lukas
When a photographer finds a beautiful scene, there is often a temptation to put everything he sees in the photograph, even if the image that results i...
Camera Position 18 : A Dull Picture of A Useful Object
17 May 2006
Contributed by Lukas
Here is an absolutely dull photograph of an absolutely dull (and ugly!) piece of cardboard that is one of the most indispensible pieces of equipment i...
Camera Position 17 : The Instant and the Machine
14 May 2006
Contributed by Lukas
The idea of photography that depends on the exact moment of exposure for success didn’t originate with Cartier-Bresson, but he certainly made the mo...