Snow covered Wagon Wheels Fence - Janice Dugas Photography 2010

We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.

We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.

We hammer wood for a house
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable.

We work with being,
but non-being is what we use.
—The Tao Te Ching

KODAK Travel Bag Black |    KODAK ESP Office 6150 All-in-One Printer

123RF Banque d’images

Click on the arrow above to view short video taken this morning during the beautiful snow fall.

Tried to capture the beauty of it all…

Snowy Bench

Let’s all get our cameras ready for winter scenery shots!

Talk soon,

Janice

” I’m always mentally

photographing everything as practice ”

Minor White

Moon and Wall Encrustations by Minor White

Minor White | Photo by Richard Haiko, 1973

Minor White with Students | Source: http://www.aperture.org/exposures/?p=188

Meet Brian Smith, an exceptional celebrity and portrait photographer.

 

Brian Smith is a Pulitzer prize winner who has photographed one luminary after another: Bill Gates, Anne Hathaway, Samuel L. Jackson, and the list just goes on.

In our interview Brian discussed his process for getting intimate environmental portraits that truly capture the essence of his subjects.

He gives down to earth tips for portraiture that can be applied to photographing anyone, not just movie stars but every day stars who deserve to have a great photograph taken of them, for their personal 15 minutes of fame.

With a career full of accomplishments he speaks from experience which behooves any photographer to pay attention to and take notes.

Brian Smith’s photography is featured in the beautiful book titled: “Art & Soul: Stars Unite to Celebrate and Support the Arts”.

“A generous portion of the proceeds from the book will go to advocate funding of the Arts and Arts Education through The Creative Coalition, a nonprofit, nonpartisan social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community.” Source: http://briansmith.com )
.

Art & Soul: Stars Unite to Celebrate and Support the Arts | Brian Smith (Photographer) Robin Bronk (Editor)

(Click on the above book cover to purchase from Amazon)

In one of his videos, Brian Smith mentions that he uploads photos from shooting sessions unto his Photoshelter website to have them available for viewing almost instantly.

If you haven’t check them out yet, I highly recommend you do so, because, with any doubts, Photoshelter is a complete photo business solution.

Furthermore, they have such an easy process:

• Upload your photos
• Select your website theme
• Market and sell your work.

Cannot be more simple!

If you already have a Photoshelter website, do leave your feedbacks and links in the comments section below. We would be delighted to view your photography.

Until next, happy shooting and all the best!

PS: Here’s the link to one of my photography collections on Photoshelter: http://janicedugas.photoshelter.com/

|Canada Goose (Bernache du Canada) - Janice Dugas Photography 2011 |

“There is no light without shadow”

Louis Aragon

****

When I saw through the lens her shadow lying on her back, it reminded me of the above Aragon’s verse

Happy shooting!

Janice

Janice Dugas Photography 2011

Notice the staring eyes from the birch trees…

Is it only a matter of perception?

Talk soon

Janice

Wow….I’m floating on a cloud this morning…

I’ve just watched the most beautiful video I have ever seen in my life….truly a ”coup de coeur”!

Dewitt Jones, professional photographer from the National Geographic’s team, reveals the Power of Essence in this magnificent film titled:  ”Celebrate What Is Right In the World“.

Enlightening, empowering, revealing, moving, inspiring and so much more.

It’s all about how to look at the ordinary and see the … extraordinary.

Do click on the arrow below to watch this short video and be prepare to receive waves of serenity along with the revelation on how you can create the life you really want to live by being the best for the world ( not the best in the world, but the best for the world).

Let alone that his photography leaves you breathless. Truly magnificient…in all aspects.

Had to remove the video as it was under copyrighted law. Will shortly replace it with a program clip. Stay tuned! Please accept my apologies for this unforeseen inconvenience

Many thanks to Bob Jenkins (@bobtheteacher) for tweeting about Therese Sparby’s (@radicalleader) article on her blog, Awaken Your Essence, in which she shared this video with her readership. In turn, I’m happy to share with you this awesome and priceless boost!

Do not hesitate to post your comments below as I would love to hear what you think about the “Celebrate What Is Right In the World – The Power of Essence“.

Until next, take care and all the very best!
Janice

For 123Rf.com featured photographer of the month,  Cathy Keifer, it did!

In an recent interview inside which she shares her insights on how to progress from a beginner to a full fledged photographer, Cathy was asked:

11. From your experience, what subjects gives you the greatest satisfaction? Any examples?

Shooting tiny subjects seems to give me the most satisfaction since they would usually go unseen without the magic of macro photography. My close contact with insects and spiders has reversed my fear of them into a love of them.

Spider - Macro Photography - Cathy Kiefer

Cathy has a quirky passion for small creatures and delivers great tips on how to capture them in action. We surely can feel her love of nature and studio photography.

Insect Photography by Cathy Kiefer

Don’t miss out on this great Hear It Interview at 123RF.com and be sure to pick up golden nuggets as you read along Cathy Kiefer’s answers to the following questions:

1. Production Equipment: Please list the production equipment that you use on a regular basis (eg. Cameras, lenses, flash & lighting, photo editing software).
2. What do you think of photography these days?
3. What did you want to be when you were younger?
4. Tell us about the time when you first got started in photography
5. In your opinion, what does it take to become successful in this industry?
6. What was your biggest challenge coming into this industry?
7. What are the best perks as a Photographer?
8. How do you plan for your shooting sessions?
9. How would you describe your work to first time viewers?
10. Do you shoot to what your heart tells you or do you go through a complex check list in your mind when you produce your work? Describe the feeling/check list.11. From your experience, what subjects gives you the greatest satisfaction? Any examples?
12. From your experience, what subjects are the hardest to work with? Any examples?
13. What is your philosophy when it comes to your work?
14. Describe who/what inspires you, tell us why?
15. What do you do when those creative juices just seems to evade you. How do you “get creative”?
16. Tell us about a time when inspiration just hits you, and you felt the insatiable urge to create. What did you do with that energy?
17. What have you discovered about yourself through photography?
18. Whose work do you admire the most? Why?
19. Do you have any advice for those who are just getting in to stock photography?

Two red spotted purple butterflies are sitting on thistle-Photography by Cathy Kiefer

The above nineteen questions forms the basic of each monthly interview done by 123RF.com with great photographers. Discover Yuri Accurs and Andrea Haase answers as well!

Are you getting 123RF.com monthly free newsletter? If not, you are missing out on great creative ideas for your photography, and I would recommend that you join now.

Buy and Sell Photography Online

Enjoy and talk soon!

Leica 1953 Camera and 2003 Camera - Wikipedia

Up until the 60′s, B&W photography dominated over color photography. Nevertheless, some photographers experienced with colors even before Auguste et Louis Lumière produced in 1907 the Autochrome plates enabling color photography.

Think of Edward Steichen’s (1879-1973) famous The Pond-Moonlight photograph.

It was taken in 1904 in Mamaroneck, New York depicting a pond in wooded area, with moonlighting rays reflecting on its surface.

The Pond-Moonlight (Edward Steichen) 1904

What makes this photograph unique and rare is the experimental approach that Steichen took when manually applying layers of light-sensitive gums to the B&W photo to render colors.

Steichen’s photograph sold for $2.9 million in February 2006, tagging it with the highest price ever paid for a photo print at auction!

The following year, Steichen’s record was eclipsed by the sale of another colour photograph, Andreas Gursky’s 99Cent II Diptychon mounted to acrylic glass (2001) which this time around sold for $3.3 millions at Sotheby’s London auction.

99 Cent II diptychon-(Photo courtesy Sotheby's)

(…) It is significant the diptych was sold as part of a contemporary art sale, and not at a photography sale. Indeed, the Gursky was the only photographic images sold at the evening sale on February 7. The description of the work in Sotheby’s catalogue compares it stylistically to Jackson Pollock’s all-over technique, Sol Lewitt’s repetitive grids, Donald Judd’s stacks of items as well as Andy Warhol’s thematic interest in consumer goods.

Placed in this broader fine art context, Gursky’s work suddenly transcends the normal valuations of contemporary photography.
“Andreas Gursky’s powerful large scale photographs have quickly informed the way that we view the ‘the fetishism of our material world’ and have immediately become a part of established artistic vocabulary,” the catalogue states. “Executed on a grand scale, his photographs survey the post-Capitalist landscape, searching for the signifiers which define our daily lives.”

In broad terms, bidders who attend contemporary art sales are used to paying far higher prices for pieces than collectors at photography auctions, though in recent years that distinction has been blurring.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070318090710/http://www.popphoto.com/photographynewswire/3911/the-first-3m-photograph.html

But since the above lines were written, the list of the highest prices paid for photographs (in US dollars, unless otherwise stated) has changed:

The Cowboy (Richard Prince)

1.    Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboy) (1989), sold $3,401,000 ( up from the 6th position) by which auction house ?

2.    Andreas Gursky,  99 Cent II Diptychon (2001), $3,346,456, February 2007, Sotheby’s London auction A second print of 99 Cent II Diptychon sold for $2.48 million in November 2006 at a New York gallery, and a third print sold for $2.25 million at Sotheby’s in May 2006.

3.    Edward Steichen, The Pond-Moonlight (1904), $2,928,000, February 2006, Sotheby’s New York auction.

Edward Weston - Nude - 1925

4.    Edward Weston, Nude (1925), $1,609,000, April 2008. Sotheby’s New York auction

5.    Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O’Keeffe (Hands) (1919), $1,470,000, February 2006. Sotheby’s New York auction

6.    Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O’Keeffe Nude (1919), $1,360,000, February 2006. Sotheby’s New York auction.

7.    Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey, 113.Athènes, T[emple] de J[upiter] olympien pris de l’est (1842)  $922,488,   2003. auction.

8.    Gustave Le Gray, The Great Wave, Sete (1857)  $838,000,   1999.

9.    Robert Mapplethorp, Andy Warhol (1987)  $643,200,   2006.

10.    Ansel Adams, Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico (1948) $609,600, Sotheby’s New York auction, 2006.

Source: Wikipedia’s ( list was started by Catherine Dée Auvil )

I wonder if the list changed again as of today?  Do not hesitate to leave comment below if you have more information. Would be interested to know about it.

Meanwhile, what are we waiting for ? Let’s get out there and shoot pictures. The more we shoot, the better our chances to “make” a great photograh !

Speak soon.

My heart is pounding and I feel weak, but totally amazed to see to what extremes a “wanted shot” can lead  dedicated photographers!

Just watch this video showing photographer Joe McNally climbing to the top of the Empire State Building multiple times to get “the ultimate light bulb changing shot” for the National Geographic story on The Power of Light.

Hopefully you do not suffer from vertigo…

Even though the video was produced at the beginning of the new millennium, it’s topic :  LIGHT…. is timeless.