Kept Light » John Paul Caponigro

Clearing Winter Storm

A. Cemal Ekin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:01:42 +0000

This morning, I saw on John Paul Caponigro’s blog a new post showing Ansel Adams’ Clearing Winter Strom. John Paul also invited people to comment on the image. I decided to write my long-winded comment here, on my site instead. After all, comments are not meant to clutter ones blog. So, here it goes. (See the photograph and JPC’s post.)

In a photograph teeming with texture and land formations, I think the photograph is fundamentally about the weather, which is a passing event. Many others who went to the same place to photograph the same scene were, no doubt, disappointed.

I see multiple types of complexities in this contemplative photograph. Aside from the tremendous texture, shape, and form there is an inseparable element of time. Adams in this photograph, a static object, tells us about the passage of time; passed storm and clearing sky. That constitutes the first type of complexity. The second one is the relationship between the “heavens” and the earth. In this photograph, they have come together to embrace each other, celebrate each other’s presence. Embedded in that idea is the implicit sense of “awe”. The land, the sky, the weather, the passage of time are all awe inspiring. We also observe the great respect Adams had for the land and the nature, his expression of “awe” is yet another element in the photograph.

I remember my great aunt’s living room; it was cluttered with all sorts of objects. One could see the standard fare, from chairs to tables, to pictures on the walls to objects on the tables. She was able to bring a rather large number of objects together in that relatively small space, yet everything looked perfectly at home. They all fit. This 19th and early 20th century sensibility, which can be seen in period movies as well, is manifest here on a grand scale. What could be clutter in other people’s photographs are very well tied together through Adams’ careful framing. At a place like this, there are literally infinite number of frames to photograph. This frame that he chose creates a virtual bowl that hold the viewer in the midst of awesome nature, impressive weather, and fleeting time.

I am glad that you posted this photograph which made me to look at the photograph once more with the intention of expressing my thoughts. I also pulled out a few books and looked at the printed versions. They seemed a bit more open to me. That is either due to the differences in the medium, screen vs print; or that your copy is one of his later, darker prints. I personally prefer his earlier prints which were more radiant rather than somber. But, that’s a matter of personal preference.

Atmospheric FX by JP Caponigro

A. Cemal Ekin — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 03:20:55 +0000

A while back I ordered one of the DVDs from John Paul Caponigro’s R/Evolution series, Atmospheric FX. Frankly, I was not quite sure what the product included and I told John at a workshop last July to explain the contents a little better. It arrived almost two months ago but I have not had a chance to open the package and see the contents until last week. I am glad I opened it. After opening it I understood that this was not a set of plugins or quick fix actions but a well narrated and demonstrated series of tutorials on variety of subjects related to the atmospherics.

I am reasonably comfortable in Photoshop and can apply a variety of complex adjustments to my images depending on my needs. When I started watching the first instructional DVD I realized two things. First, I knew all the adjustments that John was using, very little in the form of new adjustment techniques. Second, I did not know most of the ways in which he assembled them for remarkable effects. So, the value of the DVD is not in learning new adjustment tools, but in how to apply them to achieve superb control on the image. Additionally, John Paul explains and demonstrates how to bring in elements from different images to create a finished product that is compelling.

I highly recommend the product which contains three DVDs covering the topics on atmospheric perspective, fog, smoke, rays of light, snow and rain, stars, rainbows, and lightning. You will enjoy learning by watching, better yet, you will enjoy your results.

You can get more information on this and other DVDs on John Paul’s Web site.

A Wink and a Nod to JPC

A. Cemal Ekin — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:29:32 +0000

During my flight to and from Salt Lake City I took many photographs from the window. Some are color photographs and others are infrared images that I took with my modified Canon G7. My main intent was, and still is, to explore the shapes and textures in the clouds and the ground. I was fascinated by seeing the shadows of the clouds and took many with the intention of exploring the clouds and the shadow they cast on the ground. I will have another posting that focuses on the shadows.

While I was processing the infrared photographs, one caught my eye with a potential to experiment with in the style of John Paul Caponigro. JPC has created a strong niche for himself with his evocative constructed images that appear to emerge from thin air. My intention here is to tip my hat to John Paul by intentionally imitating his style and images, knowing full well that my images will not show the maturity and mastery of his. If imitation is a form of flattery, I hope all the viewers will take it as such.

The following images are all derivatives from one image, except the last one which comes from a different image. I am surprised, I must admit, that one image can yield such a variety of emotions and feelings through reconstruction. I remember John talking about exploring the variations, this has been an eye opener for me. Here are my variations. I tip my hat to you John. Photography is about experimentation.

Cloud variations

[Show as slideshow]

Workshop

A. Cemal Ekin — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 04:26:59 +0000

I have just finished the workshop “Fine Art of Digital Printing” with John Paul Caponigro and Mac Holbert and I cannot say enough favorable things about the whole experience. Both John and Mac are extremely knowledgeable about photography, digital workflow, Photoshop, and the printing process; I mean extremely high quality fine art printing. On top of that, they are also very eager to share what they know, not only with the workshop participants but anyone who cares about her or his work. I am leaving the workshop with many useful technical and programmatic knowledge, not to mention many fine prints I was able to make there. But the best thing for me was my one-to-one meetings with John Paul and Mac who pointed out not only the technical glitches in my prints but also made me realize that I have to separate somewhere my emotional response from my technical process of producing fine prints. Now, I am not suggesting that either man told me that my prints were not of good quality, to the contrary they both said they were quite good, very good. But, and here is the rub, in my haste to visually articulate my ideas I have overlooked minor details that detract from the final quality.

I also realize now that I should have brought a more cohesive body of work to show rather than selecting images of various types. I made that choice with the assumption that I might need to present different types of photographs that show different technical questions/challenges as well as my varied interests. After John Paul’s presentation on presentation, I realized that my assumption and the resulting selection of images were wrong as they did not tell him enough about what my work is about. He was right. Thank you John, thank you Mac.

As part of the team, Arduina, John’s lovely wife; and Ming, Mac’s right hand (and the left hand as Mac called him) were always there with a smile to help with any problems that we might have had. With a great sense of humor and responsibility they greatly contributed to the total experience. Thank you Arduina, thank you Ming.

The venue for the workshop was the Hallmark Institute of Photography. The institute has impressive facilities, well equipped and extremely well maintained and presented. The people of Hallmark we had a chance to meet and interact, Gabe, Mark, Vance, were fabulously friendly and accommodating. Their hospitality and easy going manner contributed to the quality of my experience immensely. Thank you Gabe, Mark, Vance.

The participants at the workshop were a very good bunch of people with varying styles and talents. I have a feeling that I will communicate with quite a few and exchange ideas. I am looking forward to that. Thank you all for your company and sharing your work with me.