I enjoy sharing what little I may know about photography, its tradition and history, the art of photography, digital photography, and related technologies. Contact me if you wish to explore the possibility of a presentation at your local club or organization.
I have made numerous speaking presentations on the following subjects including mini-workshops of 3-4 hours on narrow topics. I am very comfortable with Photoshop, Lightroom, and various add-on plugins to them. I also enjoy talking, conversing about photography in general, and exploring different dimensions of it. The history of photography interests me and I like very much seeing the works of icons who made what we do possible. In case you may wonder, my current speaking fee at area clubs is $250 for a 60-75 minute presentation. If I need to drive more than 60 miles, I will need overnight accommodations for meetings starting at or after 7:00 PM.
Speaking Topics
With some advanced planning, any one of these can be converted to a mini-workshop where the participants using their computers work on their photographs with the techniques explained in the program.
- Digital Printing Workflow and Paper Choices: Read the details by clicking on the previous link. Sponsored by Red River Paper
- Architectural Photography: A very stationary subject with different challenges for photographers. Architectural photography can be a highly enjoyable genre if certain factors are clearly understood. And, remember the final product should be about architecture rather than the photograph. A related post may give you an idea.
- Still Life Photography: One of the popular genres of photography, still life is more than that meets the eye. It has a rich history both in photography and also in painting. Learning about the symbolic meanings of the included subjects, at least some of the time, may enrich the results and appreciation of still life photography. See the related post.
- Fine Art Photography: Art being an effort to communicate through creative means is closely tied to the process of communication. If you have nothing to say, how can you communicate? This presentation focuses on what is art, what is fine, and what makes fine art photography.
- Abstract Photography: Abstract photography seems to be an elusive subject, hard to nail down to a single definition. This may be due to the abstract nature of the idea of “abstraction” and perpetuating misconceptions about abstract photography. Many have written on the subject from their particular perspective and this article will be my attempt to present my framework of abstract photography. It will be neither wrong nor right, but a framework you may consider applying to your work, thought process, creative impulses.
- Botanical Photography: The Aesthetics. Focusing mainly, but not exclusively, on flower photography, this presentation spends minimal time on techniques, tools, settings, but emphasizes looking at botanical subjects. The presentation outlines a series of concepts that may help improve flora photography. First made at the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center in May 2016, then at Fall River Camera Club in February 2017.
- Orchis: The Story Of the Ballet that Started With My Photographs. I will be very happy to share the story of how a collection of my photographs of dried orchid blossoms inspired an original ballet, Orchis with its original score and choreography and how it prominently displays the music video I created for this purpose as the dancers perform beneath a giant screen.
- B&W Conversion in Photoshop: A Vision Driven Approach. The methods of converting color images to B&W are well-known, this workshop or presentation focuses on why, when, what, and how to convert to B&W.
- B&W Conversion in Lightroom: Why, When, What, How. This presentation will address the issues related to color and how to decide what images to convert to B&W, why, and how to achieve the best results. Hint: Lightroom’s B&W tool will shortchange your options.
- Photoshop Layer Blend Modes. It covers a neglected but very potent toolset buried under a drop-down menu. Participants receive an outline of the workshop, a collection of very useful Photoshop actions. It is 3-hours long but can be reduced for a presentation.
- Outputting from Photoshop and Photoshop Lightroom. This is a presentation I made at NECCC 2013. It explains a concise workflow to produce consistent print quality and to prepare files for photo lab printing. It is one hour-long, participants receive a digital copy of the detailed notes with screen captures and examples.
- Don’t Bruise The Pixels:
Nondestructive image editing in Photoshop and Lightroom - Sharpening Workflow In Photoshop and Lightroom
- Printing Workflow for Maximum Quality
- HDR Processing and Extended Range Imaging
- Photoshop Is A Girl’s Best Friend:
Portrait and Model Photography Editing
