Bruce Barnbaum - The Art of Photography: A Personal Approach to Artistic Expression, 2nd Edition

BRUCE BARNBAUM

A Personal Approach to Artistic Expression

The Art of Photography, 2nd Edition

A Personal Approach to Artistic Expression

Bruce Barnbaum

www.barnbaum.com

Editor: Gerhard Rossbach

Project editor: Joan Dixon

Project manager: Lisa Brazieal

Marketing manager: Jessica Tiernan

Layout and Type: Petra Strauch,

Cover design: Helmut Kraus, www.exclam.de

Cover photo: Bruce Barnbaum

ISBN 978-1-68198-210-6

2nd Edition (1st Printing, February 2017)

2017 by Bruce Barnbaum

All photographs Bruce Barnbaum (unless otherwise noted)

Rocky Nook Inc.

1010 B Street, Suite 350

San Rafael, CA 94901

www.rockynook.com

Distributed in the U.S. by Ingram Publisher Services

Distributed in the UK and Europe by Publishers Group UK

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016950247

All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher.

Many of the designations in this book used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks of their respective companies. Where those designations appear in this book, and Rocky Nook was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps. All product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. They are not intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

While reasonable care has been exercised in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein or from the use of the discs or programs that may accompany it.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Printed in China

To the wonderful memories of my mother and father.
For as long as I can remember
they both encouraged me to teach.

Bruce Barnbaum
PO Box 1791
Granite Falls, Washington 98252
USA
Phone or Fax: (360) 691-4105
www.barnbaum.com

Few books are the work of one person in complete isolation from the rest of humanity. This book is no exception, and I would like to thank the many individuals and organizations that have been helpful in putting it together.

First, I wish to thank the workshop participants who read my early papers and manuscripts, gave me encouragement to expand my writing concepts, and suggested additional topics to be considered. Other workshop participants pointed out errors, suggested improvements, and identified segments that were unclear upon initial reading. Altogether, the quality of the book rests upon these hundreds or even thousands of co-editors who helped me improve my writing over the past 35 years.

Second, I must commend a number of people who have helped me in my entry to digital photography. Bennett Silverman deserves special thanks for his tremendous help and his writing of the digital chapter for the first edition of this book. In addition to Ben, I thank Rajmohan Murali, Ron Reeder, Don Rommes, and Franz Messenbaeck for their needed and wonderful help getting me on board.

A number of individuals have been a great help by supplying me with ideas over the years. These ideas have subsequently been incorporated into my photographic thinking, and therefore into this book. Prime among them are:

Jay Dusard, who introduced me to potassium ferri-cyanide bleaching of prints, and who has been a great friend, a fabulous workshop collaborator, and my best honest critic;

Ray McSavaney, who helped me start our first private workshop program, the Owens Valley Photography Workshops, and gave me the idea of extremely dilute negative developer solutions (the compensating development technique) to greatly control negative contrast. He also inspired me with his artistic approach to life. Ill always miss Ray as a friend and consummate artist;

Don Kirby, who has not only taught numerous workshops with me, hiked and photographed with me, rappelled into Lower Antelope Canyon with me long before it became grossly commercialized, and camped with me throughout much of the unsurpassed Utah Canyon Country, but who also has given me great insight into the value of negative masking and helped me expand my creative and instructional abilities;

Heike Maskos, a workshop student who has worked closely with me on previous editions of this book, making it read better and look better, and who has been of greater help than she will ever recognize or admit;

Alexander Ehhalt, who introduced my self-published book to Gerhard Rossbach, founder and publisher of Rocky Nook, who worked with me on this and other books, and has become a trusted friend and workshop co-instructor;

Reed Thomas, a wonderful friend and sometimes workshop co-instructor, who has opened up my eyes and thoughts to alternative ways of seeing any scene;

Morten Krogvold, who has inspired me with his powerful imagery and his ability to motivate photographers to higher achievements, and to touch them to the core of their souls;

And, above all others, my wife, Sonia Karen, who has made the good things throughout my photographic career possible by thoroughly supporting me and helping me in all phases of my endeavors. She is the quiet, lovely gem of my life!

To each of them, and to everyone else who has given me ideas, techniques, and tips of all sorts, I wish to say thank you for your contributions to this book.

Figure 1-1: What Was... What Is
An ancient Western Red Cedar tree, thirteen feet in diameter, in the rainforest of Washingtons North Cascade Mountains, cut down a century ago, has been replaced by dozens of tall, skinny trees, which together contain less wood (board feet) than the single cedar contained. None of the new trees are Western Red Cedars. There are no ferns, shrubs, or mosses on the ground, so the replaced forest can support no wildlife. Timber companies say, there are more trees in America than ever before, and theyre right; yet it is an utterly deceptive claim. Its a dead forest; a tree farm. The photograph, near my home, was designed to show the damage of industrial clearcutting, euphemistically called harvesting. No other art form can make such a statement as powerfully as photography.

PHOTOGRAPHY IS A FORM OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION. At its best, a photograph conveys a thought from one person, the photographer, to another, the viewer. In this respect, photography is similar to other forms of artistic, nonverbal communication such as painting, sculpture, and music. A Beethoven symphony says something to its listeners; a Rembrandt painting speaks to its viewers; a Michelangelo statue communicates with its admirers. Beethoven, Rembrandt, and Michelangelo are no longer available to explain the meaning behind their works, but their presence is unnecessary. Communication is achieved without them.