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Archive 2017 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!

  
 
rdeloe
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


In another thread I asked people to suggest interesting sites for reading about photography instead of reading about gear: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1502929/0#14154088

There were lots of interesting suggestions, and one from FM member Bernie, who pointed us to a site I'd never heard of: http://www.lensworkonline.com/ Bernie wrote in his comment "When you're ready to leave the hardware behind and think about the art of photography"

Was I ever ready! I've gone through too many bouts of GAS over the years and it's annoying and boring (and costly) when it flares up. Many photographers seem to be fellow sufferers.

I took Bernie's advice and checked out the Lenswork site. This post is a bit of a shout-out for the site. (I have no financial or other interest in it apart from a one year subscription I just bought!) It's an unusual website in that just about everything is behind the pay wall. Your own philosophy may be that everything should be free, but this site seems to be the livelihood of the people that run it, and they've chosen to make the information available only to subscribers.

I suspect their model keeps a lot of people away, if for no other reason than they can't tell if it's worth paying for. I'm here to tell you that if you want to read about photography not cameras*, then the $59 you'll spend on a one year full access electronic subscription will be money well spent.
* That expression, "Photography Not Cameras" is actually straight from the Lenswork site, where it's one of the features available to subscribers.

Lenswork itself started out as a physical magazine about photography and photographers with no advertisements. It's still a physical magazine (and you can buy just the subscription to the magazine if you want). However, it's also available as PDF versions of the magazine, and with the subscription I have, a whole bunch of other stuff (videos, pod casts, interviews with photographers, etc.)

The style of photography may not be your cup of tea. There's a lot of black and white, which is why I cross-posted to the Black & White Vision forum**. But there's lots of colour too. It's landscape heavy, but by no means only landscape. There's a ton of content about other photographers. I'm discovering all kinds of people whose work I enjoy and who I will watch for in future.
** If black and white is your thing (it's mine for sure) then a one year subscription may be the single best investment you can make.

The thing I like the most about the site is that there's virtually no discussion of camera gear. There's some good material on some post-processing topics, but it's the minority. Most of the material is about photographs, photography and photographers. Reading through the issues of the magazine I usually learn nothing about the cameras and lenses people used to make the images. That is really refreshing! If you want your photography to go places where new gear won't take it, then this may be a site for you.

My only caveat is that there's a whole lot of Brooks Jensen. He's the editor, writer, and narrator. I appreciate his ideas, approach and taste, but if you don't you might tire of the site after all.

So Bernie, thanks for the tip!

Rob de Loe
www.robdeloephotography.com



Sep 15, 2017 at 07:05 PM
sbeme
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


I have long been a Lenswork fan and subscriber to the print edition, after seeing a copy at Barnes and Nobles years ago. And I have a couple of Brooks' books.
The BW photography and high quality mass marketing print editions are stunning and diverse. More recently Brooks has showcased an increased number of color images.

I think Brooks has been a rare success in making a living this way, diversifying the many ways images are available and I have never felt the least taken advantage of.
There are other editorial musings to read besides his, included in his offererings.

Anyone interested in BW photography is sure to find many of the images selected to be impressive, engaging, with a certain Lenswork "look" that I would love to successfully emulate.

Worth the look around. A second Shout Out to Lenswork.

Scott



Sep 15, 2017 at 08:34 PM
peter_n
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


^ +1. I too have been a fan for a long time and have a stack of the mags.


Sep 15, 2017 at 09:17 PM
Paul Mo
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


Not matter how much I try I can't connect to their site - on my mobile.


Sep 15, 2017 at 09:50 PM
philber
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


I can't access the site from my computer. It seems to be down. Not good.


Sep 15, 2017 at 10:44 PM
runamuck
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


I keep getting told the connection was reset.


Sep 15, 2017 at 10:54 PM
Paul Mo
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!




Paul Mo wrote:
Not matter how much I try I can't connect to their site - on my mobile.


It's up again.



Sep 16, 2017 at 12:55 AM
EB-1
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


Years ago I read the magazine, thinking there would be more than a little useful technical information. The title is somewhat of a misnomer.

EBH



Sep 16, 2017 at 09:12 AM
Bernie
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


Rob, glad to have pointed you in the direction you needed to go. For those of you who want an overview of what's available behind the paywall:

http://www.lenswork.com

It's not just about b&w photography, although that is its genesis. Yes, there's a lot of Brooks Jensen, but then he also has a lot to say in over 1,000 podcasts. I'm still going through them.

The major takeaway is that there's so much more to photography than the piece of hardware in your hands. And there are plenty of other places to go for that info.



Sep 16, 2017 at 09:58 AM
rdeloe
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


It might hinge on what we mean by "technical". If people are looking for MTF curves, explanations of how PDAF works, etc., then they'll definitely be disappointed! But as Bernie noted, there are many, many places to go for that kind of knowledge.

I was looking for a different kind of technical knowledge. For instance, there are millions of technically competent photographs out there. What makes us stop at some, and come back to them again and again? Brooks (among other people) argues that the ones that stand out not only are technically solid, but also have a strong idea behind them and connect with people on an emotional or personal level.

I see this all the time with my own work. By the time I'm done with a photograph that I've really worked on, there's a huge amount of "backstory" that isn't accessible to the person who looks at it. I remember what it was about the subject that caught my eye, how hard I worked to get the image, how I felt about the subject while I was making the image, the things I had to do in Lightroom, etc. Someone who sees my photograph without any of that knowledge can't be expected to feel the same way about it. They have to connect to it in some other way -- or it's just "Meh, another picture of X".

To me, that's also really useful "technical" knowledge. Sure, deep down I probably knew what was going on already at some level, but it was really useful to listen to Brooks tackle it head on in one of his "Photography Not Cameras" videos.

Cheers, Rob

EB-1 wrote:
Years ago I read the magazine, thinking there would be more than a little useful technical information. The title is somewhat of a misnomer.

EBH





Sep 16, 2017 at 03:53 PM
Two23
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


Bernie wrote:
The major takeaway is that there's so much more to photography than the piece of hardware in your hands..



In the end, the camera is the least important thing in photography. As a large format shooter I've subscribed to Lenswork off & on. It's sort of the "National Geographic" for photographers. I do like the interviews with leading photographers.


Kent in SD



Sep 16, 2017 at 06:34 PM
JohnBrew
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


I have Lenswork back to 2005. Their "Monograph" series is also very good and relatively inexpensive - many of the issues are sold out and already collectable.
While mostly bw, imo the Guy Tal Monograph in color is particularly outstanding. I believe it can be viewed on the website.



Sep 17, 2017 at 09:29 AM
doc4x5
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


Brooks has done an exemplary job with Lenswork. He's inquisitive and is always looking at the world of photography, not cameras, in interesting ways. I admire his focus on the image and the idea behind it without much regard to the equipment with which it was made. He's aware of the trends in both "art" and "photographic art." His podcasts are also well done and I learn from them on a regular basis. The books he puts out are well printed and reasonably priced. In short, a good effort in a good cause and I'd like more people to support it.
Eric



Sep 17, 2017 at 11:29 AM
Keiththom
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


Too bad we don't have a forum here devoted to the how too's of photography instead of
counting pixels and arguing over which camera or lens is best. More and more, heated exchanges over gear is getting boring and uninteresting.



Sep 17, 2017 at 02:26 PM
rdeloe
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


+1 Yes!!

I would love to have a forum dedicated to photography rather than cameras and lenses. If that matters to you, ask Fred.

I've posted a few threads that would have been perfect for that kind of forum, but they've been awkwardly squeezed into the "General gear talk" forum, where they really don't belong.

Keiththom wrote:
Too bad we don't have a forum here devoted to the how too's of photography instead of
counting pixels and arguing over which camera or lens is best. More and more, heated exchanges over gear is getting boring and uninteresting.





Sep 17, 2017 at 02:35 PM
Pavel
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


rdeloe wrote:
+1 Yes!!

I would love to have a forum dedicated to photography rather than cameras and lenses. If that matters to you, ask Fred.

I've posted a few threads that would have been perfect for that kind of forum, but they've been awkwardly squeezed into the "General gear talk" forum, where they really don't belong.



One could start posting technique threads and in a way all the Landscape, Macro, Black & White etc sub-forums are inspirational in the way Lenswork seeks to be. But somehow I think the major technique emphasis would quickly devolve to "Great photograph! What lens did you use?

That, sadly, would explain why not every new and intermediate photographer's first reaction is not to subscribe to Lenswork. It's in the nature of the photographer beast.

I've had a subscription to the Magazine as well as later the iPad subscription. It was not a PDF but rather a much more sophisticated approach and I sure hope they have not resorted to PDF. My local camera store carries the magazine as well and so sometimes nowadays I pick up a copy when I stop by, since my subscription lapsed years ago. It is really worth while and features top notch photographs that are a joy to see in print on such good paper.



Sep 24, 2017 at 05:31 AM
rdeloe
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


It's not even a "technique" thread I was thinking of. I think a lot of "technique" topics have a home already. I just saw a posting in the Nikon thread asking for ideas on the best way to nail focus with a wide angle thread. It was about Nikon lenses so the Nikon gear forum was the right home. Similarly, I've seen people asking for the best way to develop a RAW file for black and white in the post processing forum. That was the perfect home for that.

What I'm missing is a place to talk about photography topics that aren't about technique or gear. For example,
* you want to review a a good book about the history of photography, or you're looking for one.
* you're wondering how people get into and out of creative ruts
* you're struggling to understand the line between "photography" and "photo art"
* you want to talk about where the kind of photography you're interested in is going

I know people want to talk about these topics because I see them all the time on FM -- but they're buried in forums where they don't belong. Case in point: in the last two months we've had two really long threads about how much manipulation is OK before it's not a "photograph" anymore! One appeared in the Nikon forum, and one in the Canon forum. They both went on for ages, covering almost exactly the same ground.

Rob

P.S. Pavel: the electronic version of Lenswork is a PDF, but I find it works well. It's set up to open in full screen mode automatically, which works well on tablets and screens. I think Brooks is trying to give it a "magazine" feel, so there are not hyperlinks, etc. It's page-by-page.

Pavel wrote:
One could start posting technique threads and in a way all the Landscape, Macro, Black & White etc sub-forums are inspirational in the way Lenswork seeks to be. But somehow I think the major technique emphasis would quickly devolve to "Great photograph! What lens did you use?

That, sadly, would explain why not every new and intermediate photographer's first reaction is not to subscribe to Lenswork. It's in the nature of the photographer beast.

I've had a subscription to the Magazine as well as later the iPad subscription. It was not a PDF but rather a much more sophisticated approach and
...Show more




Sep 24, 2017 at 08:37 AM
Pavel
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


I'm grateful you posted this. I see they have gone through a lot of efforts since I was last subscribed and they sure have added a lot of content.

I worked it out - a subscription costs 16 cents a day, over the course of a year. I realized in a flash how coffee cost me a fortune compared to that and add to my unsteady hands. At that it was a no-brainer to re-subscribe.

Perhaps the first thing to read up on would be the technique for coffee hands photography.

I think it's a given that in 365 days I shall be a better shooter thanks to stumbling upon this thread.



Sep 24, 2017 at 11:19 AM
rdeloe
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


If this little thread helps you be a better photographer then it's time well spent!

I made two immediate changes based on things I read at the site in the last month:

1. I shoot for black and white and I thought I had a pretty good workflow going in Lightroom. Brooks had posted a short little video where he made me re-think why I was using the default conversion settings LR uses. Why not indeed? He recommends setting all the channels to 0 and manually adjusting the channels based on each image. I've been trying that for the past few weeks and am quite pleased with the results. Some images that I was going to toss out were actually quite decent with the new workflow.

2. There was a lot of material about photographic projects and how to think about them and organize them. I like to shoot this way (in other words, working a subject until I get a set of images that complement each other and form a small project). My website was partially there already, but I re-did the whole thing to make the themes way more coherent than they were.

That's pretty good value already!

Rob

Pavel wrote:
I'm grateful you posted this. I see they have gone through a lot of efforts since I was last subscribed and they sure have added a lot of content.

I worked it out - a subscription costs 16 cents a day, over the course of a year. I realized in a flash how coffee cost me a fortune compared to that and add to my unsteady hands. At that it was a no-brainer to re-subscribe.

Perhaps the first thing to read up on would be the technique for coffee hands photography.

I think it's a given that in 365 days
...Show more




Sep 24, 2017 at 12:18 PM
Edward Castro
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Lenswork: a cure for GAS!


Oh thanks for pointing out this site. I think I'll subscribe to it to increase my photography skills.


Sep 24, 2017 at 02:25 PM





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