Fantastic Photo From Creative Sparks Photographer Bill Lord

Posted on 2 May 2014 by

We had another inspiring group at Creative Sparks last night looking at new work and discussing creativity and art. One of the most talked about images of the evening was this photograph from Bill Lord.

Bill Lord, Untitled Photograph, 2014

Bill Lord, Untitled, 2014

 

Many of us were drawn into the space of the image and felt as though we were looking at a futuristic planet or spaceship. We could just as easily have been looking at an extreme macro photograph of some type of cell.

We were fascinated by the order and repetition on the bottom left of the photograph and by the way it dissolves into chaos and complexity moving left to right. The play between materiality and immateriality along with the deceptive simplicity of the image were also discussed with great enthusiasm.

Wonderful image Bill! Thank you for sharing your ideas and curiosity with us!

Creative Sparks is a weekly photography class and creativity workshop held on Thursday evenings in Vero Beach, Florida. Students are guided to discover their creative vision with nationally recognized artist/photographer Aric Attas in a small group setting.

Photograph © Bill Lord. All rights reserved. Photograph used by permission.

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Food Photography Vero Beach – Citrus Grillhouse

Posted on 30 April 2014 by

Here are some of my favorite photos from a recent shoot for Vero Home, Life & Design magazine celebrating food on the Treasure Coast. I was very fortunate to work with some of the most creative and talented chefs in Vero Beach including Chef Mark Edmonds of Patisserie, Chef Scott Varricchio of Citrus Grillhouse, Chef Joe Faria of Quail Valley Golf Club and Chef Leanne Kelleher of The Tides. These particular photos were created with Chef Scott Varricchio at Citrus Grillhouse. The food was awesome!!!

Food Photographer, Vero Beach, Florida, Citrus Grillhouse Chef Scott Varricchio

Scott Varricchio at Citrus Grillhouse, Vero Beach, Florida. Food Photography by Aric Attas.

 

Food Photographer, Vero Beach, Florida, Citrus Grillhouse Chef Scott Varricchio

Tomahawk Steaks Prepared By Chef Scott Varricchio at Citrus Grillhouse, Vero Beach, Florida. Food Photography by Aric Attas.

 

Citrus_Grillhouse201308076127_W_Aric_Attas

Baby Carrots by Scott Varricchio at Citrus Grillhouse, Vero Beach, Florida. Food Photography by Aric Attas.

 

You can see more delicious food photos from this shoot in the October/November issue of Vero Home, Life & Design or by visiting my commercial photography portfolio.

All of these chefs were VERY generous with their time and talent. I encourage to you visit their restaurants to experience some of the best food in Vero Beach and the Treasure Coast. You’ll be glad you did!

All photographs © Aric Attas. All rights reserved.

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Quote On Photography From Alfred Stieglitz

Posted on 28 April 2014 by

Here’s a quote from Alfred Stieglitz referring to his series of cloud photographs which he called “Equivalents”.

“My cloud photographs are equivalents of my most profound life experiences, my basic philosophy of life. All art is an equivalent of the artist’s most profound life experiences.” – Alfred Stieglitz

Alfred Stieglitz, Equivalent, 1926

Alfred Stieglitz, Equivalent, 1926

 

Alfred Stieglitz was an American photographer critic, gallery owner, and theorist who had a tremendous influence on photography and Modern Art in the early 20th Century. He was the first to exhibit works by European avant-garde artists Auguste Rodin, Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brancusi, and Francis Picabia in America. He championed photography and Modern art by exhibiting photography, painting and sculpture in his galleries 291, The Intimate Gallery and An American Place and by publishing the quarterly magazine Camera Work. Stieglitz particularly favored Modernist artists such as Paul Strand, Edward Steichen, Arthur Dove, John Marin & Georgia O’Keefe.

His theory of Equivalence has a had a powerful influence on photographers such as Aaron Siskind, Harry Callahan, Minor White, Paul Caponigro and many, many others.

To learn more about Stieglitz, his photography and his influence on Modern Art visit the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History at the Metropolitan Museum of Art website: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/stgp/hd_stgp.htm

Here are some great books on Alfred Stieglitz to add to your collection.

                                        

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John Szarkowski Quote On The Simplicity AND Complexity Of Photography

Posted on 21 April 2014 by

Here’s a great quote from John Szarkowski on the simplicity AND complexity of photography.

“The simplicity of photography lies in the fact that it is very easy to make a picture. The staggering complexity of it lies in the fact that a thousand other pictures of the same subject would have been equally easy.” – John Szarkowski

To learn more about this highly influential figure in the history of photography visit my previous blog post: https://photonlab.com/2013/07/29/great-quote-about-photography-from-john-szarkowski/

 

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Inspiring Photography From Creative Sparks Photographers

Posted on 18 April 2014 by

We had another inspiring Creative Sparks session last night with an interesting range of photographs. It’s great to see people challenging themselves creatively and technically, stepping outside of their comfort zones and creating images that come from within.

Tom McCauley, Power Pole V, 2014

Tom McCauley, Power Pole V, 2014

 

Bob Webster, Untitled, 2013

Bob Webster, Untitled, 2013

 

Bill Lord, Untitled Abstract Photograph, 2014

Bill Lord, Untitled, 2014

 

Paul Simon, Morikami Gardens, Delray Beach, Florida, 2014

Paul Simon, Morikami Gardens, Delray Beach, Florida, 2014

 

Creative Sparks is a unique photography class and creativity workshop held on Thursday evenings in Vero Beach, Florida. Students are guided to discover their creative vision with nationally recognized artist/photographer Aric Attas in a small group setting.

Photographs copyright © original artists. All rights reserved. Photographs used by permission.

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A Great Film On Perspective

Posted on 14 April 2014 by

Powers of Ten is a fascinating film that takes us on a journey into the macro- and micro-cosms. It begins at a picnic on Lake Chicago and zooms out in magnitudes of ten every ten seconds. Soon we are transported deep into space where our galaxy becomes a distant speck of light among the stars.

On the journey back to earth we notice a beautiful rhythm of activity and inactivity. We quickly return the the couple relaxing on Lake Chicago and begin an inward journey. Every ten seconds we view the scene with ten times more magnification taking us inside the human body. Our journey ends with a glimpse inside a proton in the nucleus of a carbon atom hidden within the coils of DNA in the sleeping man’s hand.

Powers of Ten © 1977 Eames Office LLC. For more information visit www.eamesoffice.com

For even more about Charles & Ray Eames check out these books in my Amazon bookstore.

                                        

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Henri Cartier-Bresson On The Decisive Moment

Posted on 7 April 2014 by

Here’s a fascinating video with Henri Cartier-Bresson that will give you insight into his work and hopefully inspire yours.

Although many consider Cartier-Bresson to be the father of modern photojournalism he saw himself as a Surrealist photographer. Encouraged by Robert Capa to call himself a photojournalist Cartier-Bresson adopted the label so that he would be taken seriously. Personally, he found documentary photography boring and didn’t consider himself much of a journalist.

Henri Cariter-Bresson, Madrid, 1933 © Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum Photos

Henri Cariter-Bresson, Madrid, 1933
© Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum Photos

 

Cartier-Bresson began his art career as a painter and viewed photography as a means of drawing. The photograph was, “an immediate sketch done with intuition”. Fascinated by the fluidity of time and capturing “The Decisive Moment” Cartier-Bresson found visual pleasure in the rhythm of compositions created by fusing intuitive moments within the ordered structures of geometry.

His photographs provide sensuous and intellectual pleasure as well as a “recognition of an order in front of you.” “The difference between a good picture and a mediocre picture is a question of millimeters. It’s small, small difference, but it’s essential.” It’s fractions of a second and awareness. Cartier-Bresson wasn’t interested in facts, he interested in the evocation of the image. “Like a Checkov story, it’s a quick thing and there’s a whole world in it.”

“The secret to getting great pictures; “ You have to milk the cow quite a lot to get plenty of milk to make a little cheese”.

Here are some great books featuring the photographs of Henri Cartier-Bresson.

                                        

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Inspiring Photography From Creative Sparks Photographer Bill Lord

Posted on 4 April 2014 by

Here’s a beautiful image from Creative Sparks photographer Bill Lord. Bill has been experimenting with abstract color photography in a variety of ways including studio set ups, photo manipulation and abstracts made on location. This particular image was created on location while participating in a recent photo excursion.

I’m immediately drawn to the colors and to the play between positive/negative space. While very minimal in it’s composition the photograph has a wonderful illusion of space. At times I see the purple as the foreground, other times it recedes into the background. A nice sense of push/pull.

Of course, the sense of light is absolutely fantastic! Simple, elegant, wonderful!

Bill Lord, Are You Positive?, Color Photograph, 2014

Bill Lord, Are You Positive?, Color Photograph, 2014


Creative Sparks is a unique photography class and creativity workshop held on Thursday evenings in Vero Beach, Florida. Students are guided to discover their creative vision with nationally recognized artist/photographer Aric Attas in a small group setting.

Photographs © Bill Lord. All rights reserved. Photograph used by permission.

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Elizabeth Gilbert On Where Creativity Comes From

Posted on 31 March 2014 by

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, discusses a different way of looking at creativity and the creative process in her Ted talk “Your Elusive Creative Genius“.

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Inspiring Quote On Art From Man Ray

Posted on 24 March 2014 by

“Of course, there will always be those who look only at technique, who ask ‘how’, while others of a more curious nature will ask ‘why’. Personally, I have always preferred inspiration to information.” – Man Ray

Man Ray, Tears, 1932

Man Ray, Tears, 1932

“The artist who brought Surrealism to a new medium Man Ray (1890-1976) is indisputably one of the most original artists of the 20th century. His revolutionary nude studies, fashion work, and portraits opened a new chapter in the history of photography. Born under the name of Emmanuel Radnitzky in Philadelphia, he began his artistic career in New York. In 1921 he moved to Paris, where he was enthusiastically welcomed into Dadaist and Surrealist circles. Man Ray experimented tirelessly with new photographic techniques, multiple exposure, rayography, and solarization being some of his most famous. Erotic, playful, and sometimes sinister, his compositions show unusual bodies and objects: strange, striking images that transform our perceptions of reality. This collection of famous, lesser known, and unknown works fully illustrates Man Ray’s singular visionary power.” – Introduction to Man Ray published by Taschen Press.

For Man Ray’s biography visit: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/man-ray/prophet-of-the-avant-garde/510/. Please note his last name was actually Radnitzky, not Rabinovitch. PBS got that one wrong!

Visit the J. Paul Getty Museum online to learn more about Man Ray: http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=44253

Here are some great books on Man Ray including his fantastic autobiography and the insightful documentary Man Ray: Prophet of the Avant-Garde produced by PBS.

                                        

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