The Island Where Art Conspires With Nature: Naoshima

on January 12, 2016

The Island Where Art Conspires With Nature: Naoshima

by Robert Rosenkranz

Small and tranquil, the remote island of Naoshima has been dubbed the “Art Island” of the world, and with good reason: it’s seamless synthesis of nature with contemporary art and architecture is magnificent. Belonging to the Kagawa Prefecture, Naoshima Island is ensconced within the archipelago of the Setouichi Islands, off the south-west coast of Japan.

Not in my camera bag. In my pocket: the DxO One

on October 13, 2015

hen you see an opportunity to make an interesting photograph, the best camera to use is the one you have with you. For the past couple of weeks, I have nearly always had the DxO One in my pocket.

This is a sleekly designed package, about as long and as thick as your thumb, that plugs into the iPhone 6 Lightning port. It contains a 20 megapixel sensor, the same as the one used in the Sony RX100 which is widely considered the highest quality compact on the market. The iPhone screen serves as the viewfinder, making it very easy to frame and compose images precisely.

The Fresson Process: A Marriage of History and Artistry

on October 6, 2015

The Fresson process, commonly referred to as direct carbon printing, reveals a depth and richness in photographs that is truly unmatched. The images combine the moody quality and textural richness of a charcoal drawing with the detail and resolution of photography.

In 1899, Théodore-Henri Fresson showed the French Society of Photography “Photographic prints made on charcoal paper made without transfer.” He managed to achieve this result by preparing his paper with several coats of different light-sensitive layers. The insoluble ones were close to the paper.

Blood Moon: Lunar Eclipse

on September 29, 2015

Blood Moon: Lunar Eclipse

The recent lunar eclipse provided an irresistible opportunity to immerse myself in two of my interests: space and photography. From a location in the mountains near Aspen, Colorado we set up a Takahashi 106mm Apochromatic Telescope with a Nikon 810 camera attached.

Pelicans: A Photographic Study

on August 20, 2015

For my latest assignment, and perhaps for a more select series in the future, I’ve pursued a beautiful but challenging subject: pelicans.

The photographs below were taken in the British Virgin Islands, famous for these majestic birds, so much so that even a small island there was named after this sea faring avian. The pelican lineage has prehistoric roots, living beside humans in such distinct ways that ancient Egyptians have woven them in to their mythology, at times being called the “mother of the king”.

The Artistic Dichotomy—Assigning Creativity

on August 18, 2015

Photography, like other art forms, is about so much more than the finished product. It is about the independent life and spirit that the finished product evokes and the stories that it tells. I believe no photograph has ultimate meaning simply by virtue of its existence. It is in the process of being experienced by those who see it that a photograph develops meaning and value.

What’s in my camera bag

on July 1, 2015

Nikon 810D

What’s in my camera bag? The Nikon 810D. This is a great, professional quality digital single lens reflex camera, at about half the price of the D4S which makes no better images. Its key feature is an FX sized sensor: one the same size as standard 35mm film.
This allows for exceptionally detailed images, more detail than my (old) eyes can see. The 810 is a worthwhile improvement over its predecessor, the 800, with a quieter shutter that allows for slower exposures without blur. I frequently use a Nikon 610, which also has an FX sensor and comparable image quality in a somewhat smaller and lighter package, at half the cost of the 810D.