The Heart Of The Photograph – David DuChemin

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David DuChemin’s new book The Heart Of The Photograph is an emotional meditation on what really matters when we make photographs. His 100 Questions For Making Stronger More Expressive Photographs is rich food for thought and for the soul. Reading this book will give you time to pause and reflect on what matters most to you and your photography. What could be more important?

Find out more about The Heart Of The Photograph here.

Find out more about David DuChemin here.

Read David DuChemin’s Q&A here.

Read David DuChemin’s Favorite Quotes here.

View 12 Great Photographs By David DuChemin here.

The Care & Feeding Of Your Authentic Vision

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I create and curate a lot of content on creativity, art, and photography.
Here I’ve collected some invaluable resources for finding, energizing, and deepening your creative vision.
You’ll get a great taste for the content on creativity we offer in our Digital Photo Destinations Workshops.
Seth Resnick @ B&H – Seeing Color & Enhancing Creativity
John Paul Caponigro @ TEDx – You’re Created To Be Creative
John Paul Caponigro @ Google – The Creative Process
John Paul Caponigro @ Austin Talks – Find Your Way
Gregory Heisler highlights the importance of doing things your way.
Gregory Heisler @ Creative Live – Embracing Your Uniqueness
David Duchemin writes soulfully about cultivating your vision.
David DuChemin – Your Next Step : Authentic Work
David Duchemin – Finding Vision ?
David DuChemin – Chasing Photographic Style
David DuChemin – Vision And Voice
Hungry for more? Savor this book.
Thomas Moore’s – Original Self
Want to find out more about my creative process?
Check out my ebook Process.
The big take away? Creativity is an evolving process of discovery. If you simply engage the process with an open mind and a willingness to try new things, you’ll be uplifted by the surprises it holds for you. And, with mindful practice, you can start to influence the courses your creative life takes to make it more likely that you’ll get the results you desire most. Dream, act, fulfill them.
You’ll find more content like this in my newsletter Insights.
Sign up for my newsletter Insights here.

David DuChemin's New Mentor Class The Compelling Frame

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David DuChemin recommends, “If you want sharper photographs, buy a new lens. If you want more compelling photographs, start here.” So do I. If you love David’s books (including Within The Frame and The Soul Of The Camera), like I do – his new online class The Compelling Frame is for you.

Haven’t been able to take one of his Mentor Series Workshops? The Compelling Frame is a great way to get started while you’re waiting.

“The Compelling Frame is a mentor class about making more compelling photographs by being more intentional about your compositions.” (David DuChemin) As with everything David does, it’s vision driven. There are no rules here. David deftly points out that the elements of composition and the forces they set in motion are nothing without purpose – and in your photographs that purpose is yours to choose. Put another way, without knowing what you want to do, you’re unlikely to know how to do it. David puts heart and soul into everything he does; that’s what makes him so great. And he encourages you to do the same because that’s what will make you great.

In the videos you spend less time watching David demonstrate and more time listening to him talk and ask you questions – about really important things. It’s like having a fireside chat with David; the fire is a monitor and the warmth you feel is David. The Compelling Frame is not just a series of videos to be watched passively, this is a class, and to get the most out of it you’ll want to do the exercises that accompany each lesson. It’s well thought out. This is the good work we all need to do. This includes looking carefully at other photographers images, looking carefully at your own, and making new ones. Do this work and you can’t help but make better photographs.

What do you get when you purchase The Compelling Frame? 19 Video Lessons, 31 Creative Exercises, 4 About The Image videos, 2 Craft & Creativity Videos, 2 eBooks, 3 Ask Me Anything Sessions, a one-year membership to Vision Driven a private Facebook community, and 10% off future MentorClasses.

The Compelling Frame is available for one week only – until Sep 20, 2017.

Preview The Compelling Frame here now.

Find out more about David DuChemin here.

17 Great Quotes By Photographer David DuChemin

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Enjoy this collection of quotes by photographer David DuChemin.

“The cliché comes not in what you shoot but in how you shoot it.”  – David DuChemin

“Learning to see is not about having open eyes; it’s about having an open mind.” – David DuChemin

“The more curious we are the more creative we become.” – David DuChemin

“Creativity is about two things; the way we think, and the way we turn those thoughts into reality.” – David DuChemin

“It is we show put the humanity, the vision, and the poetry into our photographs.” – David DuChemin

“When we look at our photographs and find not the slightest reflection of ourselves, it is a good sign that our images have lost their souls.” – David DuChemin

“The idea of authenticity carries such value because we know how difficult it is to be fully ourselves.” – David DuChemin

“Anyone can take a picture of poverty; it’s easy to focus on the dirt and hurt of the poor. It’s much harder—and much more needful—to pry under that dirt and reveal the beauty and dignity of people that, but for their birth into a place and circumstance different from our own, are just like ourselves. I want my images to tell the story of those people and to move us beyond pity to justice and mercy.”  – David DuChemin

“A representational photograph says, ‘This is what Vienna looked like.’ An interpretational photograph goes one better and says, ‘This is what Vienna was like. This is how I felt about it.”  – David DuChemin

“‘What is it about?’ is not the same as ‘What happened?’” – David DuChemin

“It’s the difference between your wife’s passport photograph and the portraits you took when you got engaged. Both may have been created with similar technology, but what stands in that great gulf between them are the passion you have for your wife, the knowledge you have of her personality, and your willingness to use your craft, time, and energy to express that. One says, “She looks like this.” The other says, “This is who she is to me. It’s how I feel about her. See how amazing she is.” – David DuChemin

“Perfection is overrate, and not to be confused with mastery.” – David DuChemin

“Photographers, like few other kinds of artists I can imagine, have an insanely personal relationship with their gear.”  – David DuChemin

“Knowing failure is part of our process, and leads to new ideas, stronger work, and more honest questions, liberates us to peer, a little less frightened, into the unknown.”  – David DuChemin

“You yourself are unique–you have ways of seeing your world that are unlike those of anyone else–so find ways to more faithfully express that, and your style will emerge.” – David DuChemin 

“The real failure is to rob this world of the contribution only you can make, and to fail to make work that truly gives you that ‘this is what I was created to do’ feeling that has no equal.” – David DuChemin

“I  will never reach the end of this journey. I’ll never arrive at a point where others have nothing to teach me.” – David DuChemin

Find out more about David DuChemin here.

Read David DuChemin’s Q&A here.

Read David DuChemin’s Favorite Quotes here.

Preview his new online course The Compelling Frame now.

David Du Chemin's – Making The Image

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“Have you ever wanted an experienced photographer to look over your shoulder once in a while and ask you why you’re doing this or that, and whether you’d considered trying something different? Have you ever wished you could peer over the shoulder of a photographer who makes work you respect, and see what decisions they’re making and why? Yes? You’re exactly the person I made this latest book for.
Making the image is a 160-page PDF eBook, and comes with a 45-minute companion video, and a handy Quick Reference PDF for your iPhone or Android. Get Making The Image this week, save 20% and get a chance to win one of 3 image / portfolio reviews with me.
Wanting to make this resource as accessible to as many people as possible we’ve priced it at $25, but if you pick it up before August 12 at 11:59 PM (PDT) it’s yours for $20. And there’s one more thing.
Everyone that picks up Making the Image before August 12 at 11:59 PM (PDT) also gets a chance to win one of three portfolio or image reviews with me. This gives me a chance to connect with a couple more of you, and gives three of you a chance to go a little deeper with your own images and process. No restrictions, no fine print. Everyone that gets Making the Image before August 12 at 11:59 PM (PDT) gets a great resource for 20% off what I hope is already a really great price, and a chance to win some time with me.”
– David duChemin
Get Making The Image here.
Plus check out PHOTOGRAPH magazine.

David duChemin's Favorite Quotes

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David duChemin shares his favorite quotes.
This is my favorite from his selection.
“Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames.” – Rumi
Which is your favorite?
Read more of David’s favorite quotes here.
Find out more about David duChemin here.
Find his new book SEVEN here.
Read more photographer’s favorite quotes here.
Preview his new online course The Compelling Frame now.

PHOTOGRAPH Issue 3




Digital magazine PHOTOGRAPH Issue 3 is now available.
Articles are written by Martin Bailey, John Paul Caponigro, Kevin Clark, David DuChemin, Jay Goodrich, Chris Orwig, Al Smith, Piet Van Den Eynde, Nicole S Young.
In my column Creative Composition I cover the interactions of The Essential Building Blocks Of Composition (point, line, shape, plane, volume).
Portfolios and Q&As include Kevin Clark, Dave Delnea, and Hengki Koentjoro.
Koentjoro is one of my favorite photographers to follow on Google+.
Buy the PDF here for $8.
4 issue subscribers receive a 25% discount.
Learn more with my photography eBooks.

PHOTOGRAPH – Issue 2


There’s lots of inspiration in Issue 2 of PHOTOGRAPH magazine, which includes featured portfolios and interviews with Martin Bailey, Andy Biggs, and Chris Orwig, as well as articles from David duChemin, Nicole S. Young, John Paul Caponigro, Martin Bailey, Al Smith, Jay Goodrich, Piet Van den Eynde, Younes Bounhar, Kevin Clark, and Chris Orwig.
My Creative Composition article discusses using the frame creatively, perhaps the most essential skill in photography.
Purchase it here – $8 single issue or $24 quarterly subscription.
 

PHOTOGRAPH – The New eMagazine


There’s a new electronic magazine in town – and I’m delighted to be a part of it.
The 132 pages in Issue One of PHOTOGRAPH, A Digitial Quarterly Magazine for Creative Photographers. features …
Columns include Martin Bailey’s The Art of the Print, John Paul Caponigro’s Creative Composition, Kevin Clark’s The Studio Sketchbook, David Duchemin’s Without The Camera, Chris Orwig’s Creativity, and Piet van Den Eynde’s Lightroom Before + After.
Portfolios by Art Wolfe, Nate Parker, and Bruce Percy are followed by short interviews.
Featured articles by Younes Bounhar, Andrew Gibson, Jay Goodrich, Al Smith, and Nicole Young.
PHOTOGRAPH is available now through Craft & Vision, as a PDF download, for USD$8. A 4-issue subscription for US$24 (or buy 3 issues and get one free). You can subscribe today, or, if you want to do so risk-free, we’ll send a short email to everyone that buys Issue One and give you the chance to top-up your subscription with the remaining 3 issues for US$16, as long as you do it before the end of November 2012.
Find out more and subscribe on David Duchemin’s blog.

Here’s an excerpt from the first article in my column Creative Composition.
Dynamics Not Rules
“When it comes to composition, there are no rules . . . except, perhaps, never say never and always avoid saying always. I recommend you don’t ask, “Should I . . .?”; rather, ask “What happens when I . . . ?”. But there are principles. Each element has a unique force and contributes to the whole. Each element influences the other, creating a cascading chain of action, reaction, and interaction. These forces are definable and consistent, so you can understand them and apply them repeatedly. An understanding of what these elements are will open up possibilities and create opportunities for you. An understanding of how each element works will help you apply it so that you can improvise given the unique characteristics of a specific situation and your own con- cerns. Versatility with many strategies enables you to be more successful in more varied situations and to make more varied statements. Understanding the principles of visual dynamics will help make your decision making pro- cess more informed, but it won’t make choices for you. Awareness is the key. Better awareness brings better choices. Better choices bring better results …”