“Considered one of the leading documentary photographers in the field today, Chris Rainier captures powerful and compelling images of indigenous cultures whose ways are under threat.”
Find out more about Chris Rainier here.
View more Photographer’s Videos here.
Enjoy this collection of quotes on Context.
“For me context is the key – from that comes the understanding of everything.” – Kenneth Noland
“Making mental connections is our most crucial learning tool, the essence of human intelligence; to forge links; to go beyond the given; to see patterns, relationships, context” – Marilyn Ferguson
“Critics have a responsibility to put things in a cultural and sociological or political context. That is important.” – Annette Bening
“What we have to do is put this in a coherent form for them at the end of the day, and on the big events, give them the kind of context that they deserve.” – Tom Brokaw
“I do not fear truth. I welcome it. But I wish all of my facts to be in their proper context.” – Gordon B. Hinckley
“Disinformation is most effective in a very narrow context.” – Frank Snepp
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This is a selection of my top 12 images of 2016. This selection doesn’t reflect sales, publication, or activities on the web. It simply reflects my opinion. Click on the titles to find out more about each image.
Geography
While I visited most of the biomes in one year (all seven continents in 18 months), the images I released were drawn primarily from the artic and antarctic regions.
Process
Straight images from Antarctica were processed on location, mostly in Lightroom. Composite images were created in studio, mostly in Photoshop after launching from Lightroom. I date “straight” shots based on the date they were exposed and composites on the date they are completed.
Concepts
I focussed on a long-standing theme, creating symmetries drawn from the land to better reveal the spirit within. The final resolution has prompted me to remaster many related files made in 1996. I released multiple related series of studies, including a series of digitally rendered inkblots.
Magnificent Moment
There was big magic in 2016! In Antarctica there were moments of extreme quietude amid the lifting fogs at Black Head and the glassy reflections in Antarctica’s Plenneau Bay. We experienced the epically varied lands of New Zealand; in one day we moved from a waterfall strewn fiord, through a rainforest, up to a high arid plateau, and finally to the base of a glacier. Sublime light filled hours and hours, as we flew helicopters over Namibia’s Sossusvlei dune fields, which roll out to the Skeleton Coast. All of these adventures were long-held dreams come true.
It’s challenging to choose so few images from so many – but it’s insightful. Try selecting your own top 12 images. Try selecting the top 12 images of your favorite artist(s).
View more of my Annual Top 12 Selections here.
View more images in my ebooks here.
Jeremy Cowart
Gregory Crewdson
Loise Greenfield
Download The Digital Printing Quick Start Guide here.
Read more on digital printing here.
Learn more in my digital photography and digital printing workshops.
Ed Kashi offers deep insights into the practice of photojournalism.
Find out more about Ed Kashi here.
View more Photographer’s Videos here.
My free January Desktop Calendar features an image from Iceland’s Snaefellsness Peninsula.
Download your free copy here.
Find out more about this image here.
When you’re evaluating print quality, knowing what to look for is almost as important as knowing how to achieve it. Many technical factors contribute to print quality. Here’s a list of things to look for when you’re evaluating print quality – yours and others’.
It’s not that every one of these factors has to be optimal to achieve great print quality. It is that every factor you optimize enhances print quality further.
Well Focused
No Motion Blur
No Sharpening Artifacts
Extended Depth Of Field
Extended Dynamic Range
Appropriate Lightness
Highlight Detail / Separation In Values
Shadow Detail / Separation In Values
Mid-tone Contrast
Gradation
No Posterization
Low Noise
No Noise Reduction Artifacts
Believable Color … or … Color Transformed With Intent
Color Without Artificial Color Casts
Variation In Single Colors
Saturated Color
Appropriate Materials
Appropriate Scale
Appropriate Presentation Materials
Appropriate Contextualization
Appropriate Price
So what’s ‘appropriate’? That all depends on the statement being made. The real question is, “What is the artist trying to do? And how well did they achieve that?” You can successfully break the rules if you break them for a reason.
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Correspondence XII – Nocturne, 1999
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Condensation II – Prelude, 2001
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Correspondence III – Sonata in Blue, 1999
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Resonance IB – in Red and Gold, 2000
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Resonance IA – in Blue and Gold, 2000
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Enjoy this collection of my twelve best-selling images.
Click on the links to find their current prices.
There’s no mystery to what it takes to make great prints. There are just many things to consider before making them and many steps to take while making them. Set clear objectives, map the process out clearly, master the skills in each step (or collaborate with people who have mastered specific skills) and you too will be able to produce great prints.
Here’ an overview of what it takes.