My Top 12 Images Of 2015

Alignment VI

Alignment VI

Alignment X

Alignment X

Alignment XXIII

Alignment XXIII

Alignment XXII

Alignment XXII

Alignment XXVIII

Alignment XXVIII

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Constellation XV

Constellation_XIV

Constellation XIV

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Untitled

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Untitled

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Illumination XXIV

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Illumination XXXV

This is a selection of my top 12 images of 2015. 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
My obsession continued with places defined by water (either an abundance of it or a lack of it) in the polar-regions of Greenland and Iceland and in the deserts (an absence of water, yet often shaped by waters long gone) of Namibia, Argentina, and California.
Process
Half the images I released in 2015 were exposed in other years. Several of the other images were processed on location or the day they were exposed. I date “straight” shots based on the date they were exposed and composites on the date they are completed.
Concepts
There were several new twists on old subjects and themes: amid sensual dunes multiple moments / perspectives became conjoined; levitating stones became ice; below reflective water surfaces instead of closer details full landscapes are seen; seeing through things to what lies behind them shifted from skies to landscapes.
Magnificent Moment
Once again, flying over the 1,500 foot coral dunes of Sossusvlei for more than an hour was simply divine, especially when coupled with the hours spent walking its shifting surfaces in constantly changing light.
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.

View my full Works here.

View my Series videos here.

View new images in my newsletter Collectors Alert.

My Top 12 Images Of 2014

Alignment V

Alignment V

Alignment IV

Alignment IV

Antarctica CLXVI

Antarctica CLXVI

PS Manges Color, lighten, lighten shadows

Antarctica CLXXI

Antarctica CLXXII

Antarctica CLXXII

Constellation XI

Constellation XI

Constellation XII

Constellation XXI

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Contrail V

Contrail IV

Contrail IV

Antarctica CLXV

Antarctica CLXV

Incubation X

Incubation X

This is a selection of my top 12 images of all time. 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
Antarctica, Argentina, Iceland, California
Process
I added something new to old projects; Antarctica and Constellation. I began moving forward on bringing a long-standing series to completion; Alignment. I released the first images from a new series Contrail that shows man’s marks in nature found in even the most remote places on earth; a complementary companion series of is soon to be released.
Concept
Similar themes echo throughout most of my individual series creating a shared network of connections. Alignment connects with Contrail and Refraction in different ways. Constellation connects with Correspondence in other ways. More connections are revealed over time.
Magnificent Moment
An hour and a half flying over Iceland’s south coast is magnificent but four hours of zodiac crusing in Antarctica’s Plenneau Bay (The Iceberg Graveyard) followed by three hours of dramatic light while passing through the La Mer Channel is even more magnificent.
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.

View my full Works here.

View my Series videos here.

View new images in my newsletter Collectors Alert.

Bring Your A Game – The Story Behind The Image

IlluminationXXXI_425

Illumination XXXI, 2014

It was one of my best sessions.
I had come prepared.
I knew the location well. My father first brought me to the Point Lobos region when I was very young. Later, during my college years, I spent more time exploring the coast. Long after that, I visited many more times, including several visits to prepare for leading workshops where you have to orient yourself more objectively. This was one of those times.
I knew the subject well photographically. Photographing in the region had a long history and I knew the images and their creators, often first-hand. Adams, Bullock, Caponigro, Sexton, Weston(s), White, Witherill, Uelsmann (and so many others) – they’d all made images there. I’d revisited them all to prepare for this session.  I knew that if I made successful images, that it was inevitable that some comparison to other works would be made. I knew that their images had influenced my vision and that I needed to more fully digest that influence to be free enough to make my own images, in my own ways, and on my own terms. And, I’d failed many times before.
I knew how to work the situation well. I came before the light was best and stayed sometime after it had passed. I didn’t make just one image; I made many. I surveyed a variety of aspects of the subject; planes, peaks, valleys, boulders, grottos, cracks, pools, waterline, etc. I framed each composition deliberately, then asked how it could be improved, and made that image too.
I knew myself well. I’d taken stock of my history, my vision, my themes, my style, and my goals. My natural tendencies resurfaced; I approached the land as if it were a human body. Long-standing themes reemerged; birth, death, and rebirth. I was aware of what I was bringing to the table – personally.
I also knew that, despite all this preparation, this would become a purely intellectual affair if I didn’t respond associatively and emotionally. So I let this all well up, holding nothing back – and I was surprised by what I discovered.
Old memories resurfaced, specifically of my first wife, who I used to visit these places with and who died of cancer when our son was very young, leaving a great deal unresolved. Then more memories surfaced of the decision not to have children with my second wife, a cancer survivor, because of health concerns. And here I was turning stones into wombs. I was emotionally present, raw even – and moving forward. I kept this inner dialog alive as I continued to make images. I had to answer this call to greater depth. Doing this work and making these images had become extremely personal.
Perhaps the images from this session are not my very best pictures, but it was one of my very best performances. It became a milestone for me. It had exceptional intensity and depth. That’s a level I now try to get to more consistently – or exceed. And I know what it takes.
It’s wonderful to see someone bring their A game. It can even help you find your own. But, your A game may be very different than someone else’s A game. To know what your A game is, you first have to get there. Once you know what’s possible, what it feels like, and what it takes to get there – you can bring it.
Questions
What performance would you identify as your best performance to date?
How would you describe your best performance to date?
What criteria do you use to evaluate your performance?
What areas are you concentrating on to improve your performance?
What steps are you taking to improve your performance?
When is it useful to separate your evaluation of performance from results?
View more related images here.
Read more The Stories Behind The Images here.
 

My Top 12 Photographs

01RefractionX_2005_501_johnpaulcaponigro

Refraction X, 2002

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Exhalation IV, 2005

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Inhalation I, 1998

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Correspondence XII, 1999

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Oriens

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Correspondence III, 1999

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Alignment I, 1999

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Alignment II, 1999

10ReflectionXVIII_2008_510_johnpaulcaponigro

Reflection XVIII, 2008

11SuffusionVIII_2007_511_johnpaulcaponigro

Suffusion VIII, 2007

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Constellation VI, 2013

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Illumination VI, 2012

Updated 2013

This is a selection of my top 12 images of all time. This selection doesn’t reflect sales, publication, or activities on the world wide web. It simply reflects my opinion. Click on the titles to find out more about each image.
Geography
Read The Most Sublime Landscape Experiences Of My Life here.
Process
20% straight. 80% composites.
Poetry, by any means necessary.
Experiment to find out what’s possible.
Concepts
A profound shift in consciousness arises when we relate to the world (all of it) as parts of a living thing into whose fibers we are deeply woven before birth and after death. Just as every individual has a unique spirit, every location has its own unique spirit (Genius loci is the latin translation of what the Greeks called this.), which fits into the larger world spirit (Anima mundi is the latin translation of what the Greeks called this.) We are not apart from nature, we are a part of Nature.
Magnificent Moment
Read about the most Sublime Moments of my life here.
 

View more of my Annual Top 12 Selections here.

View more images in my ebooks here.

View my full Works here.

View my Series videos here.

View new images in my newsletter Collectors Alert.