LensWork - Photography and the Creative Process

Arts & Culture Podcasts

Random Observations on Art, Photography, and the Creative Process. These talks focus on the creative process in fine art photography. LensWork editor Brooks Jensen side-steps techno-talk and artspeak to offer a stimulating mix of ideas, experience, and observations from his 50 years as a fine art photographer, writer, and publisher. Topics include a wide range of subjects from finding subject matter to presenting your work, and building an audience. Included in this RSS Feed are the LensWork Podcasts — posted weekly, typically 10-20 minutes exploring a topic a bit more deeply — and our almost daily Here's a thought… audios (extracted from the videos.) Here's a thought… are snippets, fragments, morsels, and tidbits from Brooks' fertile (and sometimes swiss-cheesy) brain. Usually just a minute or two. Always about photography and the art life. Brooks Jensen is the publisher of LensWork, one of the world's most respected and award-winning photography publications, known for its museum-book quality printing and luxurious design. LensWork has subscribers in over 73 countries. He is the author of 13 books on photography and the creative life -- the latest books are The Best of the LensWork Interviews (2016), Photography, Art, and Media (2016), and the four annual volumes of Seeing in SIXES (2016-2019).

Location:

United States

Genres:

Arts & Culture Podcasts

Description:

Random Observations on Art, Photography, and the Creative Process. These talks focus on the creative process in fine art photography. LensWork editor Brooks Jensen side-steps techno-talk and artspeak to offer a stimulating mix of ideas, experience, and observations from his 50 years as a fine art photographer, writer, and publisher. Topics include a wide range of subjects from finding subject matter to presenting your work, and building an audience. Included in this RSS Feed are the LensWork Podcasts — posted weekly, typically 10-20 minutes exploring a topic a bit more deeply — and our almost daily Here's a thought… audios (extracted from the videos.) Here's a thought… are snippets, fragments, morsels, and tidbits from Brooks' fertile (and sometimes swiss-cheesy) brain. Usually just a minute or two. Always about photography and the art life. Brooks Jensen is the publisher of LensWork, one of the world's most respected and award-winning photography publications, known for its museum-book quality printing and luxurious design. LensWork has subscribers in over 73 countries. He is the author of 13 books on photography and the creative life -- the latest books are The Best of the LensWork Interviews (2016), Photography, Art, and Media (2016), and the four annual volumes of Seeing in SIXES (2016-2019).

Language:

English

Website:

http://www.lenswork.com/

Email:

editor@lenswork.com

Episodes

HT2412 - The Crucial Missing Element from So Much of Fine Art Photography

10/16/2025

HT2412 - The Crucial Missing Element from So Much of Fine Art Photography One of the most common reactions I have when I see great artwork is that I cannot comprehend how it was done. There is some magic in the fact that it exists which leads to wonderment about how the artist accomplished it. People used to feel that way about photography, too, but now the magic in photography is so easily dismissed with "It's been Photoshopped" whether that's true or not. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

HT2411 - Fleeting Ideas

10/15/2025

HT2411 - Fleeting Ideas It's said that Charles Dickens during his long meandering walks through London, would always carry with him a notebook. He would jot down descriptions of interesting places he saw. He would capture interesting phrases people used or their accents and ways of speaking. He would then refer to these notes while he was writing his novels, using the little snippets of conversation he had overheard. Not a bad idea for us photographers, too. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

HT2410 - The Unexpected Project

10/14/2025

HT2410 - The Unexpected Project Some of the best advice I've ever heard came from a workshop instructor from my early days in photography, Stewart Harvey. He said the best photographers are ones who spend the most time photographing. He also said that the word "photographer" is a verb. He also said, turn around — which is incredible sage advice for photographers. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

HT2409 - The Unrecognized Masterpiece

10/13/2025

HT2409 - The Unrecognized Masterpiece Earlier this year I was reading a book on creativity and the author proposed that even the best creators and artists rarely are aware they are producing a masterpiece. Instead, they just create and work to the best of their abilities and don't give attention to whether or not their results are a masterwork. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

LW1475 - The Dilemma of Volume

10/13/2025

LW1475 - The Dilemma of Volume I remember a time when the creation of a single outstanding image was enough. In fact, that single great image was the goal. And it still can be. But while we are all still making single images, the mass of images that is building in our Lightroom catalogs is applying a pressure that previous generations could not imagine. This week — admittedly a spectacular week of fall colors in Colorado — I've added over 700 images of beautiful yellow, orange, red, and gold colored leaves to my asset base. This doesn't count the 900 or so images from previous trips. What do I do with them all? All previous episodes of our weekly podcast are available to members of LensWork Online. 30-day Trial Memberships are only $10. Instant access, terabytes of content, inspiration and ideas that expand daily with new content. Sign up for instant access! You might also be interested in. . . Every Picture Is a Compromise, a series at www.brooksjensenarts.com. and... "How to" tutorials and camera reviews are everywhere on YouTube, but if you're interested in photography and the creative life, you need to know about the incredible resources you can access as a member of LensWork Online.

Duration:00:12:54

HT2408 - Viewer Fatigue vs Disinterestedness

10/12/2025

HT2408 - Viewer Fatigue vs Disinterestedness We've probably all had the experience when showing a body of work that the viewer doesn't complete the entire project from start to finish. Does this mean they've lost interest somewhere along the way? Or is it possible that it's viewer fatigue and they've simply absorbed as many images as they can? Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

HT2407 - Paul Strand

10/11/2025

HT2407 - Paul Strand Paul Strand has been a favorite of mine for over 50 years. Three of his books are in my top 10 all-time favorites list. Time in New England (1950), Un Paese (1955), and Tir a'Mhurain / Outer Hebrides (1962). One of the aspects of his work that I love is the mixture of portraits, architecture, life style, landscape, and nature — all in the same project. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

HT2406 - GPS EXIF Data

10/10/2025

HT2406 - GPS EXIF Data I can connect my cameras to my cell phone in such a way that each image I photograph records the GPS information from my cell phone into the ex of data of the image file. For some time now, I thought that was a pretty neat trick. But I've come to realize I never used that data, not even once, and the extra drain on my camera batteries is inconvenient. So, I've stopped capturing GPS data and haven't missed it a bit. I'm sure for some of you it's incredibly valuable, but for me it's turned out to be superfluous and completely unnecessary. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

HT2405 - I Am Not a Landscape Photographer

10/9/2025

HT2405 - I Am Not a Landscape Photographer Don't get me wrong, I do photograph the landscape. But the purpose of my landscape photography is not to make a statement about the landscape but rather to use the landscape as it means to explore other ideas. For example, I have a project that is solitary trees in a vast landscape. The project is not about the solitary trees, but about how I was feeling after my wife passed away. Photography as metaphor, as Minor White advised us to photograph what else it is. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

HT2404 - From the Overlook

10/8/2025

HT2404 - From the Overlook I was recently at a scenic overlook where there were quite a number of others using what appear to be fairly modern digital cameras and long lenses. It occurred to me that probably all of them, or at least almost all of them, would end up with a very lovely photograph. The light was beautiful, the view from overlook was breathtaking, and their cameras quite capable. A lot has changed in the last 50 years of photography. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

HT2403 - Sales Are Not a Measure of Success

10/7/2025

HT2403 - Sales Are Not a Measure of Success Unless, that is, your objective with photography is to provide an income. When someone tells me it's their best-selling image, what I hear is that this is the most expected, most cliché, most common photograph they've made. This does not mean that your worst selling photograph is your most personal, most unique, most treasured photograph that you've made. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

HT2402 - Has photography become too easy

10/6/2025

HT2402 - Has photography become too easy What are the implications when thousands of photographers are making tens of thousands of spectacular images? What happens to the value of accomplishment when the product ceases to be rare? The photographic priesthood has dissolved. In its place we have a perfectly democratic medium. This is a good thing for the simple reason that it will refocus our efforts toward meaning and content rather than impressive technological accomplishments. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

LW1474 - Choosing Your Camera

10/6/2025

LW1474 - Choosing Your Camera I've been a presenter at two different events in the last 10 days, and in both events I was asked about my camera. I'm not a gear-centric guy and this isn't a gear-centric podcast, but the truth is that we do need to use gear. The right gear makes the task easier and the wrong gear can easily become a barrier to what we want to accomplish. With this in mind, let's consider gear for just a few minutes. First, when you look at a famous image, so you need to know what camera was used? All previous episodes of our weekly podcast are available to members of LensWork Online. 30-day Trial Memberships are only $10. Instant access, terabytes of content, inspiration and ideas that expand daily with new content. Sign up for instant access! You might also be interested in. . . Every Picture Is a Compromise, a series at www.brooksjensenarts.com. and... "How to" tutorials and camera reviews are everywhere on YouTube, but if you're interested in photography and the creative life, you need to know about the incredible resources you can access as a member of LensWork Online.

Duration:00:12:54

HT2401 - Where the Mona Lisa Was Painted

10/5/2025

HT2401 - Where the Mona Lisa Was Painted Photographers are compelled to include location information in their image captions. Why? Does the viewer need to know this? Maybe we should reveal the location where the image was printed. Or the date we signed it. Or who was with us when we framed the print. Or how old we were when we photographed it. Or who our travel agent was to the exotic locations we visited. Which information will do the most to connect our viewer with our artistic intent? Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

HT2400 - The Importance of Being Thick-skinned

10/4/2025

HT2400 - The Importance of Being Thick-skinned Photography at times can be so cruel. Our best plans can evaporate in technical failure. Our precious artwork can be rejected by a monstrous editor. Ahem. The work we love like children can leave others cold. No one said the life of an artmaker would be lollipops and rainbows every day. To quote one of my favorite lines from The Princess Bride, "Life is pain. Anyone who says differently is selling something." Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

HT2399 - My Theory on Locations

10/3/2025

HT2399 - My Theory on Locations I continue to believe that location is an overrated commodity in photography. Perhaps this doesn't prove my idea, but in the last month on the road I've captured images for 15 small projects from 13 different locations I never anticipated or never knew existed. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

HT2398 - Food Clothing, and Shelter

10/2/2025

HT2398 - Food Clothing, and Shelter In my twenties I work for the 9th largest retailer in the United States, a company called Fred Meyer, located in the Pacific Northwest. Mr. Meyer had a fascinating philosophy. He observed that everybody needs three things: food, clothing, and shelter. Everything else is a luxury. I suppose that includes photography. It's an uncomfortable reality for us photographers but no one needs what we produce. At the same time, making art is one of the most important activities we can pursue. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

HT2397 - What You Can Do

10/1/2025

HT2397 - What You Can Do The Greek philosopher Heraclitus advised us that the only constant is change. This is so true in our creative and artistic lives. When I hit the road for my great travel adventure in 2021, I had to give up production of things like folios because I didn't have my studio. Rather than have that interruption to my creative life, I found it useful to adapt to what I could do rather than to bemoan the loss of what I could no longer do. The operative question is always, What can I do with that? Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

HT2396 - Quite Possibly the Last Time

9/30/2025

HT2396 - Quite Possibly the Last Time I remember during the last months of Maureen's life, she would often ask if this was the last time I she would do something or other. At the time I thought this was a bit morbid, but I've come to understand how connected she was to living every moment with sensitivity. Perhaps that attitude is a useful one in our artmaking, too. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43

HT2395 - The Eye of the Beholder

9/29/2025

HT2395 - The Eye of the Beholder Brooks is under the weather today, so here is an excerpt from his most recent workshop where he discusses the necessity for artists to have a bit of a thick skin. You can't please all the people all the time. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

Duration:00:02:43