Sometimes, but thankfully not often, the challenge is staying inspired to continually create new artworks. Unlike drawing or painting by hand, a digital artist must rely on finding one photo or sometimes many photo components to fulfill the image in their mind’s eye. When these components are elusive, the creative pool can become dry. When one idea is not coming to fruition, then I know that I must mentally and emotionally shift gears and devise a new concept for my next piece.
Still Life photography opened my eyes to the beauty of mundane objects by allowing me to control composition, lighting and hence mood. I become a child that is playing; finding new ways to lead the eye to where I want it to go. My images are always an exploration of how to show these simple every day objects in new ways. “The Gathering ” takes your boring Enoki mushrooms and creates a dramatic family ensemble. “Uplifted” flips our perspective by lifting up a skeleton leaf, showing its underside in a reflection.
Strong composition would probably be another aspect my viewers notice. I work hard to choose great compositions with leading lines that draw the viewer’s through the frame and emphasize certain areas of each photograph. I think composition is the real foundation of any eye-catching photograph, so it’s something I spend a lot of time ensuring I it get right.
Ellen Fisch has exhibited her fine art architectural photography, Novoimago, extensively in the United States. Exhibitions also include solo and group shows in the NY Mercantile Exchange; Museum of American Finance; African American Museum of Art; numerous libraries and galleries in NYC, and many other locations.
I think there’s a difference between photography and creative photography. But it’s only related to the perspective you take when you’re shooting. Sometimes I’m mostly documenting something in the real world that I want to look at again and show others. I’m framing and adjusting exposure, but I’m ultimately just recording a nice scene. In this instance, I’m functioning as a photographer.Other times I’m editing out what I don’t care to see and taking a much more active role in what the viewer sees and focusing more on what I deem most interesting in the scene. Sometimes I’ll physically remove items from the scene that distract from the composition or even add elements to enhance it. Often that includes manipulating the light that didn’t occur in the scene naturally. In this capacity, I’m functioning more as a “Creative Photographer”.
EWW: You have several galleries such as Still Life, Tulips, floral, landscape, etc. Do you have a favorite? Why?
Craig: I would have to say “Surfs Up” My surfing gallery. I love the motion and beauty of the riders carving thru the waves and shooting in great lighting conditions. I’ve found it more exciting than shooting Racing.
By Rob Browning, digital specialist, specialist in SEO Optimization and digital marketing strategist
Search Engine Optimization, SEO, is a technique which has shown impactful benefits in the industry of art, designing and photography. Although SEO is something whose mileage depends widely on your niche, there are still some useful ways in which you can increase the reach of organic traffic to your online website or storefront. However, the questions remain – How to get help from SEO for your art, photography or designing website? Or what kind of SEO strategy can work the best for you?
EWW: I am curious to know what qualities of your work would others comment on first?
Tom: I tend to get a lot of comments about the lighting I use. As with all photography, the lighting either makes or breaks the image and I use light to focus the viewer’s attention to what I consider to be important aspects of an image.
EWW: What qualities of your work would you comment on first?
Tom: The play between light and dark. Most of my images tend to be a little darker overall and that allows me to enhance the contrast between light and dark. I feel it adds a little more interest to the image.
