PhotonJohn Blog

Artist Statement

I create vivid photographs reflecting my fascination with color. Most of my photographs are of the natural world. My eyes are drawn to scenes that are somehow different. Some may be radiating bright beautiful colors. Others may be subtly different then their surroundings. Once the photons reflecting from a scene are gathered within the camera, I render them into vivid photographs using digital technologies.

Some of my vivid photographs contain digital matting. The colors are drawn from the image. I am intrigued by how subtle changes in mat color effect the photograph.

I am refining my understanding of color and composition, and how they effects me. I am also continually updating my skills creating vivid photographs using digital technologies.

Process

Ansel Adams is quoted saying:

“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”

I take this to heart when creating vivid photographs.

My process begins with the camera gathering photons reflecting from an image, and storing them as RAW bits. Camera noise and lens distortions are minimized using DxO Optics Pro software. Cropping along with exposure, shadows, and tone are adjusted using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

Noise reduction is applied to the image using Noiseware Professional Photoshop plug-in. The next step is sharpening the image with PixelGenius Sharpener tools Photoshop plug-in.

The image black and white points are usually set using Adobe Photoshop LAB color mode. Color cast is usually corrected using PixelGenius PhotoKit Color Photoshop plug-in. The colors existing within the image are enhanced using a set of LAB color mode Photoshop actions and layers.

Interactively cropping an image helps develop the story within the image. The story is enhanced using PixelGenius PhotoKit tools Photoshop plug-in.

The image is now ready for sizing. The Alien Skin Software Blow Up Photoshop plug-in is used for adjusting the image size.

The image undergoes sharpening once again using PixelGenius Sharpener tools to optimize it for printing or for the Web.

So you see, I don’t take vivid photographs, I make them.

…John