Sean Duggan Blog

Africa Behind Glass

Africa Behind Glass [Canon 5D]
San Francisco  October 24, 2008
(click in the image for a larger version)

It's been about twelve days since my last blog post, which is either downright scandalous, or no big deal, depending on how you look at it. I could never be one of those bloggers who post every single day simply because there's too many other things to do in life, or things just get too busy and hectic. Such has been the case with this reporter for the past few weeks; a simple case of too much to do, and not enough hours in the day.

The image above is from almost one week ago from a visit to the newly rennovated California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. It had been closed for two or three years undergoing a total makeover and rebirth and the results are really wonderful. One of the things that they left from the old museum was the Africa Hall, where this image was taken. As a child, I can remmber visiting this museum and I loved to wander in the North America Hall and the Africa Hall. These were long galleries with meticulously recreated dioramas featuring stuffed animal specimens from those regions.

From what I have read, in natural history museum circles this type of static display is considered very old school these days (it's so 19th century!) and many museums are phasing them out in favor of more interactive and educationally richer exhibits. But as an offering to all of those who have fond childhood memories of visiting this museum, the Academy of Sciences has kept the venerable Africa Hall.The one thing that struck me when I visited here, was that it seemed so much smaller than I remember. In the memory book of my young boy self, the Africa Hall was always really long with vast, lofty ceilings far above my head.

Workshop News

I'll be heading down to Morro Bay on the central California coast next week to teach a 5-day workshop on Creative Digtial Black & White at the Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging.  This class will be a combination of photography in the field with digital SLRs and digital darkroom explorations in the excellent classroom facilities at the Lepp Institute. I have taught at many workshop venues around the country, and the digital classroom at the Lepp Institute is one of the best (and it is the only place I have ever taught at that has stadium seating to ensure that everyone has a great view of the screen). There's still room, so if you're interested, click on the link below to learn more about this class and to sign up.

Creative Digital Black and White
Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging
November 3 – 7, 2008
Los Osos, California

Zero Visits the Canyon

ZeroImage Pinhole Camera on Location [Canon 5D]
Snake River Canyon, Southwest Idaho  Oct. 10, 2008
(click in the image for a larger version)

Taken last Friday at the Snake River canyon in southwest Idaho. Some months prior to this visit, I had envisioned this particular landscape, one that played a significant role in my younger years, as a location for an image in the Artifacts of an Uncertain Origin series of pinhole photographs. When a family visit took me up to Idaho last week, it was a great opportunity to realize the image I had imagined (the artifact is not visible in this shot of the camera in action). The atmosphere cooperated with cool, dramatic weather (and cool it was, too; quite chilly on the edge of the canyon and the clouds alternated between rain and snow flurries).

This is a blend of color and black and white interpretations of the original raw file. For those interested, I'll be teaching a workshop in early November on techniques for making the most of your black and white photography. See the link below for all the details.

Creative Digital Black and White
Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging
November 3 – 7, 2008
Los Osos, California

And Coming Up This Weekend...

Creative Collage with Adobe Photoshop CS3
Viewpoint Photographic Art Center, Sacramento, California
October 18 - 19. 2008

Binoculars

Binoculars [Canon 5D]
Southwest Idaho, October 10, 2008
(click in the image for a larger version)

I was in southwest Idaho for a few days recently and I made this image in the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, home to one of the world's densest concentrations of nesting birds of prey. I spent my formative years in southwest Idaho and for several years was licensed by the state and federal fish and wildlife services to rehabilitate injured raptors, so this area has a special place in my personal history. The Snake River canyon (image of this coming tomorrow) is located just below the dark bluffs on the horizon.

All of the processing on this image, including the selective sepia toning, was done in Lightroom 2.0. It could also have been done entirely in Adobe Camera Raw 5.0 in Photoshop CS4, which shares the same raw processing controls as Lightroom 2. New features that were put to good use for this scene were the graduated filter to treat the sky and land areas differently, and the Adjustment Brush, which was used to add a slight sepia tone to the grasses and some exposure fine-tuning to just the sign.

If the black and white image is your preferred means of photographic expression, I invite you to join me in early November at the Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging on the beautiful central California coast for a week long workshop devoted to mastering digital black and white. This class will be a combination of photography in the field with digital SLRs and digital darkroom explorations in the excellent classroom facilities at the Lepp Institute. I have taught at many workshop venues around the country, and the digital classroom at the Lepp Institue is one of the best (and it is the only place I have ever taught at that has stadium seating to ensure that everyone has a great view of the screen). Click on the link below to learn more about this class and to sign up.

Creative Digital Black and White
Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging
November 3 – 7, 2008
Los Osos, California

And Coming Up This Weekend...

Creative Collage with Adobe Photoshop CS3
Viewpoint Photographic Art Center, Sacramento, California
October 18 - 19. 2008

Above it All

Above it All  [Canon 5D]
Union, Maine  August 19, 2008
(click in the image for a larger version)

Here's a color version of the same image in the previous post. This has been "seasoned" with some blend mode-based sepia toning. Although I like the black and white version, I feel the color interpretation is much better suited for this particular image, especially given the colorful subject matter of a county fair.

Upcoming Workshops

Creative Collage with Adobe Photoshop CS3
Viewpoint Photographic Art Center, Sacramento, California
October 18 - 19. 2008

Creative Digital Black and White
Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging
November 3 – 7, 2008
Los Osos, California

Creative Digital Black and White

 
Helicopter and Ferris Wheel  [Canon 5D]
Union, Maine  August 19, 2008
(click in the image for a larger, sharper version)

If the black and white image is your preferred means of photographic expression, I invite you to join me in early November at the Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging on the beautiful central California coast for a week long workshop devoted to mastering digital black and white. This class will be a combination of photography in the field with digital SLRs and digital darkroom explorations in the excellent classroom facilities at the Lepp Institute. I have taught at many workshop venues around the country, and the digital classroom at the Lepp Institue is one of the best (and it is the only place I have ever taught at that has stadium seating to ensure that everyone has a great view of the screen). Click on the link below to learn more about this class and to sign up.

Creative Digital Black and White
Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging
November 3 – 7, 2008
Los Osos, California

The image above is another from the county fair in Union, Maine. The original color image was converted to black and white in Lightroom and then further toning using a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and blend modes was applied in Photoshop CS4.