Claim OwnershipLensWork - Photography and the Creative Process
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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).
1421 Episodes
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HT2373 - Cameras and Lenses
Which camera should you buy? In spite of all the technology changes over the decades, I still give same answer I did 54 years ago. Build your system from the lens up, not from the camera up. Lenses are far more important than cameras.
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HT2372 - The One and Only Time
Those of us who choose the art life are presented with a challenge to balance our life with friends and our opportunities to create art. Sometimes that requires some very strategic thinking to fit it all in. I find it useful to remember that for many of these occasions, we will have only one chance to photograph and area. These chances are precious.
link to my BVJ Arts logo
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HT2371 - Curiosity
I've often thought that the best tool we can cultivate for our creative life is curiosity. In fact, when I'm stuck in a creative rut, I find the best thing I can do is stop thinking about what I might photograph next and start thinking about the world. Let curiosity take over and photography always follows.
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HT2370 - Our Global Audience
Previous generations of photographers had a difficult time getting their work seen in the neighboring towns, let alone the neighboring states. Today, you and I live at a time where our audience is global. Photography's ability to be a language-less medium of communication would seem to be a tremendous advantage. But then, without a common language there arise difficulties that challenge us.
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HT2369 - A Corny Idea
Where do ideas come from? I suppose there are lots of different answers depending on who you ask. For me, ideas often come from something I see that might be a project. The question then becomes can I expand that idea to more images? Should I? Is it worthy of expanding to more images? How do I find out if it's worth expanding?
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HT2368 - Photographic Realism
Photography certainly has a reputation of being the most real medium for showing things. Every detail, every instance of light is so akin to human vision. Compare this to other visual media like watercolor, oil painting, dry point itching, linoleum cuts etc. All other media have an aesthetic that makes no pretension about realism. So is photographic realism its strength or is it the characteristic that separates it from the rest of the visual arts community?
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Perhaps there is no more fundamental question in photography as an art medium than this one: Do we photograph what we see or do we photograph what we feel?
HT2367 - Before the Destination Is Known
An aspect of the creative life that is rarely discussed is the importance of faith. We produce work without knowing where it might go or who might see it. But before that, we need faith that the ideas and thoughts, snippets and quotes, the image captures and the bits of flotsam and jetsam we gather might someday be useful.
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HT2366 - We Are All Minimalists
When I was out photographing the other day, it dawned on me that we are all minimalists, but perhaps to different degrees. The fundamental act of composition is the elimination of distractions. Even that is a form of minimalism.
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HT2365 - Art, an Assertion or an Observation?
When you make art, is it an assertion of your fundamental beliefs and philosophies about life? Or, are you a third party observer who simply shares what you've seen with others through your art? In other words, does your art say, "This is who I am" or does it say "This is what I've seen."
link to my BVJ Arts logo
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HT2364 - The Myth of Accurate Color
When it comes to photography, what does it mean to have accurate color? Doesn't the very concept of accurate color deny the fact that we humans see color differently, that color is a subjective sensation. Accurate color is not the same as emotional color. This way of thinking implies a new approach to color balance and color mixing.
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HT2363 - Niagara Falls, Land of Selfies
The waterfalls were impressive, but from what I could see, most of the people were even more impressed by, well, themselves. I saw very few people taking pictures of this nature's wonder, but almost everyone was taking selfies. Is this a cultural phenomenon? A psychological phenomenon? Or, a technological one?
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HT2362 - Niagara Falls, Which Essence?
I said on this trip I was going to attempt an experiment to see in sixes as often as I could. My first opportunity was at Niagara Falls. I started with a simple question: What is the essence of this experience? Surprisingly, it wasn't the rushing waters that plunge off the cliff. Instead, the overriding experience was the mist that rose from the chaos.
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HT2361 - All Dressed Up and Ready to Dance
Here on the first day of my 2-month travel adventure, I had a chance to stop at the Fenimore Museum in Cooperstown, New York for a second look at the Peter Federman show, The Power of Photography. I couldn't put my finger on what made some of these images so special, but they definitely are. The thought I kept circling back to was James Bond in a tuxedo.
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Because of my early training and the generation into which I was born, I'm still a print guy and think of my prints as the most desirable format for my work. That said, every time I look at my boxes of finished prints, sitting on the shelf, gathering dust, I come face to face with the reality of the advantages of the digital world in which we live.
HT2360 - Seeing in SIXES, Road Edition
Road trips always require a lot of planning. There are routes to be determined, gear to sort out, and reservations that need to be made. Notice anything missing? No, it's not a determination of subjects to be photographed, but rather a plan on how to photograph. Are we on the search for those fantastic shots? Simply gathering assets? Perhaps there's another experimental strategy that's worth considering.
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HT2359 - Heading Out for a Couple of Months
Tomorrow (Monday, August 25, 2025) I'm head out for two months on the road. I'll be traveling across the country from New York to my old stomping grounds in Oregon and back. Along the way I'll be giving a talk in Portland to the Photographic Society of America and then participating in the Horizons workshop in Durango Colorado. The trip will involve some 12,000 miles and lots of road time.
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HT2358 - Branding and Your Own Art Logo
My early experiences in business and marketing taught me the importance of branding and logos. I could easily assume that a personal logo for my artwork is a bit pretentious, but then again it can grow into something meaningful. Here's the history of my Brooks Jensen Arts logo.
link to my BVJ Arts logo
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HT2357 - What More Do I Need?
In the back of my brain is an ever present nagging desire to go shopping for more gear. It's irrational, it's reflexive, it's ridiculous. Trying to think about this more deeply, I realize I already have everything I could possibly need for any picture I can imagine I might want to make. I find this ever so slightly intimidating.
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HT2356 - Practice, Practice, Practice
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that you have all heard the joke, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall? " Answer: practice, practice, practice. Is this true for photography, too? And if so, how do we practice photography? Perhaps Yoda had the best answer, "There is no try, there is only do."
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Brooks Jensen has a great way of making the creative side of photography feel approachable. I’ve found a lot of the “Here’s a thought…” snippets surprisingly thought-provoking for how short they are—nice quick hits of inspiration https://karlaannephoto.com/.
Their team of professional editors is highly trained to match your style, ensuring your creative vision is always preserved. Every project, whether big or small, is handled with meticulous care, attention to detail, and a strong focus on customer satisfaction. https://cerafphotoediting.com/service
great podcasts by the way all your wanted camera updates I fully agree with, I did contact Panasonic a long time ago about implementing on screen picture review and determining focus. I suggest to them maybe they could highlight the in focus areas of the screen about like the manual focus highlighting. I thought this would save a lot of time zooming in and out.
So glad I happened across this podcast - two episodes in, I'm hooked! Thanks for the production.
I find this to be the most continually inspiring and insightful podcast on the creative process of photography and of creativity in general. Brooks has the perfect vocal style and pace for podcasting, which I think adds a good deal to it's overall success. I've heard all of them and have started over recently.
Lenswork Magazine is the finest photography magazine, bar none. It has superb photographs and thoughtful essays about photography. These podcasts are in the same tradition, thought provoking and inspiring short essays on why we photograph. I would not miss a single one. Start from the beginning if you can, they are worth it.
Brooks Jensen's random thoughts about photography are brilliant and thought provoking observations that every person with an intrest in photography should listen to. Brooks is truely a great word smith in addition to a very skilled photographer and one cannot help but be inspired by his words.