Fine Art Photography Blog

Combined with a true passion for photography, the strength, means, and determination to find the locations with the most awe-inspiring landscapes, and the equipment to make his artistic visions come alive, you'll find that Jeffrey Bennett's fine art photography is second-to-none.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

May you all have a great time with friends and family. Enjoy the holidays!

How DeviantART Inspired Me To Become The Artist I Am Today

There are so many truly talented artists on deviantART (the world's largest online art community), and over the years I was inspired to develop my deep passion for the craft. That drive to create pushed me to better learn the necessary skills (now with nearly a decade of practice) to be able to capture award-winning photographs from around the world. Being entirely self-taught, I feel that my success is largely due to deviantART allowing me to experience a vast amount of amazing and unique artwork, styles, and genres.

From my childhood, I have memories of being completely amazed and awestruck by the works of great photographers and an indescribably strong desire to create beautiful artwork in the same fashion. Through experiencing such incredible artwork time and time again, DeviantART reawokened my desire - this time, stronger than ever - to pursue my love of photography. My knowledge, experience, and skills continue to evolve as I study and practice.

While I certainly enjoy getting compliments on my work, my journey to photograph the most dramatic city skylines on earth has become so much more. I strive to make people feel happy, powerful, enlightened, and expressive when they proudly hang my photography in their homes and offices. I want people to experience the best from their favorite cities, to have good memories of a time they traveled, and enjoy the feeling they get when experiencing my photography.

I am forever grateful to deviantART for giving me the opportunity to grow as a photographer. My life is now enriched more than I ever expected because of art. Thank you!

Finding the Perfect Location for Your Next Photo Adventure

Sometimes, finding the perfect place to make photographs is a science. A lot goes into the scene and where you go can make or break your photos. Here are some ideas on how to find your next great location.

1. Talk with locals. Locals tend to know the nooks and crannies of their home fairly well. Ask them if they know of any beautiful scenery in the area or any place in particular that's interesting and unique.
2. Contact the park ranger station. Before photographing the great outdoors or in a national, regional, or state park, call the people who know the park best! Ask them what time of year is the most (and least) photographed, when are the wildflowers in bloom, when is it most colorful, what do the different seasons look like, and what their favorite hikes are. Also, ask if there are any events (either natural or man-made) that occur throughout the year. It could be a little frustrating finding out the one day you're visiting an area just happens to be at the same day as the world's largest gathering of five year olds!
3. Check the weather of your destination on the days before you arrive. Sometimes bad weather can make great shots, but make sure you're prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws at you!
4. Download and install Google Earth. Find the area you want to photograph, and see what the photos posted look like! I'm certainly not advocating copying another artist's work and always recommend you be original and creative; however, these photos can give you a good idea of what the area looks like in real life before you book your flight. Other websites to check out for inspiration include Corbis Images and Getty Images.
5. Don't limit yourself to one angle. When you're on location, try to find many different angles and vantage points. Drive around, take a walk, or use public transportation. Sometimes, the difference in a few feet can make or break your shot. Never just photograph the first vantage point you see! Digital cameras are great for capturing many different angles and comparing your photos later, so make sure your memory card has enough room and shoot until your heart's content!

Finding that one great location can be tough, but it is worth the effort in the long run!

Crash Course in Photography Basics

Sometimes, even professional photographers need a refresher on the basic concepts of photography. There are the three main components to every photograph, and can be visualized as a triangle with aperture, ISO, and shutter speed at the points.

1. Aperture (also known as the f-stop)
   The aperture is what controls the depth of field and is determined by the size of the opening of the lens iris. The smaller the opening, the greater the number of f-stop. For example, a f/22 is very narrow and will bring focus to the entire image, whereas a f/2.5 will blur the background and put focus on the foreground.
2. ISO (also known as the camera sensitivity)
   The ISO is what controls how sensitive the camera is to receiving light. A photographer can increase the camera sensitivity in low light conditions to allow for a faster shutter speed. The downside to a high ISO setting is image noise. The greater the sensitivity, the more visual noise appears (which looks like heavy grain throughout the photo).
3. Shutter speed (also known as the exposure time)
   The length of time the shutter is open can determine whether a subject appears "frozen" within the image or if it has movement. One of the easiest ways to understand how this works is to photograph a ceiling fan from below, during the day. Set your camera to shutter priority or manual, and photograph the fan at 1/400th second and another at 1/10th second. As you'll notice, the 1/400th second photo will make the blades appear completely still (as if it were turned off), whereas the 1/10th second photo will make them appear blurred and give you a sense of motion.

The intersection of these three elements determine the depth of field, the exposure and ambiance, and the amount of visual movement (or lack thereof) within an image. The most important thing to remember is that changing one element will affect the other two and to create a balanced exposure, you must adjust your settings appropriately.

Working With Color and Composition

Some of the most important aspects of a photograph are color and composition. Color can really immerse your viewer into the image while composition contains all the details about the scene and can help to visually tell you a story.

When working with color during post-processing, one of the best things you can do is remove color entirely. In Adobe Photoshop, simply add a black and white layer mask and your image is instantly grayscale.

When your image is in black and white, you can solve the fundamental composition issues that may exist without focusing on distracting hues - you can crop the image or just choose a different one entirely.

An almost universal aesthetic standard for any type of imaging and design is the rule of thirds. Imagine your photograph or image broken into equal thirds (like you would see in a tic-tac-toe game). Your eyes are naturally drawn to the area where the lines intersect and thus can be the most important part of the image. Many great works of art use the rule of thirds as the base composition, but at the same time, many do not. The rule of thirds is certainly not the end-all, be-all solution to great composition, but it is a good starting point.

The best advise I can give to anyone wanting to improve their photography is to practice, practice, practice! Get out there and make some photos!

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