The history of photography is filled with people who didn't make the best but who did make it first. Matthew Brady wasn't the best war photographer in history but he was the first. William Henry Jackson is not the best landscape photographer ever, but he was one of the first. Other examples abound. This implies a not so subtle premise that is easy to be seduced by in our creative efforts — be first or be forgotten.
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HT2515 - Vintage Prints
27.1.2026 | 2 Min.
HT2515 - Vintage Prints
I don't understand the fuss and value that is place on original prints in photography. In fact, it seems perfectly obvious to me that an early print would be the result of less reliable instant aesthetic decisions. There is not a single example I can recall from my 50 years in photography where a later print wasn't better than an earlier one. I know more about how to print the negative or process the digital file; my artistic sensitivities have matured with age and experience. Of course my later print are better and therefore should be more desired by collectors.
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LW1490 - A Cultivated Curiosity
26.1.2026 | 12 Min.
LW1490 - A Cultivated Curiosity
I have no doubt that I use less than 10% of what my software is capable of doing. I know there are features that I would find incredibly useful if I just knew about them. Since I don't know about them, I don't even know I should look for them! Instead, I have to rely on luck and a certain cultivated attitude of curiosity. In fact, that's not a bad idea for so many aspects of life.
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You might also be interested in. . .
Every Picture Is a Compromise, a series at www.brooksjensenarts.com.
and...
"How to" tutorials and camera reviews are everywhere on YouTube, but if you're interested in photography and the creative life, you need to know about the incredible resources you can access as a member of LensWork Online.
HT2514 - They Are Not All Winners
26.1.2026 | 2 Min.
HT2514 - They Are Not All Winners
Some of what we produce doesn't wear well over time. Nothing we produce connects with everyone who sees it. This is precisely why there is virtue in producing a lot of work in the nature of an anthology. It not only keeps your creative juices flowing, but also provides your audience a better chance of finding something with which they can connect deeply.
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HT2513 - Post-publication Revisions
25.1.2026 | 2 Min.
HT2513 - Post-publication Revisions
There's a fascinating story about revisions in the great Humphrey Bogart film noir movie The Big Sleep. This has me thinking about post-production revisions. One of the great advantages of digital publication is the ability to revise the content so easily and even instantaneously. Maybe it's a good idea for us to use version numbering like they do in software.
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Über LensWork - Photography and the Creative Process
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).