When I was a youngster, my grandfather gave me his Minox B so-called "spy camera." I loved this tiny wonder in spite of the difficulty getting or processing its miniature film. Oh, and the grainy prints were awful; the lens barely functional; the focus always a guess. But it fit in my pocket and I could take it everywhere. I loved that camera, but I hated the pictures that came from it. I wonder why I don't love my smartphone with equal enthusiasm. Is it because it's too easy, too capable, and too excellent? Perhaps if my grandfather had given me an iPhone I'd be more enthusiastic about using it.
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LW1507 - The Consciousness Barrier, The Conundrum of Art
25.05.2026 | 12 Min.
LW1507 - The Consciousness Barrier, The Conundrum of Art
Most photographs I see don't penetrate very deeply into my consciousness. I know they're there, I fleetingly engage them, but they don't have much power to impress themselves into deeper thought. It's as though there is a barrier that prevents me from engaging with more than a casual glance. I suspect that's not the kind of engagement we want as art makers. How do we get our viewers to break through that shallow consciousness barrier? Shouting isn't the answer.
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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.
HT2632 - Handheld Art Media
24.05.2026 | 2 Min.
HT2632 - Handheld Art Media
The world is full of media that artists can use to express themselves. Music, storytelling, dance, sculpture, poetry, pottery, painting. Has it ever occurred to you how rare it is that a work of art can be held in your hands? I've always thought that this is one of the great strengths of photography. No other medium that I can think of has the potential to be so tactile. Maybe clothing, maybe food if we consider them an art medium, but these are special cases. Photography is the rare visual medium that is (or can be) so physically sensual. I'm not referring to books, but to original prints produced to be viewed handheld.
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HT2631 - I Done Good
23.05.2026 | 2 Min.
HT2631 - I Done Good
I sincerely hope I am not self-deluded about this, but I often find that after some months or perhaps years I look back at older images and find them far better than I remembered. I'll kick myself for not recognizing the potential for an image that now seems so obvious. It's as though the passage of time imbues the image with surprising improvements. Or, maybe my subconscious has been working on the image all this time. What I originally passed by becomes an image I now celebrate. Why is this?
This RSS feed includes only the most recent seven Here's a Thought episodes. All of them — over 2500 and counting! — are available to members of LensWork Online. Try a 30-day membership for only $10 and discover the literally terabytes of content about photography and the creative process.
HT2630 - Why We Are Making the Complete LensWork Digital Back Issues Collection Available for Download
22.05.2026 | 2 Min.
HT2630 - Why We Are Making the Complete LensWork Digital Back Issues Collection Available for Download
We announced a few weeks ago that we have begun a long-term project to publish the entire content of the LensWork Print Editions as PDF digital back issues. We've already posted the first 23 back issues. We'll add two more back issues each Friday until we have them all completed. These downloadable digital back issues are available exclusively to current members of LensWork Online. Here's why we are publishing the entire back issues collection.
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Über LensWork - Photography and the Creative Process
Über LensWork - Photography and the Creative Process
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).
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