Joe Baraban’s Digital Photography Blog

In my online class I teach with the BPSOP, and with my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshop I take around the globe, I demonstrate the importance of using the concepts of Gestalt in taking our photography “Up a Notch”, and one of the concepts is called the “Law of Common Fate”.

This is a fairly simple concept, which basically refers to “visual direction” within a photograph.

For example, if you have two or people moving in the same direction, you’ve created a directional line, and this line is known as the “Law of Common Fate”. Together they have a common destiny, and they become the dominant theme in a photograph; they’re also perceived as one unit.

You’re making the viewer become an active participant in your photography because you’re leading his eyes around the frame, having him follow the path of the two people.

It’s a good idea (but not necessary) to put a message at the point of their final destination. If you place these two people in such a way that they’re leaving the frame, you’re generating Tension. You’re implying “content outside of the frame”, and now you’re making the viewer wonder where they are going.

For another example of this, see my post about shooting at the Getty Center.

You can also have similar shapes moving in one direction, and these directional Lines also become dominant in your composition.

Again, the importance here is to take control of what the viewer sees and perceives when looking at our photos. It’s especially important if you have these lines leaving and entering the frame. The more ways you can get the viewer to enter and leave the frame the more time he’ll spend looking at your picture.

Isn’t that a very good thing?

JoeB

Here’s a few examples:

I want to announce my next workshop “Autumn in France” to be next October 2nd. It will be in Bordeaux, Dordogne, and Toulouse. If you go to the top of my blog and click on the link, you can read the description. Join me for a great visual experience, seeing places that few people won’t ever be able to.

One of my favorite photographers that was part of the Group F/64 movement was Edward Weston…the movement that started in San Francisco. The book for those interested in how photography evolved is a must read: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20613662-group-f-64

He once said, “Anything that excites me for any reason, I will photograph”. I often quote him to my online classes with the BPSOP, and also in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct all over the place.

Of course that quote is predicated on the assumption that you have a camera somewhere on your body. If I’m walking around with my class in one of my workshops, I’ll have a Canon 5DMarkIII over my shoulder and my little Panasonic DMC-LX5.

If I’m by myself at home I  Houston, then I always have my Lumix with me…why, you ask?

Because there’s so much that excites me out there, and I’m always seeing and thinking with the right side of my brain…the creative side.

That’s not to say that everything I shoot is a wall hanger. If I’m lucky, one out of fifty would  be worth considering. It’s that one that I’m after, and at this point in my career it’s extremely elusive.

As I tell my fellow photographers, my mantra, is “more shots per hour.” For those of you coming from the film days, unless you had a client paying for your film and processing, photography was an expensive hobby.

For those of you that have fallen in love with photography in the digital age, film is cheap, as in those cards you stick in your camera giving you an endless amount of exposures. The more you shoot, the greater the chances in going home with that ‘wall hanger’.

So, that being said, if it excites you in any way, shoot it. You can always delete later if it’s one of those photos that winds up on the “cutting room floor”.

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com, and follow me on Instagram. Look for upcoming workshops at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

I want to announce my next workshop “Autumn in France” to be next October 2nd. It will be in Bordeaux, Dordogne, and Toulouse. If you go to the top of my blog and click on the link, you can read the description. Join me for a great visual experience, seeing places that few people won’t ever be able to.

For those new to my blog, I have had a post come out on my blog every five days since  2011. For those of you that may or may not know, I conduct an online class with the BPSOP, and I also conduct my “Stretching Your frame of Mind” workshops around our planet.

I can say to all my fellow photographers that have been lucky enough to travel the four corners of the globe that a camera is a passport to all those wonderful places and experiences.

Photography, more specific the camera, is the silent international language for communicating with others. If you’re the kind of photographer that is comfortable with asking strangers if you can take their picture, here’s some advice.

When approaching someone, be as polite and non-threatening as humanly possible, and whatever you do, don’t have your camera in front of you and aiming it at them…it’s intimidating and will get you a lot more people saying no than yes.

Keep the camera over your shoulder and behind you if possible. If time is not a problem, try initiating a conversation. Make him or her feel like you are interested in what they have to say.

If they’re performing, put some money where it’s obvious they would like it i.e., their guitar case. If they’re selling something buy it, even if you are really not interested in whatever it is. Of course these things are predicated on how important the shot is to you.

As I said, if you’re one of my fellow photographers, and enjoy traveling camera in hand, then you know that it’s these kinds of encounters that make you glad that you fell in love with photography. I know I’ve been very fortunate for the past fifty-three years.

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com, and follow me on instagram. Look for any upcoming workshops in 2023. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

I want to announce my next workshop “Autumn in France” to be next October 2nd. It will be in Bordeaux, Dordogne, and Toulouse. If you go to the top of my blog and click on the link, you can read the description. Join me for a great visual experience, seeing places that few people won’t ever be able to.

In my never ending quest to show my fellow photographers that take my online classes with the BPSOP, or in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, what it was like way back when when Adobe was a type of house in the Southwest part of the country, and Lightroom referred to a room that was light. I present to you and them another in my series “Life Before Photoshop”.

It was tough times, although no one really knew it. It was just SOP (standard operating procedure) to create photos in the camera. I guess I’m lucky in that respect since I had a pretty good imagination, loved to solve problems, and was extremely savvy as far as the ‘light’ was concerned.

I often wonder what my work would have looked like had Photoshop and Lightroom were around. I can tell you that I’m sooooo glad they weren’t. The reason…because everyone could take really good photos with that kind of help, and as a result I just might have been lost in the shuffle…maybe!!!!!

🙁

That said, I love the fact that it’s around now because I tweak all my photo to a small degree…why not? However, I get as much in the camera as I can since I still after all these forty-four years of shooting still love the challenge. I still love the notion that I’m a good photographer because I use very little to no help after the fact.

In the above photo, I was shooting an ad for Toyota. It was a mentoring program they had going where they used well known athletes to mentor kids that aspired to be like them; in this case high school football players.

The big problem to be solved was to get a good exposure on not only the college quarterback but on each one of the kids; no easy task without post processing since there were so many kids to direct. There were also too many first names to remember so I assigned each of the boys a number starting from left to right. The kid on the far left was number one…and so on. Looking through my viewfinder, I directed each boy separately by calling out his number.

So, as you can see, none of the boys are covering up each other, and each boy’s head is positioned in such a way as to get the maximum light on his face…using the white T-shirts to bounce light.

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and follow me on Instagram. Be sure to check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

I want to announce my next workshop “Autumn in France” to be next October 2nd. It will be in Bordeaux, Dordogne, and Toulouse. If you go to the top of my blog and click on the link, you can read the description. Join me for a great visual experience, seeing places that few people won’t ever be able to.

For those new to my blog, I’ve been posting stuff since 2011. My posts come from what I see, hear, and read, and many from ideas that come specifically from my online classes with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching your frame of mind workshops” I conduct all over the (round) planet.

This posts is about my fellow photographers who have told me in the past that they wished that they had a camera when they saw something that was worth photographing.

It was something that inspired them, a beautiful sight, an observation, or something that triggered their imagination…in other words, a vision.

Those types of visions would forever remain in their heads because they didn’t have a camera close enough to capture it.

Having said that, there is one occasion when I see a beautiful sunset but I rarely photograph it. I have a million of them in the fifty-three years I’ve been shooting, so I just enjoy watching it.

I digress

I realize that you can’t always have a big camera with you which is why I always have my little Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 with me. It does everything my big canon does, and if you look at my website, you wouldn’t know which camera I was using.

Remember that it’s not the camera, it’s the ten inches behind it that matters. I have sold it to a whole lot of my students that now carry it ‘close to their heart’.

So, a vision is just that, a vision if you keep it in your head.

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com and follow me on Instagram. Be sure to check out my next workshop at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

I want to announce my next workshop “Autumn in France” to be next October 2nd. It will be in Bordeaux, Dordogne, and Toulouse. If you go to the top of my blog and click on the link, you can read the description. Join me for a great visual experience, seeing places that few people won’t ever be able to.

One of my favorite categories to write in is ‘My Favorite Quotes’. These are not quotes strictly by well-known photographers. These are quotes I have picked up over the years by artists of any kind.

From photographers, poets, authors, singers, actors, musicians, and yes, even a chemist, at one time or another they have said something that I can immediately relate to and have applied to my teaching people how to see.

Dr. John, one of my favorite musical artists once said in a song, “Right Place, Wrong Time”.  I often talk about this in both my online classes with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct.

What it means and should mean to photographers is that there are so many times that you’re at a location to shoot during the ‘Golden Hour’ where you would get the nice warm light, and for whatever reason…you don’t.

Just to make sure we’re all on the same page, here’s a link that describes it: http://joebaraban.com/blog/food-for-digital-thought-shooting-in-the-golden-hour/

You’re there at sunrise and it’s the first time you’ve been there. What you discover is that there are very tall buildings, or hills that are between you and the sun. By the time the sun comes up over these obstacles, the sun has been up for a long time and that warm luscious light creating long shadows has gone and in it’s place is harsh light with short shadows.

Or, you’re there at sunset and those same buildings or hills has blocked the sun and you have nothing worthwhile to shoot. Since you’re there anyway you go ahead and try to go home with something decent, but you know as well as I do that it just ain’t gonna happen.

So my fellow photographers, what’s the answer?  Well, there actually is one, but you have to have some time on your hand.

If you know you’re going to be at a location for two days, and have the time to look for potential photo ops. Use the internet to find out when sunrise and sunset are. You can find out not only the time, but where it will come up and go down. Take those readings and put them in your phone.

Go to several places that you either know about or have seen when putting the location in a search engine.

Stand where you see a place you would like to shoot and use a compass (you can add to your apps) to determine if you’re going to get early or late light.

All this is going to take more work, but the payoff will be well worth it. The best time for me is when the sun is about 15 to 20 degrees from the horizon either going up or going down…the Golden Hour.

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com, and follow me on instagram.

You can also sign up for my six-month mentoring program. If you’re interested send me an email to joe@joebaraban.com

Here it is in one of my favorite tunes!

JoeB

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I want to announce my next workshop “Autumn in France” to be next October 2nd. It will be in Bordeaux, Dordogne, and Toulouse. If you go to the top of my blog and click on the link, you can read the description. Join me for a great visual experience, seeing places that few people won’t ever be able to.

Depending on how you look at it, shooting in winter can be fun, or not so much fun, as is the case when I shot for a drilling company’s annual report to their stockholders.

I was sent to Wyoming in February to shot on and around one of their deep drilling wells. I had often shot in cold weather, but I was not mentally prepared to shoot when the wind chill made it minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Needless to say that it was a real eye opener.

In the old days, if I were going to be shooting outdoors for an extended amount of time, I would take my cameras and have the lubricants taken out so they wouldn’t freeze up on me. In the digital era, here’s a couple of tips that will save you a lot of grief if your camera gets damaged because of the extreme cold.

I’ve often given this advice to students of mine that take my online class with the BPSOP and live in cold climates…Russia for an example. The same goes for people that take my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops that go back to their cold countries; again, Russia and Sweden come to mind.

The big problem is the batteries. Cold weather will drain them pretty quick, so always keep a fully charged extra one where it’s warm.The best thing you can do is keep your camera next to your body that’s hopefully being protected by extreme weather clothing. I wear special long underwear that’s made especially for below-zero temperatures. I have one camera set up with the lens I’m going to use and I keep it around my neck between my chest and the down vest and coat. I wear gloves that I can remove the tips around my fingers when it’s time to click the shutter. They really come in handy when you’re carrying an aluminum tripod around…btw, it would be a real good idea not to lick one of the tripod’s legs to see what happens!!!

I try to pre-visualize my composition ahead of time to minimize the camera’s exposure to the elements. When I got it framed in my mind I bring out my camera, attach it on the tripod (using my Sachtler quick release) and shoot. I then take it off and put it back next to my chest.

Keep your camera dry as condensation is not going to be your friend. Moisture that gets inside your camera can cause extensive damage. When your done shooting, and if at all possible, warm your camera up slowly. Those silica gel packets that you usually throw away can really come in handy if you use a large plastic bag to keep the camera in.

Try not to breath on our lens. It could create lens-frost that could permanently damage your lens. Keeping a filter on it will give it protection, and keep a lens cap on it when not in use.

The best tip of all is to have a cup of coffee with some Hennessy XO generously mixed in with it waiting for you when you get back home.

🙂

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com and follow me on Instagram. Check out any workshops at the top of this blog, and come shooting with me sometime.

JoeB

I want to announce my next workshop “Autumn in France” to be next October 2nd. It will be in Bordeaux, Dordogne, and Toulouse. If you go to the top of my blog and click on the link, you can read the description. Join me for a great visual experience, seeing places that few people won’t ever be able to.

Back in the old days, when I was shooting film (that would be right after fire was invented), I never thought anything about shooting everything “in the camera”. I didn’t think anything about it because there were no other options available. It was a way of life and that was that.

If an Art Director called me to work on a project, he expected me to come up with whatever solution there was to come back with a great photo. If I couldn’t do it, there were plenty of other top shooters that could. Sometimes his job and certainly my reputation was on the line. That old adage that you were only as good as your last photo was true, at least in the eyes of most advertising agencies across the country.

The key was to give the agency just enough of your idea to “wet their whistle”. If you gave them too much, they might take your ideas and pass them along to another photographer who charged less…sound cheesy? It was, but that’s the way it went way back when.

A big part of my love for photography was in the planning stages. That’s where all the crazy ideas came from. That’s when I thought up as many ideas as I could, because most of them were not feasible. Thinking up ideas in the studio, and making them happen on location were two different animals.

In my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, I want my students to do as much in the camera as they can. That’s where the challenge is, not in front of a computer with the help of Photoshop. I want them to become good photographers, not good computer artists.

Coming up with an idea in your imagination, and seeing it become a reality is the best feeling in the world…well almost the best feeling!!!

In the above photo taken for Kawasaki, the Art Director wanted the feeling of speed, and taken from the point of view of the person riding the four-wheeler. I decided on the huge forests in the Pacific Northwest because of all the trails designated for those machines. Once there, my assistants helped me rig my camera with a 20mm lens on it to my chest with a whole lot of duct take so that It was ‘hands-free’. I ran a long electronic cable release from the camera, up my sleeve to my hand inside the glove.

As I was driving through all the trails, I was firing my motor drive at the same time. I shot just about every combination of shutter speed and aperture as I could so we would have choices in the amount of blur and motion. It was great fun!!!! A lot more fun than the quick and easy way it would probably be done now. It would either be done on a blue screen in a studio, or we would just sit the four-wheeler on a path, shoot it, and add the motion and speed in post production…HOW BORING!!!!!

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com and follow me on Instagram. Check out my 2022 workshop schedule at the top of this Blog. Come shoot and have fun with me sometime.

JoeB

I want to announce my next workshop “Autumn in France” to be next October 2nd. It will be in Bordeaux, Dordogne, and Toulouse. If you go to the top of my blog and click on the link, you can read the description. Join me for a great visual experience, seeing places that few people won’t ever be able to.

I’ve been shooting professionally for fifty-three years, teaching since 1983, teaching online with the BPSOP, and conducting my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops all over the place.  In all these years I have heard what I would consider horror stories from my photographers about how they’re been indoctrinated into believing that creativity can only come from adhering to a set of rules that either their camera club president, other members of the ‘board’, camera store salesmen, social media pressure, or friends trying to persuade you to their way of thinking. Fuggetaboutit. As Ansel Adams once said, “There are no rules for good pictures, there’s just good pictures.”

I can tell you from years of experience, speaking and judging shows at camera clubs in Houston, a large majority of these photographers have no idea what they’re talking about…and their images show it.

Creativity doesn’t come from force. Creativity comes from within, and in order for your photos to speak to the viewer, you have to have something to say. Gordon Parks said it best.

The best way to achieve originality is in taking the road less traveled. Take chances, color outside the lines. Making mistakes is one of the ways to take your photography what I refer to as “up a notch”.

A great book that I highly recommend is by a man names Freeman Patterson. I’ve read it several times, and I have enjoyed it each time. I always get something new from it: https://www.amazon.com/Photography-Art-Seeing-Perception-Workshop/dp/1554079802

So, my fellow photographers, remember that rules are the shackles that hinder creativity. They will lead you down a one way path to mediocrity…photographic purgatory.

Visit my website at www.joebaraban, and follow me on Instagram. Check out my workshops at the top of this blog and come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB

I want to announce my next workshop “Autumn in France” to be next October 2nd. It will be in Bordeaux, Dordogne, and Toulouse. If you go to the top of my blog and click on the link, you can read the description. Join me for a great visual experience, seeing places that few people won’t ever be able to.

In my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet, we work on ways to use the elements of visual design to help take our imagery what I always refer to as “Up a notch”. In my part II class, we spend a lot of time on Line.

First, let me back up a minute.

I teach a class on the six concepts in the Psychology of Gestalt. Gestalt is all about visual perception, and the methods we use to gain attention to our photography will vary, but what’s important is how we manage what the viewer perceives and processes when looking at the visual information we lay out to him in the form of a photograph. Humans rely on perception of the environment that surrounds them. Visual input is a part of our everyday life, and as photographers it’s our prime objective to present this visual information in a way that takes control of what the viewer sees when looking at our imagery.

The more ways we can have the viewer move around our composition, while at the same time leaving and entering it through the use of these concepts, the longer they will stick around. The more things we can get the viewer to discover while moving him around the frame will also keep them around longer. Isn’t that what we want?

Now let’s talk about Line. It’s the most important of all the elements. Without Line, none of the other elements would exist. You and I would cease to exist, as well as planes, trains, car, etc…why? Because we all have an outLINE. Line is a great vehicle in moving our viewer around the frame. I use it all the time in my imagery. The ultimate composition is where I’ve been able to lead the viewer around my frame to some kind of payoff at the end.

Take a look at these images where I’ve taken control of what the viewer does and then lead him to a payoff by using Line.

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and follow me on Instagram. Check out my  workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Don’t forget to send me a photo and question to: AskJoeB@gmail.com and I’ll send you a video critique.

JoeB

Autumn in France

Hello to all,

I hope this email finds you healthy, wealthy, and wise.

This might seem a bit early, but as most of you know by now, time goes by incredibly fast and before you know it, you’ll be sitting at a café along the Garonne River having either a ‘café allonge’ or a glass of an exceptional Bordeaux from one of the many famous vineyards that are strewn along the West and East Bank of the Garonne River.

Remember how fast the future becomes the past.

Two reasons you are getting this now:

There are people out there that are still working (bless their souls) and must decide on their vacation time up to a year in advance.

Second, this period is in the timeframe of when the grapes are harvested, so as soon as we can book the hotel, the better off we will be.

It’s also possible (lately, ‘climate change’ will determine that) that we’ll be there when the leaves are turning which will allow for incredible photo opportunities.

If you’re not really doing anything else next October, I can’t think of a better way to write this workshop into your calendar.

That said, I want to introduce you to my next workshop that will start with the meet and greet in Bordeaux, France on October 2nd, 2023, and end in Toulouse on October 11th, 2023.

We’ll spend three full days and nights in Bordeaux, then go by private bus to Toulouse and spend three full days and night there.

Bordeaux, the “Elegant”, a world-renown city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, is considered one of the most beautiful cities not only in France but in all of Europe. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Bordeaux+france+heritage+site&atb=v336-1&iax=images&ia=images

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River, situated in the leading wine growing area of France, for which Bordeaux is the worldwide capital. However, not only is it famous for its vineyards, but the city is also (often referred as “the small Paris”) much more than that.

Experiencing the historical heritage, unique art de vivre, monuments, museums, and wonderful medieval buildings will have you falling in love with the city.

Bordeaux is also home to over sixteen hundred restaurants and is a playground for haute cuisine chefs. Indeed, a gastronomic paradise for those that enjoy great food…which would include yours truly, ‘moi’.

What I’m also really excited about is a location that was brought to my attention by a woman photographer that has taken several workshops with me, and she will be with me on this one as well.

Frankly I had never heard of it until Mary told me about a friend of hers that lives there. It’s where the people that live in Bordeaux go to spend summer weekends as it’s about an hour and a half from Bordeaux. It’s called Dordogne pronounced Dohr DOAN ya and you can see how magical the area is.

The different villages are absolutely amazing and we’ll be spending an entire day going from one to another.: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=dordogne+france&hps=1&atb=v336-1&iax=images&ia=images

Place de la Bourse and the Water Mirror will definitely be on our list to visit at sunset and the Blue Hour:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187079-d245765-Reviews-Place_de_la_Bourse-Bordeaux_Gironde_Nouvelle_Aquitaine.html

An afternoon shooting in Saint Emilion, with (hopefully) a tour of one of the wine chateaux and wine tasting. This medieval village is two thousand years old, and full of photo ops:

https://www.francethisway.com/places/saintemilion.php

Pont de Pierre: When you see the images, they will pretty much speak for themselves as far as a wonderful photo op. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187079-d290953-Reviews-Pont_de_Pierre-Bordeaux_Gironde_Nouvelle_Aquitaine.html

City walking in Old Town or: https://www.bordeaux-tourism.co.uk/district/old-town.html

Rue Sainte-Catherine: https://www.bordeaux-tourism.co.uk/cultural-heritage/rue-sainte-catherine.html

Remember that the photos you see on this site with the mass of people were taken during the summer. In October, when we’ll be there, they will be back home.

Marche’ des Capucins: the largest market in Bordeaux:

https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/travel-guide/bordeaux/march%C3%A9-des-capucins/

Sunset/Blue Hour on the Garonne River: https://www.google.com/search?source=univ&tbm=isch&q=sunset+on+the+Garonne+river+in+Bordeaux&client=firefox-b-1-d&fir=h4C1MsVSsxNF8M%252CWfVcrZ6SapLwWM%252C_%253Bp1BGXbBXgN3QhM%252CU_6bVS2R1wAzOM%252C_%253BytML6adtOYde0M%252C6vSRhNbC0Ed89M%252C_%253BLi_0BqBVuoPB_M%252CZ0bau6DrwhbeAM%252C_%253Bd3pqIHagNOpeEM%252C73cx8T4zDhrvrM%252C_%253BNBbE4mENKfS5DM%252C_SKaHzm00liN0M%252C_%253BEDLqQtQI0xf8bM%252CWCBnNLtucv73hM%252C_%253B75PE0SPW_LH1JM%252CQYTmNE0pS6OgOM%252C_%253BMAC-qBJs7ixz6M%252CG-Iwb4CNEve49M%252C_%253B30ZlsHVxY0GtxM%252Cwovq1nklAa9R1M%252C_&usg=AI4_-kRX6jxdDw58oo-C1ZAk-9-jNO7jaw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjWx8nC-MH6AhV7IjQIHaB8CbQQ7Al6BAgCEEA&biw=1242&bih=729&dpr=2

For those interested in more of a beautiful quiet setting where the Impressionists might have painted, there is Jardin Public in the heart of Bordeaux: http://lemap-bordeaux.com/map-listing/jardin-public-public-park/

Now we’re off to Toulouse.

 Founded by the Romans, Toulouse, the fourth largest city in France, is often dubbed the “Pink City” due to the pinkish color of the terracotta bricks made since Roman times, from the red alluvial mud dredged out of the river Garonne – the red of Mediterranean roof tiles, a pinky red with all the warmth of southern Europe.

In Toulouse and the surrounding area, red brick is the traditional building material, and it is this red brick that has given the city its nickname.  It is the only large historic French city, apart from the industrial cities of the north of France, where brick has long competed with stone as a major building material.

You’ll see it in many of its older buildings, museums, and churches. As they say, one picture is worth a thousand words:

https://www.google.com/search?source=univ&tbm=isch&q=Toulouse&client=firefox-b-1-d&fir=fcbAvDGfMLW9UM%252CLaVc6Ps5c7L4xM%252C_%253BdWgZ-EH2rWKBBM%252C0lm4uBIVTF01qM%252C_%253BIczjODCOqbxaxM%252CbS3hEcyB0eeQWM%252C_%253BDhtfYmU1_WXIKM%252CKeXwaS33Tzu6QM%252C_%253B2Wh7S2Z3LlDrBM%252Cqk4vZp8rfa9mrM%252C_%253Bc9Y2Z_n5oGcdLM%252C4Y_HRRu2mdOlrM%252C_%253BsAwVPrLu8GrmtM%252CQkq3eRHC80gWuM%252C_%253BixGf-DkWygXm-M%252CsedJjFReypJnpM%252C_%253BUaVYcHIBMYhLXM%252CoBy_aJCBjRAD5M%252C_%253Bkz36Xvp8kGYCeM%252CJGqysci6CmxVDM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kSnXz3vNTP4UkrEkMeclK-VVU5LGw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiOju2ZtsL6AhWVJX0KHX2sB-sQ7Al6BAg0EGw&biw=1440&bih=655&dpr=2

Toulouse is also situated on the Garonne River, and the Canal du Midi, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, links the river to the Mediterranean Sea.

A compact city, the central area is a maze of narrow streets, crossed as in Paris by a few wide boulevards. With its multitude of cafés, restaurants bars and boutiques, old Toulouse is a historic area with a wide range of photo ops that we would never be able to shoot them all. However, we just might give it a try and see most of them

Here are my top picks for Toulouse:

Famous for its extraordinary architecture, Toulouse, like Bordeaux is considered one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. One such building (a possible photo op) is the Basilica of St. Sernin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s stunning at night, lit up and seems to glow against the nighttime sky.

https://duckduckgo.com/?hps=1&q=basilica+of+st+sernin+toulouse&atb=v336-1&iax=images&ia=images

Canal du Midi: The Canal du Midi is a waterway that has linked Toulouse to the Mediterranean Sea for more than 300 years. Pierre Paul Riquet was its designer. In the XVII Century he managed to convince Louis XIV to carve out a canal in southern France to facilitate the movement of goods.

His idea was to capture the water that flowed off the Black Mountains in a reservoir before emptying it into the canal.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g11038881-d241572-Reviews-Canal_du_Midi-Occitanie.html#/media-atf/241572/?albumid=-160&type=0&category=-160

A day trip to Albi: A fabulous commune an hour’s drive from Toulouse: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=albi&t=newext&atb=v336-1&iax=images&ia=images

It’s always fun to just walk around a city, and old town Toulouse is one of the best to do it in: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=old+town+in+toulouse&t=newext&atb=v336-1&iax=images&ia=images

Place du Capitole: The Capitol Square is the Center of Toulouse and is ideal for exploring the many churches, art galleries & museums: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=place+du+capitole+toulouse&t=newext&atb=v336-1&iax=images&ia=images

Walking along the banks of the Garonne River provides one the most beautiful views of the city that features the Pont Neuf, the Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques, and the dome of La Grave: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=the+banks+of+the+garonne+river+in+toulouse&t=newext&atb=v336-1&iax=images&ia=images

Pont Neuf: A renowned bridge that spans the Garonne River was built over the course of several decades and finished in 1632: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=pont+neuf+in+toulouse&t=newext&atb=v336-1&iax=images&ia=images

Well, there you have it. As I said, it stands to reason that we can’t see them all in both cities. However, several are either adjacent to each other, part of the same location, or very close to each other.

I will be working with Katka (our producer from Prague) who’s onboard again working with me on the finished daily calendar and all transportation logistics. I will send it out to you sometime before the trip. We have plenty of time for that.

Rest assured, there will also be enough personal time for you to explore on your own. I will be in both locations several days ahead of time to scout all of them to make sure that as Dr. John would say we are in the right place at the right time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4PjWgiH-LQ

As previously stated, I wanted to get this out to you to give us time to book hotels in both cities. I will be researching the hotels and get back to you ASAP.

This workshop will be up there with my all-time favorites and promises to send all of you home with not only great memories, but great images to show for it; and maybe for those who want, a few bottles of vintage Bordeaux to share during your home slideshow…or maybe you don’t share!

The tourists will be gone so it’s going to be a hell of a lot less crowded than my last workshop in Italy, and the highs are around 70 degrees. What more could we ask for? Maybe some color in the leaves?

There will be ten spots open for ‘shooters’, plus spots those who want to bring a ‘non-shooter’. We’ll have our daily critiques, but I’m not sure how many days we’ll have for it. You can submit or not, it’s up to you.

However, the critiques are more interactive now, and closer to a forum where views and ideas are exchanged. It’s a great way to become a better photographer…even for me, and I’m already pretty good.

This is a longer photo workshop than usual to fit everything in. The cost of the workshop is $1900.00 for the shooters, and $900.00 for non-shooters. The non-shooters are involved with everything we do except for the daily critiques, this will include the ‘meet and greet’dinner, the (famous) final dinner, and private transportation to all the local locations and day trips. This will also include the private bus transfer from Bordeaux to Toulouse.

When you sign up, I will give you a list of travel insurance companies that I’m now recommending, and what the first deposit will be.

As always, I offer a first-class workshop and I’m also a ‘hands on’ fellow photographer who always makes himself available to shoot with you and answer any of your photo questions. Just ask these people:

I just finished taking Joe’s workshop. I simply cannot recommend it highly enough.  I cannot adequately express my gratitude to Joe for his approach to teaching and his willingness to share his tremendous wealth of knowledge.

 Learning about critical elements of design and the discovery of the artist’s palette has changed the way I make pictures, and the way I look at the world. This has been a truly outstanding experience with an outstanding teacher. Thank you, Joe!

 Alain

I recently completed my third workshop with Joe Baraban, and all I can say is that I will be coming back for more. All aspects of the workshop were fantastic. Joe’s approach to teaching, the shooting locations, the daily reviews, the accommodations, the planning and organization, and the communications were all at the highest level.

 From the “meet and greet” reception the first night, to the final dinner, Joe paid strict attention to every detail to make sure we were well taken care of…all the time. Joe’s selection of locations are always diverse and challenging and present many, many opportunities for great shots and learning.

 The daily reviews are a wonderful educational experience as you discuss your own work as well as the work of the other photographers. Joe teaches how to “make pictures”, not just take them. The quality and creativity in my images continue to ratchet up a notch with every workshop as I continue to learn from Joe.

 I highly recommend Joe’s workshops and online classes.

 Nick

I recently completed my 3rd photography workshop with Joe Baraban.  The location was Houston, TX.  All I can say is that I will be coming back for more!  All aspects of the workshop were fantastic: Joe’s approach to teaching; the shooting locations; the critiques; the individual attention; the accommodations; the planning and organization; and the great communications. 

 From the “Meet and Greet” reception the first night to the final dinner, Joe and Mikki paid strict attention to every level of detail making sure that were very well taken care, all the time.  And the photography was great too!  Joe’s selection of locations was diverse and challenging and presented many, many opportunities for great shots and for learning. 

The critiques are a wonderful educational experience as you discuss your own work as well as the work of the other photographers.  Joe teaches how to “make pictures”, not how to take pictures.  There was never a dull moment!  The quality and creativity in my photographs continue to ratchet up a notch as I learn from Joe.  I highly recommend Joe’s workshops as well his online courses.

 Knowing these critical elements of design have truly not only changed how and what I photograph but have changed the way I look at the world in a very real way.

 I cannot adequately express my gratitude to Joe for his caring and expertise and if you are considering taking a class or workshop with Joe think no more as I cannot recommend him highly enough. Just DO IT!!!

Shauna

Joe Baraban’s workshop is first rate and pitched at a level that in my opinion would provide a strong learning experience for any photographer, no matter their level or their primary area of photographic interest.

Joe is attentive, and his workshops are well prepared and illustrative of the concepts being put forward. Better yet, supplementary tips and advice were passed along to participants in neat little packages with titles like “The fifteen-point inspection plan”. His photo critiques are honest and very helpful. Several of us would take a second, third, and fourth workshop offered by Joe.

Murray

I attended Joe’s Paris workshop and received a lot of valuable information in less than a week.

 Joe’s workshops begin with an informal meet and greet where all the participants and spouses can meet each other with food and wine.

Usually, each day start before dawn with an air-conditioned private bus trip to a pre-scouted shooting location. Joe gives suggestions for shooting before and during each shoot. He moves around to each photographer during the shoots and gives “hands-on tips” and suggestions that are wonderful and instructive.

 Each day there is a very constructive critique of the work that was shot the day before. Joe has everyone involved and he asks people their opinions.

 I have not attended many formal workshops and I was happy that the comments of the other shooters and those from Joe were very helpful and allowed everyone to get real feedback so soon after shooting.

I can truly say that the workshop immediately helped me, and I believe that my photos have much improved. It was a wonderful experience and made me a better photographer. It also gave me a chance to make friends with the other photographers.

John B

I wanted to learn more about Joe’s approach to visual design and making great photos after taking one of his online courses.  As a former painter, I really relate to his focus on visual design elements as his artist’s palate and it all came to life in this workshop. 

 He is an excellent teacher, and it was wonderful to experience this with a group of very talented photographers who supported each other and did some great work.  The format of learning the design principles and discussing them in relation to Joe’s images and the work from the class was a great way to learn – I look forward to future workshops.

Cynthia

To finish the thought, it would be “What could be instead of what is”.

For those that have recently been reading my blog, I teach online classes with the BPSOP, and I conduct my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops all over the place. Besides showing people how to incorporate the elements of Visual Design into their imagery, I stress upon my fellow photographers that we are all artists who have chosen the camera as the medium. A camera on a tripod is the same as a blank canvas on an easel.

There are photographers (artists) that shoot only what they see. In other words, they don’t change anything that they see, they take pictures of what they are looking at the moment in time that it’s happening.

They call themselves purists, but they don’t have a problem manipulating their image in Lightroom, Photoshop, or any one of a thousands plug-ins that are offered.

Some purists!!!!!!!! They photograph what is.

I, on the other hand, am a painter. Actually, I did study painting and design throughout my high school and college education, and wound up with a degree in journalism and starting out as a photo-journalist…but that’s another story.

I photograph what could be. In other words, if I want something added into my composition that will create more visual interest, I have no problem moving a chair, table, etc. into my frame. If a person will help, then I’ll ask someone to ‘sit it’, or move, or walk a little to the left or to the right.

I’m a storyteller and instead of words,  I love to tell stories with my camera.

Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com, and follow me on Instagram. Check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come tell stories with me sometime.

JoeB

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a writer and poet who led the Transcendentalist movement in the mid 19th century. I’m not by any means a big lover and follower of quality literature and poetry, and not a follower of Transcendentalism, but what I remember reading about him was that he was a big supporter of individualism…and so am I. Only recently did I find a quote he said somewhere in the late 1800’s. It immediately stuck to me as it fits perfectly into the way I present my way of thinking to both my online classes with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet.

He once said, ” Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”. This really hit home to me a few weeks ago when I was asked to give a talk and show my work to a local camera club at their yearly show and dinner.

First, let me say that being a member of a local camera club has a lot of advantages. If you’re into the social aspects as in: meetings where you get together with people that share your love of photography, drink diet cokes and unsweetened ice tea while exchanging current trends, or enter into club competitions where the best photo is not always picked, then a camera club is the way to go….and can be a lot of fun. You can also take workshops given by other members…if you’re so inclined.

Having said that I’ve spoken at many camera clubs over the years and have judged several of their yearly competitions. At some point during my visit several of the members have pulled me aside and said that although they love my presentation, if they were to submit photo composed the way I compose, they would be made to stand in the corner and subsequently ridiculed in front of the entire membership.

Ok, maybe they didn’t say it exactly that way, but as far as the way I seen things, the truth is that my photos would never be accepted into their show; certainly not win any ribbons.

🙁

Here’s my standing reply to these few souls that have evidently lost their way, “Start your own camera club”.

These are the photographers that were given coloring books when they were young and were told to color inside of the lines. As a result, now, as grown-ups, they strictly adhere to all the rules of photography and woe be to those that deviate in any way.

I’m talking about the staunch supporters of the Rule of Thirds, never clipping the highlights, and the Leading in Rule, to name a few. They will never give up their life long beliefs nor have any of them ever been interested in my online classes or workshops…which is absolutely OK with me!!

Live by the rule, die by the rule seems to be their hidden agenda and mantra.

The few of my fellow photographers that want to venture out into the creative world where coloring outside the lines is the best way I know to taking photos “up a level”, and that stand out among others…then as Nike would say, “just do it”.

To be sure, I’m not saying to never follow the rules, or not join your local camera club. I’m saying to not live and die by those rules If you don’t believe in always following the rules, and following the same path as your camera club members, then don’t. Go your own way and blaze your own trail then maybe you can help others that feel the same as you (or more importantly don’t) get together and follow the path you’ve blazed.

Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and follow me on Instagram.  check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB