From 50 Photos to 10: Curating Without Losing Your Mind
What makes a collection of images exhibition-ready? Watch as our club tackles one of photography’s toughest challenges.
Every photographer faces the same dilemma: you’ve built an impressive portfolio of thousands of images, but how do you choose which ones truly belong together? In this hands-on workshop, Teton Photography Club members rolled up their sleeves for a masterclass in photographic curation—the challenging art of transforming individual photographs into cohesive, exhibition-ready collections.
The Challenge
Four brave club members submitted 50 images each, trusting the group to whittle them down to just 10 photographs that would work together as a unified exhibition. It’s a vulnerable process, but as presenter Michael emphasized: “Your work deserves to be seen and appreciated in person.”
What You’ll Learn
This isn’t your typical presentation—it’s an interactive, decision-making workout. Watch as the group navigates:
- Finding connections between disparate images
- Identifying themes from color palettes to subject matter to mood
- Making brutal edits (yes, sometimes beautiful images have to go)
- Testing relationships to see which images amplify each other versus competing
- The power of bookending and directional flow in sequencing
The Process Unfolds
What starts as 50 seemingly random images gradually reveals patterns: waterfalls and flowing water, southwest canyons in warm earth tones, dramatic skies, and moody atmospheres. The real magic happens when the group debates whether an aurora shot fits with a collection focused on “drama and majesty,” or whether black-and-white images can mix successfully with color.
You’ll hear photographers thinking aloud: “That blue fights with the warmth we’re building” and “Do we really need three sunset shots?” The discussion is honest, constructive, and often surprising.
Two Complete Curations
Watch the full workshop as two portfolios get the complete treatment—from first impressions through final sequencing. See how Bobby’s nature photography transforms into a compelling water-themed collection, and how Alfred’s work evolves into a powerful exhibition of landscape drama.
The best part? The techniques demonstrated here apply whether you’re planning a gallery show, creating a photo book, or simply organizing your online portfolio.
Why This Matters
As Michael notes, in an age where viewers spend mere seconds with digital images, “displaying your work in a cohesive, thoughtful way to a more deliberate and appreciative audience is a really important thing to think about.” This workshop shows you exactly how to do that.
Ready to transform how you think about your own portfolio? Watch the full presentation above and discover why curation might be one of the most important techniques every photographer needs to master.
Special thanks to Alfred, Bobby, Karen, and Nancy for generously sharing their work with the club for this educational workshop.
Club meeting overview
This meeting was a fun, hands-on curation workout. We took member portfolios, argued lovingly over mood, color, black-and-white, and “does this even fit,” and slowly whittled 50 images down to tight sets of 10. Lots of great photos, a few brutal cuts, and plenty of laughs along the way.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, we’ll get kicked off here. I think we have a really interesting show, and Michael’s going to be running this for us. We’ll do a follow-up.
You know, we have a theme going this year of a presentation-type format, and then more hands-on with the members the following month. So, this is the first of a two-parter, so be sure and check in next month. Hopefully you’ll find this really educational. The whole theme is how to curate your photography. I’m willing to bet we all have an issue with this. I’ve got a little project I’m working on and I’m trying to whittle it down, you know, what I like best and what goes together, and different things.
So, Michael’s going to be basically running the show tonight. I’m going to jump right over, but don’t forget that next week’s the follow-up where we’ll have a little more involvement from the members. All right, Michael, I’ll turn it over to you.
Okay. Thanks, David. Hi, everybody. Before we even get started, I’m going to give everybody like 30 seconds to a minute to get yourself either a pad of paper or a piece of paper and a pencil or a pen, because you’re going to want it. Charlotte is ready to go.
Yeah. If you need to get up and get it, go ahead, because I want everyone to have a pencil and paper. While you do that, I’m going to set up my screen share, and you won’t have to look at my face anymore.
All right, if everyone’s got their pencil and paper handy, you don’t need it quite yet, but you’ll need it in a bit.
So, this evening’s meeting is going to be a little different than what we’re used to. It’s going to be interactive. It’s going to be experiential. It’ll be dynamic and full of decision-making, and it’ll be fun. We’re going to do something together. We’re going to curate collections of fine photographs into 10-image, cohesive, exhibition-ready showcases.
And when we’re done, we will have all learned what I think is one of the most important techniques that we all need to know: how to make our photographic art relevant.
So, let’s talk about the art of curation.
We start with a really simple question. After you take a photograph, what now?
Well, for many of us, that means post-processing. And then what? Maybe we post it on social media. Maybe we show it to our favorite photography friends. Maybe we enter it into a contest. Or maybe we do nothing at all.
By now, many of us have built a pretty nice portfolio of photographs, maybe thousands of photographs. Perhaps now it’s time to share your photography with the outside world. And I’m not really talking about Instagram, even though that is sharing photography with the outside world. But even on Instagram, if you want to build a following, you’re going to want to properly curate what you post.
So, in an age where photographic art is widely consumed digitally by viewers who spend, frankly, only seconds with a picture, displaying your work in a cohesive, thoughtful way to a more deliberate and appreciative audience is a really important thing to think about.
So rather than flipping through your images on their devices, some sort of exhibition will allow people to spend more quality, focused time with your photographs. Now, an exhibition can be almost anything. It can be 10 images in your local coffee shop. It could be a show at the library. It could be part of a group show with the TPC. It doesn’t have to mean a permanent display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
But exhibiting does a couple of things. It strengthens your reputation. Frankly, it makes us feel good. But most importantly, I submit that your work deserves to be seen and appreciated in person.
Now, exposing our work to people we don’t know is hard. It can make us feel vulnerable. Every artist shares some of the same insecurities about the quality of our work. Tonight, we are incredibly grateful to four of our members who, as artists, have each shared 50 of their images for us to look through and decide which ones will make the cut.
They’re allowing us to make decisions about which images stay and which ones go. It is a painful process. I won’t identify each artist as we go through their images.
So, we’ve talked a little bit about why the curation process can be important, but now let’s delve into it. One of the things that we know is that one photograph can be very strong on its own, but two or more photographs side by side can make or break the entire combination.
If you look at these three images hanging on a gallery wall, any one of them might be considered an okay image. But the three of them together form a story and a body of work that makes the sum of the parts greater than the individual pieces. And that’s what we’re going to be striving for tonight: to create a combination of pictures so that the sum of the parts is greater than the individual pieces.
So, out of 50 images, we’re going to together find 10 that, when they are put together, amplify them into something much greater, something that viewers want to spend time with, and something that the world can appreciate.
So, let’s get into it. Organizing a body of work is a challenge. There’s no question about it. And the very first question we want to answer is: what is the final output?
Is it a gallery exhibition? Is it a book? Is it a Facebook post? Is it a slideshow for your friends?
The final output will help us figure out how to create the output. But for our purposes tonight, our final output will be imagined as a 10-print series that will be displayed somewhere available to the public.
Now, there are two key elements here. First, the images are going to be viewed as printed and probably framed or mounted pieces. And two, at least several of them will be able to be viewed simultaneously. This will be something that’s important to bear in mind because, unlike a slideshow where it’s sequential, an exhibit where you can see multiple images at once affects how you put the images together.
So, how do we begin to turn 50 images into 10? We’re going to use a three-step process, and we’re all going to do it together. The key is to approach this systematically, but also trust our collective eye.
I know everybody that’s on this call. We are a smart and experienced group of photographers. We’ve also never seen the images before, so our minds and our eyes will be fresh and unbiased.
We’re going to work through this together, and I want to invite everyone to participate and speak up. So, if you’re muted right now, please feel free to unmute yourself.
So, in our three-step process, we’re going to go to our first step: the first pass, finding the connection.
When we look at our first set of 50 images, we’re not immediately going to try to pick the best 10. Instead, let’s look for patterns. Let’s look for themes. Let’s look for connections, visual connections.
As each image appears on the screen, and I’m going to go through the images several times before we start making selections, ask yourself: what story is emerging? What’s the visual language this photographer is speaking? How can I find a connection between one image and another?
Now, there are some criteria that we may consider in making our selections. Some of the criteria are theme. Can you find a theme in common with some of these photographs? Is there a style that you want to try to connect one to another? Is there a subject matter? Is there a mood?
Are we looking at photographs in color or black and white? And do we want to combine color and black and white or do we want to avoid that?
Is there an aspect ratio of the images that we want to maintain consistency of, or do we want to have a very different look from picture to picture? Is there a color palette we want to try to stay with?
Are the images in some sort of chronological order that we want to adhere to? What is the artistic quality that some pictures have and others don’t? And finally, the technical execution will be something that you want to think about as we look at all these.
But here’s the thing. These are not a checklist to tick off. These are just tools and tips to help us see what is already there in the language that is being spoken by the photographer that is our portfolio.
Then we’ll go to step two, the brutal edit.
Once we’ve seen all 50, we’re going to start eliminating. This is where it gets tough. It gets tough for us, and it also gets tough for our especially generous artists who have shared their work.
We might, for example, love an image individually, but if it doesn’t serve the cohesive whole, it’s got to go. As we make these decisions together, I’d love to invite you to speak up. Say things like, “Hey, that blue in image number 23 fights with the warmth that we’re building in the other images,” or, “Do we really need three sunset shots in this series?” Or, “Gee, this portrait seems to change the mood. Is this what we’re looking for?”
Feel free to speak up and take a look at things like here. In this example, we’ve got three images that are all pretty good pictures, but we’ve got two that have a similar color palette and one that introduces a whole bunch of green. So we want to say to ourselves, do these three images work together? Even though one might be better than another, do they work together?
And then we’ll move from step two to step three, which is testing the relationships.
As we get closer to our final 10, I’ll start showing you the images side by side in small groupings and 10 at a time. And then this is where the magic happens, or it’s where we discover some problems. Do the pairings work? Do they create tension or do they create harmony?
When we see these images together, do they amplify each other or do they compete with each other?
One thing to think about is a concept of curation called bookending, where you put the two strongest photographs at the beginning and the end.
And also think about directionality. Does one image lead to another? Are they pointing the right way? Is there a natural directional flow for the eye?
Remember, we’re not selecting individual photographs tonight. We’re creating a visual conversation. Each image should earn its place, not just on its own merit, but for how it contributes to the larger dialogue.
Are we ready?
Then let’s go. I’m going to stop this share, and now I’m going to go to my Lightroom. Everybody can see that, right?
Yes. Yes.
Great. So, here’s how this is going to work. I’m right now showing you thumbnails of the first portfolio, portfolio number one. The images are not going to be identified.
As you’ll notice, each image will have a number. Here’s number one. Here’s number two. Here’s number three.
The first thing I’m going to do is go through the 50 images in this first portfolio fairly slowly, maybe three or four seconds on each one. I don’t want you to do a thing other than try to absorb everything you’re looking at.
I’ll tell you right now, it is difficult to get a handle on what you’re looking at until you’ve seen it a couple of times. You may pick out one or two or three images in a portfolio that you want to remember. If you want to jot them down, feel free. But remember, I’m going to show this a couple of times.
After everyone has had a chance to really understand what we’re working with, then we’re going to start making some selections.
So, here we go. I’m just going to go through them. Three or four seconds on each one. What you’re going to find is there’s a lot of differences in the images, which will give us a lot of good material to work with.
That looks like Bryce Canyon.
We’re halfway through.
There we go.
And that’s number 50.
Now, before I start them over again, I haven’t looked closely at these either, so I’m trying to be just as fresh as you guys. I’m starting to see a couple of different patterns emerge. I’m definitely seeing a color palette emerge. I’m seeing a couple of content themes emerge.
So now let’s look at them again. Now you can start making some associations. At this point, if anyone wants me to pause, just speak up and I will pause. Otherwise, I’ll go through them at about the same speed I was before.
Oops, sorry. Number two.
That’s the halfway mark. Those are two different images, by the way, 25 and 26.
And that’s number 50.
So, before we start picking pictures, I’d love to hear from some people. Tell me what you’re seeing. What are you detecting? What sort of patterns are you seeing? What sort of themes? What kind of connections are you making with some of these pictures? Anybody write things down?
Yeah, I wrote down four themes. It had a lot of photos with mountains in it. It had a lot that have warmer color palettes. It had a lot with water, and it seemed like it had a lot with southwest-type landscapes. Yep. The four things that kind of stood out to me the most. Thanks, Bobby.
Sorry. A lot of flowing water with nice curves.
Yeah. I kind of like the moody environmental photos, the ones with a moody, subtle look to them.
Yeah, there’s almost a couple of different sets that you could probably pull out of this 50.
Yeah, let’s see. I wrote down 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15. I wrote down 15.
Uh-huh. Charlotte, were you going to say something before?
Well, as far as themes go, there are a lot of waterfalls here. And then there’s that orange in the earth color palette. The canyons and the autumn leaves, and that color palette. I saw a lot of…
So, did people agree with Charlotte that the strongest content theme is waterfalls? And then you could say there’s a second one that is water itself, and certainly the rock. And then there’s a little bit of wildlife that didn’t seem to fit with anything to me. They were nice shots by themselves, but I didn’t see the colors going together, and I didn’t see the themes with most of the water, even though some of them are very nice.
Like I said, wildlife shots might have some water in it, but the wildlife almost distracts from the scene if you’re looking at landscape as a major theme.
I also see cold. There are quite a few images that have snow, whether it’s in the landscape or behind the animals or something, and there’s a definite feeling of cold winter, and there are quite a few images that have that.
So, did people start jotting down numbers, or do you want me to zip through them one more time and you can jot down some numbers to flag?
One more time.
Okay, will do. I’ll go through them a little bit quicker. Remember that the number is right up here in the corner. Flag to remove or flag to keep. Flag to keep.
Oops. Two.
There we go.
And that’s 50.
Now, before we start calling out numbers, which I’m going to ask you in a second, a couple of things might develop here because we heard about a couple of different themes. We heard about a color palette theme. We heard about a cold snow theme. We heard about a water and waterfall theme, and we heard about maybe a little bit of a wildlife theme.
Different people may have different themes in mind. So as we start calling out numbers, we might get a couple of different series being called. We’ll have to decide. If there are competing themes, we may want to vary and change the numbers that we select as we zero in on a theme or a concept or a connection.
So, I’m going to use my cursor here to highlight images that you guys tell me, and I’ll flag them, and we’ll see where we are.
Well, I wrote down numbers on a southwest theme. I don’t know if you want to go at it that way or…
Sure. Go ahead and give me numbers.
I may have missed a number somewhere, but I had 5, 8, 9, I believe 13. We’re in 24. 27. Yeah. 28. 29, 30, and 31.
Okay. Who else?
Well, I kind of had the same southwest. Can you hear me? I think my video is off, but same kind of theme. The southwest theme didn’t quite have the same numbers. I had 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, 19, which I’m not really sure if that was southwest, but I like the colors, 23, 28, and 31.
Okay.
You know, I had a more abstract theme, which I can’t maybe… you’ll help me put it into words coherently, but it was something along the lines of power or drama in our landscape, because there are a number of images that really display the power of our landscape, the drama that we can find in our landscape.
All right. So, Karen, I’m going to give your selections with a different theme. I’ll give them a one star. Go ahead and give me your numbers.
3, 7, 8, 10, 13, 23, 31, 33. Sorry, 30 as well. Got to go back. 30 and 41.
Okay. Who else has something for us?
I have too many, but I’ve got… I’ll skip the ones I have in common with other people, if that makes sense.
Okay. What theme are you using for your…
I think I was going more for powerful composition. I don’t really know how to express it. 4, 14, 15, 17, 18, 21, 26. I’m skipping the ones that other people checked that I duplicated. 34, 36, 37, 39, and 48.
Obviously, it’s hard for me to narrow it down.
Sure. Anybody else?
Yeah.
Okay. Tell me what your theme or connection is, G.
My theme is moody scenic photos. The moodiness. 11, 12, 16, 22, 23, 29, 31, 33, 37, 41, 43, and 49.
Did you say 15 or 16?
-
I said 16.
That’s what I thought. Thank you. Hard for me to do numbers. This is why it’s taken me so long.
Anybody else have some thoughts?
I was kind of on the same train with the southwest, and I felt like there’s a really good number of photos to choose from, but most of them have already been said.
Okay, Lyn, why don’t I show you what you all have said so far. So, the first collection, if I filter the flags, this is the southwest theme. I’ll just flip through them.
Okay, the next theme is this series. I think this was the power and drama. Nope. No, that was my theme. There weren’t these images.
And then the next theme was these images.
So what was this theme? I don’t recall. This was the third theme that was mentioned.
We’ll say this is the moody one, I think. Yeah, maybe.
So now, of the three themes that we have looked at, we can make some refinements. But do we want to pick one of the three sets? Do we want to start over? What are your thoughts?
I can go through them again if you want.
I just now finished actually kind of doing a dramatic theme with numbers, or moody type stuff. Three. Hold on. Let me… I’m going to give them two stars. So, we’ll do that. Seven. 11. I think it’s 13. 28, I think. Yeah. 28. 31. 32. 41. Then… what is that? 40. Was that 46? 47, 48, 49… 47. Yeah, 47.
And so that collection looks like this. And after seeing it as a collection, it looks not like a collection. (Laughter.)
Well, that’s the exercise.
I accidentally said 14. It shouldn’t have been 14. You can take that off.
Okay.
Should we throw out the ones that got no votes?
Well, you can look to see which ones have no votes. This one. This one. This one has two stars. This one has two stars. This one. Number 25. This one has no votes. This one has no votes. I’m surprised this one has no votes. What number is that? 35.
40 has no votes. 43. 38 also. 44. 46, and 50. 45. Yep. 45.
Do any of the themes resonate that we want to move forward with? Do you want me to show you all again?
Well, Michael, doesn’t it make a difference what the theme is? Certain pictures are good with certain themes.
For sure. So, we’ve looked at three or four themes, and I’m wondering if there’s any consensus on which theme we should move forward on.
Can you show the ones that I picked?
Which was your theme?
Kind of a moody scenic.
I think you were red. Is this your theme?
No. No. Uh-uh. Maybe you were… Mine started with 11.
Okay, then this is your theme.
Okay.
I don’t remember those.
Okay.
Now, if people like one theme or another, it doesn’t mean that the only pictures we can include are the ones that go with that theme at this point. We could actually include others, so bear that in mind and see if there’s a theme that there’s some consensus of.
So, we had a moody theme, we had sort of a water theme, we had a southwest theme. What are people liking?
Well, I think there was a lot of overlap between the ones that Alfred and I picked. Let me go back to the first series, which was one star, I think.
Let me go back to the flagged ones because this was the first theme. This was the southwest theme. Now, that doesn’t… those two are not southwest, right?
Well, no, no. I understand that.
Okay. What I’m going to ask you now is, does the southwest theme look like it has a possibility, or do you want to pick a different theme?
Yeah, it’s good. Nice.
I’m new here, but I like the moody theme personally, and I would add 17 into the moody theme.
So, I think this is the moody theme.
Yeah, I was going to have to say between the moody and the southwest, I’d probably have to go with the moody myself.
Actually, there’s some pictures in there that I didn’t choose, so I don’t know how they got there. I could have made mistakes along the way.
Yes. What were the pictures?
You’re getting a mixture. You’re getting a mixture of one stars and two stars. When you select two stars, you get about two stars or less.
Yeah, but I’m only picking a color right now. I’m picking anything that I called yellow. So that can overlap the stars.
If you go back to the beginning of that, then toggle through. That one doesn’t seem to fit.
Oh, 16. Oh, I did say that.
Well, so we don’t have to start narrowing down yet until we pick a theme.
So, that’s one grouping. This is another grouping.
I’m not sure what this theme is called. National parks or something. Should it be like national parks?
Yeah.
And then we have this theme.
So this is like sort of water and strength. As I’m looking at it, I’m seeing dramatic skies now, too.
Yeah.
And then there’s this theme which incorporates some of the other theme.
So, why don’t we do this? I’m going to run through the themes again. I’m going to call them one, two, three, and four. I’ll ask everybody to select a theme, and we’ll see if we have some consensus.
Okay, we’re going to go with theme one. Remember, we’re going to delete and we can add to this, but there’s an overall theme here. Okay, that’s theme one.
Now, I’m going to go to theme two. That’s theme two.
Now we’ll go to theme three.
And now finally we’ll go to theme four.
Okay, we’ve looked at four different themes.
I got a little confused there. I didn’t see the southwest theme in there.
That was the very first one is what people called the southwest theme.
Well, never mind. You want me to show it to you again?
Yeah. Show…
I think the southwest theme has a different flag on it.
Mike, there it goes. Yeah, we didn’t see the flags. That’s what it was. We started with one star.
Oh, I think you’re right.
All right. Now I’m not confused. Thanks.
One, two, three, four, or five. Let me hear from y’all.
What are you… what are you asking us?
I just ran through five different themes. Let’s see if we have a consensus on a theme. Knowing that once we pick a theme and we feel like there’s some cohesive language going on, then we can go ahead and add and subtract pictures to that theme and start to make some selections.
And I would go with one was the southwest theme, Michael.
I thought theme two was a pretty strong theme. I thought the southwest theme hung together best.
Okay. I got two for southwest, one for theme two. What else we got?
I like theme two.
Theme two. Okay.
One and two had a lot of overlap. Yep.
But I like theme one.
What was that, Gigi?
Nancy, one. One.
Okay, I’m going to go back through theme one.
Now I’m going to go to theme two.
Between theme one and theme two… I think there’s a problem with overlap. The southwest is not represented in…
No, the southwest is this one.
Okay. But there were some pictures in the southwest that really didn’t belong to southwest, like that one, the New Orleans picture.
Sure. But if we decide that we want a southwest theme, we can fine-tune it.
Okay.
All right. So, there are the three themes that are up for grabs: the southwest theme, the first theme, and the second theme. Let’s go by a show of hands.
How many want the southwest theme? One, two, three.
How many want theme one? One, two, three, four, five.
How many want theme two? One.
All right. So, we’re going to go to theme one, which I will recap for you.
I’ve had all those tests.
(Music.)
So, this theme feels to me to be majestic, moody, drama. What is it?
Drama.
How do we feel about working with this and then adding and subtracting?
Sure. And majesty also comes to mind.
All right. So, here’s what I’m going to do. I have these with two stars. I’m now going to go back through all of the images and tell me if there’s any that you want to add to this sort of drama, strength, majestic theme, and then we’ll start subtracting.
We’re not calling it southwest anymore. We’re not doing the southwest. Southwest is a different theme, Gigi.
Okay.
All right. So, we’re looking at drama, strength, majesty, bold. I’m going to go through these and jot down numbers that you want to add to the theme. They may be numbers that are already on it. Don’t worry about that. We’ll figure that out later. Here we go. This is all the images.
Is that it? Pardon me. Go back. Go back. Is that in there?
Well, don’t worry. 11 is a possibility. If you want it in there, just tell me.
Yes. 18.
Well, call out the numbers later. Just jot them down on your paper.
All right. Wait, you want me to stop?
Okay. What am I adding to the bold and majestic theme?
Well, can you pull up the ones that are in the theme?
Don’t worry about that. If you have numbers, give them to me and then we’ll look at them all and pare them down.
Okay, that’s a lot back again.
Anybody else?
Okay, let’s see where we are. That’s pretty good. We have 18. We need to get to 10. We’re in good shape.
Let’s go through the 18. Now, what I want you to do is as I go through them, and I’ll go through them pretty slow, jot down the numbers that you want me to remove. Think about what doesn’t fit.
And I’m going to do this twice so that you can see it as a grouping.
And that’s number 18.
Now, let me go through them again and jot down the ones you want me to remove.
Number three. Number seven. Number 11. Number 13. Number 15. Number 18. Number 24. Number 26. Number 28. Number 30. Number 31. Number 32. Number 33. Number 37. Number 38. Number 41. Number 43. Number 47.
Now, when you start calling out numbers that I’m going to remove, I’m going to tag them and then we’ll look at the removed ones before I actually remove them. So, go ahead and give me numbers to remove.
Three.
Hold on one second. It looks like I’ve got to do it this way. So, three you’re saying remove. Someone said 28.
-
Say it again, please.
Okay. Seven.
Okay. 32.
32 and 47.
Anybody else?
We have a number one in there, Michael. The very first one is number three.
Oh, sorry. Say that again, please.
Okay.
Back to 38. Yeah, I said 38 also.
Yeah, 38.
I had 38 also.
Anybody else?
About 37, I think. 37.
No. (Laughter.)
What is 13? I jotted down 13, but…
13 is this one here.
No, no, that’s good.
Okay.
All right. Let me show you the ones that you want to remove and let’s make sure that you still do. If anyone disagrees with a removal, say something and we’ll talk about it.
I disagree with that one.
I do too.
Disagree with that.
What else?
Who wanted to remove that one?
I think I did, but I was just trying to get down to 10.
Oh, don’t worry about that yet.
Do we want to put that one back in?
Yeah.
Yes.
I really like that.
Yeah, I think that should go back in also. Thank you.
Who wanted this out?
It might have been me. I just felt like the whole color scheme and everything didn’t work. It’s a daylight image as opposed to a moody…
I had it for removal as well.
Yeah, that’s a good point. I like it. I don’t want to pick it up.
All right, let me leave it in for now.
I think this one should definitely go back in if the theme is majestic and bold drama.
Yeah. Put it back in.
I’ll put it back in.
That one can come out. That one doesn’t… it’s not terribly original.
Yeah. So, this one’s one of the outs.
I would vote to put number three back in.
Number which?
The first three. It’s so different than any of the others, though.
Yeah, issue of fit.
Right. I’ll put it back in for now.
And then we’re up to this one. That’s very dramatic.
I agree.
I agree, too.
And did we say 18 was in or out? I can’t remember.
18 is not out.
How about this one? Is this one staying out or going back in?
In. In. In.
Okay. How about this one? In or out?
Out.
Okay. Now here’s what’s in and out.
So, the ones that are definitely out… hang on, I’ve got to mark these.
Excuse me. Can I just see 18 again? I can’t remember. I wrote a note down, but I don’t remember what it looks like.
Okay.
Right now you’ve got 13 images in, and I’m going to go through them again and tell me which ones you want out. Here we go.
Number three. Number 11. Number 13. Number 15. Number 18. Number 24. Number 30. Number 31. Number 32. Number 33. Number 37. Number 41. Number 43.
This is when it starts getting tough. What do we have, folks?
I would take out three and 43. Not because they don’t match the theme, but because of the quality of the images.
Okay. Who else has an opinion?
I would take out 3, 15, and 43.
Three, 18, and… 43.
Okay, next person.
I was going to take out 18.
Okay, someone else.
I would take out three and 18.
Okay. Next.
Three. Say 24.
Hey, I couldn’t hear both people. One of you start again.
3, 11, and 18.
Okay.
3, 24, 32.
Who else?
I would keep the southwest theme.
All right. Let me show you the ones you just eliminated. Out of 13, you eliminated seven. We need four of these to go back in.
So now what I’d like you to do, I’m going to go through these seven and pick your four that you want back in.
Number three. Number 11. Number 15. Number 18. Number 24. Number 32. Number 43.
I’ll do it one more time. 3, 11, 15, 18, 24, 32, 43.
Which ones go back in?
I would say 15 and 24.
I just said 15 and 24 also, and 43 since we need more.
Do you want four, Michael?
I want whatever you want to give me. Let’s hear from everybody.
I would like to put back in 11, 15, 24, and 43.
Okay. Who’s next?
24, 32.
I would have put back three.
I think 11, 15, and 32. No, no, no. Can’t remember. What’s 32 and 43 again?
They’re already back in.
Okay, never mind.
I’ve got 11, 15, 18, and 24.
I’m the only one that likes 18. I think when I put 18 in, we’re going to be back where we started.
I put a question between 18 and 43 back in.
Okay, so we need to eliminate three.
Hang on. I got a quick question. Most of these photos contain mountains, so there seems to be a large consensus for number 24, which, when I’m looking at all these, is the one that really sticks out like a sore thumb the most, because the rest of them are mountain shots. It’s not a big landscape. All of them are big landscapes. This one’s not a big landscape.
So now I want you to look at them together. We’re not worried about the order yet, but we’re looking at them together. I’ve got 13 images on the screen, and we need to remove three of them. Let’s start discussing some consensus as to which ones don’t belong.
I would agree with Bobby that 24 doesn’t belong because it’s just not a big landscape. They’re all big, majestic landscapes.
But now if you look on the screen, they’re numbered in consecutive order, so give me these numbers.
But there’s no number six. There’s no 24 there.
Yeah, so that’s number six.
So how do people feel about number six? Does anyone feel strongly that we should keep it?
I do.
Yeah, I think it’s pretty dramatic. I mean, I could see what you’re saying that it’s not a big landscape, but look at the one next to number five. That’s almost like just a little tree with some water behind it, and this is so much more dramatic.
And that’s what the theme was, right?
Right. The theme’s not big landscapes. The theme was drama.
Okay. Let’s go to number five. Who wants to keep number five?
I do.
Why?
I do. I think it’s quite dramatic. The backlighting and the mountains and the composition pointing to the tree.
Okay. I’m going to pick out a couple and I want someone to argue for and against. I’m going to tell you that I think this one doesn’t fit.
I agree. No drama.
Yeah. The color palette’s completely different from the entire…
Does anybody want to keep number one?
Okay, it’s gone.
So now we have to eliminate two more.
Now I’m going to tell you that these two are too similar.
I agree. I’d have to vote to keep number 11.
Me too, and delete 12.
Who wants to get rid of number 11?
Who wants to get rid of number 12?
Me. I do.
Who wants to keep number 12?
Me.
Okay. The next one I’ll show you that I think we should discuss is this one. Here’s why. This one has a sky that doesn’t hold a candle to almost any other sky we’ve got.
I agree.
It’s true.
Yeah. And there’s just a little bit of water just kind of…
I’m okay with losing that one.
Yeah.
Does anybody feel strongly about keeping number six?
No.
Well, I would say I like six better than four.
I like four better.
I think number six kind of lacks a subject. The river’s kind of too small, but there’s not really anything that draws my eye to any specific part of the photo.
Can we get rid of number six?
Anybody object to number six?
What’s that?
The thing that keeps drawing my eye in number six is the little tiny moon, which is not really enough of a subject.
Yes, I agree.
All right. We’re going to lose number six. One more, folks.
Number 11.
I think you said number 11.
Yeah.
I vote for four to go. If you just look at that cluster, the one that’s completely out of place is number nine. Beautiful picture, but it’s so radically different than all the rest.
Five and nine, having your eyes half closed, they just strike me as totally different. The others have the same general feel. A lot of drama.
I love both of them. Now watch what happens when I move this one over here, because this is echoing this.
Mm-hmm.
No, one’s rocks and one’s a tree.
Also, look how similar number one and number 11 are.
You know, I think the Northern Lights picture is so dramatic and so different, because how many times do you see Northern Lights over the Grand? I think that’s worth saving even if it might not be exactly similar in every way.
So, I’m going to put these three together. Do we need all three?
Take out number two. Take out number one. Take out number two.
I don’t like the dark cloud on the top of number two. It’s very distracting to me.
Yeah, same.
How about this one? Say keep it. Who wants to keep number two?
Okay, it’s out.
Does it matter that number four was the only portrait-aspect photograph in the entire group?
The only what?
Vertical.
Oh, interesting. It’s dramatic. It’s a beautiful picture, but does it really fit with everything else that’s going on?
It certainly would be hard to arrange that in a gallery with the other nine.
I would agree with that.
I’m going to take you back to the original 50 and tell me if there’s one that you like better than the tree. I’m going to do it quick. Get your pencils. Think about that.
(Music.)
That’s a pretty nice one. It’s a little different. Think about that.
Do we have that in there? We don’t.
Okay.
What did you come up with?
I like the Grand Canyon shot.
Give me a number.
Well, it was already in there.
Yeah, that was already in there.
I really like the volcano shot. I just don’t think it matches the overall mood of the rest of them. Number nine, maybe. But it’s also portrait.
I also wrote number nine, but it’s also portrait.
Yeah.
How about number seven? Can we look at that one?
Yeah. I like this one, but the only thing that stood out to me was there’s so much snow. I’m going to put number seven in for the moment. Someone give me another.
21 and 23.
(Laughter.)
And 23.
Anybody else?
That’s 20. That’s not 23.
We need 23.
21 and 23.
That’s 20. That’s 21.
No, that’s 18.
Can you go to the numbers you are, Michael?
Yeah, I’m looking at funny numbers here. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Let me… let’s just show all 50 again.
Yep, we can.
Wait, we wanted 20 and 23.
No, 21 and 23.
-
Sorry about that, guys. And 23.
Okay. You want to go through all 50 again?
I just wanted to look at one number and I can’t see it by looking at this. If you show all 50 at one time and then scroll down, it’s the one with the reflection. Number 38.
38 here. Yeah. But then it looks drab when you’re looking at that. So the reflection is a spectacular shot.
All right. So here we are. We’re back at 13. So we got to get three out. That’s okay. We’re almost there, guys.
I think we can basically… we’re going to take this one out.
Yeah, go. I mean, the lava is a great picture, but it doesn’t really fit.
I agree.
Number six needs to go.
The same with the aurora. It doesn’t fit. Nice pictures, but doesn’t fit the rest at all.
I don’t know why the aurora doesn’t fit. There are dramatic skies in all of those pictures and that’s a dramatic sky over mountains.
Okay. But it’s the only astrophotography.
Okay.
No, but you’ve got a color palette up here, colors that reference this. Like for example, if I did that, does that look better?
I think now this one doesn’t go. Yeah, I don’t think that goes. It’s very cool. So, let’s take that one out. And we got one more to go.
Six. Six. The lava. The lava. Yeah, take out the lava.
Bye-bye.
Number six. I think seven doesn’t go because of the color palette.
Iceland.
So, what if I put this here? Does it go better now?
Yeah.
Number six.
I think it would go better next to the Grand Canyon.
Which one?
Next to nine.
Which one? He’s talking about moving number seven next to number nine.
Yeah.
Does anybody think six should stay?
It just sticks out.
No, I think there’s a goat.
I do.
Okay, we got 10.
Mm-hmm.
We got to put the Grand Canyon at the end. That was hard.
So, someone said put the Grand Canyon at the end. Which one do we want first?
With the aurora.
Yeah, I want to put this next to this.
I like these two waterfalls together. I don’t like these three next to each other. I thought about putting the two Yosemite pictures at the beginning and at the end.
I would move this one, which is not the strongest picture.
Okay. Here, because after this you’re going to finish on this.
Yeah, I agree.
How does that look now?
It looks great. Unless the only thing I can see is we’ve got two Yosemite pictures that are pretty similar right next to each other.
Which one?
This one and this one.
Right.
Well, you could do this. You could end on this Yosemite picture and put this one here.
(Music.)
And you could begin with the other Yosemite picture. I don’t know.
I think the Grand Canyon last.
Yeah, that’s what I was talking about, is use those as bookends. Use one to start and one to end.
And I kind of want to put these two together.
Sure.
I would switch seven and two.
That works. That looks great. I think that looks really good. Really nice. Beautiful photos.
I’d still put eight at the end.
All right, let’s look at them in a row. This is a terrific collection.
All right. You want to do another one? That’s a lot of work.
Well, we’re going to be faster on the next one.
Let me come all the way back to here.
Hey, Michael. On this one, do you think you could just filter everything by colors? Because I think when we were going with the stars, we were kind of getting some mixed up.
Well, the problem with colors is if you have overlap, one color replaces another.
Oh, okay. Gotcha. Didn’t know that.
All right. Yeah, that’s a problem.
Okay, I’m going to run through them quick and we’re going to be faster on this one because now you guys are pros. All you want to do is get a sense of the connections between the images right now. That’s all you want to do.
Got a lot of water here. Stop it. Go away.
(Music.)
Someone’s been to Scotland.
-
Going to do it again. Here we go. That one.
By the way, as you’re looking at water themes, you could include this picture.
(Music.)
Now, let me ask you all a question. I’m going to… so I can see you all. In the interest of time, because it’s already getting late, could I ask… there’s magnificent images in this, but there’s very clearly a lot of really good water theme stuff. Could we agree to concentrate on a water theme?
Fine with me.
Sure.
Anybody object to that?
No. I don’t object to that, Michael, but I have nine photography books up above, photo books that I published, and every one of them, the first thing was there’s got to be a title.
I just think in that last group, what’s the title of that last group? I’ve got one up here about colors. I’ve got one up here about seasons. I’ve got one about Yellowstone. I’ve got several about wildlife. I’ve got something about the Tetons.
And I can’t think of a title. If you were going to have the exhibit for those last 10 pictures, what’s the title?
Well, why don’t we come back to that after we do this portfolio?
Well, no. But the reason I’m saying that is why don’t we start out… what title are you looking for?
Because if we did a water theme on this portfolio, I would call it Wet.
Yeah. One of my books is called Holes in Rocks, you know, so I can live with that. I got one where I took 500 pictures of holes in rocks. So, I think you can do that. I think that would help us right now because, again, if you’re going to have a wildlife theme, do wildlife. If you’re going to have a water theme, get rid of all the wildlife pictures right off the top.
I don’t mind anyone objecting to this idea of concentrating on water. So, if you have an objection, raise it.
Yeah. Looks like moving water to me. Water in motion.
Okay. Then why don’t we do this. I’m going to go back through all 50… that’s not in motion, is it… and jot your numbers down for a theme of water. Water in motion. Whatever version of water you find delicious.
Can you go a little bit slower?
Sure. Yep, I’ll go slow.
How about just calling out ones to eliminate as you go through? There’s obviously no water in that last picture. Wouldn’t that be easier?
Get the numbers down. I’ll let everybody look.
I love that picture. You can go away. Stop it.
We’re halfway.
Oh, thank you.
Which one is 50?
50 is that one.
Okay, good. Thank you.
Okay, I am ready to mark some flags. Keep.
Sorry, flag to keep. I didn’t hear the number.
Flag to keep. 45.
Wait. There was a gentleman speaking first. Go ahead, sir.
Two. Four. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 22. 25. 32. 35. 41. 50.
Okay. Who’s next?
I’ll go. 8, 9, 10… where are we… 14, 15… I’m trying to see where I am… 25, 37, 41, 43, and 50.
Who’s next?
Well, I’d like to add 11 and 18 and 20 and 45 and 42.
Okay, next.
I can go next and I can just mention the ones that nobody else has said. Save you some time. 2, 5, 13, 22, 24, 35, 36, 41. That’s it.
See what we have. We should have a lot of water.
There we go.
Okay. Now I’m going to go through them one by one because we’ve already got our theme. Let’s just look at them before we decide what to eliminate, and then I’ll go through them again. But let’s see where we are.
I think what’s important to remember as we’re going through these is, if the theme is water or the theme is wet, let’s not have things that are too similar, but things that complement each other.
I’m going to go through it one more time and then we’ll start eliminating. I just want you to see your collection.
Okay, now I’ll go through them again about three seconds each one and mark down the ones you want me to remove. Number one, number two, number four, number five, number eight, number nine, number 10, number 11, number 12, number 13, number 14, number 15, number 18, number 20, number 22, number 24, number 25, number 32, number 35, number 36, number 37, number 41, number 42, number 43, number 45, number 50.
9, 14, and 32. No water.
Okay. So, let’s go. You want to eliminate nine, 14, and 32.
Who’s next?
I was going to say I agree on number nine, but I love black and whites. Maybe eliminate the three black and whites, which are 10, 18, and 43.
10, 18, 43.
Who’s next?
I think we have too many waterfalls with green moss and we should pick the strongest among them.
Do you have one you’d like to eliminate or two?
I wrote down a bunch of numbers. I don’t know if they were all that, but I would take out 15. I’ll show them to you as I do it. 15, 24, 36, 45, and 50.
Do we get a chance to go over those that we’re going to eliminate again?
Yes, we will. Absolutely.
Okay. Who’s next?
1, 10, 34.
I don’t have a 34.
Okay. I don’t understand.
I haven’t eliminated anything. I’m just flagging for elimination. I don’t have a 34.
Okay. 18. 24. Somebody may have already said these. That’s okay. 25 and 43.
Okay, who’s next?
I had four, five, 11. These are the ones you’re eliminating. 12, 13, 18, 20, 22, 25, and 32.
Okay. Who’s next?
Everybody hit my numbers.
Let me show you what you’ve eliminated. So, out of 26, you have eliminated 19 and you’ve left seven. So that’s okay.
Now let me go through the ones you’ve eliminated and anyone tell me that they would like to add it back in and we’ll discuss it.
I’d like to add one back in.
Anybody have an objection to adding one back in?
Well, we have to decide whether our theme is moving water or not. Motion.
I thought it was moving water.
Okay.
Can we see the ones that we haven’t eliminated real quick?
Let me see if I can do that.
Are we looking at the ones we’ve eliminated?
Yes, we’re looking at the ones that we eliminated.
I think we asked if we could see the seven that were not eliminated.
So, the best way for me to do that is anything that has a star here, we’ve eliminated. So, we did not eliminate this one. Oh, wait a minute. I’ve got to flag it. Hold on. I have too much trouble. Move on.
No, we didn’t eliminate this. Let me make the thumbnails bigger.
This is not eliminated. This is not eliminated. This is not eliminated. This is not eliminated. This is not eliminated.
Can we just set those to three stars? Maybe that way you’d be able to toggle back and forth between three and one at that point?
Yeah. If I give the ones that we keep… yeah, I see what you mean. I can do that.
All right. So, let’s give them two stars.
Two, two, two, two, two.
Okay, good idea.
So, what did you just do?
It’s one or higher. Shoot.
Two or higher.
You’re gonna have to change it to equal to two, Michael. Equal to.
These are the ones we’re keeping.
Oh, okay. Wait a minute.
So these are the ones that you want to eliminate, and these are the ones that you want to keep.
So, are we looking at the ones we’ve eliminated and trying to decide whether we really want to eliminate them?
So, here’s what we’ve got. We’ve got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven pictures. We need three more for our set.
So, here are the ones that you knocked out. Let’s go through them and decide what we want to put back in. I’m going to go through them again and you guys think about it. Then I’ll ask you after we go through these.
So, let’s do it this way. Everybody weigh in with the one image that you have to have back.
Anybody wants to start?
Can you put them back? All of them back up there. Can we see them all? Because I can’t.
Yeah. Okay. Hold on. Let me just make the thumbnails a little smaller.
I would say, to save time, that all the vertical photos should probably be out because most of the ones we have picked are not vertical.
So why don’t you give me the one you want, the one you want to put back in.
Yeah, I’m with 19 also.
This one here.
Someone said 17.
Like to put…
Someone said five. The numbers are going to change when I keep doing this.
Three.
Two.
Anybody else have a must-have?
Let’s see where we are. We have 13 pictures.
I think four is not moving water. Four is not. Nine is not.
But we didn’t decide that we were just going to stick to moving water, did we?
I don’t remember making that decision.
Nope, we absolutely didn’t.
But now we’re looking at a collection of 13 pictures. I have to agree with David. I think the two monochromes are beautiful, but they don’t fit.
Yeah. I wish the person had seven more black and whites and we could do…
Exactly.
Lauren, I’m going to take issue with you because I’m going to say that this is monochrome, too.
Okay. So take that out, too.
No, don’t do that.
Yeah. Then you’re done.
Yeah. I agree that five and 12 are beautiful photographs.
What about seven?
I would not eliminate five and 12. They’re so beautiful. It doesn’t bother me that there’s two monochromes in the set.
So, how about this one? How about this one that’s vertical?
Love it.
Yeah, but if we were going to eliminate verticals, then is that a decision that we want to make?
To me, Michael, it’s almost square. Come on.
It’s a very strong photograph.
Yes, it is.
Two, three, five, six, and 10 are all just very similar.
Which one?
10 and three are similar for sure. Two, three, six. Those three to me are very similar.
So that makes a theme. That sounds perfect.
So two and six. We should keep them both.
And 11. Do we need all three of these?
Probably not.
So, I’m going to ask you a couple of questions. Do we need all three of these?
This one, even though I’ll argue it’s monochrome, is very different than anything else, even including this one. And this one to me feels like an odd man out.
I think that’s one of the most beautiful ones there. But does it work with the group?
Well, I don’t think so.
I mean, why not? Water.
I’d say number six. The color palette doesn’t… it’s so… that’s the one more different than the rest.
That’s the one.
Why does it have to be the same?
Well, I thought earlier we were looking for patterns between photos.
And then the other one that I would call your attention to is this one here with these two big vertical elements. Compositionally, it doesn’t work with everything else that has a lot of flow to it.
It’s so unusual, though.
Yeah, that’s what I like about it. It’s one of the best images.
Yeah, I agree. The leading lines on it are really good.
Yeah, you just follow that stream.
Yeah, exactly. It just disappears and your mind just says, “Wow, I wonder where that came from.”
I think six and 10 don’t really fit the theme.
Well, I would take out nine.
Did you say nine, David?
Yeah. To me, six, eight, and 10 don’t fit. Wrong color.
So, if you break up those four waterfalls that you’re highlighting there, the ones you were talking about with some other photos, would that help?
Two, three, four, five. Do we need all of these? We need to take out either five or 11 because they’re so similar.
Out of two, three, four, and five, which just all changed, three and four are much stronger than two and five, in my opinion.
So, I kind of like this one with this one because we’ve got these vertical elements here.
Yeah, that’s nice.
So, the question is, this is pretty… I think this is the weakest one. What do you think?
I agree.
Yeah, me too.
I agree.
Anybody want to keep this one?
Okay, I’m taking it out. Two more.
Do we need all four?
Eight.
Let me ask again though, if you broke them up, were they not all four together?
Sure. Just stick something between them. I don’t know.
Four doesn’t feel as strong in the flow as the first three.
So, let me start breaking them up and see how people feel. Now, what looks out of place?
I would agree. What do y’all think?
I like that picture. It’s the only one we have with the Milky Way. But does it work with the group?
The water… it’s a much colder color palette and the Milky Way is the subject, not the water.
We’re looking at a group. 10 doesn’t really fit the group, in my opinion. It’s beautiful, but… what is the connection?
I have to agree. For those who are advocating for 10, what is the connection of 10 to the group?
Water. Just the water. That’s all.
Yeah. But the subject, as someone pointed out, is the Milky Way.
But I don’t know why they have to be so similar.
Well, they don’t, but we need to eliminate two images.
Can you take number eight and blow it up a little bit? It seems to me that one had some issues. It seems a little muddy. The rocks just seem a little soft.
Oops, sorry. Could you also blow up the next one?
Well, yeah.
I would eliminate this one.
You would eliminate this one, David?
Yeah.
Anybody want to argue for number nine to keep it?
I like it.
I like the color palette.
There’s something about number nine with the falls at the top third. Even though he tried to highlight the foreground, it doesn’t stand out enough to me.
I think it’s the weakest composition.
I agree, David.
How about the aurora? Where’s the water? I’d take it out.
I would take out that one.
I think that with the steam and the flow of the steam, that steam is water. I think that’s a very strong image and mood-wise also fits.
I think that for both number one and number 10, the subject isn’t water. The subject in 10 is the Milky Way and in one the subject is the aurora.
All right. So, I’m going to try something, guys, and we can bring it back. I’m going to take out number one, and I’m going to take out what is now number nine. Tell me if you feel that this set is missing what I just took out.
No, but a thought that comes to my mind is what if you replaced eight with the vertical black and white and bookended it with two verticals.
We don’t have a vertical black and white.
You did. There’s one from the…
Oh, from before this.
Is this the one you mean?
Yes.
And what do you want to eliminate?
I would have bookended it and I would have eliminated number nine.
Yeah. If we’re going to put the black and whites in, I’d put that one back in also.
Now, doesn’t this one look funny?
(Music.)
Yes, it does.
What if we put back in… where is it… this one.
I like that one. And we take this one out. Fits the color scheme better.
And we start now moving some things around. Put that one at the start and put the other vertical at the end. The number six.
You want to put this one at the end?
Yeah.
And then the only thing I might… can you go to all 50 again?
All 50.
There’s one I was looking at.
Okay. Looking at all 50… scroll up. What if number 27? See number 27 and 23 too. Put number 27 in. I’m just thinking mood-wise.
And how about number 23 if we’re going to do a vertical this?
Yeah, 23.
So, you want to put another vertical in?
Yeah, why not.
Now we have 12, too many. So, what if we replaced number 10 with… is number nine stronger than number 10?
I don’t… okay, then never mind what I said.
Well, I actually like nine better than 10. So nine has this nice line.
I’m not sure this makes any sense. It’s just too different. Is that it?
Well, then the subject’s more the sky than it is anything else, and the color palette’s different.
Okay. Pick one to go. Number nine.
Show that full size so we can see it.
Yeah. It’s a rock in front of a waterfall. That’s in Iceland, right?
You want to take out nine? Anyone want to keep nine?
Well, can we look at four up close? Because I actually didn’t like that one from the very beginning. To me it was just so white.
Let me show it to you like this. And I’m going to put it here. And I’m going to switch these two.
And we need to eliminate one.
I think it’s this one.
Can we see that one again, larger?
Yeah, because it’s a lot like another one.
So, let me go through the ones we have. Number one. Number two. Number three. I love the way these two work together. Yep. Number four. Five. Number six. Number seven. Number eight. Number nine. Number 10. Number 11.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11.
I hate to say it. I think it’s this one.
That’s what I would certainly say.
Eight, but I would take out eight.
How many for eight?
Yeah, for going.
How many for five?
All right. Eight it is.
Now, is there something you’d like to replace five with? Because compositionally I like five, but I agree it’s the one that’s harshest with that group. It doesn’t fit as well.
If there’s anything else you put back in… but if you don’t want green moss waterfalls, then I don’t know.
Well, I think we’re down to 10. And with this black and white, this black and white, this black and white, and this vertical, what we have here is a really interesting water theme with a juxtaposition of aspect ratios and color versus black and white.
And I actually think it works. So, let me make them thumbnails double the size.
I think that looks great.
I think it works.
Yeah, it works pretty well.
The only thing we might do, this one’s pointing this way, this one’s pointing this way.
Yeah. What if I swap that number?
Yeah, with this one?
No. No, that doesn’t… before.
Yeah, it was better before.
Yeah. Oh, that isn’t bad. I like that. That’s nice. Put this double here, this double here, this double here.
Yeah, that’s nice.
This looks good.
Well, we’ve been going two hours. We have two more portfolios, but I’m not going to keep you guys that long.
Yeah, we might have to cut that off.
I’ll stick around as long as you guys want.
Well, do you want to do another one?
I’ve got to check out.
I know.
Yeah, I think we’re going to do it.
So, the only other thing I want to do is I want to pay tribute to our photographers.
Our very first portfolio is Alfred, who’s with us.
Yay, Alfred. Coors Light.
And Alfred, if you wouldn’t mind, would you read your statement so we can all hear it?
Sure. Sure. So, you know, we go about our lives, in our daily routines, but when we pick up a camera, we become image seekers, chasing light, chasing moments so that we may go back to remember and share them with others.
Life is fleeting. There is a sense of permanence in photographs, and an ability to convey the emotion of a memory that can live on, whether the subject is landscape, wildlife, portrait, urban, or some other genre.
My goal is to create visually compelling images that evoke the viewer’s feelings. When that happens, it’s special.
And Alfred, thank you so much for giving us your images to work on tonight.
Our second portfolio was Bobby. Bobby, you’re still here, aren’t you? Would you read us your statement?
Yeah, no problem.
As a nature photographer, my mission is to capture the essence of the outdoors and share the profound beauty I experience with my viewers. Each photograph is a window into the natural world, inviting others to pause, reflect, and connect with the environment around them.
Through my lens, I strive to highlight the intricate details and vibrant colors that often go unnoticed, revealing the delicate balance of life that thrives in our ecosystems.
My work is inspired by the tranquility of untouched landscapes and the dynamic interplay of light and shadow, which together create a sense of wonder and serenity.
I believe that nature has the power to inspire and heal, and it is my hope that my photography motivates others to explore the great outdoors. By fostering a deeper appreciation for our natural surroundings, I aim to encourage a sense of stewardship and responsibility towards the environment.
In every image, I seek to evoke emotion and spark curiosity, inviting viewers to embark on their own journeys of discovery. Through my art, I aspire to cultivate a shared love for nature and inspire collective movement towards its preservation.
Thank you, Bobby, and thank you so much for sharing your images.
There are two portfolios we didn’t get to, and both of those photographers are here. The first one is Karen. Karen, would you read your statement, please?
Sure. Karen is the owner/guide of Private Teton Tours, which specializes in helping visitors to the Tetons make images that they will cherish for a lifetime.
Karen has been a wildlife photographer for more than 15 years. More recently, she has focused on western lifestyle and ranch photography. Karen’s work has been published in numerous national and local publications, as well as acquired by individuals and large corporations.
And Karen, I’m sorry we didn’t get to see your images, but I can attest that they’re beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing them with us.
And our last photographer who we did not get to tonight is Nancy. Nancy, I believe you’re still here, aren’t you? Would you read us your statement, please?
Sure.
I have a part-time job working as photo editor and photographer for our local weekly newspaper. That challenges me to make good photos in bad light and other situations that don’t work well for photography.
I love being forced to think on my feet because I think that makes it easier when I go out to shoot personal work.
My personal work is devoted to nature photography, both landscapes and wildlife. I particularly enjoy photographing birds and experimenting with different techniques, from high-key to panning motion, to express the beauty and essence of my subjects.
And I’ll just add, I just got back from two weeks in Alaska, my first visit. If you haven’t been, go.
And Nancy, thank you for sharing your pictures with us. I can also attest that they’re just gorgeous. I was going to mention Nancy’s trip to Alaska, and I’m going to try to persuade her in the spring to do a meeting on those pictures.
And with that, thank you very much, everybody. Before we wrap up, any comments, questions, thoughts?
I have a question. Earlier you mentioned this is a part one. So what is part two, David?
Well, we were going to ask for some other submissions, but considering the time it took, maybe we go with the two people we didn’t get through tonight.
Yeah, I think that’d be nice.
Uh-huh. That’s a good idea.
I’d love to see those images. This exercise is very helpful.
Yeah, I learned a lot tonight in understanding how to go from a larger group to the smaller group, especially when the ask was, “Give us 50 images that we’re going to whittle down for you.”
So you try and come up with something that’s somewhat coherent, and then you find out maybe not quite as much as you thought.
But the exercise of how you go through themes and try and find commonalities to come up with the final group really… Michael, are you… I know we had planned to ask other people to participate next month, but I think just going through these other two will be a useful exercise, unless somebody objects.
Yeah, David, we can certainly talk about that. I think it is useful, and I hope everybody learned something tonight and has some takeaways.
You may look at your own collection a little bit differently now. What I really want to encourage is, if you have never printed your work and had it exhibited somewhere, I encourage you to do it. It’s so gratifying, not only to you, but to the people that get to view your work, because I think you’d be surprised at how many people really enjoy the work that we all produce.
So, I hope you think about that, and I hope you enjoyed this evening’s presentation. Thank you all very much for being here.
Thank you, Michael.
Thank you.
Thank you, Michael.
Very helpful for the group. I was the one advocating taking out the black and whites, even though I was hoping, Bobby, I hope you got seven or eight more you can put together, because I liked all the black and white. We did wind up mixing those in and it worked.
But as a group, is it yay or nay on mixing them together? Because I’m actually working on a project right now and I’m struggling with that.
If we go back and we look at that grouping that had the black and whites in it, I think one of the reasons why it worked is because even though these water images are in color, they’re not that many colors. So, I think it really did work. I thought they fit this theme very strongly.
All right. Well, great. Thanks, everyone. Thank you, Michael. I appreciate all the work you put in this.
Thank you for our photographers.
Thank you.
Thank you all.
All right. We’ll let everybody go. Thank you.
Thank you. Good night.
Good night.
Thank you.