The Portland Metro Photographic News

Editor's Note: I've had the pleasure of getting to know and appreciate Joseph Cartright and his ground breaking digital images over the past three years. Joseph is not only a gifted photographer but a much sought after educator in all things digital. I am proud to present Joseph to the readers of the Portland Metro Photographic News. I encourage you to visit his radically re-designed

Steven Katzman is a self-taught photographer who has combined, over the years his long-time interest in political science with his photographic journey. Although he does not work from anyone's theories on the appropriate direction for contemporary art, most of his photographs exemplify the post modernist notion that to be relevant to the final quarter of the 20th century, art needs to be political i...

A Guest Commentary by the Santa Fe Photographic Workshop Director, Reid Callanan

Editor's Note:  Reid Callanan is a long-time friend and the founder of the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops.  Reid's career-long mission has been to provide the very best in photo-educational opportunities to the worldwide photographic community.  The Workshop he has created is among the most respected private institutions ...

A Guest Commentary by Robert Brummitt

Editor's note:  Robert Brummitt is a PMPN member and a familiar voice in Portland's photographic conversation.  Robert has a love affair with photography and works tirelessly with area youth to ensure that the photographic torch and passion is passed to the next generation.  We appreciate Robert sharing his thoughts with the PMPN community about the curren...

a Guest Commentary by David Kachel

Editors Note:  One of the treats of publishing PMPN is getting to know our members.  They are a diverse group with their own opinions about photography -- the craft and the art.  David Kachel is a PMPN member who is not only a skilled and respected fine art photogra...

PMPN welcomes Oregon's own Steve Anchell as a Guest Commentator.  Steve shares his photography, his passion and his techniques for capturing the magic of Halloween in this article, The Witching Hour.

It is half past midnight on All Hallow's Eve. I'm surrounded by Killer Clowns from Outer Space, spooks, goblins, and witches. The Grim Reaper ...

Guest Commentary by Harald Johnson

(Editor's note:  Harald Johnson is a long-time friend, editor of DP&I.com and author of the popular "Mastering Digital Printing" book which has become a standard text for serious digital printmakers.  When I mentioned I was writing an article on "Signing Photo...

A PMPN guest commentary by William Neill

Editor's Note: PMPN recently published a review of William Neill's e-book, Meditations In Monochrome.  While preparing for this review, I mentioned to Bill that I was writing an article concerning "Photographer's Block".  He said he had some thoughts that he would like to share with PMPN readers.  The article below is the res...

Editor's Note:  One of the most fortunate encounters my career in photography has brought me was the opportunity to meet and become friends with Charles Cramer.  "Charlie" is one of those true gentlemen of photography and can best be described as the photographer/instructor who nurtures and fosters the legacy of Ansel Adams.  His sessions at the Ansel Adams Workshop in Yosemite are ...

Editor's Notes: PMPN's discussion of "When Is A Photograph Fine Art?" continues with the thoughts of the owner of an on-line photography gallery, Andrew Coppin.  His Gallery represents the work of many categories of photographers, including Fine Art.  Andrew's thoughts regarding photography provide insights into the commercial and aesthetic considerations that a gallery uses to ultimately designate an image as fine art.

When is anything fine art? If we propose that all paintings are fine art because they are paintings, we immediately see the fallacy of that kind of reasoning. The individual medium does not imbue the creations made under its banner with any kind of imprimatur as art, fine or otherwise. We have all experienced bad paintings, bad poems, bad ...

by Tom Hubbard, PMPN, July 20, 2009

This week, the Portland Metro Photographic News will be dominated by the question most frequently asked by aspiring photographers, "When is a photograph fine art?"  It is also the most elusive and possibly unanswerable question lovers of photography (of any art for that matter) encounter.  The subject of "photography as an art form" is extremely subjective, and there are about as many relevant answers ...