Hello Everyone,
Greetings from Minneapolis on this mostly cloudy, warm (71℉) June Sunday.
It has been a really busy few weeks here in the Karp household and at work. On the creative side, my camera has not gotten a lot of use in the last month even though I was out of town last week for a meeting in San Diego, California. I wasn’t trying to take a photography break but I am definitely in the middle of one right now.
With the weather finally staying warm, I am ready to find time for photography again. I am especially looking forward to returning to the city in a few weeks. I have a week off from work and plan to spend a few afternoons in Minneapolis or maybe St. Paul for a change of scenery.
In the meantime, a new creative pursuit has grabbed my interest. I am really enjoying Adobe illustrator. I have been making posters every day for the last 6 weeks or so. I am not sure where this creative endeavor is heading but it has been a really fun, visually inspiring project so far.
Without further delay, I am pleased to share Issue #11 of A Twenty Percent Creative with you.
Warm regards, Jeff
SUMMER SUNSET
Today, I thought I would share a series of photographs I took last night at the lake. We had a beautiful and colorful sunset. The reflections in the water were fantastic - painterly and even somewhat geometric at times. As the boats made their way across the lake, small waves were left behind. I arrived at the lake around 8 PM, a full hour before sunset. I had plenty of time to photograph the lake, the boaters, a man resting in a hammock, the pink clouds, and some detail photos of the shoreline as the sun was setting in the distance. I had a great time making photographs with extreme depth of field and intentional camera movement, too. The lake at sunset is one of my peaceful retreats. I look forward to visit again and again throughout the summer.
INSPIRATIONS
RICHARD KOCI HERNANDEZ
I am a huge fan of the photography of Richard Koci Hernandez. He is a tremendous photographer, storyteller, and educator with a fascinating body of work. Richard produces most of his imagery using his smartphone. His current instagram gallery, @koci, documents one of his recent projects. Richard did archive his whole instagram gallery a few years ago and is somewhat challenging to find nowadays on the web. Thankfully, there are a bunch of Koci’s Youtube videos from years ago that are quite instructive and still relevant and important today. I have listed some of the videos below. I recently purchased Richard’s first photography monograph, The Geometry of Life, from the street photography publisher Eyeshot Magazine. It was a great purchase and quickly emerged as one of my favorite photography books to review when needing inspiration before a city photowalk. If you are new to Koci’s work, start here with Through The Lens | S02E05
OTHER VIDEOS
NO REGRETS
“No Regrets” is a list of the actions I have taken since publishing the last newsletter. I include this section to hold myself accountable, push through my resistance and fear, and promote tangible progress as a photographer, business owner, and a twenty percent creative.
The results of the Street Photography International Photo Awards are still pending. I submitted this photo called “4-3-2-1” which I took in December 2021 during a family visit to Pennsylvania.
I submitted my work to the Minimalist Photography Awards under the following categories: street series (6 photos), architecture series (3 photos), and single photos to the open and abstract categories. Today is the submission deadline with results released in 6 weeks.
I have done a significant redesign of my website to highlight photography, illustration, mixed media art, and my newsletter. I will be adding a “writing” page soon that will bring all of my poems and writing pieces from A Twenty Percent Creative, my Medium page, Stolen Echoes, and others together. When you have a chance, I would love your feedback on the updated website.
I have produced a series of bold, geometric, abstract 24 x 36 inch posters. Eighteen of them are viewable on the illustration page of my website. There are another dozen or so that will eventually make their way onto the site too. I am planning to offer many of these posters for sale in the near future. The fascinating part about making these posters is the ability to change the colors within the designs very quickly. Now, I am trying to decide if I should exercise creative control over the color palette of the designs or offer multiple color versions to promote consumer choice. I am also kicking around the idea of offering the posters in a series of 3 or 5 as I think a grouping of them would pair well as framed prints in a large space. I haven’t decided where to sell these posters. If you have experience in this regard, I would love to know your thoughts. I am currently weighing the pros and cons of selling from my website, Etsy, and darkroom.com.
**What are you working on? What’s on your mind?**
I would love to highlight your projects in future issues. Please reach out via email at jeff@jeffreymkarp.com or let’s start a discussion in the comments below.
LEARNING LINKS
103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known and 1,000 True Fans - two heavily shared blog posts by Kevin Kelly, former executive editor at Wired magazine.
Boston Street Photography critique - a Youtube video by The Crit House
#306 Photowalk: Street wise and confident - includes interview with Gabrielle Motola
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I welcome feedback about the newsletter. Please email me directly at: jeff@jeffreymkarp.com
Instagram: @jeffreymkarp