Harold Davis by Nan Phelps
About Harold Davis
Harold Davis is a world-class artist and photographer who has expanded the parameters of his field with imagery, new techniques, and as an author and educator.
Honored with the prestigious Photographic Society of America Progress award in 2022 for his development of a unique technique for photographing flowers for transparency, these works have been described as “ethereal” and having “a purity and translucence that borders on spiritual” (Popular Photo Magazine). Previous Progress award honorees include Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Walt Disney, and Ken Burns.
Davis’s most recent books include Composition & Photography, Creative Garden Photography, and Creative Black & White, all from Rocky Nook. In February 2023, the PSA Journal reviewed Composition & Photography, noting that “While the text is compelling, the photographs are stunning and invite the reader to read even more.”
He is also recognized as a master of black and white. The Seattle Times put it this way: “Harold Davis is the digital black and white equal of Ansel Adams’s traditional wet photography.”
In 2022, two of Davis’s floral images, “Tulip Panorama” and “Sunflower and Friends,” were produced as United States postage stamps. Five additional Harold Davis United States postage stamps have recently been released, with the first day of issue July 18, 2024 in Berkeley, California.
Translucent Flora: Photographs by Harold Davis was exhibited at the Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture at the San Francisco Botanic Garden in 2023.
Harold is a sought-after workshop leader, who has led groups all over the world and taught and lectured at many institutions including the School of Visual Arts, New York, Google, Maine Photographic Workshops, and the Heidelberg Summer School of Photography in Germany.
Harold’s website is digitalfieldguide.com.
Photographing Flowers for Transparency
Online Workshop with Harold Davis
In this detailed presentation, Harold Davis shows his stunning floral imagery and explains in detail his process for light box photography. Botanical composition, exposure, and post-production are explained.
Harold says: “Light box photography is a joy on its own, and is a great form of photography to practice at home with relatively minimal investment in equipment. In addition, techniques that can be learned from light box photography cut across myriad aspects of photography—such as exposure and composition—and will enrich all aspects of your photographic practice.”
Special attention is paid to issues of visual representation such as chiaroscuro that have been integral to photography since its beginning, and to fine art painting since the Renaissance. Harold will use his innovative techniques to demonstrate digital techniques that allow the artist to deconstruct and reconstruct the scene in front of the camera, thereby allowing pinpoint control over the final image.
Bring your questions! The presentation will be followed by a Q&A.
© Harold Davis
© Harold Davis
In this webinar you will learn:
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The benefits of photographing flowers on a light box
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When to use backlighting with flowers
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Understanding transparency and translucency
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Floral arrangement on a light box
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The three most common patterns of floral arrangement: bouquet, mandala, “en-masse”
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Understanding high-key dynamic range
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Exposing for transparency on a light box
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Combining exposures using layers in Photoshop
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Working with flowers: composition and patterns
About Harold Davis: Harold Davis is an artist, photographer, educator, and the bestselling author of many books, including most recently Creative Composition from Rocky Nook.
He is the developer of a unique technique for photographing flowers for transparency, for which he received the Photographic Society of America’s prestigious Progress Award in 2022. Seven of Harold’s floral images have been reproduced as USPS postage stamps.
Harold’s prints are widely collected. He is a Moab Master, and a Zeiss Ambassador, an internationally known photographer and a sought-after workshop leader. His website is www.digitalfieldguide.com.
© Harold Davis
© Harold Davis
© Harold Davis
© Harold Davis
© Harold Davis
© Harold Davis