Talking with James Crawford
Happy Tuesday my friend! And welcome to a brand new Inside the Photo. Today’s artist is a friend and an incredibly talented photographer. Have a look at this very very concise summary from his bio and you’ll have an idea.
Hello Everyone, thank you for your interest in my work!
Kicked out from home at 19 years old, then after my 3 jobs dried up in Architecture, at 20 years old I enlisted into the SEABEES and got my butt sent right over to Da Nang, Vietnam. Where before my one year tour was up, the Good Ole Boys were able to persuade me to extend my tour for 6 months. Which got me into TET 1968. That’s when the North Vietnamese Regular Army along with the Viet Cong attacked parts of South Vietnam.
I had previously purchased my FIRST DSLR in Vietnam while there.
Moved to Laguna Beach, California in 1972 where I worked at Architecture and had nice beach time. In 1976 I moved to San Luis Obispo, California to finish college education in Architecture.I have taken other photo/road trips, however the best so far I believe was 2015. From San Luis Obispo up the 101 all the way around Puget Sound. Ended up touring 8 western states.
Photography is my PASSION. Black & White imagery is my Vision, while Color Abstractions are my Journey.
I’ve received several recogniotions, including:
• 2nd Place and 6 Honorable Mentions at the 2016 Moscow International Foto Awards
• 3 Nominations from the 2016 Fine Arts Photography Awards
• Honorable Mention at the 2016 International Photo Awards
• Awards from Black and White Magazine in 2013 and 2014My work has been featured in e-magazines like FineEye Magazine and SHOT! Magazine, and I’ve recently begun exploring AI Art.
Feel free to visit my website to see my latest creations!
Now, I am absolutely stunned by his black-and-white images. They are just impressive. I love the way they always catch my attention and emotions. They are deep, intense. Like the one shared here below.
“THIRST” ©️2013 James A. Crawford
I made this image in a late September afternoon full light with zero clouds.
When I did capture these Sand Dunes, Black and White was definitely on my MIND because of the EMOTIONAL Value that black-and-white brings to the geometrical shapes in the background, the BLUE Sky and the wonderful texture of the sand ripples in the foreground.
In my imagery, I utilize “OPTIMIZATION.” That is where (like in this case) I use an APP or PROGRAM called SilverEfexPro which allows me to not only convert the image to black-and-white, but also control lighting, texture and a multitude of other elements to be able to create MY VISION or EMOTIONS.
I find that the camera does not necessarily capture the FEELING or VISION I need, therefore I require Digital ENHANCEMENT.It takes 45-60 minutes in difficult sand walking to get to good photo opportunities.
By then any normal person is tired.
I think there’s a good bunch of reasons here to make you check James’ socials. You’ll find a lot of incredible images there.
Thanks for sharing your image with us, James!
Take care and talk soon!