The conceptual photography of Dutch artist Jacky Groen is both breathtaking and awe-inspiring. As one commenter puts it “Jacky’s work often sweeps the viewer not only into a visual journey, but also an emotional and spiritual one. Inspired by moments that touch us all at some point in our lives, she has the special ability to translate them into images that we all can relate to and find truth in.” We couldn’t agree more.

Destiny

Isolation

Where were you born, where do you live now, any other background info?

I was born in Amsterdam, but a few years ago I moved to the South Coast of the Netherlands. I always wanted to live near the sea, and the constantly changing intense skies and the beautiful light that endlessly inspires me.

Past Glory

Solitude

Stranded

How would you describe your work?

My work is a blend of photography and digital art, I’ll always love my camera but must admit I’m more addicted to photoshop these days. I suppose it has to do with my personality, I’m a dreamer and an emotional person..I can express my fantasies and emotions in my conceptual work this way. With photography, Mother Nature is usually my inspiration..for conceptual art my inspiration is simply Life!

The Dock

Breeze

Hiding

What are your tools of the trade?

“My Eyes…My Heart….My Nikon”

Shine Through

Time to let Go

Are you a full time artist?

Yes I am.

Home

Memories

How did you get started?

About four years ago my brother gave me a digital camera as a gift and I was hooked immediately. I used to be interested in photography as a teenager though…ages ago when digital cameras didn’t even exist yet…

Shell

Heal

Any notable accomplishments?

This year I won an award with my wildlife photography and last year my work “My Way” was published in the online Esquire magazine. Also I’m happy to say almost all my work has been featured numerous times on various art sites.

Not meant to be...

Release

Where can we find more info and keep up with your work?

Of course all my work can be found at Imagekind: http://photodream.imagekind.com

And you are welcome to visit me at my personal website: www.PhotoDream.nl

Tulips

Still

What artists inspire you?

Gregory Colbert ~ Ashes and Snow. Such a gorgeous blend of photography and almost fantasy like serenity.

“Gregory Colbert’s Ashes and Snow is an ongoing project that weaves together photographic works, 35mm films, art installations and a novel in letters. With profound patience and an enduring commitment to the expressive and artistic nature of animals, he has captured extraordinary interactions between humans and animals.” www.ashesandsnow.org

Hope Springs Eternal

Prophecy

The below article is a guest post from photographer John Lund. His photography career has taken him many places and he’s had the ability to photograph many different subjects. However, few prove as humorous as when he photographed Truman the Lion. Here’s his story.

King of Beasts

The animal trainer told me that I would have to get rid of the sandbags from my studio. She was explaining the rules to me for photographing a lion in my studio. She went on to explain that he might think they are rodents and would be possessive. “Well, he can have them if he wants them!” I joked. “No” she said, “You don’t understand. He would have to kill you to keep you from taking them”. OK, lose the sandbags!

Lion Trailer

I had decided that not only would it would be fun to photograph a lion in my studio, but that shooting the big cat for stock would payoff as well. I certainly hoped it would pay off, because the cost to shoot the lion was $5,000. I asked Stephanie, the trainer and owner of Truman, the lion, how long I would get with him for that amount of money. “As long as he wants,” was her wry reply.

Lion in the Studio

Back to the rules. There were five of us. Collette, an art director (I had pre-sold a greeting card idea to a greeting card company), Tiffany, my assistant, two friends and me. There were also three animal trainers each with a can of mace and a pick handle, though if you saw the lion you wouldn’t think any of those weapons would mean much in a pinch. Stephanie told us that none of us should “separate” from the pack. She admonished us that if any pieces of meat from the lion’s “treats” happened to fly in our direction, don’t try and pick them up. Avoid sudden movements, and, oh yes, if there was anything we didn’t want marked we’d better cover them up. It turns out that the lion can “spray” for fifteen feet!

Lion Standing

Truman arrived in a trailer, which had brought into my studio. We made sure that there was no way he could end up on the streets of San Francisco before we let him out. As Truman stepped out of the trailer there was a collective gasp from all of us. His regal bearing and taught muscularity was far more impressive than I had anticipated.

Shooting Lion in Studio

I had once asked an animal trainer who worked with both of Stephanie’s big cats, Truman the Lion and Safari the tiger, which one was more dangerous. She had told me that Safari was more dangerous because people thought of him as a big kitten and tended to let their guard down, but when Truman was around there was a more palpable sense of danger. I now knew what she meant!

Photographing the Lion

The two main images I wanted to create included a lion on a throne as the “King of Beasts”, and a shot of a lion trainer with his head in the lion’s mouth. We needed to have Truman in a standing position, sitting on a pedestal, various shots of his body parts, and a photo of him with his mouth open. To get a shot of Truman in an upright position I improvised super heavy-duty camera stand reinforced with a light stand. I was still nervous, as Truman weighs over four hundred pounds. One of the trainers enticed him to stand up and rest his paws on my makeshift stand by hold chunks of beef heart, on a stick, over his head. We used the same method to get him to stand on the pedestal. For his open mouth I just had to be ready for those lucky moments when he might yawn.

Lion Trainer

Most of the time he spent pacing in circles. After about forty-five minutes his circles started to get larger bringing him within a few feet of me. Stephanie said he was being sneaky about getting closer to me because he was curious. She also said that he was starting to get a little assertive and it was time to end the shoot. My $5,000.00 had bought me forty-five minutes of the lion’s time. It wasn’t long, but it was well worth it. Oh yeah, and before he left he did manage to “mark” the art director’s car.

Lion In Waiting Room

John Lund has been shooting professionally for over thirty years.  He was an early pioneer in the digital world using Photoshop 1.0 in 1990 and digital capture as far back as 1995.  Over the years Lund has taught digital workshops, written numerous articles on digital photography, served as DIGITAL IMAGING’s Digital Photography Editor, been a Photoshop columnist for PICTURE magazine, served on APA”s National Digital Committee, lectured extensively and written a book on Photoshop:  Adobe Master Class Photoshop Compositing with John Lund.  His stock imagery is licensed through Blend Images, Getty, Corbis, SuperStock and Kimball Stock. He currently works out of his studio in Sausalito, California.

More of John’s work can be seen at www.johnlund.com.

We’ve all come across art that inspires us. Finding it is usually not difficult. However, if you’re an artist, knowing how to emulate similar techniques takes learning, practice and patience. Below, I have compiled some of the top photography and art tutorials online. This list is in no way exhaustive, as I know there are many more out there.

Most of these were shared with me from our member artists via Facebook and Twitter. If you have a favorite online tutorial site not listed, be sure to drop me the URL! You can leave it in the comments, or share it on Facebook or Twitter. I will try and get it added as they come.

Quick note: Though many of the blogs below contain tutorials on several different techniques, I have tried to point directly to a post that corresponds to the particular technique listed.

Photo Manipulation

abduzeedo.com – Manipulation Basics: Illumination and Coloration

psd.tutsplus.com – All about PhotoShop tutorials

HDR Photography

stuckincustoms.com – Imagekind artist Trey Ratcliff, one of the premier HDR photographers, breaks down the technique on his blog

gizmodo.com

hdrcreme.com – The reference website for HDR photos

Macro Photography

On YouTube – Macro Photography Video Tutorial

photo.net – How To: Create Stunningly Realistic High Dynamic Range Photographs

Oil Painting

Hal Groat on YouTube – Imagekind artist shares tips to oil painting on YouTube

Panorama Photography

yanikphotoschool.com – How to Create a Panorama in Photoshop – Video Tutorial

earthseaimagery.wordpress.com – Imagekind artist shares several tips and tutorials on his blog

Illustration

noupe.com – 60+ Vector Illustration Tutorials

smashingmagazine.com – 40+ Cartoon Character Illustration Tutorials

It’s Friday! And with Friday comes my Friday Favorites. This week we celebrate America’s independence. Fireworks, friends, and family are all part of the fun. Get your camera’s ready for the firework shows and be safe!

Happy 4th of July!

Fireworks are not only beautiful to watch on the Fourth of July, they can also make stunning artwork. If you’ve ever wondered how to photograph fireworks, make sure to check out the Digital Photography School’s top ten tips. Once you’ve mastered the art (or just want to get some advice and feedback), post them in your Imagekind galleries.

Check out some of my favorite firework and Fourth of July artwork on Imagekind:

American I by Dallas Drotz

Capitol Fireworks by Notley Hawkins

Fireworks by Tommi Arina

9/11 Flag Painting by Erin M. Foltin Brackett

fireworks by maddie_mae_4

Fireworks over San Francisco by Can Balcioglu

Also, in celebration of The Fourth don’t forget that you can still get free shipping at Imagekind until July 6*. Just use promo code 4July09 at checkout.

*offer expiresJuly 6th at Midnight PDT. Valid on US ground shipping only and not cominable with any other offer.

Harry Kikstra is an outstanding photographer. Simply looking at his Imagekind galleries will confirm this claim. His photographs provide a glimpse into a world that many of us may never experience. Whether it is in the heart (or head) of Tibet or the vastness of America, his breathtaking shots will leave you in awe of our planet and all there is to enjoy about it.

Bio: Harry Kikstra is a climber/expedition leader/ photographer/ filmmaker/ producer/ writer/ public speaker/ cyclist and many other things that have to do with sharing the beauty of the outdoors. I have climbed the 7 continental highpoints and have traveled a lot and will not stop soon, though normally I am based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

His personal site, ExposedPlanet.com is not only a way to show his portfolio, but also to share the beauty of our planet. Nowadays negative press & media might make people scared of everything foreign or different: culture, religion, people and the places themselves. This xenophobia is taking over our lives and prevents us from seeing the real world as it is: a wonderful place with beautiful people. There are no bad or evil countries, religions or people. There is bad and good people in every culture, including your own.

I hope I can share a bit of the amazement I have enjoyed while traveling the 7 continents.

1. What is your inspiration? What keeps you making art?

The wonderful world around me. The desire to share the new places I visit, new people I meet and a deeper knowledge of places and people I already knew before. Positive things like colors and culture, but sometimes also negative things like injustice and anger.

I started my photoblog ExposedPlanet.com not only as a way to show my portfolio, but also to share the beauty of our planet. Nowadays negative press & media might make people scared of everything foreign or different: culture, religion, people and the places themselves. This xenophobia is taking over our lives and prevents us from seeing the real world as it is: a wonderful place with beautiful people. There are no bad or evil countries, religions or people. There is bad and good people in every culture, including your own.

Makalu from 3rd Step on Everest

2. What made you decide to be a Photographer?

I always loved to take photos, but it got reinforced by positive feedback on my images. I noticed that my audience got intrigued by my photos and got curious about the stories behind it. Also I love the power of images, just a still moment can say more than a movie of an hour. Besides I love the technical aspects of photography, cameras & lenses & post-processing, trying to teach and improve myself constantly.

Taschi Dzom Hells Angels, Tibet

3. How does Travel influence the way you see the world and your art?

It is the catalyst. It opens up a virtually endless array of subjects and stories and enlightens me. It is the best education you can ever get. Many Westerners do not appreciate that our freedom to travel is one of the highest freedoms there is. They take it for granted and do not use this freedom. Those who do not travel do not realize they are stuck in a box, of which walls and windows (if any) are tainted by commercial media and politics. Step outside and look further.

Practically speaking I need to carry a laptop and an external hard disk as well. As it is very likely that if one gets lost stolen or submerged in water, the other will too, so I also use an online backup service. Also, when climbing to high altitude, the weight of the cameras and lenses are a burden, but that is worth it.

Nepali Girl with amazing eyes close up

4. What programs and tools do you use to create your photography? What equipment do you use?

I switched to Digital 4 years ago, until then I was mostly using slides on my Canon Eos3. After the canon 20D & 5D, I am now using the 5D mark II, a wonderful machine. As I am traveling I am space and weight limited, and need to make a selection of lenses, so I take only my favorites for a fairly broad range: 16-35mm zoom, 50mm fixed and 135mm fixed.

Of course, often opening and closing the shutter only takes as little as 1/8000 of a second, I spend much more time afterward with processing.
Before I used PhotoShop, but now I am very happy with LightRoom, as I do not need all the PS features, mostly I alter only the basics like contrast and fill light, I do hardly ever use any layer masks etc.. I have created some panoramas as well, using LR, PS & Hugin. I can spend hours tweaking one photo, while several hundred others are waiting

Panorama: Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River

5. What is your favorite thing to shoot?

Life. I specially love to capture mountains and kids. It is always difficult to explain to others why I choose to climb mountains (I have climbed the ‘7 summits’, the highest mountain on every continent, including Everest), so I try to show it instead.
Kids are the same all over the world, just their surroundings are different, but I love the honesty & joy in their faces.

Everest from BaseCamp Tibet after snow

6. Which artists inspire you & what are your favorite pieces/artists on Imagekind?

I am a fan of originality and truth, both can move me. I really have no favorite artists, as a favorite style would probably mean that many images will look alike. But am always positively surprised by pieces or art I encounter while browsing Imagekind and random photoblogs. I think there is a lot of talent around that are not famous. The digital world has changed the artist landscape I think.

Denali Summit Ridge from the summit, Alaska, USA

7. Who is your target audience? What do you do to market to them specifically?

I have never shot specifically for a target audience and do not know who they are exactly, so maybe you should contact my buyers on Imagekind and ask them! I just shoot my images and upload them to my websites, specifically ExposedPlanet.com, where I link to my Imagekind  gallery.

That site is very popular, though it is very basic and has never been promoted by Google advertisements, fancy tricks or software. It is just the content that makes people come, I think it has page-rank 6 from Google at the moment.

I think my viewers are travelers, or people who want to be inspired by travels and want to know the real stories, not what the media wants you to believe. The most images I sell are my landscapes, I think a lot of travelers & climbers buy these, as most do not take heavy equipment up high mountains like I do… I do market the photos from my other website, 7summits.com, which caters to climbers & hikers.

Currently I am not updating my portfolio much, as I am traveling by bicycle from Alaska to Argentina (now in Mexico), but I do post images on my travelblog and some of them are already available on Imagekind as well.

Babushkas waiting for coins near Red Square, Moscow

8. Are you a full time artist, do you participate in Galleries and Shows?

I organize Mountaineering expeditions, and run several websites, this takes up a lot of my time. I am a full-time traveler though, have been on the road/mountains for the past several years and will be for the years to come. I work from the road (literally) and therefore it is hard to organize shows and galleries, that’s why Imagekind is so great. I guess I need a manager for the real-world galleries/shows (any takers?), as I am sure it will be great. Many of my images need a large size print before you can truly appreciate the scenery.

Chinese borderguard at Tibetan border

9. Do you belong to any social networks? How is it working for you?

I am very suspicious about copyrights management and therefore I have stayed away from Facebook (and most photo competitions). I am on LinkedIn and sometimes share advice on the forums. I use Twitter (@ExposedPlanet) to make some quick blog updates and to share some images, but mostly I use it to search current events.

What is getting more important for me are the social travel networks, such as CouchSurfing.org , WarmShowers.org (for traveling cyclists) & HospitalityClub.org . These are wonderful ways to meet local people, who not only offer free places to stay, but they take you to the real sights, not what the brochures want you to see..

My real social network is the world. We are all connected, but we only have one life to enjoy it.

I hope I can share a bit of the amazement I have enjoyed while traveling the 7 continents. The more I see, the more I know I still have to see and I will. Life is too short to focus on not-existing enemies & fears.

My images show some of the varied culture and nature that is to be found on our 7 continents. I hope that it will sparkle your imagination, make you curious or even just educate you a bit, being maybe the 3 most important aspects of society in my view. A picture can say more than a 1000 wars and can maybe help understand the world around us. It’s a small place, so maybe we can make the best of it together.