Finding Your Photographic Voice with Craig Blacklock (Lake Superior, Style, Composition & Creative Freedom)
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Blacklock Gallery (books / store): https://www.blacklockgallery.com
Craig's fine art prints: https://www.craigblacklock.art
Singulart profile (search his name): https://www.singulart.com
Season Two kicks off with renowned Minnesota-based landscape photographer, author, educator, and gallery owner Craig Blacklock, a lifelong photographer of Lake Superior. Craig shares the throughline of his 50+ year career (from large-format landscapes to intimate projects and modern abstract work), and breaks down what it actually means to develop a photographic voice, separate from "vision," separate from trends, and often separate from what performs online.
This conversation is packed with practical field and creative guidance: how to spot your patterns, why constraints make you more creative, how to slow down and refine composition, and why social media engagement is a terrible measuring stick for meaningful work.
The difference between photographic vision (what you want your work to do) and photographic voice (how your work sounds/feels).
How Craig's long-term Lake Superior projects evolved:
Lake Superior Images (4x5 transparencies + kayak circumnavigation writing)
A Voice Within: The Lake Superior Nudes (metaphor, humanity, emotion)
North Shore / Apostle Islands / Pictured Rocks work
Horizons and the shift toward minimalism and abstraction
Light Waves and the current abstract "resistance arts" direction
Why your best work may get less engagement online, and why that can be a good sign.
A compositional approach that helps complex scenes read clearly: separation of elements (the "loose jigsaw puzzle" idea).
How to stop shooting "14mm panic photos" and start making wide angles work.
Next up: "Your Reality, Your Art." A digital darkroom conversation with Blake Rudis about interpretation, style, and creating work that reflects your experience (not the internet's expectations).
Connect with the Host - Nicholas Albert 👋🏼
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The Lakescape Photography Podcast 🎙️
