Author Archives: Brian Lawler

About Brian Lawler

Brian Lawler is an Emeritus Professor of Graphic Communication at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and was a Guest Professor at Hochschule München from September, 2021 to September, 2022. He writes about graphic arts processes and technologies for various industry publications, and on his blog, The Blognosticator.

Phinal phase of the Bishop Peak Portrait Project

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Brian Lawler

My summer is coming to an end, and I am engaged in the phinal phase of the Bishop Peak Portrait Project (BPPP), the making of the final display panels. On my previous large-scale photography projects, I have had the luxury … Continue reading →

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Thanks to my readers, all 200,000 of you!

Posted on August 28, 2016 by Brian Lawler

Five years ago I launched The Blognosticator on this site after it spent some time at What They Think, and several years on Graphic Arts Monthly magazine’s site. Today my readership passed 200,000. I have posted 220 blog articles on … Continue reading →

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The Bishop Peak Portrait Project ecosystem

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Brian Lawler

Over the past eight months I have been documenting my year-long “portrait” project of Bishop Peak, the 1,559 foot mountain in San Luis Obispo. That project, which began in December, 2015, is well on its way, and will soon be … Continue reading →

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Visiting Palomar’s 200-inch telescope

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Brian Lawler

After visiting Mt. Wilson’s two observatories in September, 2014, I began a reading marathon to learn as much as I could about the big telescopes that were used to usher-in the era of astrophysics. It was at the 100-inch Hooker … Continue reading →

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Why shoot one photo when nine will be better?

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Brian Lawler

I started shooting panoramic photos way back in the 1970s. I used a rented film camera called a Hulcherama. That was quite an impressive camera. It shot on 220 film, which rolled through the camera as the camera turned. It had … Continue reading →

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Photographing the elusive cellist…
and being quiet about it!

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Brian Lawler

I’m the staff photographer for the Festival Mozaic, San Luis Obispo’s wonderful summer music festival. I’ve been doing this for a number of years, and I have learned a lot about photographing musicians who often play notes much softer than … Continue reading →

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Portable printing on a picnic table

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Brian Lawler

School is out, and I am on summer vacation! My bride and I are on a three-week journey through northern California and southern Oregon. We have stayed in two California State Parks, two National Forest camps, and two commercial RV … Continue reading →

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My timely obsession with real-time clocks

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Brian Lawler

As a part of my Bishop Peak Portrait Project, I have built a couple of “printed” circuit boards. I made these on my CNC router, which I used to cut away the copper on a blank circuit board, leaving behind … Continue reading →

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This is turning out better than I had imagined!

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Brian Lawler

If you have been reading this blog for the last month you know that I am currently obsessed with a mountain in San Luis Obispo named Bishop Peak. I am so obsessed that I am taking 71,808 photos of it … Continue reading →

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An Exposure Expedition at Cal Poly

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Brian Lawler

Each quarter when I teach Digital Photography at Cal Poly, I take the students out for what I call an Exposure Expedition. These expeditions are in the interest of teaching basic camera techniques, and teaching the students how to “see” … Continue reading →

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