On Luck & Trenches

In Influences, Pep Talks, Rants and Sermons, The Craft by David12 Comments

There’s a terrific recording of an excerpt from an interview with photographer Robert Capa (1913-1954) making the rounds right now. In it he describes the making of one of his most iconic photographs (above) and the role of luck in its creation. Capa says he raised the camera as the soldiers were climbing out of the trench to storm the …

Greater Intimacy

In Pep Talks, Rants and Sermons, The Craft, Thoughts & Theory by David8 Comments

I believe that when Robert Capa said “if your photographs aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough,” part of what he implied was more than just physical proximity, but a more intimate knowledge of the subject. They’re connected of course, and if there’s one thing that I love hearing from others about my work, it’s the word “intimacy.” I want …

Breakfast with Freeman

In Life Is Short, News & Stuff, Pep Talks, Rants and Sermons by David34 Comments

This past weekend was something like a rite of passage, of which we have so few in this culture. And those we do have seem to come accidentally; we recognize them in hindsight. Which makes it a little less a rite and a little more merely a milestone. Still, this weekend was that for me, something I’ll always look back …

Nice Capture?

In Pep Talks, Rants and Sermons by David37 Comments

Some thoughts about the way we talk about photographs. As always, I think the questions are more important than the answers. I’m not looking for consensus, just giving voice to my own thoughts and questions. Yours might be different. Thought the First. “Nice capture,” says nothing about what you felt when you experienced a photograph. It says nothing about art. …

The Magic Wand

In Pep Talks, Rants and Sermons, The Craft by David71 Comments

This weekend I posted about my experience with the new Fuji XE-1. It’s a great camera. It’s capable of making some beautiful photographs. But I didn’t say the one thing I most wanted to. My heart was screaming to say it and got over-ridden by my mind and it’s always a mistake not to listen to my heart. I wrote …