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 …
Since You Asked
Once in a while the subject of taking beautiful photographs of beautiful people gets complicated by the inevitable discussion of money. Specifically, “Should you pay people for a photograph?” Or more personally, “Do I pay people for a photograph?” I’ve given various answers to this over the years. It’s not a simple question with a simple answer. And I won’t …
Let Them Steal
Some days my time online makes it seem like photographers spend more time making watermarks than they do making photographs. So as it’s been a while since I’ve allowed myself a rant, let me weigh in with my opinions about the theft of images. But first a caveat. Yes, copyright laws matter. Yes, you should register your work. Yes, you …
Different Ways to Point
We had an interesting conversation in Hokkaido one evening, and it stands out because when you put 15 photographers together for a meal, and there’s no shortage of drink, conversation tends to end up with everyone telling lies about how long they can hand-hold their long lens, or how Ansel Adams was a total hack. This time it was about …
Planning Is Just Guessing. But With More Pie Charts and Stuff.
I taught at VanArts this morning, by which I really mean I talked for two hours and hoped those beautiful young minds would learn something from my string of disconnected thoughts. One of the things I talked about, though with my tendency to digress, I have no idea which rabbit-hole I was down when my time ran out, was poetically …
The Life Creative (4)
Why am I going on about this Life Creative stuff? Most likely, it’s because in my heart I’m a preacher and I’ve always done very poorly at keeping my mouth shut. But it’s more than that. I have loved photographs since I was a kid and that love’s grown to become a love for those who create them. There’s a …
The Life Creative (3)
Someone just asked me what I do in my spare time. I told them I didn’t have any. I know what they meant, I really do, and I swear I’m not trying to be difficult. You’ll get the same blank look, or blunt reply, from me if you ask me what I do. I just haven’t a clue how to …
The Life Creative (2)
The story goes like this: A student asks Jay Maisel, “How can I make more interesting photographs?” to which Jay sagely replies, “become a more interesting person.” Having never formally studied Art, my creative is process is probably a little unsophisticated: I daily try to live the most vital, engaged, and interesting (to me) life I possibly can. Intentional. Passionate. …
On “Missing The Shot.”
Last week I wrote about the crippling power of fear in the life and process of the artist. I think there are some fears that are universally felt among artists of every discipline, others unique to us as photographers. Chief among those fears, it seems, is the fear that we’ll “miss the shot.” And so we amass every piece of …
The Voice of Fear
I tell my students at the Vancouver Gatherings that fear is the greatest barrier to creativity. I tell them to bring their fears into the light, to give their fears a chance to say their piece, then to call bullshit and move on. I tell them this because the alternative is to leave our fears muttering to us from the …