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Part 2: What Makes The Image Work?

In Photographically Speaking, Photographs & Photoshopping, Resources, The Craft, The Life Creative, Tutorials &Technique by DavidLeave a Comment

On Sunday, I showed you one of my photographs and sent you to my blog to discuss it, asking questions about the decisions I made and the effect of those decisions. Thanks to everyone who chimed in! The point was to get you thinking about the all the many choices we make in order to create one photograph. I promised …

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What Makes the Image Work?

In Photographically Speaking, Resources, The Craft, The Life Creative, Thoughts & Theory, Tutorials &Technique by David70 Comments

My cousin James had a reputation as a kid for taking things apart. One Christmas he dismantled down to the wiring every gift he was given. Remote-control cars? Give him 20 minutes, and there would be nothing left but a pile of tiny screws, little motors, and the tears of his mother who probably should have known better than to give him …

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More Interested, More Interesting

In Books, News & Stuff, Resources, The Craft, The Life Creative, Thoughts & Theory by David14 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting on a river, happily photographing grizzly bears. After a two-day drive and a quick turnaround at home, I was off to San Francisco to sign 1,000 copies of the hardcover special edition of my new book, Light, Space, & Time: Essays on Camera Craft and Creativity. I also spent time with my publisher and …

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Show Me Less to Show Me More

In Photographically Speaking, The Compelling Frame, The Craft, Thoughts & Theory, Wallpapers by David7 Comments

As a photographer who learned his craft before autofocus became a truly reliable technology, my earliest challenge was focusing the lens. Those who picked up photography after the cameras could focus faster than we would ever be able to do ourselves won’t know the frustration of that particular learning curve. But focusing the lens was never so hard as learning …

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Keep At It. Wonder Awaits.

In Creativity and Inspiration, Life Is Short, Pep Talks, The Craft, The Life Creative by David18 Comments

 It was 39 years ago on a summer day much like today when I picked up a 35mm Voigtländer rangefinder camera at a neighbour’s garage sale. That whim would change my life, drain my bank account many times over the decades that followed, and make me a different human being than I might have been if I’d bought the tennis racquet instead. …

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3 Ways To Give Your Images Their Best Chance

In Lightroom & Workflow, Resources, The Craft, Thoughts & Theory, Tutorials &Technique by David62 Comments

Watch the 7-minute video above, or keep reading if you prefer the written word. In my last video I resumed a conversation I’ve been dying to come back to. Specifically: Why do photographers get so intimidated by the edit and the “now what?” that comes once we put the camera down? And are we missing important creative opportunities? For years, …