I was both excited and nervous about going to Kenya recently after a two-year absence. Beyond the extraordinary experience of just being in my happiest of places, there is always the pressure of the photographs. Will they be stronger than they’ve been in the past? Will I find ideas that interest me? Will my new gear and my growing familiarity with …
Your Best Shot Isn’t (Usually) Your Only Shot
I traveled once with a photographer who would leap into a scene, press the shutter, and more often than not exclaim, “I got the shot!” Depending on whether you were there at the time or only heard of it after the fact, it was either really annoying or mildly amusing. If the direction into which he leapt to “get the shot” happened …
From “It’s Not Working,” to “How Can I Work It?”
Have you ever spent time behind the camera working on that image you’ve got in your mind only to think (or mutter) to yourself some version of “this just isn’t working”? Have you ever been in front of one of those scenes or subjects about which someone has said, “You just can’t make a bad picture of this” only to …
New Year, New…Gear?
The danger of sound bites is that they lack nuance, and they sometimes come back to bite you in the ass. A dozen years ago, I coined the phrase, “Gear is Good, Vision is Better.” Some of you were around when I sent that out into the world. Some of you started reading my words because I wrote it. It …
What Lens Should I Bring?
If I could use only one lens for the rest of my life, it would be a 16-35mm (unless I was photographing bears, in which case I’d want 600mm). But then again, if that bear was really far away, I might want 1200mm. Or if I were underwater, then I’d want my 15mm fisheye. Oh, and then there are portraits for which I might want …
For Stronger Photographs: More Time
Three weeks ago, I found myself sitting on the banks of Hudson Bay, a stone’s throw from the Arctic circle, waiting for a polar bear to wake from his slumber. One can wait a long time for a polar bear to awaken. Several times, our group of photographers asked whether we should move on, and several times the answer was, …
Failure Rates? Keeper Rates? There is a better way of thinking about this.
Do you ever hear yourself say something and immediately wish you could take it back? It’s like words are coming out of your mouth and you’re only seeing them for the first time and you think, “wait! I didn’t mean that!” It happened to me the other day. A friend and I were on a small plane heading home from …
Print Your Work Without Printing Your Work?
I have no idea how I got there, but I found myself on YouTube a few weeks ago watching mesmerizing videos of a carpenter making the most beautiful tables and desks. Cam (the carpenter) can be found at BlackTailStudio.com or on Instagram, and his videos (including one about the making of a $10,000 Myrtlewood desk) gave me a new appreciation for the idea …
3 Ways Changing My Thinking Changed My Photography
As we grow in this craft, we move from uncertainty to increasing comfort and confidence with certain aspects of the skills and thinking that the making of photographs requires. To use a well-trod metaphor: it’s a journey. Some of the things we learn are adapted quickly; some we will work on all our lives. I clearly remember thinking how I’d be so happy …
You’re an Amateur. Is That Enough?
You’re an Amateur. Is That Enough? In September 2019, I wrote the words below for my podcast, A Beautiful Anarchy, and I feel like perhaps enough time has passed since I’ve reminded you of these important truths, and I want to offer them to you again. _________________________________________ I spoke with an artist recently who expressed the feeling that because his …