I call this one, OH MY GOD HIS HORIZON IS IN THE MIDDLE! New Zealand, 2010 While I can’t yet talk openly about the next book, my time in Jamaica brought me to finishing about 2/3 of the draft and as it slowly takes shape it comes closer and closer to becoming a real thing, a thing I can talk …
Wrestling in Kathmandu
We’re on the second full day of the Kathmandu Within The Frame workshop, based in Boudhanath, and man am I struggling. My first task here is not creating a body of work, but teaching, but I believe the best teachers are the ones that are always learning, and man am I learning. The hard way. I’ve never shyed away from …
In Defence of Inspiration
Iceland, August, 2010 Last week Owen Shifflett wrote a post on Viget.com that made the rounds. I tweeted it. Chase blogged about it. And it got rounds and rounds of kudos and attaboys, among them my own voice. And then something started to bug me. Owen’s title – How Inspiration Killed – Then Ate – Creativity, says it all. It …
Nothing Left to Take Away
Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, “a designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add but when there is nothing left to take away.” I wouldn’t claim perfection for any of my images, that’s not the point of my quoting this, but I love the idea that a move towards mastery in photography is a move …
Filters & The Creative Process
Good news for all my friends and students who have been eagerly chomping at the bit to get their hands on the Singh-Ray Gold-N-Blue Polarizing filter: they’re back in stock. Now I know y’all don’t like these things, and I’m as guilty as anyone of struggling to learn to use this filter a little more judiciously. I also know not …
Q&A on F&B
Last week I had a great interview with Jeffrey Saddoris from the Faded & Blurred community. I do a lot of interviews, many of which kind of ask the same old questions. This is not that interview. The Faded & Blurred community is a great place filled with some super people. If it’s been a while since your teeth were …
Isolated by Light
Genoa, Italy. I took a spot reading off the pavement in the beam of light. It happens to be pretty close to 18% grey, so I exposed manually at those settings, prefocused on the spot, and waited until someone came. It’s usually worth the wait. We talk a lot about isolating elements within the frame. We do it with our …
Art and Risk
Continuing my tradition of posting totally unrelated images to illustrate a point, this is the abbey at San Frutuosso, in Italy. I had a video chat with Dane Sanders and a virtual room full of folks on AskDane.com this week and one of the questions touched on an itch I’ve been meaning to scratch for a while. And now I’m …
Lightening Up
My satchel, my iPod, and me on the boat to San Frutuosso, Italy. This is the least amount of gear I have ever shot with. Photo Credit to my friend Stuart Sipahigil. I know, I look very zen. In reality I think I was calculating the hours until lunch. As an artist I’m scared of repeating myself. I don’t want …
It’s Only a Moment, but…
I think one of the things I love most about photography is that it often elevates the mundane. When you stop a moment, and preserve it forever, and take the care to frame it, light it, and chose one moment over another, you effectively tell the world – or anyone who cares enough to look at your work; Look at …