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Want Different Results? Try Different Things.

In Creativity and Inspiration, Photographically Speaking, The Craft, The Life Creative, Thoughts & Theory, Travel by David83 Comments

Landing in Nairobi last month, my usual fears were running amok. Would my luggage arrive with me? Would I have problems at customs? Would the bartender at the first camp be able to make me a decent Old Fashioned, of which I was desperately in need? You know the ones. But most heavy of all, the one weighing me down …

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Grizzly Bears: Big, Beautiful, and…Noise-Free?

In GEAR, Lightroom & Workflow, Postcards From..., Thoughts & Theory, Travel, Wilderness by David36 Comments

There is a powerful argument to be made for photographing what intrigues you, what you love, or that by which you are obsessed. Making photographs takes time, so that curiosity, love, or obsession serves you well when your best work demands not fractions of a second or even minutes, but hours, days, or—in the case of longer projects—even years.  Bears have …

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To Hunt or Gather?

In The Craft, The Life Creative, Thoughts & Theory, Travel by David23 Comments

It seems to me there are two very different approaches often taken in making photographs. The first is very ad hoc and opportunistic. You walk the streets of India (or wherever) and photograph whatever catches your eye. You wander and you photograph anything and everything that you can find at the intersection of your curiosity and great light. There’s nothing …

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What’s Missing From Your Photography?

In GEAR, Pep Talks, The Craft, The Life Creative, Thoughts & Theory, Travel by David35 Comments

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 …

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Your Best Shot Isn’t (Usually) Your Only Shot

In Pep Talks, Postcards From..., The Craft, The Life Creative, Thoughts & Theory, Travel by David20 Comments

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 …