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Study The Work of Others

In Books, Study the Masters, The Craft, Thoughts & Theory, Tutorials &Technique by David12 Comments

In my last article, I suggested studying the work of others as one path toward making your own work stronger. To shoot what things feel like requires that we first have feelings about things but also to understand what possibilities exist for translating feelings into photographs themselves. It’s a conversation that could get touchy-feely really quickly, but if it gets too far …

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Perspective and POV: Change Mine By Changing Yours.

In Most Popular, The Craft, Thoughts & Theory, Tutorials &Technique by David30 Comments

I talk to myself when I am making photographs—mostly mumbling, and it’s always questions. Questions like the ones I addressed in the last email I sent you about time, including “Could I leave and find something else? Could I wait a little longer?” Questions about light as well: “Could I be more creative about this, perhaps by underexposing?” And there are …

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10 Upgrades for 2019

In Most Popular, The Craft, The Life Creative, Tutorials &Technique by David48 Comments

Happy New Year! I spent last month photographing Venice, then London briefly, with the Leica Q—a beautiful full-frame mirrorless camera with a fixed 28mm lens. It’s brilliant; one of my favourite cameras, ever. The sharpness of the lens is astonishing, as are the tonal qualities, the contrast, and the speed of focus. It’s gorgeous. The photographs it makes are amazing, …

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Exposing for Highlights

In The Craft, Tutorials &Technique by David26 Comments

While people rush to buy the latest cameras with the highest dynamic ranges and the latest software that’ll allow simulation of the highest dynamic range possible, and there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, it helps to remember that every limitation can also be a beautiful creative constraint. On the beach in Moeraki recently, and disappointed by the bright sunlight and …