Another question from my recent Q&A on Facebook. Some of the questions needed more time and space to answer, this is one of those: How do develop from taking random images to working on projects? What makes a good project? When is it finished? First, I think it’s important to recognize that there are no rules on any of this. …
A Bigger Story
Dusk. Fogo Island, Newfoundland. 2014 Do you know why Apple succeeds the way it does? OK, aside from sexy products? They tap into something bigger than technology. Sure, they’re a technology company, and you either love them or hate them, but they aren’t selling phones or computers. They’re selling a narrative. They’re selling Think Different. Creative freedom. Apple is not …
Waiting, in Newfoundland.
I get nervous when things come too easily, which, as it turns out, is not remotely the case on this trip. Sadly, I also get nervous when things are tough and there are no guarantees that my work is going anywhere. That’s the tension I’ve been living in on this trip across Canada, now into its 6th week. I’ve been …
For Jennifer, Whomever You Are.
Jennifer is a composite of all the students who’ve asked me to look at their work online and offer some advice. My advice has changed over the years. Dear David, I’m a second-year photography student. Would you look at my work and offer me any advice? Dear Jennifer, Thank you for the invitation to spend some time with your work. …
Within The Frame: 5 Years
Never underestimate the power of one decision, one conversation, one risk taken, to completely change the course of your life. 5 years ago this month Within The Frame, my first book, rolled off the presses and into the hands of what would be way more people than I ever imagined. In that time Within The Frame’s been translated into over …
Exploration & Expression
It’s been a while since I wrote about vision. Lately I’ve replaced the word with intent or intention. Almost every time I wrote about vision someone told me how frustrated they were about the whole vision thing. Inevitably it ended – or started – in tears. I can’t remember a workshop that didn’t include someone in tears over this. Sometimes …
Chains All The Same
I’m finally hitting Publish on this post. It’s long. It’s not about photography. And it’s none of my business. But it is yours and as I’ve been talking about freedom a lot, I feel strongly that there’s at least one person out there that will read this and avoid making the same mistakes I did, and find freedom from some …
Make It Human.
I don’t imagine there’s much point, this far down the line, in another rant about how photography has become a technocracy, a place where the artifice means more than the art. But is anyone else feeling that all this technical perfection is leaving too little room for the humanity we long for? People don’t resonate with perfection, because life isn’t …
Desperate Intention
I told her I had a few things left on my bucket list. She told me my life was a bucket list. I pulled my pen from my pocket, scribbled that down in my dog-eared little notebook. It seemed clever at the time. Like that one time when a friend told me she thought of me as Indiana Jones with …
In the Zone
In my last posts I talked about my reactions to working with both my Fuji XE-1 and Leica M, and I mentioned zone focusing. For those for whom the idea of zone focusing is new I wanted to explain it a little. It’s an old technique but it’s simple and reliable. My biggest concern with Leica, and the Fuji when …