The One About Photo Competitions
Of all the goofy things I’ve said or written, the one that seems to come back to me most often is the idea that you can’t win at art anymore than you can win at yoga. I think art, or yoga, and competition, are fundamentally opposing philosophies. So, it shouldn’t surprise you that I tend to roll my eyes melodramatically …
What it Feels Like
If you got my Contact Sheet on January 23, you’ve already read this, but if you didn’t, read on! Painter Robert Henri (1865–1929) admonished his students to “Paint the spirit of the bird in flight, not its feathers.” His words have echoed with me since I heard them, joining photographer David Alan Harvey’s plea: “Don’t shoot what it looks like, …
Postcards from the Maasai Mara
I left home just over 25 days ago now and am so thoroughly relaxed I think I’m ruined for life back in “the real world” when I return in a few days. I woke this morning to the sounds of birds and frogs and a troop of baboons loudly expressing their displeasure at a nearby leopard. Not a bad way …
Postcards from Lalibela
I first went to Lalibela, Ethiopia, in January, 2006, arriving with some hundred-thousand pilgrims to a scene straight out of a biblical movie. Over ten years later, and having just finished my fourth time photographing this Christmas pilgrimage, the magic hasn’t waned a bit. Crowded with people in white robes, these ancient rock-hewn churches are a swirl of motion and …
The One About Being “Realistic”
As we roll into 2018 with our usual expectations that this year is going to be different, or better, or the year we take things to the next level or dial things up to 11, or whatever, there will be no shortage of voices – many of them in your own brain – that are going to try to hold …
My Favourite Photography Books
I’m often asked for recommendations about photography books. Not, mind you, books about photography, but books of photographs. Here are my current favourites. They of course represent my own tastes and lean heavily toward black and white documentary photographs, but you can learn from all photography, and I think black and white images are simpler, allowing us (often) to get …
Making Creative & Technical Choices
This morning I’m going back to fundamentals and answering a question from several months ago that asked, simply, how and why do you choose a particular lens or aperture for a scene. I love this question because it gets to the heart of what it means to be a photographer, or any artist, and that is about making choices. If …
Tired of Perfection
This is a little bit all over the place, and it’s raw. But that’s the point of this whole thing. I could do with a little more raw right now. I’m tired of perfection. My morning scroll though Instagram just wears me down more every day, with image after image post-processed into plasticity, over-sharpness, and the obliteration of shadows. I’m …
Shoot Like A Pro?
If I hear one more person or read one more camera ad that tells me to SHOOT LIKE A PRO! I swear to god I’ll start drinking gin from the cat bowl and Fluffy can go drink out of the toilet. What is this obsession with being a so-called pro as if it’s the highest calling of the photographer and …
Postcards from Lesotho
After 2 weeks in the highlands of Lesotho I’m back in Johannesburg for a couple days to wash the dust off and get the bumps massaged out before beginning the long journey home. The highlight this morning was waking up in a bed that was not my sleeping bag, and getting a cup of coffee that was not powdered Nescafe. …