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Postcards from Socorro

In Postcards From..., Rants and Sermons by David19 Comments

  We have this astonishing notion as photographers that we just have to go to a cool place, put our cameras in front of cool things, and not screw up the exposure or the focus, in order to get compelling photographs. Deep down, though, I think we all know it’s not true, at least for us. Well, it’s rarely true …

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Postcards from Varanasi

In Postcards From... by David21 Comments

Three weeks in Varanasi felt like a long time. Even the people that lived there kept shaking their heads in disbelief when I told them I was staying for 21 days. “Three weeks!” they’d exclaim, “In Varanasi? Why?” But they smiled when they did so and I think they were pleased that I was sticking around, if only to prolong …

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The One About Editing Your Work

In Vision Is Better by David10 Comments

A couple of months ago I got a question from a guy named Sean on my FB page and a bunch of people chimed in with “yeah, what Sean said” so here’s Sean’s question and my best shot at a response. Remember this is just the way I do things and we all do things for different reasons with different …

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The One About Photo Competitions

In Vision Is Better by David23 Comments

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 …

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What it Feels Like

In News & Stuff, The Craft by David8 Comments

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, …

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Postcards from the Maasai Mara

In Postcards From... by David14 Comments

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 …

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Postcards from Lalibela

In Postcards From... by David10 Comments

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 …

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My Favourite Photography Books

In Books, Study the Masters by David31 Comments

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 …