Collaborations & Connections
Old Delhi, India, is one of my favourite places to wander with a camera. It’s a sensually overwhelming place, busy with people and motorcycles, the honking of horns and calls to prayer, the air rich with the too-fragrant smells of thousands of humans, chai stalls, and spice markets. It’s alive and vital and, for the most part, incredibly welcoming to …
Vision Is Better, Episodes 39 & 40
I’m just back from an intense weekend in the Toronto area, giving two days of lectures (man, can this guy talk if you let him!) at the Art Gallery of Burlington. Met some wonderful people and had a blast. This week I’m studying for courses – Emergency First Response, Emergency Oxygen Provider, and PADI Rescue Diver – it’s going to …
Vision Is Better, Ep. 38
This week I indulge in a passionate rant about what it takes to be a so-called Professional Photographer. Join me as I discuss value and the need to serve an audience. Is it realistic to expect to make a living as a professional photographer? It is. But you better enjoy the struggle and you better be willing to become an …
More Than Wow.
I used to be a magician. An honest-to-God, I-do-this-for-a-living Magician. And a juggler too. And a comedian. But let’s talk about the magic part. I spent a lot of time by myself, learning how to hide coins and cards and make birds appear from nowhere. I had an illusion built that allowed me to cut myself in half on stage. …
Tell Me a Story
I just finished reading a book about the power of story. Another one. I keep coming back to this topic because I can’t escape the feeling that photographers are missing something. Sure, we acknowledge that some of the best photographs tell, or imply, a story. But it usually ends there. I think we can do better. The book, The Storytelling …
Vision Is Better, Episode 36
Good morning, all. I’ve been working for months, on and off, on this YouTube show, Vision Is Better. I’ve linked to it before but I want to embed it here on the blog to give more people a chance to watch it. The hardest part of this thing, technical learning curve aside, is coming up with ideas to discuss on …
Image or Imagery?
Each time I travel I get the same questions about my gear. Here are the answers. But I should warn you, this post quickly turned into a bit of a rant. What Camera do you use? Right now it’s Fuji mirror-less for the most part. And a couple zoom lenses from 16mm to 90mm. Sometimes longer. But it could as …
The Great Bear Sea
I spent this weekend diving in the Great Bear Sea with friends, among them two people I’ve long admired – Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier. We dove several times among Steller Sea Lions and forests of white plumose anemone and purple urchins, spending our surface time talking about the state of things in the natural world and our desire to …
Vision-Driven Exposure: A Clarification
I wanted to follow up on my article about how I expose, to clarify a few things. If you’ve read that article, read on. If not, you might want to read it first. To make a few things clear, my last post was not a dismissal of craft. Craft has its place. Excellence matters. But there’s this thing about people …
Vision-Driven Exposures
This is my confession. I no longer use a light meter. I don’t spot meter. In fact most of the time I don’t even know what metering mode I’m on. My life as a digital photographer became infinitely easier when I abandoned those, put my camera back to manual and simply began exposing for what’s important. Whether you use a …