Postcards from Skye
We arrived in London a week ago and, jetlagged and a little confused about driving on the left and how exactly one determines the speed limit, we made our way to Scotland’s Isle of Skye. It’s beautiful here – almost magical. It has some of the remoteness and magic of both Iceland and Newfoundland’s Fogo Island. We’ve spent our time …
Now and Then
Tomorrow I’m speaking to a group of creative directors for one of Canada’s most recognized ad agencies. But as I write this I’m still going over my thoughts for the presentation. I don’t have much to contribute to a conversation about the How of creativity at this level, so I’m going to tell stories, and ask some questions. The stories …
The Great Bear Rainforest
There’s a patch of land on the coast of British Columbia that’s become known as the Great Bear Rainforest. Humpback whales make these waters their home, rising from the black water to throw their breath into the fog before diving again, their massive flukes, crusted with barnacles, seem to wave goodbye as they do. The labyrinthine islands, low, shaggy emerald …
On Wanting More.
Two thoughts came together in my head this morning. I talk a lot lately about living and telling a great story. But where do you begin to live a great story? I know how to answer that question for myself, but until this morning had no idea what to suggest as a starting point for others. That’s where the collision …
Learning Mastery
Facebook did it to me again. A headline promised me I could master photography easily. It sent me (I couldn’t help it, I was curious) to an infographic about apertures and shutter speeds and focus modes and rules of thirds. I read it all. And when I was done I knew exactly what I knew when I was 15 years …
Your Next Step: Unified Work
If you’ve read my latest eBook, Making The Image, you know I’m a big fan of questions. Always have been. Questions open us to possibilities, especially when they lead to more questions, experimentation, increased curiosity, and play. This is the last in a series of articles about the power of four particular questions to drive our work forward. The first …
Your Next Step: Narrative Work
The third in a series of questions I encourage students to ask themselves, and frankly, they’re questions I still ask myself – is this one: does my work tell a story? Of course there’s a question that needs to be asked before any other: is story the best tool for the job? Not every photograph has to tell a story. …
Your Next Step: Vital Work
Nothing, but nothing, makes a stronger photograph than it being alive. Not perfect focus, not a great exposure. Life. Spark. Energy or emotion that gives you goosebumps and doesn’t let you go all day. Earlier this week I encouraged you to consider the question: is my work authentic? as one way to take a next step in your photographic work. …
Your Next Step: Authentic Work.
If you’re at the place where you no longer wrestle as much with the basics of exposure and focus, it could be time to work on the photographs themselves: on content and composition, on vision and the deeper aspects of your craft and art. There are 4 questions I keep encouraging my students to ask themselves as they consider their …
Consider Your Colour Palette
One of the things you’ll notice consistently about the bodies of work of photographers who’ve been doing this a while, is that many of them, though not all, seem to work very intentionally to create a consistency within that body of work – some kind of unifying element. Often that element is on a theme, so it’d be a body …