The Next Step
Q: I’m a nature photographer with what I’ve been told is a reasonably solid portfolio, and I blog fairly regularly. I make a little money with my photography, but I think I could do more to increase the income a bit. I’m ready to take the next step toward living my dream. I need to market myself beyond my local …
Bodies of Work
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. …
Finding Your Mojo
A friend and I, looking for our mojo on Prince Edward Island yesterday. Sometimes we find it, sometimes we don’t, but the search is our job. Last week I spent some time on Facebook answering questions. It was a lot of fun, and something I’d like to do more often. One question that came up a couple times in different …
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 …
Photographers and Money. We Should Talk.
One day I want to sit down with my readers, somehow, and have an honest conversation about money, and how we make it and manage it as creatives. I don’t know how it’ll happen – it’s hard enough having honest conversations about things that aren’t so surrounded by fear and shame and a general, “I don’t want to talk about …
Be Your Own Patron
Remember those days of old when creative people did what they did because some guy with money paid them to do it, all for the privilege of calling themselves a patron? Well those days are over. Unless you get smart – and creative – with your money and become your own patron, in which case the time has never been …
Postcards from Fogo Island
If you’ve been following my Instagram feed, you’ll have seen these, for which I apologize. We’re staying for a couple nights at the Fogo Island Inn, a place of astonishing beauty and hospitality – both the Inn and the island itself, on which we keep extending our stay. It’s an inspiring place for a number of reasons, not the least …
MindShift Filter Hive
Hello from the windy and rainy coast of Newfoundland where we’re enjoying the fallout from tropical storm Cristobal! A few months ago I starting looking for a better way to deal with my 100mm Lee / Singh Ray filters and the various things I end up cramming into my pockets – spare batteries, filter holder, cable release, lens cloths – …
Postcards from Newfoundland
We’re 9,000Km, and 25 days, into this trip and I’m beginning to find a rhythm, learning to relax and see the place as it seems to want to reveal itself. I’ve photographed almost the whole trip so far on my iPhone, enjoying the simplicity and the constraints of the square frame I’ve chosen, in part because of Instagram, in part …