I Don’t Make Baby Photos

My dad years ago said I was missing the boat when it comes to making money in photography. "Take baby photos," was his advice. I was working as a photojournalist and still, he said, "Stop trying to reinvent the wheel, go where the money flows: Babies!" (Which always made me think of Rodney Dangerfield in...

I’m a Wide Guy (Photographically Speaking)

Which are you, more wide or more telephoto? I know photographers who tend to lean one way or the other. I'm a wide guy. Definitely. I was looking at a book by Lee Friedlander, where he photographed a book's worth of photos out his car window all made with a Hasselblad SWC, the super wide...

Roy Stryker is Back After A Summer Vacation

The Roy Stryker documentary photography project was on a summer hiatus, but it's back starting this week. The photo project, named for the man who hired the documentary photographers after the Great Depression to show America to Americans, was started in 2016, and we now have over 450 posts by multiple photographers from across the...

“Pepper No. 17” (2022) AKA “John & Yoko” (2022) – For Sale: $1.1 Million

I'm a believer in doing the work, making the photographs, putting it out there, and then getting started on the next project. I'm also a fan of grocery shopping and buying delicious vegetables and making interesting dinners like the Mississippi Pot Roast I made today. But when I went to the grocery store last night,...

Glass Plate Photography: Glimpse Into the Past, A Snapshot For the Ages

I went to a local garage sale and there were glass negatives for sale, a whole box for $3. For the price of a coffee, I got a collection of 4x5 glass slides that each probably cost the subject a considerable amount of their weekly paycheck to make. Which makes me ask two questions: 1)...

Some of My Seniors Aren’t 70+ (Some Are 17+)

I do a fair number of senior portraits (age 70+) for The Wise Photo Project, but I also make a good number of high school senior portraits (age 17-18), a completely different kind of photograph, but oh, so challenging and creative. So, here are some from a session this week. I get to meet so...

Making a Senior Portrait on Black and White 4×5, (Not That Kind of Senior Portrait!)

I love having a job as a working photographer that permits me to meet new people constantly.When I'm between assignments or client work, which usually is Mondays, I open my studio to local senior citizens age 70 and over to come in for a complimentary portrait.I get to work with whatever camera I want since...

The Finest for Your Family: Statement Artwork, Iconic Portraits on 8×10 Film

Legacy artworks--they’re not just for the U.S. President and First Lady. Most people would say that for portraits of their family, "Eh, digital is good enough." The thing is, YOU'RE not most people. Neither am I. We're the ones who seek the finest, the best--that's who we are. We care about quality. We can't accept...

Film Sprockets, Baby, from a Yashica 44

I picked up this Yashica 44, an obvious "homage" to the Baby Rolleiflex, at an estate sale last weekend for a Jackson. Got it home, quick mod, then popped in a roll of HP5 in to see what it could do, and took a walk in my downtown. Interesting effect if you like sprockets in...

Sisters Portraits: 8×10, Rolleiflex and the In-Betweens

I had a portrait shoot this week with a pair of sisters, ages 15 and 16. I told them to wear fancy formal dresses and meet me at the lake in my town. Their mom drove them over and the two girls had a look of embarrassment and annoyance at being dressed like that when...