Story Content vs. Bokeh + Corner Sharpness

Since the first photograph in 1839, photographers have been asking the question, "What should I photograph?" The best answer is, "What can you photograph?" Meaning, what do you have access to? The first photograph--a street scene at the Boulevard du Temple in Paris in 1838 by Louis Daguerre. Can you photograph the Hollywood premiere from...

A Bit About Berenice Abbott

Women have been at the forefront of photography since its invention. From Julie Cameron to Alice Austen, Imogen Cunningham, Hansel Mieth, and Frances Benjamin Johnston. But I am impressed by the work of Berenice Abbott. She was born in Ohio and moved to New York City which many people said you can't do. But she...

You Don’t Want a Mint Condition Leica

Or a Leica 35mm Summilux lens in like-new condition. Or a Nikon F6 NOS (new old stock) brand new just out of the box. Or any number of amazing cameras--Contaxes, Hasselblads, Mamiyas--that are in their most pristine condition. I can't think of a worse way to make photographs than to get a camera that's so...

We’re Only Living Today, So Today Is The Time To Make It

I was thinking about art and artists and I've come to the conclusion that we are only our output. Whether we "make it" in some definition of success is out of our control, we have no ability to take our work anywhere, we only have the ability to make the work. And make more work....

Around The Web: Photo Sites & Podcasts I Like

I have a handful of places I visit on a regular basis. I thought I'd share them with you, if you're looking for some good places for photography. BOOKS - M Train by Patti Smith SITES The Online Photographer - Mike Johnston has been running this site almost as long as there has been the...

To Be an Amateur Is To Be an Artist. To Be an Amateur Is To Be Unshackled.

Alfred Stieglitz, back 120 years ago, was instrumental in promoting photography as a real art form--equal to painting and sculpture. He was the editor of Camera Notes and later Camera Work and he was the creator of the Photo-Secession which included many photographers wishing to separate from the idea that photography had to be pictorial--painterly--and...

Perfection, Huh, What Is It Good For?

I was listening to a Bob Dylan album in my car, Blonde on Blonde, and on many of the tracks I noticed every once in a while, when he sang, he placed the line a bit early or late to the beat, but not on it. Not always, most of them are right on, but...

Just Have To Ask

Mike Johnston publishes a wonderful photography blog called The Online Photographer. Last week he had a call out for work for an exhibition he was doing on his site with a theme of grandparents and grandchildren. I sent this in, and he chose to run it as a standalone story instead. Take a look. It...

What Made Photography Valuable?

Helen Levitt and Walter Rosenblum made street photographs in New York in the 1930s through the 1950s. Vivian Maier made street photographs in the 1950s through the 1970s. What made them relevant, what made their work valuable? It took a special person, a real photographic artist to go out in public and shoot film photographs...

“Enjoy The Journey Folks, This Train Has No Stops, There Will Be No Arrival, There Is No Destination!”

That's probably the most difficult thing for the artist wannabe to hear, that there is no destination. No arrival to some "made it" place. Some magical place of fame and fortune and the easy life. No all-night celebrity parties on yachts and paparazzi on the chase. That's not the real artist life. The artist life...