I Make Snapshots (They’re Really Good Well-Composed Snapshots!)

When I'm with friends I'm often photographing them doing what they're doing so I can share photo prints with them later once the moment is past. That's what a snapshot is, a look back on a special moment in time when we were together, sharing time. My friends all know whenever I join them, I'll...

Just Like Bill Owens’ Suburbia

I love the work in Suburbia by Bill Owens from 1972. Here he explains how he reached out to his community to get access to photograph them: "I put ads about the project in the local newspaper, asking people to let me photograph their kids, garage, dog, etc. Everyone was wide open; they would say,...

A Whole Lot of Pictures of A Whole Lot of People Doing A Whole Lot of Nothing

I was at an antique auction yesterday and there was a whole box of photo albums with snapshots all from one family from the 1920s to 1950s. I was, of course, interested in the lot, and hoped it wouldn't go for too high of a price. It didn't. It closed at $25, but without my...

The Value of the Documentary Photograph

As you know, I have a camera everywhere I go and Christmas Eve with friends was no exception. They always have a houseful of family and friends and you can count on there being a sing-along of holiday carols. I made the choice of a Pentax MX with a fast 28mm f2 lens knowing that...

Choosing To Approach a Scene Differently

When I was a staff photographer at a daily NJ newspaper, I could measure the passing of the year if I was photographing a Black Friday story, an Easter festival or some other annually-occurring event. I'd pick up the assignment sheet and think, "Didn't I just photograph this? Has it really been a year?" Last...

Photography Hasn’t Changed

Cameras may have become better at creating an accurate exposure and making a sharp image, but that has nothing to do with photographic vision. If you say. “Anybody can take a picture,” what you’re really saying is, “I can’t see the difference.” Hopefully you're not the art buyer. Kenneth Wajda Fun fact: SLRs, point and...

The Best Holiday Gifts (Now, This Is Getting Personal!)

I hear people saying how stressed out they get over the holidays with what to buy, especially for people who are hard to shop for. What to get them? It's impossible! The problem is they're thinking like consumers, not someone looking for something personal. What thing should I be buying that will fulfill the gift...

Making a Senior Portrait in the Style of a Sports Illustrated Feature Photo Shoot

I make a handful of senior portraits for area high schoolers each year between my commercial and editorial photography schedule. But I still treat it like as if it were an editorial job. Something more than a typical senior portrait shoot. Like this one, this boy is a top skateboarder in the area and his...

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...