When Tack Sharp Isn’t Best

I love a sharp negative and photographic print as much as the next guy. I strive for proper focus. Who doesn't? But there are times when it's not about the tack sharp focus, but about the moment. When the shutter can't quite still what's happening, but it still captures it. Like these two photos of...

Why Gear Does and Doesn’t Matter

What is the need for the biggest and best most expensive gear? I was out and about this weekend and saw protesters for the Black Lives Matter movement in my town and made photographs in both digital format with a Nikon D610 and 35mm and 120 film in a Leica M3 and a Rolleiflex 2.8C....

Nikon vs. Leica

I am both a Nikon and Leica shooter.  I shoot film and digital with both brands and the other day I sat down at my Olivetti Lettera 22 typewriter--that's where I do my best thinking on paper--and I wrote out what each camera type is good for. For shooting street photography, Leica may be classic,...

Finding Portrait Locations

When I was a news photographer, I remember getting a business or personality photo assignment the day before the shoot, and thinking all night about how I could make the photograph.  Would I use studio flash or natural light?  What were my location options? Then, I'd arrive at the shoot, and all the thoughts I...

Every Picture Tells a Story, Don’t It

Had a walk along the Las Vegas strip--now there's a place that is full of visuals.  One of the things I noticed as I went about my way making street photos is that this is the perfect place to photograph people--everyone has a camera up, and so no one (or at least most) don't notice...

The Magic is In Front of the Lens and Behind the Camera–Shooting Street Portraits with an Older Camera

I work as a professional photographer in Boulder, Colorado, shooting portraits, business headshots, and commercial projects for clients like the U.S. Air National Guard and U.S. Air Force, food and drink for Whitewave/Silk and American Homestead Meats, and event coverage for companies in the cable industry. On a recent day off, I decided to take...

Motor Drive: How To Shoot More Film

I realize I shoot film a lot, but I have multiple bodies with film loaded, and I tend to shoot conservatively, just a frame or two on a person or a subject. I want to change that.  I just added motor drives to two of my Nikons, an F3, and an FM2, the cameras I...

35mm Film Camera Buying Guides/Camera Recommendations

I have a buying guide for Film SLRs (and TLRs and Point and Shoots, sometimes, too.) Check it out if you're looking for a good Film Camera!   Happy Shooting!

A Challenge To Shoot Film

I keep running into people who see my old Leica IIIf over my shoulder and marvel that they still make film.  And that it is readily available.  I assure them it is. I have a standard response to their "I have a great old camera that I never use."  I tell them to just put...

A Love of Old Rangefinders – AKA Cheap Cameras

Somehow, whenever I see a Canon QL17 for $10 or a Minolta A-5 for $20 or a Minox 35SE for $25, even a Leica IIIf for $100, I have to pick them up. (Those are real prices I've paid.)   I have Leica M bodies, and great lenses--I don't need these.  But I feel like...