Christmas Morning Photographs (Tuesday Morning, Too!)

I saw someone published a photograph of Christmas morning by Diane Arbus and another one by Elliott Erwitt on Christmas Day. Both were from the 1950s and they were significant because they were...old. They showed us how we used to be. You've heard me say if you read my essays regularly, that photographs only get...

We Have Choices Today. I Choose the Analog. The Tangible.

Like vinyl records versus digital CDs. Tube versus solid-state guitar amplifiers. Home-cooked meals versus microwaved. Hand-written (or typed) greeting cards versus emails. Film versus digital photography. Traditional photographic prints versus NFTs. I'm in the tangible art business!~Kenneth Wajda I make film portraits using 20th-century techniques and cameras and print in a traditional darkroom. For those...

Working the Street Portrait

This was a fun photo, a moment that happened while I was walking through a flea market and saw a grown woman in a shopping cart. Of course, I pulled out the camera to make a photo. I got her attention first, and smiled, joking "Now, that is the best way to navigate this market,"...

Making Photographs Versus Taking Pictures

I was listening to the Camerosity podcast, which I enjoy. It's a production by Mike Eckman, who has quite a few quality camera reviews online and whose site is a fun place to spend a few minutes when you want to read about cameras. There's an episode I highly recommend to folks interested in Nikon...

Gauche in the Living Room? No Way! (Changing The World, One Photograph at a Time)

It's a quite different world nowadays the way we use photography from when I was growing up. When I was a kid, there were regular visits to the portrait studio or a school photographer would setup in our auditorium to make our class photos. There was something to it--the lights, the camera, the tripod, the...

Wajdaotype Circa 2015-Present: A Photographic Process

I have simple aspirations. I don't need fame or fortunes. Some income from my work, yes. Comfortable, sure. Financially secure, please. But fortune? I don't need that much. I do want to change the world--the world of future generations who will always have beautiful portraits of their ancestors. I want to foster more photographers to...

I Love Polaroid Black & White Film (@ $15/8-Pack!)

There's an alley in my town where the setting sun hits the west-facing wall and the light bounces off it and it lights up the whole alley. I've been aware of it for years. I see light. Makes a great place to learn a little about light, and make photographs. I was walking last weekend...

The 11 Questions You Must Ask Yourself As a Photographer

I have 11 questions for you. You can answer by replying in the space below this post, or you can email me at info@kennethwajda.com if you'd prefer to send a direct message to me. Or you can answer them just to yourself. I hope I'm giving you some things to think about with this post,...

Gear Deals Abound When You’re Not Looking

You can't be looking. This is my mantra, I will always find deals on gear, I always do, but it's when I'm not looking for it. You can either pay in time or cash. By that I mean if you want it now, you pay the price. If you're open to finding a deal, then...

Collecting Family, Friends & People I Meet

Sometimes people see me carrying a film camera wherever I go, sometimes a Leica or Nikon rangefinder, sometimes a Rolleiflex twin lens reflex, and ask me what do I photograph. I explain it's not what, it's who. Who do I photograph? Well, the answer to their question is everyone. My family, sure. Friends, yep. People...