“I Know Exactly What You Need.”

When the Boulder County Film Commission wanted photographs of its Creative Industry Night event this week, the film commissioner brought me in and when I arrived, he said, "Do we need to discuss what photos to get?" To which I said, "I know exactly what you want, what to do, what to photograph." He smiled...

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 Simple Prediction for 2053

Think about this. We're at a similar place with artificial intelligence (AI) today as we were with the advent of the internet in the early 1990s. At that time, we didn't know what this thing might become. What we might get as a benefit from embracing this new technology. 30 years later, we've made a...

That Great Introducer: The Camera

I was in New York recently, a city that's one of my favorite places on earth, and went down to Greenwich Village and Washington Square Park. There's always a crowd there, plenty of energy. The people-watching is great fun and of course, it makes for excellent opportunities for photographs and is a great place to...

Beauty and the Beast

One of these is a photographic tool used to create images with light, to make framed and matted photographic art to hang on walls and savor memories. The other is a computer with a lens that makes files. One gives you endless possibilities for creating photographic prints. The other has a desktop computer job waiting...

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...

RIP Digital Photography (2000-2022)

I have a bold statement to make, but hear me out. It's a conclusion that comes as a result of this post from July 30. With the majority of people (perhaps not you if you are a photographer) no longer using dedicated digital cameras, point and shoot cameras, bridge cameras nor DSLRs, and exclusively now...

Photographers’ Main Problem Today: “We Don’t Know What To Shoot.”

Cameras are pretty good these days. In fact they're incredibly good. Lenses, too. Tack sharp, excellent. Software. Hardware. All working fine. Yet, I keep seeing posts from photographers made with the latest gear and the best lenses and the most exquisite bokeh making boring photos of nothing. By far, the biggest problem I see plaguing...

“There’s Nothing Out Here.”

Every time I go out to the lake, I bring a Rolleiflex with one roll of 120 film loaded, ready to make 12 frames. I drive alongside the lake's south side and look for a place to park while looking to see what looks photogenic. And none of it does. No photos. Some people using...

Documenting America’s Decline Circa 2022

Waking up to the NY Times headline, Supreme Court Ruling Overturns Roe v. Wade After Nearly 50 Years, I saw how a divided America is moving backwards by taking away women's rights and maybe losing the last vestiges of the dream of being the greatest. Because right now, we're not. Not even close. Come on....