The Gift of Meeting People, The Gift of Photography

Like I said a couple posts ago, the more you go out, the more people you meet. This time I went out to McIntosh Lake with a roll of Ilford HP5 in a Rolleiflex 3.5F to see who I'd find. I always start on the promenade--that's what I call the sidewalk that wraps around the...

Portrait Stories on 8×10 Film by the Muse’s Design

Sometimes I just feel like the writer taking dictation from the muse. As a portrait photographer making portraits of people I meet in public, I think of all the people I've photographed, and how little control I have over who I meet, who I approach, who says yes, who says no, who becomes a part...

My Satisfaction = Photographing Folks Where I Find Them

A photographer friend recently sent me a video link to a talk by a photographer named Adrian discussing photography and his expectation to fail, concluding disappointment was just a part of the process. In the notes of the video titled, The Curse of the Photographer, he wrote, "Photographers might be destined to permanently feel dissatisfied....

What You Can Get with an Ask

Sometimes you just have to ask. You might get what you're asking for. I was recently in Urbana Illinois and I thought to look up online if there were any photography exhibits happening locally. I got the first result: Urbana Museum of Photography. Wait, what? There's a museum of photography right in this town? Wow,...

Always the Rolleiflex for an Introduction

I've used a lot of different cameras and of them all, I'd say the Rolleiflex is the one that helps me meet the most people. This trio of photos tells a story. This is Juneau, the dog I was taking care of for three days last week. This is the owner of a cafe in...

There’s Something About Portraits on 4×5 with a Graflex SLR

I went to the local lake with an Auto Graflex, one of the early 4x5 SLRs that didn't have a revolving back (RB) but a fixed back for horizontal photos. When I take a camera like that out in public, people respond with interest and wonder. It's a camera I picked up at a local...

Taking a Leica M3 Everywhere for 30 Days

I switch out a lot between many cameras in different formats. I enjoy working with large format view cameras as well as the miniature format (as it was originally called)--35mm. And my favorite camera is my Rolleiflex. But for the next 30 days I'm carrying a Leica M3 with a 50mm rigid Summicron with me...

A Gift of a Portrait to Add to My Worldwide Home Gallery Collection

The greatest gifts are those that expect no return. I dropped these two photographs off to Norm, who I wrote about in a previous article. Well, those portraits don't matter unless I print and frame them and get them to him so his family can enjoy them for some time to come. And that's exactly...

Listen To Me, I Know Best (And See You Better Than You See Yourself!)

I showed some wonderful film photographs to a friend and they didn't like them. They said so. Which makes me say, "Hmmm, I know how to edit your photos better than you know how to see yourself, and I assure these are strong photographs that feature you looking your best." When I get my hair...

The Photo Walk Went Mostly Digital

Last week's post about our Denver photo walk was a treat to write and bring you along to where we went, what we saw. I love how photography and words--storytelling--allowed me to bring you the stories of the day. Take you along, in a sense. But though I had film cameras with me, I know...