Working to Create a Portrait of F. Murray Abraham

I had been trying to get a portrait session scheduled with F. Murray Abraham when he came to Boulder for the film festival, but I couldn't get it set up. The festival couldn't accommodate me, the podcast host, The Hollywood Reporter, was and then wasn't communicative, and I was on my own to get a...

Street Photographers: The Quickest of Them All

Street photography is a style of documentary photography many photojournalists create when they're between assignments because they see little bits of life that others often miss. And they have to photograph those moments--there are stories unraveling in front of them, how can they not? Oh, and also get the exposure correct, and the composition, all...

The Finest for Your Family: Statement Artwork, Iconic Portraits on 8×10 Film

Legacy artworks--they’re not just for the U.S. President and First Lady. Most people would say that for portraits of their family, "Eh, digital is good enough." The thing is, YOU'RE not most people. Neither am I. We're the ones who seek the finest, the best--that's who we are. We care about quality. We can't accept...

What Makes a Street Photo?

There are many street photographers nowadays. But what makes a street photo? It can't just be anyone walking along the street--I can see that out the window. To me, there has to be a story (or it gets the viewer to create one). If there's a story, it's a street photograph. If it has no...

Show Your Work

When I was a kid in school, in math class once you got the math problem solved the teacher would say, "Show your work." If you were going to do the work, show it, show how you got there. I use that same phrase with photographers. "Show your work." What are you making it for...

Here’s To (the Gift of) Good Light

I received an email from the Chimera company the other day, a photo and video lighting company which is based here in Boulder, and they said they read had my story in the local paper about The Wise Photo Project (which you can join and I hope you do), and they wrote they would be...

Shooting a Wedding on Film

"Wait, whaaaaaattt?" That doesn't sound like what you would expect nowadays with all the technology available, the Sony, the Canon, the Nikon. Have you seen the mirrorless? "Next you'll say you're not going to put them online." Yes, that would be my preference, to deliver you actual photographs printed and framed and in leather photo...

Mr. Cowboy and the Wonder of Old Snapshots

It's a wonder to me that anyone would discard or sell their family photographs, but it happens time and again. I was at a local estate sale yesterday and saw a tackle box full of slide film from the 1970s in boxes and couldn't help but want to have them for my snapshot collection. You...

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...