You Don’t Have to Smile

I often tell that to my portrait subjects--no need to smile. I'd prefer they were being themselves rather than putting on the smile mask that we all learned to wear as a kid via "Say Cheese". There's nothing wrong with a genuine smile, but asking for it, or having them turn it on, I find...

Taking It To The Streets

On my YouTube channel, I recently talked about how I want to get as fast with the Leica as I am with my trusty Nikons, having used them for the past 35 years. You do something for 35 years, you get pretty good at it. So, this weekend, I went out with the Leica M9...

BTS (Behind The Scenes) Photos

Do you enjoy seeing the behind the scenes pictures from a photo shoot? I was out on a photowalk with my friend Paul, I was using my Rolleiflex and he was shooting his Nikon F 35mm camera. I had black and white Ilford HP5 loaded, and he was shooting Kodak color film. My goal was...

Part II – Rolleiflex Street Portraits in RiNo Area of Denver

The RiNo section of Denver is a hip new area full of brewpubs and eateries and lots of hipster types. That's not why I took my Rolleiflex there, but because the Denver Month of Photography is going on and I wanted to visit some of the galleries with current photography exhibits. After I parked the...

Portrait Magnet: A Dandy Rolleiflex T Dressed to the Nines in its Gray Leather Suit

I carried with me a Rolleiflex, held high in my hand with my elbow bent to keep it at chest level. No strap. No case. Just the Rolleiflex. It's a model T, a later model that is a bit of a dandy of a camera, dressed to the nines in its fancy gray leather suit....

Photographs + Time = Value!

The black and white photo below is a scene Ansel Adams photographed in 1947. A simple depiction of life at a street corner in Los Angeles. Why would he photograph that? At a time when people mostly used their cameras for special occasions and maybe big purchases--new house or car--those people probably couldn't fathom making...

Beers+Cameras Joins Denver Month of Photography

The Denver Month of Photography is a bi-annual event and it's on this March, 2021, and our Beers+Cameras event is added to their schedule as one of their photography event next month. B+C: Denver Month of Photography For the month of March, we are going to participate in Denver Month of Photography with a B+C...

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...

What do you want for 2020?

Keith Richards wanted to be in the best blues band in London. He ended up being in the best band in the world! I want to be the best photographer in Denver with gallery and museum exhibitions of my work, to be an influential teacher and inspiring speaker on photography, and similarly known around the...

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...