1/60 at f2.8 and Be There with Film for $8

I was with some friends last weekend for dinner who afterward were going to a book reading and launch party by a relative of theirs (and an acquaintence of mine) and they invited me along. I was going to bring along a digital camera, but then figured they would be shooting phone photos so I...

The Value of the Documentary Photograph

As you know, I have a camera everywhere I go and Christmas Eve with friends was no exception. They always have a houseful of family and friends and you can count on there being a sing-along of holiday carols. I made the choice of a Pentax MX with a fast 28mm f2 lens knowing that...

We Are at a Societal Crossroads, a Most Important Time to Be a Photographer

It's never been a more important time to be a photographer than today. You might question, "Why?" When it seems like everyone is a photographer with a phone in their pocket and there are more photographs being made today than at any time in the history of photography. The thing is virtually none of those...

Meet at the Meat Market

There's something about signage and markets. From all the way back to the Walker Evans documentary days, there's something to photographing signs to save today for a future audience. To look back on someday when things are no longer the way they are today. This is what drew me to photograph this meat market in...

Roy Stryker is Back After A Summer Vacation

The Roy Stryker documentary photography project was on a summer hiatus, but it's back starting this week. The photo project, named for the man who hired the documentary photographers after the Great Depression to show America to Americans, was started in 2016, and we now have over 450 posts by multiple photographers from across the...

Frank’s Photo Books Are a Great Idea and a Tremendous Way to Share Our Work

A photographer I follow who posts online, Frank Solle, offered to send me a copy of his latest book, Travels in Utah. It's a booklet you might say, it's only 32 pages, and I said yes, of course. I'm always interested in what other photographers are doing. His book came in the mail and I...

The Different Types of Photography (and Their Difficulty) And Why Street Photography Needs Serious Curation

STUDIO PORTRAITUREMaking portraits in the studio is difficult. You need a studio. Some lights. Knowledge on how to use them. And a subject sitting for you. A bit of human psychology to draw out the expression you want from them. All those things take experience and skill. Plus access to a studio and subject. NEWS...

Telling Our Stories in Photo Series

That's essentially what this is. A group of adults trying to figure out how to stop a ceiling fan from always turning. Then finding the missing switch, hitting it and celebrating. Simple little photo story that tells the tale of a single moment in the life of a bunch of friends. What could be a...

I Don’t Plan to Make Photographs

You really never know when your friend is going to resemble an umbrella pole/post, and the camera has to be with you, on and ready to shoot. This is why I take a camera with me everywhere. I don't intend to shoot anything when I take my camera. I just notice life's little moments and...

Project: Kids & Teens, Unsupervised

I'm working on a street documentary set of photographs about kids and teens and the way they behave primarily when they're unsupervised by adults. I am interested in documenting youngsters and their body language as they grow up. I am always working on a project (or six). This one, honestly, I wasn't starting, it found...