Story Content vs. Bokeh + Corner Sharpness

Since the first photograph in 1839, photographers have been asking the question, "What should I photograph?" The best answer is, "What can you photograph?" Meaning, what do you have access to? The first photograph--a street scene at the Boulevard du Temple in Paris in 1838 by Louis Daguerre. Can you photograph the Hollywood premiere from...

A Bit About Duane Michals

Do you have a favorite photograph? This Is My Proof is one of mine. I like Duane Michals and how he puts text on his photographs to tell stories. This photograph is another one of his narratives using words on a photograph. (NSFW) What do you think of writing on photographs? I, myself, like it...

A Couple 6×6 Portraits and Some Documentary Photographs

It's always a treat to take out the Rolleiflex. You never know who'll you'll meet with it, and you always get to interact with people who are enamored by the camera and thus willing to pose for you. I'd written in the past about how the camera you're using will dictate the photos that you'll...

Creativity Does Not Come in Presets!

I can trust the photographs that film photographers make from negatives, specifically real photographs--those prints that are developed in chemical trays and have no connection to the digital world. Because in the digital realm, there is no guarantee of genuineness, authorship. Of authenticity. We are in a world full of advertisements for cookie-cutter photographic looks,...

A Bit About Berenice Abbott

Women have been at the forefront of photography since its invention. From Julie Cameron to Alice Austen, Imogen Cunningham, Hansel Mieth, and Frances Benjamin Johnston. But I am impressed by the work of Berenice Abbott. She was born in Ohio and moved to New York City which many people said you can't do. But she...

Vernacular Photography (aka Snapshots): Time Slices of a Different Era

There's just something about a snapshot from yesteryear, with its ubiquitous white border, its black and white tone (and sometimes color) in sizes rather on the small size. Many of these photographs were 3x4" or smaller. Below is a gallery of photos selected from a case full of pictures purchased at a flea market that...

If New Camera Equals Inspiration Then Go Get It

Whatever it takes. Call it GAS (gear acquisition syndrome), JWSN (just wanting something new) or NWCIB (now what can I buy), but if a new camera is what it takes to inspire us to create, then get the new camera. The end result is all that matters. The photographs. They don't care what they were...

We’re Only Living Today, So Today Is The Time To Make It

I was thinking about art and artists and I've come to the conclusion that we are only our output. Whether we "make it" in some definition of success is out of our control, we have no ability to take our work anywhere, we only have the ability to make the work. And make more work....

My Photo Bag Contains No Tip Jar

As a working freelance photographer, you never know where your next gig will come from. One day you're photographing an architecture photograph or a political conference, the next day the president of the U.S. Yesterday, I was hired to photograph a 50th birthday party with Polynesian fire dancers that will get printed to remember the...

Don’t Be Good (There are Lots of Good), Be Remarkable, Be Unforgettable

I heard an interesting interview with the celebrity photographer, Albert Watson, and he made a couple of points that resonated with me. You can listen to the whole interview on The Candid Frame's podcast. When he had other photographers show him work, some his own assistants, the photos would often be proficient but forgettable. He...