I Don’t Make Baby Photos

My dad years ago said I was missing the boat when it comes to making money in photography. "Take baby photos," was his advice. I was working as a photojournalist and still, he said, "Stop trying to reinvent the wheel, go where the money flows: Babies!" (Which always made me think of Rodney Dangerfield in...

I’m a Wide Guy (Photographically Speaking)

Which are you, more wide or more telephoto? I know photographers who tend to lean one way or the other. I'm a wide guy. Definitely. I was looking at a book by Lee Friedlander, where he photographed a book's worth of photos out his car window all made with a Hasselblad SWC, the super wide...

Learn Film Photography: I’ll Bring You a Camera!

So, there has been a lot of interest this summer from folks taking lessons to learn film photography. You know those old SLRs (single lens reflex) cameras like the Canon AE-1 or Pentax K1000 your parents had or maybe you had. I've had students study with me one-on-one with 35mm, 120 and even a 4x5...

The (Quite Worthwhile) Cost of Film Photography

If a roll of film goes up by a dollar, it's still worth it. Yes, I saw the news--Ilford announced a 15% price hike starting August 15. That's the state of the international economy, a world full of supply shortages and the cost of making the best film on the planet. We need to support...

Watching and Documenting the Lives of Others AKA Joining the Circus

I've been fortunate to be able to be a working photographer all my life. From the moment I left college, I immediately got work as a photojournalist, then a staff photographer position at a large daily newspaper, and then have worked as a freelance commercial, advertising, and editorial photographer, totaling 35 years in photography. During...

“There’s Nothing Out Here.”

Every time I go out to the lake, I bring a Rolleiflex with one roll of 120 film loaded, ready to make 12 frames. I drive alongside the lake's south side and look for a place to park while looking to see what looks photogenic. And none of it does. No photos. Some people using...

Bosbert is a Terrible Photographer and Probably So are You! (That’s Okay, So is Joe Jackson.)

People often discount the need for a professional photographer because they have this computerized imaging device in their pockets. What I often hear: "Professional photographers are unnecessary." "Anyone can take a picture nowadays." "Why would I pay for a pro?" "Everyone is a photographer." "My pictures look that good." "How much do you charge? That's...

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....

Grandma’s Gone With No Portraits To Remember Her By, Just Like in 1890.

I was talking to a woman at a yard sale last weekend and she said the reason she had so many photo frames for sale for 25-50 cents each, is because none of her children or grandchildren want the family photographs—she's moving to a smaller house and thought they'd want to have them. Wrong! She...

200 Photos To Give Away

LaVern Johnson passed away. She was in her early 90s and was the town matriarch of Lyons Colorado. The town held a memorial service in a park that was named for her a few years ago. Since her passing, I had been posting photographs online of her that I made over the years because I...