SEAT TIME
Seat time is the difference between proficiency and mastery.
Time and energy focused on one goal every day for decades will get you there. Natural talent will make it happen faster. Integrity will make it last for your entire life.
Category: Photography Blog
CINEMATIC WIDESCREEN
Framing has an amazing impact of how an image, stills or motion, is perceived.
It can be confusing when describing a stills style as cinematic widescreen. Here is a reference for different aspect ratios. Cinematic widescreen is the widest format at 21:9. Traditional full frame 35mm stills is 3:2, which is entirely different, unless you are shooting side by side panoramas.
MISSING DIANE KEATON
Quirky but irresistible. An actress and photographer, among other things, Diane was a funny, adorable iconoclast who earned my respect. She was an exemplary example for independent women everywhere with her bold ideas, leading fashion sense, and choice in films that she was a part of. She will be missed.
(Self portrait: Diane Keaton)
THIS IS WHAT I LOOK LIKE ON A HARD ASSIGNMENT
People sometimes ask me, what’s it like being an in demand car photographer that’s always on deadline.
Well, it helps if you keep hydrated, eat a Mediterranean diet, exercise, and have an occupational therapy massage every two weeks. Continue reading “”
THIS JUST IN
THE PARADOX OF CREATIVE INDIVIDUALS
1. Creative individuals often possess an unusual amount physical energy, yet they also value stillness and quiet reflection. They can spend hours in quiet contemplation, waiting for the right moment for creativity to arrive.
2. They tend to be intellectually sharp while maintaining a sense of childlike wonder, seeing the world in a way most people don’t. Continue reading “”
THE INTENTIONAL ARTIST
This just in from Chris Davies.
The practice of the intentional artist.
So what does it look like to take small, intentional steps toward meaningful change in a world designed for instant gratification that never creates and sustains lasting transformation?
PHOTOGRAPHY ADVICE I’VE COME ACROSS LATELY
Most photo advice I see is overly simplified and often wrong. These posts from writer Alex Cooke at Fstoppers are worth reading if you are interested in becoming a better photographer in today’s world.
Mindfulness and walking meditation in photography
And now some hard truths from Cooke:
Ten brutal truths about amateur photography
10 ways social media destroyed photography
Want to make photography a business, but don’t have a trust fund?
5 fatal photography business mistakes
(Illustration: Author Unknown)
IT’S WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY WEEK
Make a photograph that’s surprising. One you haven’t seen before. That’s the challenge to give yourself every day. Just don’t be this guy.
Next week, a look at today’s “photography”.
CHECK EACH BOX TWICE
That’s what I do for everything. “Never assume anything” is my motto. The reasons for doing that could fill a book, but it would be a depressing read. So, I’ll just add, “Don’t fall down.” That’s probably easier to relate to.
AVOIDING THE CROWDS THIS MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
The best way to do this is to avoid traveling during memorial day weekend altogether. I would say the same for most of the summer. However, we don’t all have that much flexibility in when we can get away.
There are a couple of spots I’ve found recently that are relatively free of tourists. That excludes all the National Parks BTW. That time in space is long gone. Yet, if you get up super early and get off the beaten trail (code for off-road), there are locations with incredible photography with no one around. Here’s one: Alabama Hills, CA.
CHOP WATER, CARRY WOOD
Yes, I know, it’s “chop wood carry water”, but this version could work too. Especially if it’s ice your chopping in winter to boil on a fire, fed by the wood you carried in.
Thinking outside the box is why I get hired. I don’t go in search of photographs I saw on somebody’s website or social media. That’s been done to death. I’m looking for backgrounds, weather, and vehicles that have never been composed together in one image. Or I’m looking for a series of images that tell a story that follows the original text I wrote to reinforce what I’m wanting to say. Continue reading “”
EARTH DAY
The boreal forest is dominated by coniferous trees like pine, spruce, and fir, and is characterized by long, cold winters and short, cool summers. It constantly releases millions of tons of oxygen to the atmosphere. It’s also the world’s largest land biome and a significant carbon sink, storing vast amounts of carbon dioxide in its trees, soils, and peatlands. ATTENTION, YOU MIGHT WANT TO KEEP THIS AROUND.
R.I.P. JIM BRANDENBURG
National Geographic photographer Jim Brandenburg has died at age 79 in Minnesota. He was an amazing landscape photographer with integrity that is all but absent in todays world of digital scenic image capture. He once spent a month exposing one frame on a roll of film per day – un-orchestrated and un-manipulated. They were all great. Only Ernst Haas and Frans Lanting approached his ethics when it came to nature portrayal and conservation.
APRIL FOOL
My approach to finding new cars and car owner stories for my editorial clients has changed over the past ten years. There has been a significant increase in the frequency of encountering fake owners and/or fake cars that has put me on guard. Fortunately, so far, I have identified these problems early enough in the process that I haven’t become a part of their rouse. My goal as a writer will continue to be vigilant and committed to only bringing the best car stories to publication with integrity. I’m all for the underdog, but nobody wants to be a part of a scam, including my editorial clients.
THANK YOU PAT LONG AND PORSCHE 356 REGISTRY MAGAZINE
Porsche 356 Registry magazine editor Peter Bodensteiner was kind enough to approve an assignment I proposed to photograph and write about someone I’ve come to know over many years. Pat Long is a Porsche factory race car driver and co-founder of the Luftgekühlt brand. It was a blast riding along with him in his 356 and creating portraits at his favorite hang out, the Rock Store on Mulholland Hwy near Los Angeles. Good times!
THANK YOU TO ALL THE AUCTION HOUSES
I’ve been keeping very busy this season photographing some beautiful cars going to auction. It’s not a big part of my work, which is commercial ads and editorial magazine jobs, but it’s fun and it keeps me flexible!