NEW ARTICLE
Thank you to Sydney Tanner for insisting that she write and photograph an article about me and what I do as a photographer. See the January issue of Spiel, my regional PCA magazine, for more.
(Photo: Sydney Tanner)
Category: Photography Blog
PERSONAL WORK 2025
Followers of my blog know that at the end of each year I post a series of personal photographs made at a non-assignment single location. Here’s a 4-season composite I made at a local road known for cool photo ops. Enjoy something new this season!
Porsche’s 911 Through the Years
ALEX WEBB SHOOTS THE 2026 LAVAZZA CALENDAR
Having studied with Alex Webb, I can attest that he is the most brilliant color photographer living today. Somebody figured that out and hired him to shoot a coffee brand with incredible results. Congrats Alex!
THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHY ADVICE I’VE SEEN LATELY
As someone who is always willing to learn, even after decades as a full-time professional photographer, here’s the best thing I’ve come across that encapsulates what I have come to know.
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 lifetime.
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.