MENTORSHIP

A forum thread got me thinking about mentorship. Much of what I’ve learned in my career has to do with my being lucky enough to have two amazing photographers/teachers as mentors. I am deeply indebted to them for helping to guide me on my journey: Ernst Haas, whom I studied with in Japan in 1984, and Sam Abell, whose Santa Fe Photographic Workshops I attended in 1992 and 1993.

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WHERE TO GO IN JULY/AUGUST?

If you happen to live in a climate that gets a bit too hot in the summer months, perhaps Europe is a destination for you. Weather is ideal for vacationing and photography, and if you like automobile racing the Formula 1 calendar is just getting started over there. The Great Britain Grand Prix is this weekend, followed by Germany, Hungary, Belgium, and Italy. Ciao! Continue reading “”

TLG AUTO

It’s good to be home after a busy May. A California road trip in my 1972 911 with friends was a great adventure. The early 911 Porsche club, R Gruppe, held a fantastic gathering near the central coast where some of the best driving is. Marco and Tony Gerace of TLG Auto in North Hollywood were there to help me get to a track day at Willow Springs when my car developed a small transmission leak. Those guys are the best. Look for my feature on Tony and his car soon in Excellence Magazine! Continue reading “”

OUT OF AFRICA

100 years ago Karen Blixen asked her lover’s brother to marry her and travel from Denmark to Kenya to start a farm. Seventy years later Sydney Pollack made a film about the story starring Robert Redford (who played Denys George Finch Hatton) and Merryl Streep (who played Baroness Karen Blixen).

Critic Roger Ebert described the resulting 1985 Acadamy award-winning film this way, “Out of Africa is a great movie to look at, breathtakingly filmed on location. It is a movie with the courage to be about complex, sweeping emotions, and to use the star power of its actors without apology.” I agree. Continue reading “”

FEAST OF FRIENDS

I’m lucky to have Bob Tilton as a friend, along with all my other early Porsche chums. Here’s a photo he posted recently from the 2011 Rennsport Reunion IV in Monterey. Bob was there making some amazing images, and happened to choose me as a subject. For more on his photgraphy and lfe experiences, please see his WerkCrew blog, plus a cool video with a couple of Tilton blog images: Continue reading “”

JUST BACK FROM TWO WEEKS IN CALIFORNIA

Thanks to everyone I saw on this special trip. Photographed five Porsches for future articles, met with three of my editors, and chatted briefly with Prescott Kelly, Jerry Seinfeld and Chad McQueen. Special thanks go to Curt Autenreith, Cris Huergas, Terry English, Scott Longballa, and Rod & Gary Emory for their valued companionship. Continue reading “”

GET AWAY IN MARCH?

Here’s my pick for this year. Caribbean or Hawaii, depending on where you live. My fave island in the West Indies is St. Barts. Second, if you want more variety, would be St. Martin. Both will provide French cuisine and beautiful white sandy beaches. For Hawaii, my choice is Kauai. It’s off the beaten path, especially Hanalei Bay, and offers lots of exciting possibilities like aerial photographs of Na Pali at sunset. Continue reading “”

MAKING IT AS A TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER

Here’s an excerpt from our interview that appears in the latest Shutterbug Magazine. Thanks to Maria Piscopo and Shutterbug for including us in their latest “Business Trends” section.

“Never before has it been as easy for someone to produce a usable travel photograph. And never before have as many travel images been posted to the Internet. Unfortunately, many of these posted images are deemed of ‘good enough’ quality, are free to download, and are not credited to authorship. Continue reading “”

KIDS AND THE WEB

Something that’s come out of Japan lately is a bevy of very sophisticated yet inexpensive compact pocket cameras that are fully automatic and offer the creative performance of a pro digital SLR in the convenient size of a point-and-shoot. Great for kids!

Above is a pic from a recent travel made with a Canon Powershot ELPH 110. Much higher quality than any smart phone, and best of all.. No Instagram! Continue reading “”

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

As we set our clocks back and say goodbye to Fall, here’s the final (for now) post in my creative process series on photography (a.k.a R
andy’s Photo tips):

“Do not paint the sleeve, become the arm.” -Andrew Wyeth

“In order to see, we must forget the name of the thing we are looking at.” -Manet

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once you grow up.” -Picasso Continue reading “”

I’M NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE

Just back from Salina, Kansas where I photographed Blue Heaven Studios’ 15th Annual Blues Masters at the Crossroads concerts. The live music was inspirational and aided by the superb acoustics in the converted church studio. It was a fun-filled weekend hanging out with Michael Fremer, Chad Kassem, Kevin Gray and many others. Continue reading “”