The Covid Year
Welcome to 2020. I hear my friends say this with irony as one disaster after another seems to fill our lives. First, the Covid epidemic. In February I got out of Europe and returned to my home in California only … read more
Post Production of Photos
Many photographers have strong opinions about this subject. Decades ago, I shot mostly Kodachromes (the highest-quality film of its day) and photo editing possibilities were very limited. To compensate, we used tricks like fill flash, split neutral-density and warming/cooling filters. … read more
Expectations and Surprises
Twice in the last week or so I’ve done small local photo outings with certain goals in mind. In both cases I didn’t meet my goals but found even better photo subjects. In the first instance I went to one … read more
Photograph with a Story
Every photo has a story, and the story behind this photo of a little boy, bravely scampering up a homemade ladder on an isolated stretch of Alaska coastline, is a humdinger. When I took this photo, back in the early … read more
Adapting to the Digital World
Recent headlines in the photography world have chronicled the dilemma of Christopher Burkett, one of America’s renowned landscape photographers. Burkett, now up in years, has perfected his process of painstakingly using a giant 8×10 view camera with film to create … read more
Photographing Alaska’s Mighty Humpback Whales
With a whopping whoosh of air from nostrils the size of dinner serving platters, the benign giant of the seas announces its presence with a hearty blow. Several rolls and exhalations later, the humpback whale sounds, its 15-foot-wide tail signaling … read more
Aerial Photography Adventures
There are still a few folks left on the planet who think photography is so easy, nothing more than pushing that shutter button. Of course the ease of smart phone use contributes to the myth. But here’s a little anecdote; … read more
Workshops That Will Never Happen
Slogging my way through a field of stickers on this hot summer morning and keeping an eye out for rattlesnakes, I come upon the ruins: massive granite blocks sliding into decay. I am at the site of one of the … read more
Behind the Scenes on Planning for Big Trips
Today I met with two wonderful colleagues, and we are in the preliminary stages of planning a big trip on the far side of the world. I’m not at liberty to provide details yet, as we’re still ironing out the … read more
But Is It Art?
We photographers often suffer from labeling issues. Folks often say, you’re a photographer, not an artist. True, some photographers are not artists, and vice versa. But new technologies have blurred those barriers. I spend a hefty part of my life … read more