Episodes

To introduce the guest on this show I’d like to start by giving a bit of background… The first time I met Troy Miller I was doing a presentation at a local photo group, Inland Empire Professional Photographers and Videographers. I had never been involved in groups like IEPPV, but they had asked me to speak at one of their monthly meetings. The way it was explained to me, after years of having landscape, wedding, and portrait photographers speak, was that they wanted something different. As a mu...

When describing Blair Bunting’s photography there are few way to approach it. First of all there is the website bio version, which starts: “Blair Bunting is an advertising photographer based in Phoenix, Arizona specializing in portraits of professional athletes for commercial sports campaigns.” That’s such an understatement, accurate yes, but it doesn’t begin to cover what Blair creates. While known for his portraits of athletes for commercial photography, Blair also creates amazing art from su...

Let’s start here… Cliff Mautner’s career in photography spans 38 years. Think about that for a minute… 38 years ago Nikon released the world’s first SLR with Matrix Metering, the Nikon FA, and the world’s first camera with a 1/250 sec. flash sync speed, the FE2. Man, we’ve come a long way, and Cliff has been there for all of it. Cliff’s career has included multiple genres. After 15 years and 6000 assignments as a photojournalist with the Philadelphia Inquirer, as well as shooting for an eclecti...

I have writer’s block because of my guest. In fact, describing William Snyder is so difficult that I’ve been waiting to write this for two days. I’m ready to give it a shot now, but let me say up front that there is little chance I will be able to convey in writing the talent of William Snyder. Professor William Snyder – yup, he’s a professor – is a four-time Pulitzer Prize winning photographer and editor. A graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, William returned there 27 years aft...

It’s the return of Moose Peterson! The first time Moose Peterson was on the show I was pretty nervous. Usually I am trying to calm guests that are nervous about being on a show, but this was different. Moose is a legend in every sense of the word. He’s a Nikon Ambassador, the recipient of the John Muir Conservation Award, a Research Associate with the Endangered Species Recovery Program, and that’s just a partial list. Luckily, my nervousness faded quickly. Moose is such a down-to-earth guy tha...

Everybody loves a good meal, and it seems like everybody is posting photos of their food, but when food photography is done right you can seemingly taste it. That’s where Freddy Clark comes in, and when he gets his hands on a nice cool adult beverage you will want a drink. Freddy is a New Jersey based beverage and food photographer, and his images will make you hungry and thirsty. I have been lucky enough to get to know Freddy over the past few years. Rick Sammon suggested him as a guest awhile...

Damian Strohmeyer is a Boston based photographer that’s just as comfortable photographing a Super Bowl, as he is shooting a portrait. His body of work spans from fast action sports, like The World Series, The World Cup, The Stanley Cup, The Olympics, and 27 Super Bowls, to commercial or editorial work. I have had a lot of world class photographers on this show, and Damian takes that to the next level. Damian’s career is like a highlight reel. Throughout his over 25 years at Sports Illustrated m...

St. Louis wedding photographer Sal Cincotta, and his award winning studio, take photography to a level few will ever achieve. Traveling the world to document their client’s most cherished moments, Sal and his team push the envelope with every shoot. Don’t take my word for it… One Eyeland named Sal the #1 Wedding Photographer in the world! When I first saw that I wanted to write more about it, but whatever I wrote seemed to fall short. Being named the top in any field is amazing, but number one ...

One of the best parts of doing this podcast is the never ending inspiration I see from amazing photographic talents. Sometimes, the guests I get on the show are photographers I stumble upon while browsing the web, sometimes they are part of some bigger organization that introduces me to them, and on a rare occasion they are a suggestion from a someone that watches the show. That last one is the case today. M L Adelman filled out my contact form and wrote: “Please consider interviewing two time...

If you’re here then I will assume you are, at a minimum, a fan of good photography. Perhaps it interests you as a craft, or an art, or more likely you are a photographer that wants to improve their skill set. That means you and I have something in common. I love the art of photography, the skill it takes to not only freeze a moment in time, but to know what moment to freeze and how best to freeze it. I am constantly trying to learn more about photography, and in that endeavor I watch a lot of vi...

I have been trying to count the number of guests I’ve had on this show that mentioned Scott Kelby, and each time I lose count. Seemingly everyone I know, and most of those I don’t know, have learned something from Scott. I know I have. When I first started in photography I watched Scott’s videos, read his blog posts, and absorbed as much as I could from him. His Guest Blog Wednesdays are one of the most amazing resources for photographers, and twice now I have been honored to write a post there...

The odds are that you’ve seen Simon Bruty’s work before, but on the odd chance you haven’t let me help you understand what you’ve missed. When discussing the best sports photography today, Simon is one of those photographers that has to be included on any list – and he usually is, but more on that in a minute. While photographing everything from World Cup Soccer, to Super Bowls and the Olympics, Simon has traveled the world making iconic images. Sometimes he captures that action shot that makes...

I grew up spending a lot of time in Newport, Rhode Island, home of the America’s Cup on twelve occasions between 1930 and 1983. I have great memories of visiting there, and seeing first hand the pride they had on having such a storied nautical heritage. Fast forward to today and these memories come rushing back. Award winning nautical photographer Onne van der Wal, who is based in Newport, Rhode Island, is one of the most prolific and talented marine photographers in the world of sailing. Once ...

I normally start these posts with some lofty statement about my guest’s accomplishments, or some other overly deep setup. Not today. Today may be the easiest opening I have ever written… Vanessa Joy is a joy to work with. Every email I have received during the planning stages of this show has made me smile because of her email signature. She ends her emails…. “enJoy life”. That sums up what you are in for on this episode. In doing some research on Vanessa another thing stood out to me, her we...

Editors Note: This show is not a paid advertisement. I have received no compensation from any third party company involved, and everything I say in the show is my own opinion. I am so excited to welcome the founder of Lensrentals.com, Roger Cicala, and the co-owner Drew Cicala to Behind the Shot. The idea for an episode about rental gear was suggested a while back, and in all honesty I had conflicting thoughts about. I knew there was a great show in the concept, but I also wanted to be sure the ...

It’s rare that I have a guest on Behind the Shot that has redefined their genre of photography, but Peter Hurley is one of those guests. Headshot photography has existed for a long time. I remember driving around L.A. years ago dropping off voice over demo tapes – actual tapes – at various agencies. These voice over agents were also acting agents, so you’d see headshots often. In those days it was the 8 x 10 glossy, with a portrait orientation 8 x 10 headshot on the front with a few different po...

On occasion I have a guest on Behind the Shot I find hard to describe. With SanDisk Extreme Team members Jonathan and Angela Scott that is not the case. In fact I have so much I want to say that I’m worried I will end up with a novel. I first learned of Jonathan and Angela through Rick Sammon, and in fact Rick has sent me a number of emails over the years telling me I need to get The Big Cat People on the show. Well, it’s finally happened, and I couldn’t be more excited to have Jonathan join me...

I find myself quoting Rick Sammon often, very often. Rick has these little sayings he uses, and he even has a name for them… Sammonisims. When I found out that he had a new class about these sayings over at KelbyOne I knew I had to have him back on the show to talk about it. The class is called “Sammonisms – Speed-Learning Advice for Making Awesome Photographs”, and trust me when I say this should be a good one. I’m already a fan of anything on KelbyOne, and these sayings, these “Sammonisms”, a...

Charles Glatzer is one of the top wildlife photographers working today, and that says a lot. There are so many great wildlife photographers out there, but on a rare occasion you meet someone that rises above the rest, someone that is the inspiration for so many of those others. That is Charles, and that is why his work has been celebrated internationally with over 40 awards. As a Canon Explorer of Light Charles is one of a small, prestigious group made up of some of the worlds best professional...

A photographer whose publication credits include National Geographic Books, Time, Life Magazine, National Wildlife Federation, Audubon, Sierra Club, and Disney is someone I want to learn from, and in this case, that’s Adam Jones. Adam is a photographer that has been internationally recognized for his nature, travel, and wildlife images. Jones’s award-winning photography has been widely published in magazines, posters, calendars, and books, including nine coffee-table books. With images used in ...

Karen Hutton is a photographer that is in demand, but on the chance you are not already familiar with her, let me introduce you… Karen is a Fine Art photographer that specializes in landscape, nature, and travel photography – or as she calls it: Photographer, Voice, Purveyor of Awesomeness The “voice” part is because along with being an amazing photographer, Karen is a sought after voice Artist too, something that is close to my heart as well. That’s the TL;DR version, but her accomplishments...

In the time I have been doing photography there have been a few names I seem to have always been aware of, and one of those is Ron Clifford. When I receive an email from our mutual friend Rick Sammon introducing us, and suggesting Ron for an episode of Behind the Shot I immediately knew it would be a fit. Ron Clifford is a skilled, award-winning photographer, but above all else he is someone that inspires others, or what you might call an “Inspirologist”. Ron is well known as a mentor, through ...

For each episode of Behind the Shot I write a post with some information about my guest. I usually use a combination of the guest’s bio, along with pieces of info I gather through research, to try and give a bit of insight into that guest. This episode is much harder than usual. A friend of mine (thank you Scott) told me about a new book that was coming out. He then introduced me to someone at Grand Central Publishing, and they kindly sent me a copy of the book. I am not speechless often, but t...

When I book a guest for Behind the Shot I usually have an idea on how I will describe them, but sometimes that is a bit more difficult. Let’s take today’s guest, Atiba Jefferson, for example. Atiba is perhaps best known for his 25 years of skateboarding images. He has worked for all of the major skateboarding publications, and now works at Thrasher magazine. But describing Atiba as a skateboarding photographer would be a mistake, as he is much more than that single genre. Atiba has a deep hist...