Episodes

One of the most enjoyable aspects of doing the Behind the Shot podcast is the wonderful artists I get to meet. All are photographers that I truly admire, and that I am inspired by. Hand-in-hand with that is the way that I meet them. Elizabeth Gadd is one of those that was a chance discovery. I recently had the opportunity to be a guest on SmugMug Live!, with Alastair Jolly. I love that show, the way Alastair does an interview, and the next level guests he has on. The episode right after mine wa...

I had not heard of Mitchel Wu until my friends at Platypod mentioned him to me, and that surprised me. I don’t want that to happen to you, so I am introducing you to some of the most playful work you’ll ever see. His work is stunningly good. When I see Mitchel’s photography it makes me want to be a child again. Every photo merges my childhood, and the memories of my son growing up, with everyday life as an adult. His work makes me smile, and I’m not sure there is any higher compliment I can giv...

I have known of Joel Grimes for as long as I have been involved with photography. Joel is one of those artists that can be described as a “master of their craft”, and that skill has earned him the rare designation as a Canon Explorer of Light. I am not saying that lightly, his photography and lighting skills are, simply put, second to none. If you get a chance to take one of his masterclasses, I’d suggest that you do. His course list is pretty much everything you’d want to know. Hoping to check ...

I have met more photographers through Twitter than any other platform, and Jeff Harmon is one of those photographers. The wonderful part about Twitter to me is that I can reach out to people I might have never met before social media. It’s like being able to text someone whose number you might never have. In the case of Jeff, that social media conduit has led to me learning a lot about photography, and the tools and processes behind it. Jeff Harmon is a Utah based “hobbyist photographer”, alon...

www.samhaddixphotography.com www.facebook.com/samhaddixphotography I will never forget the night I met Boston based pet photographer Kaylee Greer. It was at Photoshop World 2019 in Las Vegas, and the first night they had a Special Event called The Meet-Up. Basically it was a cocktail hour for attendees at The Still in The Mirage. I am sitting there talking to my buddy Dustin Jack, and his brother Terry Jack (both of whom have been on the show) and a young lady with fire engine red hair walks in ...

Sharing your work online has never been easier, but so many sites take your beautiful images and compress them beyond recognition (I’m looking at you Facebook and Instagram). When Don Komarechka and I were looking at places to host the Behind the Shot group for our critique show we wanted a place that would display images the best they could, and one site stood out… Flickr. I’ve been a Flickr member for as long as I have been into photography, and that says a lot. Yes, there was a point when ma...

Canon recently announced the EOS R5 and R6, along with a number of lenses, and I knew right then I needed to get someone from Canon on the show to chat about all of the great new gear.The EOS R5 and R6 announcements were huge, and I am not saying that lightly. Since the EOS R was released I have heard a constant noise from people wondering when Canon would release the full frame mirrorless bodies that ‘real’ pros want. The announcements on July 9, 2020, answered virtually all of the concerns peo...

On the day I am writing this post Canon announced the new R5 and R6 mirrorless cameras, along with various lenses. Knowing that announcements were coming, but that no one could talk about it in detail until after the announcements, I reached out to my friends at Canon (thank you Scott Heath!) to try to arrange a show around the release. Lucky for me Rick Sammon was available on short notice, and on this show we will dive into a few images he created with the new Canon R6. If you are into photog...

2018 San Francisco 49ers Season: Los Angeles Chargers vs San Francisco 49ers Thursday, August 30 Santa Clara, CA (49ers Photo) I have been following Terrell Lloyd on Instagram for as long as I can remember, and when I got the chance to meet him at this year’s WPPI I was a bit star struck. Terrell is the Sr. manager of Photography, and Lead Team Photographer, for the San Francisco 49ers. His work is next level amazing. Along with working for the 49ers, where he started as a contract photographer...

Periodically I will receive an email telling me that “Someone filled out your contact form”, and that’s where today’s episode starts. Let me explain… You may have seen the episode I did with Erin Holmstead titled “Light Up Your Images” (a show that had a few ‘Ah Ha’ moments for me). During that episode I mentioned that I knew I had to have Erin on Behind the Shot as soon as she had shown me a few of her business cards the day we met. Once Pia Parolin saw that show she emailed me asking if I cou...

Lindsay Adler is one of the best educators you will ever see. Stop and read that again…. I met Lindsay when I interviewed her for my WPPI 2020 episode, and I was simply blown away by her passion and energy. Watching her on stage, and then chatting with her for the interview, were one of the big highlights of my WPPI experience. Lindsay is one of those photographers that has attended the distinction of being a Canon Explorer of Light. I have met many of the artists in that group, and let me tel...

Bob & Dawn Davis are an international wedding photography and design husband and wife team based in the Chicagoland area. I first met them this past February when they were kind enough to join me for an interview at WPPI. It was immediately clear that this couple is an amazing team. I had the chance to watch them on the Canon stage at WPPI twice, once alone and once as part of a panel, and what quickly became obvious is their passion for sharing their craft. Bob began his career in the newspape...

Photographing the Olympics has got to be the pinnacle of a sports photographer’s career, and for Jeff Cable it’s one he’s reached many times, having photographed the last 6 Olympics for Team USA. I am always amazed by how many photographers either come from, or are in some way involved with, the tech industry. For more than 25 years, Jeff was a marketing executive at companies like Symantec, Magellan, and Micron, but while traveling the world for his corporate job, his interest and passion for ...

At WPPI this year I met a lot of great photographers, and one of those was Erin Holmstead. Skip Cohen had invited both of us to a party, and I was immediately I awe of Erin’s skill. Her photography is so clean, and impactful, and I asked her on the spot to be on the show. Let me be clear here, that is not the norm. There are so many great photographers out with fantastic work, and I get suggestions often, but a great image doesn’t on it’s own translate into a great show. Sometimes you see a pho...

I have never had a photographer like Colin Finlay on this show. I have read his bio so many times today, and yet I am having trouble writing this post because describing him is not easy. Colin Finlay is one of the foremost documentary photographers and filmmakers in the world. He has has chronicled the human condition with compassion, empathy, and dignity. He has covered war and conflict, disappearing traditions, the environment in both its glory and its devastation, genocide, famine, religious...

Roberto Valenzuela is one of the most sought after wedding photographers in the industry. An artist in every sense of the word, Roberto is in that rare group of photographers know as Canon Explorer’s of Light, along with artists such as Rick Sammon, Lindsay Adler, Joel Grimes, Peter Hurley, and more. Looking through his website gives you a sense of why he is so in demand. His portfolio is a never ending stream of artistry, and his about page is inviting and personal. I now want to ask my wife to...

At the end of February in Las Vegas was WPPI 2020, and I had the chance to check out some new software, some new hardware, to make some new friends, and meet up with some old friends. If you have never been to WPPI, it’s a conference in Las Vegas focusing on wedding & portrait photography. Before you say something like “I don’t do weddings or portraits” let me explain. While it focuses on those two specialties, the conference and expo offer something for virtually any photographer. I’m a concert...

To say that I am excited to have Deborah Sandidge on Behind the Shot is an understatement. Deborah is a photographic artist in every sense of the phrase. Specializing in world travel and artistic imagery she creates images that transcend time, and that transport you to places you wish you could visit. She blends the creative and technical aspects of photography together in a way that gives viewers a unique and fresh vantage point to the places she visits. Beyond her talented work, Deborah is in...

Today’s guest on Behind the Shot is big deal to me. Ken Lee, along with being an accomplished photographer, is also a regular watcher, or listener, of Behind the Shot. My first recollection of Ken was when he won one of the Red River Paper Sample Packs I gave out, and then he also won the How to Build Real Influence e-course from Trey Ratcliff and Lauren Bath. As I usually do, I checked out Ken’s work at that time and made a mental note I wanted to get him on the show, but I got sidetracked. On...

Glyn Dewis. It honestly feels like that’s all I need to say, and you’ll immediately know who I mean. Glyn does so many different things, and they all seem to relate to photography. He’s on YouTube, where he shares his photography and post productions techniques. He’s an educator, with a number of popular classes on KelbyOne as well as being a member of the Photoshop World Dream Team instructors. He’s an author, with books including: The Photoshop Workbook Photograph Like a Thief The Photoshop...

I first met USA Today’s tech journalist Jefferson Graham the same day I met Frederick Van Johnson. I drove out to watch him record his Talking Tech podcast, which is described on the site as “Your daily consumer tech news update, plus the latest gadget reviews and straight talk about how the latest tech innovations affect you, with USA TODAY’s Jefferson Graham”. His guests that day were Frederick and tech journalist Mark Gurman. Right away it was obvious that there was much more to Jefferson tha...

Everybody loves a good meal, and now-a-days 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. Freddy is a New Jersey based beverage and food photographer, and his images make me want to eat them. Getting to know Freddy has been somewhat of a flashback for me. I have been in radio for about 40 years, and I still am. When Freddy was fresh out of college he took that same path, as both an...

If you saw my review on this year’s Photoshop World, the Las Vegas edition, you may remember today’s guest. During that show I mentioned that my favorite part of any conference is the social aspect, the ability to meet seemly random people that end up becoming business associates, and often friends. This is the case with Dave Williams. During that week I was interviewing people at the show, and while standing in a hallway I asked two people if I could ask them some questions, and they kindly sa...

I often get suggestions for guests from viewers / listeners. When that happens I usually check out the photographer they suggested, and if I think they are a good fit for the show I reach out. Sometimes I hear back, and sometimes I don’t. In the case of today’s guest I am really glad she did. Twyla Jones is Family and Couples photographer from Florida that was suggested by Sherra Maneri, or at least I am pretty sure that’s who it was, I can’t find the original message. When I went to check out ...