Episodes

Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged when looking at other people’s work. They already have the shot, not just because of their skill level, which can be a challenge. I know for myself, sometimes I start to plan out a trip or shoot and then only to come across a very similar image taken by someone else. It can be hard to keep the excitement and energy up to go out and make a photograph. Which, if I am honest with myself, often looks like those other images I have seen. In the podcast this we...

When looking at a single image, it can be hard sometimes to understand the context for the image. Sure, there are photographs that stand out on their own, but in many cases, the single image is better understood from the photographs that surround it. This is true looking at contact sheets, or their digital equivalent, or a sequence on the wall, In the podcast the week, we jump into some of the aspects to consider when looking at one image and how to balance the one photograph with the other ima...

I recently heard someone say that looks normal. Now in a medical office, that might be a nice thing to hear. In the case of creating photographs, the thought of what is normal gave me pause. I started to wonder what is normal in a photograph? Do we want to even make normal photographs? What defines a normal photograph anyway? In this week’s podcast, I dive into the notion of normal in photography and making photographs in an attempt to sort of what is normal and does it matter. One of the ques...

In this week’s podcast, we explore a little more into the nature of time and how it impacts our photography. Not just in the images we make, but in our approach behind the camera, when to pick up the camera and how to balance the priority of photography in our lives. One of the questions I get asked frequently is what sort of equipment do I use to record my podcast. I have used a variety of equipment in the years that I have been recording, but here is the current list of equipment that I am us...

In reading about a recent photo competition where the winner in the digital manipulation category used an AI engine to make the photograph before doing some light tweaks in Photoshop caused a big uproar, I got to thinking about the nature of what it means to make art and to that end meaningful art. In this week’s podcast, I spend some time discussing the nature of what it means to make art and some considerations for when we think about approaching the meaning and context of art in photography. ...

Episode 390 This week’s podcast focuses (pun intended) on the idea that straight out of the camera is somehow better than images that are processed after being taken. While I think getting it right in camera is critical to success as a photographer, the conversation to push images as being better or more accurate and faithful because they lack processing is missing a big part of the photographic process. We have always had some variation in getting a vision of our images that wasn’t just straigh...

Episode 389 In this week’s podcast, I share ten tips for making your photographic process more creative. I know the creative process can sometimes become a rut for myself and many of my friends. It can be easy to fall into a pattern of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again, wishing for more. I don’t think there is ever one magic tip that will work for everyone, so I have come up with ten ideas that will hopefully give you something to try if you feel like you can’t get out of first ...

Episode 388 One of the many challenges that I think many of us face with our photographic practice is our relationship to the concepts of simple. Simple is challenging to master. Complicated is easy. It is easy to get caught up in the weeds that we miss out on much of our process. it is easy to think that something is more than it is. Yet, we can misspeak and say something is simple for simplicity or something minimal is simplistic or straightforward. I often hear people wanting to do minimalis...

Episode 387 Much of what is talked about in making good photography is storytelling. Every picture tells a story. And while that might be true, it doesn’t mean every picture tells a good story. More importantly, it doesn’t mean every story can be said in a single image. In this week’s podcast, we talk about how editing and selecting images for diptychs or triptychs can make for more interesting work and boost your creativity in approaching your work. One of the questions I get asked frequently...

Episode 386 One of the main topics that seems to come up repeatedly is pricing your photographs to sell. For some jobs, that price is set for the payment for a given size image in a publication. Those “guidelines” are set by publication distribution size, cost, and audience. Other prices are set by the market rate, experience, pressure, or other variables. You can find a free wedding photographer or one that will cost $10,000 and everything in-between. With so much variation in pricing, what is ...

Episode 385 I recently was at a friend’s house and was talking with someone I had never met before. As the conversation often does, I was asked what I do for a living. I said I was a photographer. That led to a series of common questions about what I photograph, photographers they like that I might know, and how to use their phone better. Eventually, I got asked a really interesting question. The questions were actually pretty common, but what surprised me was my answer this time. The question w...

Episode 384 I was listening to some people talk about different photographs at a gallery. One point they discussed was what makes a great photographic print. One of them said that because art (vis-a-vee the print) was subjective, so you couldn’t define it. The other person was adamant that you could say what made a good print or not. Of course, I am glad they weren’t trying to define good art, as that really is subjective. For many photographers who are starting their printing journey, much of ...

Episode 383 One of the purposes of language is used to express ideas and share observations. The visual language of photography is no different. It is about expressing the ideas and feelings behind the camera. For many photographers, this can prove to be a significant challenge. Many photographers have developed routines for unconscious biases towards what makes a good photograph. Images need to be a certain something to be good. They need to be in focus, centered, color, or some other arbitrar...

Episode 382 Improv is a fun time and a great set of skills to develop. There are several exercises and playful ways to approach improv. One of the most well-known concepts is that you never shut down a conversation. To keep improv flowing, you need to extend and reach forward. At the heart of that is the notion of the yes, and. When someone starts a conversation or says something outlandish, you begin your statement with a yes, and… For example, if I ask, did you know that fish are one of the mo...

Episode 381 I have several restaurants I like to eat at where there is something on the menu that I love. I order it every time I go out to eat. Sure the wait staff will read me the specials or talk about what is new on the menu, but I always get the same thing. I know that it is good and I know that I’ll like it. My rationale is that I won’t be disappointed if I order something else that isn’t as good as my comfort food order. As a result, I miss out on a lot of chances to try other great food....

Episode 380 There is a great quote by D.T. Suzuki. One has not understood until one has forgotten it In this week’s podcast, we take a look at that quote and how it can shape our approach to making more meaningful work. One of the questions I get asked frequently is what sort of equipment do I use to record my podcast. I have used a variety of equipment in the years that I have been recording, but here is the current list of equipment that I am using. Also as an FYI and full disclosure, the l...

Episode 379 Carrie Fisher has a great quote, “Instant gratification takes too long.” In this week’s podcast, we dive into the impacts of instant gratification on the making of meaningful photographs. From overly relying on the back to the camera to software that automates much of our processing, it is easy to get trapped into the notion that having our initial desires met means that our purpose in our photography was also completed. Over the course of looking at photographs and thinking about wh...

Episode 378 I was recently asked if I use the app Photo Pill to do my photography research. While I love Photo Pills and use it and recommend it all the time, it is not my primary research tool. I often spend time looking at books, websites, movies, and podcasts that can give me insights into the non-photographic aspects of a place. It is the history, culture, backgrounds and other aspects of a location or person that feed the soul to help me understand the why I make my photographs of place. T...

Episode 377 In the podcast this week we focus on two questions from listeners. The first question is about how fast one can improve in photography, and the second question focuses on how to make (or in the case of my answer not make something the subject) light or color the subject of your photograph. One of the questions I get asked frequently is what sort of equipment do I use to record my podcast. I have used a variety of equipment in the years that I have been recording, but here is the cur...

Episode 376 One of the more interesting questions I get asked about during a critique typically deals with intention. Can you understand the intention of the photographer? Can you understand why they took a photograph? In many cases, I am not sure you can. I am often left wondering what the photographer is saying in those instances. I do believe that when we are creating our work, our real work, we are putting what matters to us into the work. In this podcast, I discuss the importance of making...

Episode 375 This week’s podcast is focused on the importance of conversations in our work. Conversations and conversing is an art in itself. I suspect that the better we are at conversations, the better we are at making interesting work. I have several friends who are great a conversing, They seem to slip in and out of topics with ease. They can talk to anyone about anything. The one thing those people have in common is that they leave the ego at the door. They converse to learn about others and...

Episode 374 I have been given a number of great quotes over the past few weeks. Many of the quotes have been nice, and I have since forgotten them. Two of them, however, have really stuck with me. They have seemed to come up again and again both as I was working on some new class content and editing some of my recent work. They are both Buddhist quotes and I have no idea who the source of the quote, but I have them in my notebooks and can’t stop thinking about them. I lost myself trying to plea...

Episode 373 I was rocking out to the car radio the other day. A few songs came on back-to-back. They were huge songs when I was in college. They played in every bar, dance club and seemed to be on a permanent solo rotation on the radio. I got curious what happened to those bands because these songs were the only ones I could remember. As it turns out most of them went on to make a few albums, but that one hit was the one hit. I started to look back at my images with that thought in mind. Do I o...

Episode 372 I think one of the more interesting aspects of photograph is what it represents to different people. When I am taking a class or teaching a class, I often have engaged in a spirited discussion with others about the nature of photography and good photography. If I was to ask you what your photograph is about, you might often tell me what type of photographs you make by subject, subject matter, or concept. However, does telling someone what you photograph actually tell them what your p...