Episodes

Welcome to episode 581 of the Perceptive Photographer. This week, I am sharing what I hope are five insightful suggestions to help you think differently about your work in your photography and deepen your creative practice. As I was digging into some new books, class prepping and thinking about some classic comedy and photographic techniques, I came up with five simple ideas for you to try out and see if it can jump start soemthnign in your work. When we’re not curious, when we’re not intereste...

Welcome to episode 580 of Perceptive Photographer. and today I want to explore the ever-evolving relationship we photographers have with technology. From the most basic cameras to today’s powerful digital tools, technology is always a factor but it shouldn’t determine how or why we create. Embracing — and Moving Beyond — Technology Photography has always been intertwined with technology, from pinhole boxes to today’s advanced cameras. While that tech is necessary, it shouldn’t dictate our crea...

Welcome to episode 579 of the Perceptive Photographer. This week, we explore the unexpected connection between the distillation of alcohol and the art of photography. This idea came to me when I was thinking about a visit to a local distillery mean years ago. I was amazed how the process of removing impurities from spirits mirrors the photographic journey of refining images to their essential core. So this week I thought I would talk about the “triple distillation” mindset and how distilling yo...

This week on the podcast, we explored a deceptively simple but powerful mental exercise: What if nobody cared about what you care about in your photography? By playing this “what if” game, my hope is hat the can rethink not just what we photograph, but how we talk about our work, share it, and even how we select which images to show. As we open this episode, we dig into the importance of letting images speak for themselves. When a photograph requires excessive explanation, it may not be communi...

In episode 577 of the Perceptive Photographer, I wanted to offer a different take on how we approach composition that goes beyond traditional rules. Instead of simply arranging subjects within a frame, I wanted to start from the frame’s edges and working inward. I stumbled across this concept inspired by Charles Traub’s truism: “Construct your images from the edge inward. For me, the edges of a photograph aren’t just boundaries—they’re pivotal to how an image communicates. Edges create tension,...

In this episode, we explore the “sweet spots” in photography. You know when things feel right when those , settings, and workflow tweaks that make your images realy connect. From camera settings to post-processing, sequencing, and viewing, I spend a little time diving into these little adjustments which can elevate our photos I talk about how small tweaks in camera settings can make a huge difference in your photos and how thinking about your approach to aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and white ...

This week, I explore a positive “mind game” you can play in your photography that can inspire you to see your work differently. These mental strategies can motivate you to approach each shoot with fresh energy and purpose. Your approach as you head out the door says a lot about your work. Are you looking for things, emotions, ideas, or concepts? What you set up as the basics is what will come out of the work. Recognizing how your mindset shapes your focus can help you aim for deeper, more meani...

In episode 574 of The Perceptive Photographer, I dig into the idea of the emotional “entry points” that invite viewers into a photograph. This isn’t about leading lines or the rule of thirds. It’s about whether someone who knows nothing about you or your story can still feel something when they look at your work. It’s easy to make work that’s so personal it becomes a closed loop. It is meaningful to you, opaque to everyone else. Don’t make photos like walnuts that need a hammer. Make pistachio...

In this episode of The Perceptive Photographer, I sit down with Jenny Hansen Das a great friend and Seattle-based fine art photographer whose work has always amazed me as it finds intersections of beauty, absurdity, and deep emotional connection and notions of everyday life. Jenny’s photography centers on the simplicity of the everyday but presents it in unexpected ways, combining analog and digital modes and prioritizing the creative process over where an image originates. Her experimentation ...

Hey there! I hope you are having a great week. In this week’s podcast, I wanted to talk about some of the things that came up for me when I revisited John Berger’s essay, “Understanding a Photograph.” As I was preparing for a class, this essay got me excited for a podcast discussion about meaning in our work. Berger asks us, at the core of the essay, a few things. One of which is: What really gives a photograph its meaning? Before we even get to first off, one of my favorite phrases from Berger...

In the start of our 11th year, episode 572 of The Perceptive Photographer, I dive back into a often discussed topic that every photographer eventually faces: conflicting critique. It is bound to happen to all of us. That moment when two thoughtful people look at the same photograph and see completely different things. One person calls it powerful and restrained. Another calls it distant and unresolved. Same image. Same moment. Completely different reactions. When that happens, it can shake you...

I hope you are having a great week and thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the Perceptive Photographer. The just happens to be episode 571 and we still have one week of the Winter Olympics left. Woo H00!. This week, we’re diving deep into the art of photographic composition and what truly makes a photograph great based on the inspiration of two quotes. One by Ansel Adams and the other by Edward Weston. Ansel Adams once said, “A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels a...

In Episode 570 of The Perceptive Photographer, I found myself circling a couple of questions: Is an audience required for meaning, or just for momentum? And if no one ever sees a photograph, does it still matter? (and the difference between sees and seen) As photographers, we’re surrounded by feedback. Images are shared, measured, ranked, and quickly replaced by the next shot. It’s easy to absorb the idea that a photograph only becomes real once it’s been seen. But when I slow down and think ab...

When was the last time a photograph or moment behind the camera lens truly made you stop and catch your breath? Not just a quick “oh, that’s nice,” but a real, lingering moment of connection? Well, that is the topic for the show today, which is episode 569, btw. podcasts If you think about the images you see every day, there are so many of them. We’re living in an age of visual overload. It can be easy to become distant and sort of numb to the images. We walk past or scroll by without really se...

In this week’s episode, Episode 568 of The Perceptive Photographer, I spend some time reflecting on a tension many photographers experience, whether we admit it or not: the pull between photographing for ourselves and photographing for validation. At some point, often without realizing it, we start making images with an audience in mind. We think about what will be liked, shared, or understood rather than what genuinely holds our attention. Validation isn’t inherently bad. It can be encouraging...

In this episode of The Perceptive Photographer, I’m exploring why photography is never truly objective. I mean, why is it that two photographers standing in the same place, at the same time, will always see something different? This has always been one of the things that has always fascinated me about photography. Same moment. Different photographs. That difference has very little to do with gear or technical skill and everything to do with perception and intention. It’s easy to think of pho...

In this episode, I begin by asking photographers to consider not what a photograph shows, but how it is encountered. I frame the conversation around two different modes of looking one being relational and the other transitional. Transitional viewing describes photographs that move a viewer forward. The image is read quickly, its meaning largely resolved, and attention shifts to what comes next. I think you often find this in the pace of social media scrolling, editorial sequencing, or maybe a p...

I am so excited for this episode of In Conversation, where the amazing Rachel Demy joins me to discuss the periphery in photography. I have known Rachel for years, and we had such a great conversation. I was thinking about our conversation over the past few weeks and how to introduce you to Rachel’s work. I think that one of the hallmarks of her latest work is that it isn’t loud. It unfolds quietly, asking you to slow down and look again. Her photographs sit somewhere between studied observation...

As we start a new year, I want to talk about a feeling that almost never gets discussed openly, even though nearly all of us experience it. That moment when you look at your recent work and think, “This is fine… but it feels boring.” Not bad. Not broken. unsurprising. feel it myself. And over time, I have come to believe that this feeling is not a warning sign. It is often a signal that something important is happening. The strange thing about making work is that we experience it twice. First w...

In Episode 564 of the podcast, I’m thinking through an idea that comes up often in photography but is rarely examined closely: consistency. We tend to treat a recognizable style as a sign of maturity or a settled voice, a clear direction. And for a while, that recognition feels like progress. But consistency can quietly become a constraint. The problem is that consistency is often mistaken for coherence. Consistency lives on the surface of photographs. It shows up as repeated visual solutions: ...

In this episode of the podcast (episode 563), I want to first say Happy Solstice and how nice it is to start getting those longer days. I discuss the moment when a photograph and photographer stop explaining everything or at least trying to. Not because we fail,, but because it can’t explain everything nor should it. Most of us are taught to search for photographs. We head into the world with a sense of purpose, a checklist of things to photograph, or an idea of what would make the outing worth...

In this episode of the podcast, I dig into an idea that feels increasingly important in a culture built around constant sharing. Not every good photograph needs to be shared. That may sound counterintuitive, especially when so much of contemporary photography is tied to visibility, platforms, and audience response. But making a photograph and sharing a photograph are two very different acts.For many photographers today, the question of where an image will be posted arrives almost immediately aft...

In this episode of The Perceptive Photographer, I talk about book ideas for the holiday season, especially for photographers and creative folks. Thanks to a listener, David, I once again share some of my favorite reads or books for giving ranging from creative practice and photography theory to memoirs and photo books. The goal of this week’s episode (561) is to hopefully help you find meaningful books for yourself or the photographers in your life. so without future adieu here is a list: Creat...

In this episode of the podcast, I explore the notion of what it means for a photograph to be something it wants versus something I like. We all spend time thinking about what we want our photos to be or be about. We might even have some unintentional expectations that develop long before we click the shutter. Those expectations can be a problem because once the photo is made, it becomes something different than what we thought we photographed. So this week, we are going to dig into what it means...