Understanding histograms is the key to getting a good exposure in digital photography. In this podcast, I walk you through the basics of the histogram. I show images of histograms (and scenes I have photographed.) Understanding histograms is the key to mastering exposure, which is at the heart of good photography. Read More
I am teaching a series of workshops in Singapore. I had an “aha” moment during one of my recent classes. Purely by accident, I did what a good teacher is supposed to do. I took something that I knew well and I reconfigured that same information into a new format. The new approach made it so people who did not know the information could easily comprehend it. The expressions of “oh” and “aha” from my students showed me that I was on to something pretty useful for most photographers. Read More
I am finishing up teaching a workshop in street photography at the Maine Media Workshops this week. As I have for the last decade or so, I am enjoying the students and the community that come together at the workshops. The place has an incredible energy and sharing that can only be experienced in person. In the spirit of that, I am blogging in response to a student’s recent question. Read More
A student, who will be in my next class at the Maine Media Workshops, wrote me with a question about buying a tripod. She had already viewed my podcast on the table-top tripod that I use and she wanted my thoughts on that on that tripod as compared to the Gorillapod. This was not the first time I have been asked this question. For me, a question asked more than once usually merits a blog post and so here is her answer (and today’s blog post.) Read More
About a month ago, my teenage daughter saw the new, sleek Olympus camera (the E-P1) that I have been using lately. She said she wanted to try it out. I was not sure if she was motivated by purely adolescent curiosity or her generation’s obsession with the newest, latest thing. I do know that although she spent her childhood in front of my camera being photographed for fun and work, she never has shown much interest in being behind the camera. Watching her use the new camera and then looking at the work she made set me to thinking (and blogging.) Read More
This podcast shows you how to find the ‘sweet spot’ for making dramatic shadows in your photographs. Read More
With the announcement that Kodak is discontinuing its legendary color slide film, Kodachrome, I find myself frequently humming Paul Simon’s song about that film. Then I got to thinking about the film, which I once used in VERY large quantities. Finally, I came to consider the film’s successor(s.) Just like when the ruler of a country dies, he (or she) might be gone but the next leader is soon in place and most importantly, the institution lives on. That is how I see Kodachrome’s and photography’ continuing forward. Read More
This enhanced podcast introduces the viewer to the importance of planning in photography when working at twilight, in this case while photographing Water Fire, a periodic piece of performance art in Providence, Rhode Island. Read More
This podcast explores using light, angle and the time of day in making silhouettes. Read More
This enhanced podcast takes the viewer on a visual journey through India while riding on an auto rickshaw, a traditional mode of transportation. Read More