ARCHIVED ARTICLES
Vintage Clothing Expo, Malmo by Flora Cusi
Vintagemässan i Malmö, 25th of May 2013 http://vintagemalmo.se photographer: Flora Cusi floramc@floramc.se Project: I decided to visit the vintage expo in Malmö for my event project. My main interests are colors and patterns and less documenting the presence of...
Interview With Photographer Scott Toepfer
I first found Scott's work one day when a P52 member linked his great video on motorcycling, "It's Better in the Wind". Watch it. All with DSLR video. I became an instant fan. The words I use for Scott's work are fresh, surprising, intimate and classic. I expected the...
Tour of California Bicycle Race: Adam Bendig
Project 52 PROS is a group of highly motivated photographers who are spending a year with me working on their books, their marketing tools, marketing plans and becoming more familiar with shooting like a professional. Adam Bendig is one of our pros,, and this is the...
Adi Talwar, Photographer
Adi Talwar has been a strong member of Project 52. His wit and charm infuse his work no matter whether it is lifestyle, photojournalism or portrait. Adi was asked to do a show of some of his experimental work, and for those of you who may not be near NY at this...
Two Photographs by Sheila Morgan
Sheila Morgan is a photographer that I worked with in the Bay Area on a One-on-One consultation. Her lighting skills needed a bit of a clean up and we spent a day in the studio and a day on location working on various lighting challenges. I really enjoy the one one...
Still Life Breakdown: Corn in Virginia
This past weekend I was privileged to hang out with a bunch of photographers in Virginia. It was not a workshop, it was a hangout-and-shoot-your-ass-off weekend. Stephen and Michele were the gracious hosts who put it all together, and we had a blast. Saturday had us...
Project 52 PRO’s: Summer to Summer
We are starting a new class for Project 52 PRO - Summer to Summer... And at this point we have 5 openings left. You can sign up or get more information at the Project 52 site. I thought I may share these images with you. A recent assignment from the current Project 52...
Pricing to the Value of the Work
I heard a very talented photographer say she charges less than others because she is new to the business and doesn't think she should charge as much as the older, more established photographers. I think she is completely and totally wrong. The value of the image to...
Are You Making YOUR Photographs?
"Imitate. Assimilate. Innovate." - Clark Terry, Jazz Trumpet Legend Always a concern for beginning and emerging artists. Where do we draw the line between inspiration and appropriation (stealing)? In our examination of what makes an image portfolio worthy, we begin to...
What Makes an Image “Portfolio Worthy”?
That is the essence of a big source of discussion by photographers. There seems to be a lot of hype and 'science' bandied about regarding this question. I want to talk about what makes an image worthy of your portfolio today, and have you think about your work in...
A “Sign of the Times” – Project 52 Pros
The assignment was a brochure cover image for a brochure titled "Sign of the Times"... the P52 PROS hit it out of the park. Project 52 PRO is a group of photographers devoted to becoming the best they can be, while working in a real-world assignment venue. We keep the...
Interview with Texas Photographer Jennifer Boomer
I love Jennifer Boomer's work. The first time I saw it I spent about an hour looking at all the images and loving the style, the point of view and the wonderful subjects. It was imagery that spoke to me. I decided to ask Jennifer if she would do a webinar with me and...
Well, This Cliff Jumping Thing Worked Out Well
On Jumping Over A Cliff... So this guy tells me... "You should jump off that cliff, Don." I stare incredulously at the guy cause I am not good on cliffs. Not as bad as my bud Charles... but that is a different story. I am not crazy about heights. "Are you crazy", I...
First Be A Photographer
I follow a very nice group of people on a forum on Facebook. They are all trying to start their businesses with varying degrees of luck and success. One of the things that is emerging is that many of them are simply not ready to be professionals and in business. And...
One Layout: Many Versions
Man these Project 52 PROS are really dialing it in. And that is making it more fun than a guy should have. The assignment was to shoot to this layout (furnished in PSD layers) and make sure it worked. I wanted them to put the images into the layout and show us what...
Project 52 Pros: Assignment Four
The assignment was called "The Tear Sheet" and it involved the students working through creating a "fauxtolio" to help them focus their energy on making images that they LOVED to make. The "fauxtolio" helps guide the sensibilities of the photographer as he or she...
Men. At Work.
I recently completed an assignment for an advertising agency here in Phoenix. The Lavidge agency has been around quite a while and it was a lot of fun to shoot this industrial gig with them. The client was United Rentals - a major player in the tool rental niche....
Photographs of Strangers by P52 PRO Group
This was the first assignment completed by the Project 52 PRO's. Photographing strangers can be a very delicate and scary idea for a lot of people. The fear of rejection or having the subject be angry stops most from ever attempting photographing people they do not...
Meet Jan Klier: NY Fashion Photographer
I met Jan about five years ago when he flew to Phoenix to take one of my one day workshops. We met again in Seattle when I was doing the workshops nationally. I knew he had a strong work ethic, and a powerful desire to be a photographer, and encouraged him to make it...
The “Truck Shot”: Simple Moves for a Better Shot
I asked the folks who get my newsletter how they think I shot it. Many folks tried to figure it out, but most had something about a front light... and that was a no go. I used four lights (2x2) and Photoshop to get the look I wanted. Working it a bit in Photoshop also...
“The ICONIC Image” – a Discussion with Photographer Gary Crabbe
Gary Crabbe is a full time landscape and environmental shooter living in Central California. Recently, one of his blogposts caught my attention as it is something I am wondering about as well. I just came back from Zion and Bryce Canyons and while there found myself...
Meet David Giral: Montreal Photographer
David Giral is a photographer in Montreal, Canada. I met him a few years ago at a workshop near Toronto, and we have stayed in touch. He is a talented young man, for sure, but he is also tenaciously working on his business. From leave-behinds, to websites, to email...
Meet Hector Cruz: Emerging Pro
Hector "Big Boy Drums" Cruz... I met him a few years ago on on of the Flickr forums we were both hanging out on. His sense of humor and humility was something that was refreshing. He wanted to be a photographer, and was bound and determined to learn how. We bantered...
Rui Bandeira’s “Endangered Jobs” Project
I saw this work today by one of the Project 52 photographers. It began as one of our assignments: Photograph a Stranger. Rui jumped in and not only photographed some strangers... he is developing it into a very cool project. I will let Rui describe it in his own...
Clarion Call 2013: “Open to Creativity’
This will be a truly fascinating day. Plan now to make it a must listen. Selina is a great friend, and a consummate teacher/mentor. Her work researching creativity and its many manifestations will give you insights into the process you may never have touched. I am...
Thirty Three Tired and Dated Photographic Expressions: Un-Edited
Riffing on a post by Ash Ambirge today, I asked the intrepid members of my Lighting Essentials Flickr group to come up with a list of photographic cliche's and terms that they were also tired of. I did not edit them, nor did I censor any of them... 33 different pet...
Aputure Trigmaster Plus II Triggers
Wow... Have you ever gotten a product that made so much sense to you that you think it was made to order? That is how I feel about these Trigmaster Plus II's from Aputure. Wireless Triggers for flash is now one of the most important tools we have seen emerge in the...
Learn To Use A Light Meter
Do you have a hand-held light meter that is just sitting around gathering dust? Have you ever wondered how it would be beneficial to you? I have created a new, free class at UDEMY to help you understand the uses and reasons for using a light meter. There is over 2...
New Webinar: ” Up Your Game – One Assignment at a Time”
IMPORTANT NEWS FOR ALL WHO HAVE REGISTERED: You will be receiving an email newsletter from me on Tuesday, January 22. It will come from me through Mail Chimp. If you do not receive the email on Tuesday (check your Spam folder), let me know IMMEDIATELY. The newsletter...
Photography, I Hardly Knew You…
"...you're so vain, you probably think this song is about you, don't you, don't you..." Well, yeah. You see the problem with that grand lyric was that obviously the song WAS about 'him'. That mysterious beguiling playboy that Carly Simon sang about. I must admit I...
