One of the ways that helped me learn to create the kind of pictures I wanted to create from a technical standpoint was by trying to reverse engineer the work of others... work that was my friends, that was the photography masters, or, even just cool images I'd seen in magazines. I'd sit there for hours considering what might be at work. It's a good exercise in trying to understand both the technical stuff AND... read more ›
Jul
27
May
12
I'm taking the liberty of suggesting that you do one or more of the following today:1. Shoot personal work. Call in some favors, get creative with no budget, and shoot something for yourself.2. Set free that idea you've been holding onto. Write a blog post about it. Ask your friends what they think. Tell the world.3. Learn about video. Don't have a camera? Buy drip coffee for a month instead of lattes, and buy a... read more ›
Dec
28
My iPhone has been like crack to me since the day one on the market, June 3, 2007. Most of us iPhone users make regular and swift use of the impressive 'Net, email, and location-based tools, but as a professional creative I'm always using the built-in camera to grab snaps of anything that catches my eye for ideas, inspiration, and such. In fact--in case you didn't know--I post daily mobile iPhone snaps to my Facebook... read more ›
Nov
05
Want to learn something about color correction and Photoshop CS4? Just got off the horn with my friend Craig, founder of CreativeTechs here in Seattle (I reference them regularly on this blog). CreativeTechs is THE go-to group for Apple Mac support here in Seattle, offering "right brain support for left brained people". In addition to tech support, they also do cool seminars on a variety of topics including retouch techniques, software, etc... They've been doing... read more ›
Oct
15
Step 1 (The Premise): If you like photography, cameras, flashes, strobe lighting, computers, knives, Photoshop, or fast action, read on. Step 2 (The Concept): I know you've seen still photographs of arrows piercing apples, exploding water balloons, and bullets tearing through roses. If you've ever wanted to know how we photographers freeze this crazy-fast action, you'll want to watch this 3-minute video on high speed photography. Step 3 (The Background): A short while... read more ›
Jun
26
For a long time, I've been a playful advocate of POV (Point-Of-View) photography. Years and years ago, I did this with my custom POV rig:Hell, we all did it.Then, it got more complicated. I was having fun and I sync'd my camera with a camera strapped to the athlete, so you'd get one moment from two perspectives. I have a ton of these, but generally the result is pretty interesting and looks this:Then, after doing... read more ›
Mar
20
Q: (via email) Chase. I'm basically in love with Profoto lighting. But I'm a kid that has bad credit and photo is my life. Any suggestions on how I could get some Profoto lighting?A: Yep. Rent it. Seriously. This goes for almost all killer, pro gear. And here's the thought of the day: Most rental houses are closed on Sunday. Also true is that you can normally pick up stuff at your local shop at... read more ›
Jan
31
Well-executed, creative attempts to get hired by a photographer as an assistant, producer, re-toucher, etc, are few and far between. That said, I was inspired by the following letter I recently received (posted with permission):Obviously you folks are stacked with talented, energetic folks over there at CJ inc.But that's not going to stop me from trying to get my foot in the door over there. I recently left my post as studio manager, assistant, photographer,... read more ›
Jun
02
Ever wanted to shoot with a strobe at a faster shutter speed that your camera's flash sync allows for? (Only like EVERY darn day, probably...since a 1/250 is sooo wimpy...). Well, I've been using this cool technique for quite some time, but it never occurred to me to share it as a neat-o "hack" to beat the system. My pal over at Strobist however, who is much sharper than I at identifying cool tips like... read more ›
Mar
31
If you haven't visited Strobist yet, you must go there now. It's one of my favorite photo-geek (in the cool sense) blogs on the web - intelligence mixed with insight, humor, and wit, all wrapped into off-camera lighting on the cheap and easy. Word on the street is that he very graciously compared our cool, portable Photography Laptop Case to something out of Q's workshop in a James Bond flick. Well Strobist, if we're Bond... read more ›
