Welcome to my blog! In this blog I hope to talk about some of my photos. Why I did what I did and my thought process while taking and processing the image. Along the way I’ll discuss photography techniques and processes, do some gear reviews, make some recommendations on a variety of topics and talk about whatever else captures my fancy. I hope you’ll join…
Character matters! It’s very important to me when taking a photo. If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time you may think I really like old things. In reality, I don’t select subjects because they’re old but because they have character. The term character has many meanings. The meaning I’m referring to is about those distinctive qualities that sets it apart and holds…
Happy New Year! The new year represents a new beginning; a chance to start afresh. It’s a good time to set goals for upping your game in photography in the coming year. This can be in the form of trying new genres, learning new techniques, or honing your skills. Maybe it is just going out to shoot more often. Whatever it is, you need to…
We should all KISS more often, don’t you think? After all, who doesn’t like a good kiss? Wait a minute! Get your mind out of the gutter, that’s not what I mean. I’m referring to the acronym KISS; the famous KISS principle. The acronym stands for “Keep it simple, stupid“. It tells us we should never make things any more complex than they need to…
“A Visit From St. Clickolas” was my Christmas present to you last year. It was a wee bit of doggerel in a feeble attempt to wish you Merry Christmas! You’d think I learned my lessons after all the requests to to never do that again. Well what can I say? I’ve decided to update if for 2021. I can hear the groans already. So again,…
I recently led a photo deconstruction discussion about altered reality photography at one of the local camera clubs. It got me thinking about how altered reality photography can make you more creative in all of your photography efforts. This creativity boost clearly comes from trying new things but more importantly if comes from learning new things. The Photos Wind Dancer was my first attempt at…
On my recent road trip, I went old school. That is, I visited two old schools. Old, as in one-room schoolhouses. The kind only of few of us actually experienced. The two schools are only 20 miles apart. Likewise, both are well preserved. There is, however, one significant difference. Often, some governmental agency or a historical society maintains these well-preserved old schools. However, it’s not…
The first photo stop on my recent road trip was an old farmhouse. Although in very poor condition, the early morning sun highlighted its character. I bet that “back in the day” it was a very nice house; the kind of house that was a welcome sight when you returned home. It’s the kind of house that you think of as “home”. Because of this,…
Mom is dead. Three simple words. Simple, but profoundly heart-breaking. There is no sugar-coating that reality. Last Tuesday mom passed peacefully at 101. She lived a long and full life. However, a long life is not always an easy life. The past few years have been tough for her. At 95 with their ability to live independently declining, mom and dad moved into an assisted living…
Death and dying surround the Immanuel Lutheran Church. Across the road, you have the old cemetery with burials starting in 1882 and continuing until as recently as 2018. The old church and school are still standing but are slowly decaying. Next to the church and school is a row of large dead trees. Even in death they stand guard. As you’d expect, time takes its…