I was recently reminded of a quote by French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal. He said “I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.” The fact that this quote (or variations of it) are attributed to a number of different people speaks to the significance of what it is…
If we want to engage people with our photography we need to “Give them something to think about”. It means we want them to feel something; good or bad. We want them to have an emotional reaction. That’s what I’ve always believed is the purpose of art. For me, this is true for photography as…
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…
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…
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…
“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…
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…
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…
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…
