Tag Archives: angle

Adventures and Tips From a Weekend Photo Safari

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Cal Academy African Antelope

There I was, finally alone in the wilds on a photo safari.  Barely off the plane, I met the others in my group and we drove through the busy streets and markets to find some photogenic wildlife. Two hours into our tour, we huddled together, checked our cameras and stared across steamy African wetlands and grasslands. Suddenly, a territorial bull Antelope surprised me on the grassy hillock, staring me down from just yards away. My heart … more >> →

The Creative Photographer: The Story of ‘The Haunted Tree’

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The Haunted Tree

The Haunted Tree is my most published and collected photograph to date. It has evoked various responses from viewers and curators who have described it using adjectives including  ‘dreamy’, ‘mysterious’, ‘foreboding’, ‘cinematic’, ‘poetic’, ‘confrontational’, ‘powerful’, ‘spiritual’…and the list goes on. Haunted Tree is also my most plagiarized and ‘borrowed’ image to date. I enjoy knowing it feeds the thought of others, even though I find it online being used for heavy metal band merchandise, to accompany … more >> →

The Creative Photographer: Composition and Design

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Composition and Design are as important in a successful photograph as are light, subject, story and timing. Looking for inspiration outside of your medium is often the key to learning something new. I believe that crossing mediums helps strengthen the random access of ideas that is key to our natural creative process. It’s a bit like loading your conceptual quiver the way a painter loads the palette.

My June photography workshop: “Imagination Vision and Voice”

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I love to teach workshops in beautiful locations, and none are finer than the coast of Maine. This summer I return for my seventh year to Maine Media Workshops. I’ll teach a workshop called “Imagination Vision and Voice”. Last year this workshop was very well received, and I was fortunate to have a great group of students at all levels or experience. We have a helluva lot of fun too!  

Shooting For the Love of Design

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When making photographs, I love to use strong design to compose the graphic elements within the viewfinder. My experience as a graphic designer and art director has influenced how I see the world, and how I compose the rectangle of every image. One particularly memorable weekend taught me a lot about designing within the frame. Back in the mid-80’s one of my co-workers invited me to join him for a road trip to the Hershey … more >> →

Standing in The Shadows

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“When your subject needs the human element, why not step into the composition?” While on the phone during a walking break, I saw these pleasing branch shapes casting shadows on a concrete wall. I liked the shadows but needed another element. I stepped into the photograph, recomposed, and took several shots with my iPhone 4s. I am sometimes amazed at how this little 8-megapixel iPhone camera can make such interesting photographs that might take over … more >> →

Next workshop: Santa Fe Workshops in March 2012

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“Creative Photography with Any Camera”  MARCH 14 – 17 :  Santa Fe, NM “Join me to capture the beauty, history, and nature in and around Santa Fe!”                   No matter what your photography experience is, this workshop will inspire and give you hands-on instruction to master camera settings, use intuition to capture the best moments, artfully compose shots, edit and organize images and create slide shows, prints and web galleries. You’ll … more >> →

Reaching out creatively with a wide angle.

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Coastline park, trees Ke'anae, HI

“I have a confession. I’ve been addicted to very wide angle lenses for over 30 years, and I have no intention of quitting.” There is nothing quite like the inclusive sweep of a photograph made with a wide angle lens. I find it intriguing how wides see the world so much differently than my own eyes. The characteristic distortion of wides, when used creatively can create inviting and dramatic images. I started my own ‘habit’ in 1974 … more >> →

Capturing the Living Environment

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“Wherever I go, I seek compositions that artfully interpret subjects and the ‘feel’ of the place they inhabit” On a recent road trip down the Oregon coast, I spent a day at infamous Canon Beach. To say that it’s a magical and photogenic place is an understatement. The surrounding public-access coastline draws over 20,000 people a year, yet much of it can easily be seen with hardly a soul upon it.

Get Low For a Unique Perspective

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“Photographing a landscape from a low angle perspective helps me illustrate subjects in nature.” When photographing the land, I shoot traditionally and also look for a unique perspective or point of view. Low vantage points are often overlooked, and are often truly rewarding. Before getting close with my camera to capture the details, I use my body position to try various ways I might view the subject. To the causal onlooker, I must look insane with my … more >> →