PHOTOGRAPHER’S JOURNEY.com

As a reporter I am often asked to cover very difficult events - and my nine day experience covering the Virginia Tech shooting was no exception.
Now, in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, five young photographers are presenting their interpretations of depression at an exhibit in Washington, D.C. titled “The Active Mind - A Photo Exhibition.” It is being held to raise money for the student-run suicide prevention group, Active Minds on Campus.
The photos I’m showing here are the work of a remarkable photojournalist named Katie Falkenberg, whose work is being featured among that of several others (see below). Half of the images that will be exhibited were made within the first few days of the shooting at Virginia Tech. Having been on campus during that time, myself, I can assure you that these powerful images accurately portray the terrible sadness that filled the air at that time. By all means if you find yourself in Washington, D.C. between now and June 5 when the exhibit ends, it’s very worth checking out. And for a good cause, too. Photography is many things for many people, but I think most of us would agree that when it performs a service like this, it can be especially powerful.
If you’re interested in learning more about the nonprofit organization sponsoring this exhibit - Active Minds on Campus - I highly suggest you check out their website.
The exhibition runs May 31 to June 5 at The Meat Market Gallery in Washington D.C. (1636 17th St. NW). Aside from Falkenberg’s remarkable work, the exhibit will also feature powerful images from Steve Daly, Stephen Voss, Darren Higgins, Guillermo Santos, and Matt Dunn, and other photographers.

Popularity: 13% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed!

Rainy days and Mondays always get me excited. Well, okay, maybe just rainy days.
Rain can be a wonderful gift for a photographer looking to make moody images. But rain photos are also logistically tricky. Here are a few ideas to help make the most out of a rainy situation:

1. Consider shooting from inside your car. That’s how the image above was made. I shot it with a 70-200mm lens from a parked car with the rain drops settled right on the windshield. The catch? I softened the focus somewhat to achieve the effect I wanted. Remember: if you shoot through rain-covered glass, focus is optional.
2. Protect your camera. It goes without saying, but be careful. Seldom is one shot worth the price of your favorite camera and lens!
3. Use a dark umbrella. Lighter umbrellas can reflect unwanted light into a scene.
4. Slow your shutter speed. Rain moves fast! You can, at times, achieve the right motion-blur for rain while shooting even as fast as 1/60th of a second.
5. Try a reflector. Back-lighting rain drops as they fall can add a lot of impact to an image. By using a reflector rather than a flash, you can preserve the motion-blur. This can add just the right touch of light to a scene, although it obviously doesn’t work for larger scenes.


Continue Reading »

Popularity: 78% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed!

This can’t possibly be my fault. I suspect the IRS. Or maybe the whatever-the-KGB-now-calls-itself. Clearly, someone who is out to get me sabotaged my online photography portfolio attached to this website. Yeah. And the really clever thing is they tried to make it look like my fault. Dastardly. They corrupted it. They made it impossible to view. How terrifyingly cold-hearted they must be. It’s the only logical explanation.
BUT I have thwarted their criminal efforts and restored my little gallery to all its glory. Heck no. I’ve restored my gallery to all its magnificence. Yeah, baby.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go bask in my own sense of personal magnificence. I tell you: it ain’t easy being me.

Popularity: 6% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed!

What is it about color that gets our juices flowing as photographers? What is it about light that can make a difference good… or great?
I’m not sure I know the answers to those questions, frankly. But I’ll tell you this: having been a photographer for nearly 25 years (yes, I’m only 25-years old), I am just as stunned today by the power of color and light in photographs as I ever have been.
Now here’s the thing: I don’t know about you, but sometimes I kick myself realizing that I’ve passed an extraordinary image countless times while never having quite seen it. My photograph above is a great example of this. Wanna know where I shot it? In the parking lot outside the grocery store just across the street from where I live. Yep - a full 100-yards from my door.
I have lived in this area and shopped at this store since 1994. And all that time, I have considered myself to be a fairly “active eye” photographer (always looking out for images). So how then could I have missed such a beautiful, if simple, scene?
Continue Reading »

Popularity: 20% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed!

I’ve blogged before about why Washington, D.C. is such a great place for photographers. You can read more about that here and here. There is simply never a shortage of interesting events and people to photograph.
Memorial Day is a great example.
Today I covered the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund observance at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Since my duties as a network news producer are few at events like these, I often bring my camera.
There are many photographs taken of this powerful memorial through the years that have proven iconic. My photographs here are hardly iconic - but for me they are an important reminder that the pain of war is an enduring one. The Memorial itself has an amazing impact on people. There is simply no memorial, in my opinion, that more profoundly describes the total devastation and sacrifice of war. Indeed, some Vietnam Veterans I know think this Memorial speaks not just to the loss from their war - but all wars.
Anyway, and I realize that many of you reading this blog are not Americans, I just wanted to take one small note on this Memorial Day to say “thank you” to our veterans who have given so much. I wish you peace and all the happiness in the world.

Popularity: 14% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed!

Let me say up front that the purpose of this blog has never been to boast how awesome I am. In fact sometimes I think I may be the least awesomest person I know. I spent hours pouring through the dictionary to find that word. I know it’s in there somewhere.
But back to the point. The idea of this blog has always been to write about my experiences as a photographer - and the journey that I’m on as I take pictures and advance in my skills. That’s why I called this site “Photographer’s Journey.” Pretty clever, eh? And trust me, the fact that it was the only available domain name had very little to do with it. Really.
Anyway, my thinking has always been that if I am still learning as a photographer - and I am - then others out there like you may be, too. Now, that is not to suggest you or I are not experienced photographers. I think we all vary in our experience level and I consider myself to be somewhere in the fattest part of that “bell curve.”
But to me, the very process of photography is a journey. With every turn of our head toward something interesting, with every choice we make between aperture and shutter, with every click of that button, we are on a journey toward discovery. Whoa. That’s heavy, man.
Now, the thing is, I’ve always been incredibly struck that when I undertake a literal journey - a trip somewhere - my eyes open up as a photographer to new ways of seeing things.
I read recently about a photographer who plans out every shot he makes. He’s a landscape photographer, so that makes a great deal of sense. Landscape photography can be extremely difficult and richly rewarding, but I think it’s fair to say the best images are usually well planned out. Certainly that was true for much of Ansel Adams‘ work, for example. And all that planning ahead, mapping out precisely how a shot should look, often leaves room for those pleasant surprises in weather or light that are less easy to predict.
So, certainly planning out a photograph is a great way to go. And there are some terrific photographers out there who do exactly that. I’m not one of them.
Continue Reading »

Popularity: 10% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed!