September Desktop Calendar: A Rocky Mountain Sunset
In West Texas, we get several nice (visually explosive) sunsets a year. We have A LOT of flat land and plenty of sky to put in a frame. I cut my serious photographic teeth chasing down evening storms and morning clouds in West Texas, and I’ve heard many photographers speak of how this part of [...]
Photo of the Day: Poage Lake
I’m sitting in the Albuquerque International Airport and testing out the WordPress app for the iPad. I’m heading back to Denver this weekend for a couple of shoots in Fort Collins and Cheyenne, Wyoming (I might even make a quick trip over to Rocky Mountain National Park). Colorado has been a big part of my [...]
Field Lighting #15: What other lights do you have in your bag?
I just noticed that it’s been nearly a month since my last Field Lighting post! So much for the weekly series, ha! If you read my last post, you’ll know I’ve spent much of the past month inside a vehicle and not at home base. The good thing is that all the time on the [...]
Photographers Are Like Truckers
Well, maybe not quite a trucker, but that’s how I feel right now. I’ve responded to several e-mails this morning relating how being a freelance photographer is sometimes similar to driving an 18-wheeler down the highway. In some ways, I’ve always envied long-haul truckers because of the immense amount of country they get to see. [...]
International Guild of Visual Peacemakers Site Launch
I’m on the road again this week, and it seems I can’t hardly find the time to blog, let alone e-mail. Regardless, I wanted to make the announcement of yesterday’s International Guild of Visual Peacemakers site launch. You’ve no doubt noticed the IGVP paraphernalia I have on my site, and for good reason! The International [...]
Yes, Focus Does Matter!
I use a similar photograph to the one above to stress to my students how important focus is in a photograph. I was looking through some photographs from years past the other day, and I ran across the set of images this one originates from, and I couldn’t help remembering how a three-day run at [...]
Impressionism Influenced and West Texas Skies
Rolando Gomez from Lens Diaries wrote at the beginning of this month about the significance Rembrandt lighting for portraits, from the classics all the way up to today’s digitally rendered photographs. His post reminded me of my recent trip to the Denver Art Museum and its collection of impressionist art from the likes of Picasso [...]
August Desktop Calendar: Sunset over Chorro Vista
It’s getting to be that doldrum part of the summer, when in West Texas, the photography seems to be getting more sparse in terms of vegetation, and the days drag on. It’s like an old Ford/Wayne western placed in a dried up town with nothing but a jailhouse and the quintessential hotel. Alright, alright, so [...]
Field Lighting #14: Todd Chambers
Simplicity is nice. One light is nice. One subject is nice. The entirety of this photograph says look at the subject, study his eyes, facial expression, where his hands are, what he’s wearing, and other things about him. Nothing more needs to be in this shot. Another shot might include quite a bit, but this [...]
10.Q Interview with Heber Vega
I’ve been fortunate this past few months to have met several great people who provide fantastic photographic and creative services to not only their immediate surroundings but to those worldwide as well. Heber Vega, a humanitarian and cultural photographer based in northern Iraq is one such person. Heber’s work as a photographer and aid worker [...]
Big Bend Twilight
It’s been a busy week, full of shooting, writing, designing, and some great discussions with other photographers, near and afar! I was going through some old images tonight looking for some submit-worthy photographs to go with an assignment, and I came across this image from the Big Bend Ranch State Park near Lajitas, Texas. I [...]
Jog My Memory…with Jazz.
I saw, it reminded me, and I thought I would share. I like live jazz music. Unfortunately, the jazz train doesn’t stop too much where I live. It’s here, but just not in as big a way as other genres, all great for sure! So, when a few recognizable jazz personas hit the town for [...]
Field Lighting #13: The LIGHT, the LIGHT, the LIGHT!
OK, so at the risk of wearing you thin on the subject in the photographs, I’m going to chronologically detail an evening shoot that serves as the epitome of unique natural light conditions where I live (yes, I wrote the EPITOME, I think it’s the Johnny Winter I’m listening to right now that’s riled me [...]
Aspen Wallpapers
We trekked it back home from Colorado yesterday evening, tired from the road, and ready for rest! The week was spent mostly with family, yet the weather cooperated enough that on our hikes and off-road drives through the Rio Grande National Forest I could walk away with some nice images. As evidenced in a previous [...]
Photo of the Day: Hunters Lake
We’re half way through a week in Colorado, and we’ve spent a good bit of that time hiking around much like we do in Texas…only it’s a nice 60 to 70 degrees F when the light’s right here. Last night we got back to the car and it was 49 degrees F. I live in [...]
Happy 4th of July! New Calendar Desktop.
Happy Independence Day for all of those living within the United States, and happy any other day elsewise! Like many other photographers this month, I’m releasing a few holiday-inspired desktop calendars. Both come in large and small, which you can find below: Have a great one, and be safe! Download the files at will, and [...]
Field Lighting #12: You Don’t Need Tons of Power!
I’ve come to appreciate how little light it actually takes to make some field/environmental portraits work. Take for example the setup above. I shot this for a magazine cover a little over a month ago, and it did not take much light from one Elinchrom Quadra head to punch in just enough light. I love [...]
A Wedding Anniversary and an Ironman Triathlon (yes, they go together)!
This past Sunday was my and Amanda’s first wedding anniversary, and we spent it at the Ironman 70.3 at Buffalo Springs Lake in Lubbock, Texas. To clarify, Amanda (she’s the one smiling, in the pink and blue) participated in the triathlon, and like any proud husband, I went for support…and to take photographs of the [...]
Travel Tip for the Road Warrior: Enjoy the Outdoors
Photographers that spend a good amount of their time on the road will see the significance in this post, particularly those photographers who see themselves periodically popping in the travel photography sector of the industry. When I travel to a shoot, I tend to stake out the towns/areas/ecosystems I’ll be driving through for potential photo [...]
Photo of the Day – Fiery Rainbow
I can’t emphasize enough paying attention to light! It is, after all, what we photographers work with. I drove in from a 1,000+ mile trip full of photoshoots this past weekend, and ended up coming home to a massive thunderstorm. So, I stopped off at the house to drop a few things off, and then [...]
Field Lighting #11: Use Backlight
Here’s one for the folks that appreciate a small dose of plant photography! Photographers often make little to do about photographing the smaller aspects in light of discussing the larger landscapes, and most of the time (online) you usually see, “photograph flowers in the shade or after a rainstorm,” like I did with my last [...]
Photo of the Day: Thistle Time
I thought I would share this colorful thistle while I work on a new Field Lighting post. Thistles are a mix of beauty and danger combined in the same plant, and when they are in full bloom, they take center stage with their vibrancy. If you can find a calm, overcast morning to throw on [...]
eBook Review – VENICE, A Monograph, by David duChemin
If you’ve visited my site recently, you’ve probably noticed the Craft and Vision links on the side and bottom of my blog posts. Over the past half year, I’ve ran across a great deal of photography-related resources that have benefited me as a professional AND as a teacher, and one of the better resources I [...]
Field Lighting #10: Horsin’ Around with Engagements
It’s been a while since I’ve put up a Field Lighting post, and Junction kept me from posting anything too extensive, so I have a little catching up to do. In regards to the last Field Lighting post, nick b pretty much nailed it beyond naming the exact light source behind the model to camera [...]
