Seeing stars and winning contests

It was 1975, I was 13 and on my way to my very first photo assignment for the local newspaper. Obviously I didn’t drive at that age, so to get to the assignment from my house (it was a blood drive at the high school cafeteria) I had to walk across town with my 35mm Read more about Seeing stars and winning contests[…]

From razor blades to the lasso tool

Back in the late ’70s I found a way to pass the time in high school math class: Cut up my own photos as well as pages from magazines with razor blades and tape or glue them into photo collages! Now, some of this was legitimate work and training: I entered some finished projects in Read more about From razor blades to the lasso tool[…]

Time Sausages

Maybe you remember Al Stewart’s song Time Passages (which some call “Time Sausages”). I’ve always been intrigued by the passage of time and how things slowly and imperceptibly change along the way, changes you don’t even notice until you bookend the old with the new. A very popular exercise of this nature (which you’ve surely Read more about Time Sausages[…]

At the car show (being a visual savant)

I drive a Hyundai Accent so obviously I’m no car connoisseur. BUT! There’s something about vintage car shows that attracts me as a photographer. And not even the cars themselves, but specifically pieces of them: Isolated details, where I try to create photos to draw the viewer’s eye to mechanical features or colors you might Read more about At the car show (being a visual savant)[…]

Laguna Beach scene

The artsy police: Who decides what treatment sucks and what doesn’t?

One of my absolute favorite things to do in post-processing is to apply what I call “artsy” to my own images. I am not and have never been a traditional artist (I don’t have the patience, except maybe for abstracts if it came to that). I use software such as Topaz Impression or PostworkShop to Read more about The artsy police: Who decides what treatment sucks and what doesn’t?[…]

Nikon F Photomic FTN

1968 Nikon FTN in mint condition: What to do with it?

Here’s something I came across at work the other day: a mint condition Nikon F Photomic FTN, donated to the university art department after its original owner passed. Who didn’t want one of these back in the day? Now, it would be hard to give or trade away (and we can’t sell it). So I Read more about 1968 Nikon FTN in mint condition: What to do with it?[…]