As a photographer, with a number of photographer friends, I’m often given advice, or suggestions for my work. Don’t we all get those thoughts? The majority are well meaning tidbits that we are often already aware of. They all are appreciated because we know they are offered as a sincere attempt to help us grow. Then there are the ones that have stuck with us through the years. One, in particular, stands out from many years ago. A good friend and excellent photographer, Tom Ho

Bless her heart, I love her to pieces, but I believe there is some sort of sinister plot being played out here. We’ve often joked that no flower is safe in our home. It will eventually end up in our small studio as a subject for another digital composition. The garlic cloves in the image that accompanies this post are a prime example of this plot that I have no control over, or resistance to. The sequence of events pretty much follows the same pattern no matter what the subje

Yes, it’s true. There’s still something about a good black and white that gets me a bit excited. Don’t get me wrong, I still love a well composed and processed color image. The varying hues of red, blue, green, and yellow can be very dramatic in telling the story in many cases. Whether I shoot an image with a black and white presentation in mind, or I convert a color image to a monotone presentation, there’s just something about reducing that image to nothing but a single ton

My home town, and surrounding area, was once known as the hub of the booming glass industry in Southern New Jersey. Wheaton, Kimble, Owens Illinois, Armstrong, were all names that everyone knew and respected. Here in Millville, at one time, just about every family had at least one member employed by one of these industry giants. Time passes and foreign competition, changing packaging techniques, and several other factors led to the slow decline of the industry. The image abov

When is it art? This question has been asked a million times. It’s one of the most difficult questions to answer. Art is different things to different people. It is highly subjective. It’s even more of a question when it comes to photography. There are those who still look at photography more as a craft than art. Thankfully those numbers are growing smaller. So, when does a photograph rise from being a snapshot to art? Here are some thoughts. Some feel it’s a combination of c

That’s Crop…with an O not A, for those whose mind may have played tricks on them when reading the title :-). I recently read an interesting article on using the square crop. It related back to some of the film formats which produced square prints. This really got me to thinking about today’s digital processing and the freedom and ease that we have in cropping our images to present them, and best convey our vision of the subject. The opening image is what’s known as a 2×3 aspe

In today’s digital world of photography the equipment has become very refined and continues to evolve. Likewise, photo enhancing software, plugins, and presets have made it amazingly easy for just about anyone to capture and create very nice images. Thus we have a huge number of folks moving into the world of photography as hobbyists or more. Don’t get me wrong, there is still no substitute for good composition skills, technical skills, or that inner ability to just see the i

A few years back, I had added some canvas Giclee prints to my art fair inventory. There was a lot of interest in the presentation, and many nice comments. the canvases were not gallery wraps. They were mounted on board and tastefully framed. Sadly, sales were weak. I discontinued printing on canvas and held on to the finished images. I recently decided to show the prints once again. I hung a few at the gallery where I am an associate. Interest was once again high, and sales s

It’s amazing that when a group of photographers get together to shoot the same scene you will get many different compositions, and interpretations. Each of us sees the scene in our own way, and will capture it accordingly. The same holds true for us as an individual photographer/artist. We will work hard to capture the subject in many ways. Different angles, different light, tight, loose, any and all compositions that our mind can conceive are what we use to tell our story. I

Finding inspiration for new images can sometimes be a difficult task. At other times the images flow freely from our mind. For those times when we are faced with a creative block of sorts, we can draw on different methods to kick start our creativity. The 500 foot challenge is one of the methods that can apply to photographers, sketch artists, painters, and other mediums to give us that little boot in the butt. The challenge is a simple one. Create your best image without goi

I recently did a series of low key floral images, and it was great fun. Working out the lighting was a joy, much work, but a joy nonetheless. Most of the images were done with my trusty 50mm 1.8 STM lens. I had the thought for this tight shot of the rose in my mind, and knew I would have to pull out the 100 2.8 Macro lens to get close enough. At the same time, I knew that the macro lens produced a much smaller depth of field. To overcome the smaller DOF I would need to use a

AAhhh, springtime. A time for new blooms. Beautiful, soft delicate flowers that offer themselves up for great photo opportunities. So, wait a minute. What’s up with this image of dried, beyond prime Wisteria pods? This is the point of this post. How many photographers will look beyond those buds, and blooms, to see what arguably could be another great image. How many will take the time to study an object that is not commonly seen as a beautiful, inspiring subject. I certainly