Author: marcsnaps

I saw a Reddit thread asking what profession was once highly respected and is now a complete joke. Somebody said wedding photographers. They said wedding photographers went from preserving authentic joyful moments to manufacturing those moments as content for likes and clicks and bride influencers. I have something to say about that. And I am…

I am sick of shooting my hometown. Knoxville, downtown, the same four block radius. Same buildings, same backgrounds, same people, same shots. It is tedious and it is boring. The fix: small trips, big results. Find the county seat. That is the biggest town in the county, and it is probably somewhere you never go.…

Would you fight me if I said the number one element of photography is light? Morning light and late afternoon light are ideal. But what if your life only lets you shoot in the middle of the day? The perfect midday light is hazy sunshine. That is the best midday street photography light there is.…

Sometimes it is fun to just be jealous of other photographers. Today we are looking at the International Landscape Photographer of the Year winners, and there is some ridiculous work in here. The fireflies in the mountains of Wufeng, Taiwan, shot by Shirley Wong, won a special award. And here is what kills me. I…

Audio test today. I am comparing the SmallRig S60 wireless lav mic against two things I already own: my Shure broadcast mic, which I use with a preamp rig to record radio commercials from home, and my Rode VideoMicro 2 shotgun mic. Pet peeve first. People who hold a corded mic right up against their…

I bought a thirty dollar lens from China because it looks like a Double Stuf Oreo cookie. That is the whole reason. Sometimes you just have to. It is a 30mm pancake lens, fixed aperture f/11, on my Fujifilm crop sensor, so roughly 45mm equivalent. I took it to Dayton, Tennessee for a weekend, which…

Working in photography kills your love of it. I know, because it happened to me. I have done just about every version of this job. School newspaper. Yearbook. Ritz Camera. CPI Photo Finish. Studio manager. Darkroom developer. Stock photographer. Newspaper photographer. Food photographer. Food writer and photographer for City View magazine here in Knoxville for…

A Veterans Day tribute, dedicated to those who have given their whole lives to defend America. I am always amazed at the level of sacrifice that a military family makes. Watch the video.

I had never shot video with any of my mirrorless cameras. Terms like F-log and flat profile and open gate meant nothing to me. Back in the day it was VHS tapes, then little camcorders for family videos. With mirrorless, I only ever shot stills. Video was for my phone. Then I took the 40…

I have been on the radio since April 1988. Thirty six years. And I am going to tell you the secret to all of it. Every break I ever did, I sucked. But every time I sucked was one time I would suck a little less later. Same thing applies to YouTube. Same thing applies…