Blog
Thoughts, reviews, and stories from behind the camera.
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If You Are a Wedding Photographer, You Are a Warrior!
I have never shot a wedding, and after thinking about it for five minutes, I have decided I never will. Wedding photographers are warriors, and I mean that with complete respect and a little bit of fear. Think about what they do. One day, no reshoots, everybody’s emotions running at full volume, a timeline controlled…
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Bored with Hometown Street Photography?
Here is a confession: I get bored shooting my hometown. Knoxville is great, I love living here, but when you have walked the same streets a hundred times, the camera starts to feel heavy and the eyes start to glaze over. If that sounds familiar, this video is for you. The fix is not a…
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High Noon Street Photography
Photographers treat high noon like a vampire treats sunrise. Everybody packs up at midday and waits for golden hour, and I used to be one of them. Then I actually tried shooting at noon, and it turns out the harsh light is a feature, not a bug. High noon gives you the hardest shadows of…
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International Landscape Photographer of the Year Nominees
Confession time. I am a street photography guy. I shoot people, sidewalks, weird little moments, and occasionally a dog wearing a sweater. Point me at a mountain and I will take a fine photo of a mountain, but it is not my thing. That said, I looked through this year’s International Landscape Photographer of the…
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Does the SmallRig Lav Mic Sound Any Good?
I keep a SmallRig lav mic in my camera bag because you never know when you need to talk into a camera on a noisy street. The question is always the same: does it actually sound good, or is it just small and cute? So I did what I do. I took it outside, clipped…
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Is That A Cookie on Your Camera?
Yes. Yes it was. A cookie. On my camera. While I was out shooting. I am not going to tell you the whole story here because the video exists, but let us just say that street photography sometimes involves eating on the go, and cameras sometimes end up exactly where the snacks are. Occupational hazard…
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Working in Photography is a Joy Killer
Hot take from a guy with 37 years of doing radio for a living: the fastest way to kill your love of something is to make it your job. Photography was supposed to be the fun part. The hobby. The thing I do because I like it, not because a client needs it by Thursday.…
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Veterans Day 2024, Dedicated to Those Who Have Given Their Whole Lives to Defend America
This one is simple. On Veterans Day, I wanted to say thank you to the men and women who gave their whole lives to defending this country. A lot of people talk about service. These folks actually did it. They raised their hand, signed the paper, and stood the watch so the rest of us…
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Scared To Shoot Video with the X100vi (until I figured out a hack)
Confession: I am a stills guy. Hand me a camera and I will shoot a thousand frames without blinking. Tell me to record video and I freeze up like a deer in headlights. The X100VI sat on my shelf in video mode for way too long because I was scared of looking like an idiot.…
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Keep On Sucking Until You Do Succeed
Everybody starts bad. Every single one of us. My first photos were garbage. My first videos were worse. If I had quit when I was bad, this channel would not exist and neither would any of the work I am proud of. The secret nobody wants to admit: the only difference between the people who…