A brief breakdown of this idea in action — One of the aspects of photographic haiku that I’m always working on, and that gives students pause, is the balance between “moment” and “object.” While the things that catch my eye are very often cool looking (patterns, shadows, scenes), my haiku practice pushes me to capture images that are more…

After 40 years I’m starting to get good, and understand. — My photography is a practice. Like yoga, you never “get there” so much as hope to keep growing. It’s a way of seeing, obviously, but for me it’s also making a short poem out of what I see. The poems might be funny, or wistful, or arousing — they offer…

Lessons of haiku, and their applications to photography — After decades of studying and shooting photographs, I found my favorites from history had certain hard-to-describe attributes in common. My own photography adapted that style. …

The expression is misunderstood, and the correction. — The photographic master Henri Cartier-Bresson made some key observations about photography, translated as “the decisive moment” which is often (incorrectly) characterized this way: capturing an event that is ephemeral and spontaneous, where the image represents the essence of the event itself. Much is written about the psychophysical experience of “decisive…

Recognizing the Differences; Overcoming the Problems — The photographer Dorthea Langue once famously said “A camera is a device that teaches you to see without a camera.” I always loved this quotation. Once you get good at shooting, you start to see the world like a photographer — you notice things, you notice light, you look slower…

My First Rule in Picture Taking — I drove 5200 miles around the country after my junior year in college. And I brought 20 rolls of film — 720 images in all — which was a lot in 1984. I felt like a pro, traveling with a “brick” of Tri-X. When you shoot film you try hard…

10 Reasons (and None are Nostalgic) — One of the more divisive positions that I find in photographers is their rationale for, or dislike of, black & white photography. “I love color,” I hear often. “I’m all about the colors.” Absolutely, color is cool. But I think the arguments in support for b&w are strong (some better…