There has long been a debate on when photographers should shoot in black and white (bw) versus color. This is particularly true with respect to street photography, since many old shooters have held loud biases against shooting color. Before we debate the merits of their arguments, we need to understand a bit of history. For…
“Everyday at a quarter past three I open up a can of tuna and set it on the table. I cut two thick slices of bread that has already begun to stale and put them on a white china plate already set out on the table, and slide it next to the can of tuna.…
After my recent “discovery” of Ashley Stevenson, I’ve been thinking a lot about Ed Sheeran’s song “The A Team.” Coincidentally, which is to say, in the Universe’s divine, randomized, perfect organization, I’ve also been mounting my life’s portfolio of street photography and encountered the photo, shown below, of a young woman who was seemingly living…
This is an extension of a post I published on my photography blog, FirewingPhotography.com, regarding the photo below and the idea of truth in street photography. This is a simple shot of two people sitting in an old Citroën in Lido, Venice, Italy in late September 2016. It’s approaching sunset, the sky is filled with…
There has long been a debate on whether black and white or color photography is better. Many love black and white for its ability to separate viewers from the subject and its ability to reduce the photo to its compositional elements. Y’all are wrong. 😉 Here’s a famous photo by Dorothea Lange, taken in July…
African herders move along long-horned cattle, Sebastiao Salgado. Salgado is a photographer who does more than take breathtaking photos. He tries, and succeeds in having an impact from his photography. However, that isn’t why I’ve chosen this photo of the day. The reason is that it perfectly illustrates something my wife and I were discussing…
Young woman in a car, Vivian Maier, Chicago, Illinois, US, August 16, 1956
I’m a street photographer at my core, so what do flowers have to do with shooting street, you might ask? For me the definition between a street photographer and a photographer are marginal, and so it becomes more a question of shooting technique than it is about style or genre. Life is unfolding and happening…
We have been taught that words validate experience, so we feel inept when we are incapable of describing something that does not require words in order to appreciate it. In fact, we have been taught that verbal language is the only viable means for measuring intellect, and therefore the only salient means for…
I am reposting this piece, this time with soundtrack as it sounded in my head while writing. This poem is a satirical look at the young hip street photographers today and the mistakes they make in pursuing their photographic dreams. Transcript: This is a poem I composed in around 10 minutes. Inspired by a photo…
The Artists' Sanctum 