How we make art matters

The story behind a piece of art can be as important, if not more, than the piece itself. How we make art matters, a lot.

Backpacking for the best view in Oregon

High in Oregon’s Central Cascades, I hike to Broken Top nine years after my first visit to this stunning spot. The view from the summit never fails to take my breath away. It’s a familiar place, yet every step reminds me how much has changed, both in the landscape and in myself.

How to make great photography inevitable

Mt Hood has played an important role in my photography career. Exploring these landscapes is what made me fall in love with the art, and they continue to fascinate me after all these years. Something compels me to keep coming back, to keep photographing this beautiful mountain and the stunning forests and lakes around it.

The tool I use all the time but rarely show you

I almost always carry a tripod with me, even if you don't see it in my videos. That's because it's holding my video camera! So you might understand why my tripod has become such a crucial tool in my work. And for the last couple of years, I've been using the Coman Zero Y carbon fiber tripod which I love. Let me tell you why.

So it does happen...

I panicked, a little bit.

They weren’t the most important photos and footage, but it wasn't easy to take them. I’d woken up at 5am and hiked (there’s no other way to describe walking in San Francisco) with two tripods and two big cameras and lenses on my back, while gaining almost 700 feet of elevation.

That’s why I was a little upset to find a cryptic “A7IV_3902.RSV” with zero bytes on the memory card, instead of the photos and videos I had made.

So it does happen, after all: memory cards get corrupted, or something like that.

After more than 3 years using a camera with dual memory card slots, I was about to find out if the feature was worth it. I inserted the second memory card into the laptop, and to my huge relief, there they were. All the photos and videos I had worked hard to make. Phew.

Going big and heavy

I got two new lenses. Big, heavy, fat lenses. I’m still not sure why I did it. It’s not because I needed them; I didn’t.

My best guess is that I wanted a change. For the past five years, I’ve taken the vast majority of my photographs with a superzoom: my beloved Tamron 28–200mm.

I love that thing: simple, versatile, reliable. So good that it’s boring. I wanted something I could use instead of this little gem, to switch things up.

So, I picked up the Tamron 35–150mm. A much bigger, much heavier lens. Surprisingly, the weight hasn’t bothered me as much as the narrower reach. It’s faster and definitely sharper, but I’m still trying to figure out if the trade-off is worth it.

I also grabbed the Tamron 150–500mm. For the last six years, I’ve relied on the Sony 70–350mm for telephoto work, but I wanted an upgrade with more reach. Still, I’m not sure I’ll keep it long term. At almost 2kg (4lbs), it’s not something I’ll be carrying around all the time, so we’ll see.

This road trip I’m on now seemed like the perfect time to test them out. I bought them used, both good deals, I think. Especially with camera prices going up because of the tariffs. The upside is, if I decide they’re not for me in a couple of months, I should be able to get most of my money back.

I have no idea whether my images will get better or worse. Most likely, they'll be very similar to the ones I was making before. If nothing else, I might get bigger arms from this experiment. Who knows. I'll keep you updated.

Living in my car for photography

I'm back on the road! I drive across the country and do some photography in places as distant from each other as Lake Michigan, Devils Tower in Wyoming, and the Salt Flats in Utah. I also show how I live on the road, why I do it this way, and why it has been so beneficial for my photography.

Photography without a plan -- in Amish country

Sometimes the hardest part of photography is simply going out the door. Driving somewhere always feels like an investment of time and money, and that pressure can make us overthink everything. On this day, I had no plan, no destination, and no idea what I was going to photograph. But this is what photography is about, embracing uncertainty, following the process, and giving chance a chance. From Dollar General parking lots to the farms and fields of northern Indiana, the day became less about outcomes and more about seeing what happens.

A hidden gem in San Francisco

I'm back in the city for just a few days, and in this video, I want to show you one of my favorite spots. One that is lesser-known and not crowded, but a spot that I love visiting.

Don't quit

Talent is great, a good camera helps a lot, and having the resources to travel is amazing. But no matter where we start, the gear, or the locations we have access to, the biggest factor for our work is time. There’s no shortcut, no substitute for showing up, over and over, year after year, decade after decade. And doing it in a sustainable way.

I refused to give up on this shot

The third time was the charm. After failing to make any images on my previous two visits to this spot, I finally managed to get something I love.

Mastery through consistency

“The fact is that relatively few photographers ever master their medium. Instead they allow the medium to master them and go on an endless squirrel cage chase from new lens to new paper to new developer to new gadget, never staying with one piece of equipment long enough to learn its full capacities, becoming lost in a maze of technical information that is of little or no use since they don't know what to do with it” — Edward Weston

I’ve talked about consistency many times on this blog.

We need to give our tools and style some time to mature, we need to give ourselves enough room to grow with our current tools. Don’t try to photograph everything, focus on a few things.

A unique lens for unique images

I got to try something different, a reflex lens. This Kase 200mm f/5.6 is a prime, fixed aperture reflex lens, and it's able to do some crazy stuff. The bokeh it creates can lead to very interesting photographs, and it opens a new whole new world of creative possibilities.

These are some of the images I've made with this lens.

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Mountains, fog and rain: a beautiful day of photography

I always keep an eye on the forecast, and in the summer, as soon as I see some chance of rain somewhere relatively close, I start packing my things. It was a long day on the road, but soooo worth it. I got some beautiful atmosphere, I got to make some good images, and most importantly, I cooled off in the rain.

What this 40¢ postcard taught me about photography

There's so much to learn from the work of other photographers, and you just never know what the next source of inspiration is going to be. Like a souvenir shop.

Summers are hard

It's hot, very hot. It was even hotter in Valencia, in SE Spain, where I spent a few days with my family. I got to do some photography, but I was happy to be back in the fog!

3 creative editing techniques in Lightroom

I forgot to share this video here, one I published last week while dealing with the heat. The perfect time to sit down and edit some photos, especially when using these creative editing techniques in Lightroom.

A local photography adventure

I've spent many years photographing my hometown and the landscapes around it. There's not much else to find, I would think. Wrong. There's so much more out there, waiting for me to find it. So I take my bike and go on a 18-mile ride on trails I had not explored before.

Live with FRAMES magazine

I'll be the guest in today's FRAMES magazine live event, to be held at 5pm (CEST) / 11am (EDT) / 8am (PDT).

I'll be talking a bit about my photography and there will be time for questions and photography talk. Join us here (it's free!).

Conversation with Dimitris Kotakos

I had the pleasure of chatting with Greek photographer Dimitros Kotakos on his YouTube channel. Watch our conversation here.