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In this video, I visit a few locations in the American Southwest, where I find very different conditions: from foggy cemeteries in San Diego, to slot canyons in the Anza-Borrego desert.
I believe the camera is a tool, and should get out of the way when we are making our images. But in order to get there, we need to master our tools.
I didn't follow the rules I've set up for myself... and I missed a couple of good shots.
Oh, the delicate balance between consistency, working a subject matter or location over years, and avoiding stagnation. To make matters even worse, we live in a fast paced world that demands new and shiny things every couple of weeks. What is a photographer to do with all of this?
With a trip coming up, and the weather only offering a handful of opportunities, this was my last chance to photograph Half Dome from Glacier Point on a moody day. So when I saw there was a winter weather advisory for Yosemite, I immediately booked a campground.
After months of doing most of my photography within the same 3-4 square miles in my neighborhood, I switch things up by going to downtown SF every day for a week. I got plenty of fog and some dramatic light.
Black and White takes whatever the world has to offer, and gives us the freedom to create our own version of it. Images that only existed in our mind before.
In this video, I share some tips and techniques to get creative with Black and White photography, how we can take a snapshot and transform it into a fine art piece.
Photography is the best excuse to go explore the world. Even better, to discover a whole new dimension that has always been there, hiding in plain sight. The camera is a superpower. But it all starts with a pair of comfortable shoes.
I've used all kind of cameras over the years, from medium format film monsters to smartphones. All of them taught some valuable lessons about this art, but the camera that changed my photography forever was a tiny compact one. I lost it years ago on a beach in Oregon, but now, we are reunited again!
As someone who hates the heat, and being surrounded by it, I have no option but to stay in the city for the time being. Not a problem, though, as I often get amazing conditions for photography right on my doorstep.
They say we "stand on the shoulders of giants": those have come before us paved the way, and so many people are carving new paths in the world of the photography today. There's a lot of amazing work out there.
This is how I find outstanding work, and how I collect it to inspire me in my own photography.
I used to think that good photographers consistently take great photographs, and only rarely they make something subpar. Surely, their “keeper rate” was much better than mine.
This was one of the most harmful beliefs I held when I was taking my first steps in photography. Because when you don’t allow yourself to fail, you play it safe; and when you play it safe, there’s no growth.
Making a bad photograph is not the risk: the lack of experimentation and play is the real danger.
Less than ideal weather and some upcoming major changes in our lives led me to cut my road trip short and head back home, in the Midwest. However, the gods of photography had a very different idea in mind for me. A series of circumstances led me to Moab, Utah, where I found the best conditions (and images) of the whole trip so far.
A few years ago, I discovered an art form that transformed my approach to photography: sumi-e, or the art of Japanese Ink Painting. This ancient art taught me to capture the world in a simpler, yet more powerful way. By studying sumi-e paintings, I learned to harness the power of suggestion and simplification in my own work, inviting viewers to engage and connect on a deeper level.
Weather and chance lead me to Central Oregon, the next destination on my road trip across the American West. But this leg of the journey wasn't going to be as smooth as I was hoping for.
There, far away from everything and everyone, I fight the elements and an even more powerful enemy: my inner demons. I doubt myself, my photography, and even my purpose. An accident that resulted in a broken lens didn't make things any better; neither did a very cluttered mind after spending several days trapped inside the car.
The isolation of the desert was another unpleasant layer, but as the days went by, and with no other option but to embrace it, it became exactly the medicine I needed. It was the gift of the desert.
A trip back in time, to the place where I fell in love with Black and White photography. The location where I made the first monochrome images... intentionally monochrome, at least. And I haven't looked back since.
With no restrictions and no boundaries, with the open road ahead of me, I decide to chase conditions instead of choosing a location. This decision will take me north, and the first stop is the enchanted forests of the Redwoods.
I go to Yosemite National Park chasing bad weather and hoping for moody conditions. The first trip since I'm back in the US, the first trip with the new car and the new camping setup.
This video is from a few days ago, but life has been really busy lately. A chapter has ended, a new one has begun.
After years of shooting in my hometown, it's hard for me to find new images. That's why I've decided to limit myself to shooting with just one lens for a few days. But not any lens, no. The least used lens in my camera bag, one that would prove to be quite the challenge in the narrow streets of town.
