Today is a terrible anniversary. On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh’s truck bomb exploded outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 men, women, and children.
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Category Archives: Photographers
Bill Biggart’s Last Photos – 9/11
Bill Biggart’s final photograph. He was killed when the second World Trade Center tower collapsed on top of him. He was 53 years old.
Images That Move Me
John Moore was at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, 2007. He had visited with Mary McHugh earlier in the day. She had come to Arlington National Cemetery to visit the grave of her fiance, James Regan, who had stepped on a roadside bomb a few months earlier in Afghanistan. Later on he saw her laying in the grass and talking to the marble headstone. He captured this image. The whole story is here.
Patrick Demarchelier (21 August 1943 – 31 March 2022)
It is with sadness that I note the passing of Patrick Demarchelier. He was one of the best fashion and portrait photographers. He worked with the best of the best fashion models, as well as celebrities. Princess Diana called him “a dream” to work with. When she learned of his death, Cindy Crawford posted an image Demarchelier created of her in India (see below) and wrote: “Thanks for so many great memories and beautiful, timeless images.”
Happy Birthday, Ansel Adams!
Ansel Adams in front of “Monolith: The Face of Half Dome, 1927”. Photographed in his home Dec. 2, 1980.
Ansel Adams was born 120 years ago today, February 20, 1902. He is “the” icon of American landscape photography. Trained as a concert pianist, his love of photography and time spent in Yosemite National Park led him to a career change.
Channeling My Inner Tim Fitzharris
Quite by chance I spotted some California Golden Poppies on the campus of Ohlone College in Fremont California. This was an unexpected treasure. I stopped in a nearby parking lot, put a 15mm semi-fisheye lens on my camera, put my camera almost on the ground and started shooting up at the flowers with the sun in the background. The side of my head was in the dirt as I looked up through the camera’s viewfinder to get things lined up. Tim Fitzharris gets some credit for inspiring images like this.
Photos That Move Me: Sudan by Ami Vitale
Joseph Wachira, a keeper at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, says goodbye to Sudan before he died in 2018. Sudan was the last male Northern White Rhino in existence. He became, for a while, one of the most beloved animals on the planet. Weighing 2,000 pounds, he was as docile as a Golden Retriever. People came from all over the word to see him, to touch him. Then they would return to their cars and cry. He is survived by Najin and Fatu, his daughter and granddaughter, the last female Northern White Rhinos.
In-Camera Compositing with Lindsay Adler
“In-Camera Compositing with Canon Explorer of Light Lindsay Adler”
This is your chance to see how an exceptionally good portrait photographer works in the studio. Even if you don’t have expensive studio gear, you can learn a lot about using lights and working with your subject.
Peter Lindbergh — the supermodel photographer | DW Documentary
I was aware of some of Peter Lindbergh’s famous images, like “5 Supermodels” but I did not know until recently that Peter Lindbergh is the photographer that created those images. This documentary is about Lindbergh and his work and you see a number of his stunning images.
Series: Channeling My Inner . . .
This series of articles is devoted to several photographers and one painter that inspire me. Some of them I have known for decades. Others I have discovered in the last few years. Books by and about them line my bookshelves. Each article has examples of my work and their work. That does not mean I am as good as they are. But I keep trying. Their work has somehow become a part of me. We can all learn from people who do such outstanding work.
Channeling My Inner John Shaw
I was leading a photography workshop in Northern Michigan and we were out on a night sky field trip at Lake Michigan. We started seeing some flickering in the northern sky which developed into this display of the Northern Lights. It was a great night at the lakeshore.
Channeling My Inner Galen Rowell
Few photographers have had as much of an influence on me for as long a period of time as Galen Rowell. When I became seriously interested in nature photography I read his articles in Outdoor Photographer and his book Mountain Light was one of the most important books in helping me up my game as a nature photographer. I still consider it one of the three most important books any budding nature photographer should read. So my first visit to Yosemite was like a trip to the Promised Land and I felt like I was walking in Galen’s footsteps.
Channeling My Inner Lindsay Adler
I was working in the studio with the beautiful Lela Rae. This is an example of cross lighting which creates nice contours and shadows. There is one light to her left and one to her right, almost directly opposite each other. I decided to use colored gels over the lights which I thought would enhance the look of the image..
Channeling My Inner Larry West
This jumping spider is one of my favorite closeup images. The full story story (with photos) behind this image is here and begins in a garden center and ends in my front yard.
Channeling My Inner Arthur Morris
This is one of my all time favorite images. The whole story behind the capture of this image is here. I have several people to thank for providing me with the skills to create this image, one of the most important in terms of bird photography advice being Arthur Morris.
Channeling My Inner George Lepp
George Lepp is directly responsible for this image and he was standing just a few feet away from me as I clicked the shutter. There is a story leading up to this trip and the capture of this image.
Channeling My Inner Dewitt Jones
I was walking our dog Sunny and he wanted to go to a nearby park. The park was filled with dandelions and a few puffballs. I was soon down on the ground creating images of dandelions.
Channeling My Inner Josef Muench
It was a beautiful winter morning and Bob (my brother-in-law and photo buddy) and I were up long before sunrise to capture the early morning light at the Grand Canyon. It was our good fortune that it had snowed a bit overnight. The light was beautiful. With the coming of the sun the snow disappeared, as did the magic of the light.
Channeling My Inner David Muench
The Maroon Bells is considered to be one of the top scenic photo locations in Colorado, and it certainly one of the most popular. The Maroon Bells and Maroon Lake are a stunning sight by both day and night (photo below).
Channeling My Inner Frans Lanting
The windchill was -41° Fahrenheit at Wildlife Prairie Park. It was bone chillingly cold, even with Sorel Pac boots, thermal underwear, and layers. I had to take a break about once an hour or two to warm up. But it was worth it.
Channeling My Inner Art Wolfe
My brother-in-law, who is also my photo buddy, were at Brainard Lake in Colorado. It was a cloudy day so we were photographing wildflowers. I was hopeful the clouds would part for a nice sunset but that did not happen.
Channeling My Inner Edward Weston
I have been a fan of Edward Weston for decades. Late in the fall of 2007 I saw an announcement that January 1, 2008 would mark the 50th anniversary of Weston’s death, was fast approaching. I wanted to do an homage in honor of his work. Lela Rae is an art model who is also a Weston fan so we decided to work together to create some images similar to some of Weston’s classic images.
Channeling My Inner Peter Lindbergh
A couple of months ago I did not know who Peter Lindbergh is, but I did know some of his famous images, like his famous photo of five super models (see below). I just didn’t know that Lindbergh was the photographer.
Channeling My Inner Ansel Adams
I was driving north on Vermont Highway 7A and came to this cemetery and chapel near Shaftsbury Vermont. Dark clouds were quickly coming in from the west and the sun was rising in the east.
Channeling My Inner Andrew Wyeth
Over the last several years I have developed an appreciation and love for the paintings of Andrew Wyeth.
Dorothea Lange: Oregon During the 1930s Great Depression
Dorothea Lange, one of my favorite photographers, is famous for several iconic images, “Migrant Mother”, California, 1936, being one of the most famous.
Video: Celebrate What’s Right With the World!
“Celebrate What’s Right With the World!” with Dewitt Jones. This video is great!
Jimmy Chin in the Tetons
What happens when a world class climber and photographer heads for the Grand Tetons with three other climbers? You get great photos and an interesting story.
I Did It! I Bought It!
In addition to being an actor who is best know for playing Spock on Star Trek, Leonard Nimoy is also known for being a fine photographer. One of his best known photography exhibits was “Shekhina”, which also became a best selling book. You can learn more about the exhibit and book here and at the links below.
Photos that Draw Me In: “Leaving and Waving”
It all started in 1991. As Deanna Dikeman left her parents home in Sioux City Iowa to drive home, she took a picture of her parents waving goodbye. She didn’t start with the intention of it becoming a series, a photographic project. But it became a thing. She created images every year for 27 years.