Category Archives: Photographers

“Napalm Girl”: Who Created This Famous Image?

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Children flee a napalm attack in Tr?ng Bàng on June 8, 1972. Left to right: Phan Thanh Tam, who lost an eye, Phan Thanh Phouc, Kim Phuc, and Kim’s cousins Ho Van Bon, and Ho Thi Ting. The “Napalm Girl” photograph galvanized an anti-war movement in the United States.
Associated Press/AP

53 years ago today a photographer clicked his shutter and one of the world’s iconic images was created. Officially known as “The Terror of War”, until recently it has been attributed to AP photographer Nick Ut who won a Pulitzer Prize for this image.

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Patrick Demarchelier, Fashion Photographer

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Patrick Demarchelier

I recently watched The Devil Wears Prada for the first time. Fascinating and fun movie. In one scene, Amanda (Meryl Streep) the very particular and tough-as-nails editor of RUNWAY magazine says to Andy (Anne Hathaway) her new 2nd assistant, “Did Demarchelier confirm?”  Andy is clueless. So Emily (Emily Blunt), Amanda’s 1st assistant, grabs a phone and says, “I have Patrick”. I got the Demarchelier reference instantly. I am a huge fan of Patrick Demarchelier’s work. You may not recognize his name but you have probably seen his work.

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Robert Capa and D-Day, June 6, 1944

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Robert Capa: Normandy. June 6th, 1944. Landing of the American troops on Omaha Beach.

Robert Capa: Normandy. June 6th, 1944.

June 6, 1944 was the allied invasion of Normandy, the largest seaborne invasion in history. 24,000 allied troops parachuted into France shorty after midnight. The next morning beginning at 6:30 am over 150,000 American, British, and Canadian troops landed. There were 10,000 casualties and 4,414 confirmed dead.

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Happy Birthday, Ansel Adams!

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Ansel Adams, Monolith: The Face of Half Dome, 1927. Photographed in his home Dec. 2, 1980.

Ansel Adams in front of “Monolith: The Face of Half Dome, 1927”. Photographed in his home Dec. 2, 1980.

Ansel Adams was born 122 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. Continue reading →

Sunset Collage by Ciro Russo

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12 Sunsets by Ciro Russo

I love this collage. It has gone viral. 12 photos of sunset from the same location, January through December. I found the site that says the photographer is Ciro Russo (he signed the collage twice), but gives no additional information about him. As nearly as I can tell, he is Italian, but I have been unable to find a web site with more details about this set of images.

Images That Move Me

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Mary McHugh mourns her dead fiance James Regan at Section 60 in the Arlington National Cemetery on 27 May 2007. Photograph © John Moore

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)

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Patrick Demarchelier

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.”

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Happy Birthday, Ansel Adams!

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Ansel Adams, Monolith: The Face of Half Dome, 1927. Photographed in his home Dec. 2, 1980.

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.

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Channeling My Inner Tim Fitzharris

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California Poppies

California Golden Poppies, Fremont California. April 3, 2001.

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.

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Photos That Move Me: Sudan by Ami Vitale

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Sudan by Ami Vitale, National Geographic

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

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“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.

Series: Channeling My Inner . . .

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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.

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Channeling My Inner Galen Rowell

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Last Light on El Capitan

Last Light on El Capitan, Yosemite National Park. December 30, 1990.

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.

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Channeling My Inner Josef Muench

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Grand Canyon at Dawn
Grand Canyon at Dawn, Arizona. December 2, 1985.

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.

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Channeling My Inner Edward Weston

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Lela Rae, Columbus Ohio, December 13, 2007

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. The date 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.

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