Ever wonder what happens if you photograph with Ilford Delta 3200 and expose it at 250? Well, that’s what I inadvertently did this week. Doing it was completely unintentional! I didn’t notice it until I pulled it out of the developing tank thinking it was HP5 and saw edge markings saying 3200. Say what? Lesson:... Continue Reading →

When you hire a professional photographer like me, it’s good to know what to expect–what you’re getting. And what you’re not! Here’s what you won’t get from me. I don’t use AI to make image constructions (or whatever they’re calling them today). I don’t use Assisted Culling of my photographs. I don’t use Presets to... Continue Reading →

Yesterday was Easter and I wanted to find someone dressed up in their “Easter finest”. So, I went out to McIntosh Lake in Longmont Colorado with the Graflex Crown Graphic 4×5 camera and a couple sheets of film and immediately saw this little girl in her beautiful Easter dress. She’s who was waiting for my... Continue Reading →

Because I had evening plans, I didn’t want to go out and make street portraits and then not have time to develop them, so I took the 4×5 out instead, the Crown Graphic press camera. I sat on a bench by McIntosh Lake in Longmont Colorado and waited until somebody commented on the camera and... Continue Reading →

I was out in Los Angeles last week for an actress portrait shoot. While there, I hit the streets for my American Street Portraits series. These are from the trendy Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood. Rolleiflex 3.5F & Ilford HP5 It was good to work in a different location and meet these folks in sunny... Continue Reading →

I post my photography to Instagram. So does Joel Meyerowitz, a big name in art photography. Same goes for Steve McCurry, Bruce Gilden, Alex Webb. And Marc Seliger, Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino, David Bailey. Also Ralph Gibson, Matt Stuart, Alec Soth, and Daido Moriyama. All regular posters to IG. They enjoy being on the receiving... Continue Reading →

I’m a fan of vernacular photography (aka snapshots)! I collect them when I find interesting ones of people engaged in life. Doing interesting things besides standing in front of things. I recently bought a trove of negatives–120 2 1/4″ x 3 1/4″, and 127 40mm x 40mm. It’s time travel. In the past, I found... Continue Reading →

I was making a post on LinkedIn and wanted to make a point that adding a bit of film to the professional photographer’s toolbox can be a leg up on the competition. And from my point of view, the pros I know who use film I find to be the better photographers. It probably should... Continue Reading →

I have over 1200 portraits for my ongoing American Street Portraits series made on film with a 1960 Rolleiflex, the camera of choice for many celebrity portraits and magazine covers for Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. (I’m talking industry heavyweights like Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, David Bailey and Cecil Beaton.) By now, you probably... Continue Reading →

What is it about a well-worn camera that makes us like it better than one that is in pristine condition? Maybe because it has seen things. Traveled the world, perhaps. It has provenance. This is a friend’s Leica M2 that he handed me the last time we were together. He said, “I loaded a roll... Continue Reading →

I photograph everywhere I go and from looking at my photographs I guess I go to a lot of pubs. It’s where I meet friends for drinks and conversation. Here’s a selection of pub photos I’ve assembled from the last few months. I’m not a big drinker. I like a good craft beer–an IPA–or a... Continue Reading →

I can saw the lady in the box in half, and she appears cut in half, but that doesn’t make her severed for real. It’s conjuring. It looks real but we know it’s not. AI is that magician working for people without writing skills, photography ability, anyone unable to create so they need a conjurer... Continue Reading →

You don’t have to practice the guitar for an hour a day to become a guitarist. Ten minutes a day on a daily basis is fine. It adds up and keeps you working at it. It becomes a part of your life, not a long session one weekend when you think of it and talk... Continue Reading →

There’s not a photographer I know who touts they make photos with no edits–SOOC: straight out of the camera. That’s not how photography works. We create images and we use processing (LRC) and editing tools (PS) to make them exactly what we want them to be. We aren’t looking for the camera to get it... Continue Reading →

These are some of the last photographs I made for my American Street Portraits series in 2025, from 16th Street and the Union Station area in Denver. What a tremendous year it’s been! I used a Rolleiflex camera and black and white film like was used to photograph fashion models for Vanity Fair and Vogue Magazines in the 1960s. Every... Continue Reading →

A photographer friend of mine rented an art space in a nearby town and set up a darkroom. He invited me to come see it and it’s a great space. Well laid out. Ventilated. I said the only thing missing is a second enlarger. He asked for what. I said no one is going to... Continue Reading →

It’s the 45th anniversary of John Lennon’s murder and they are playing a lot of his Beatles songs on the radio. I was thinking about how he said he came up with lyrics. Like the opening lines of Across the Universe, I remember hearing him say he was lying in bed and the words just... Continue Reading →

I’m very thankful that I have wonderful friends who invite me to their Thanksgiving family dinners. They treat me like one of the family. I am very appreciative of their friendship. This year, they had Thanksgiving at their house with their oldest daughter’s family in attendance with two young ones, 3 and 5. Those kids... Continue Reading →

Yesterday, I had to make a run down to Boulder and thought I’d try something different. I had a roll of Ilford HP5 loaded in a Pentax 67 (“Six-seven, six-seven,” say the kids!) camera for some time and thought I’d see what the 105mm f/2.4 lens could do in overcast light. I knew I could... Continue Reading →

There’s an old line that says if you want to keep your kids off drugs, get them a camera and they will spend all their cash on gear and they won’t have money for drugs. There is some truth in that, and there’s an added benefit as well: When someone becomes enamored with photography—with making... Continue Reading →

It was 70° F in Denver and Boulder Colorado this past weekend. We’re in mid-November and it felt like warm spring days, almost summertime temps. Two days of abundant sunshine. My photographer friend, Michael, who comes to a weekly photography gathering I host, has also started making street portraits with a Rolleiflex and was headed... Continue Reading →

Saturday was a good photographic day. Just after noon I was down in Boulder and made twelve portraits for my American Street Portraits project and was able to return to my studio and develop and scan them before I had to leave for a commercial photo shoot to make cover portraits of Ixchel Imagine, a... Continue Reading →

The difference between a kid’s picture, a photo, and a portrait: There are phone pictures. Millions. Ubiquitous. Forgotten. There are school photos. Representational. Identifying. Mechanical. And then there are film portraits. Artful. Creative. Lasting. I was thinking about how the families that often schedule a portrait session with me and my Rolleiflex for their children,... Continue Reading →

People who are into film photography often talk about how much they love film compared to digital because it’s so much more unpredictable. They say digital is perfect, sterile even, and they can’t wait to see what they will get with film because they embrace film’s imperfections. I suppose they mean a photograph like this.... Continue Reading →

There is something extra special to being a photographer and having the ability to watch someone light up as a result of the work we make. I usually meet a friend for a beer at a local BBQ pub called Smokin’ Dave’s, and the bartender who is always cheerful has gotten to know us since... Continue Reading →

The Worldwide Kelby Photo Walk was on this past Saturday evening and there was a local walk being held in Fort Collins, just about an hour north of Denver. When Paul Trantow, a photographer friend called and said let’s go and I said sure. The thing is, I love meeting other photographers–I’m a big fan... Continue Reading →

If you’ve ever admired the timeless elegance of classic black and white celebrity portraits—like these intimate, soul-revealing photographs of Meryl Streep, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Audrey Hepburn, Jimi Hendrix, and Mick Jagger—you’re not alone. These portraits don’t just capture a likeness; they capture a moment, a presence, a truth. And here’s the... Continue Reading →

Sally Mann has a new book out called Art Work: On the Creative Life. It was released this week and I ordered it on Audible which was a good choice as she is the one who reads the book. It was like she was in my car all week sharing stories. She’s a wordsmith–in addition... Continue Reading →

Bill Shapiro, a former Life Magazine editor-in-chief, and Grant Scott raise that very question on the podcast, A Photographic Life-373: The Conversation with Bill Shapiro ‘What Is Street Photography?’ I have an answer for them. Street photography is full of cliches like people with red umbrellas walking past a yellow newspaper box and a building... Continue Reading →

Today, I played with an Olympus Pen S half-frame camera at the local flea market. I’ve had film in this camera for years and it seemed daunting to find enough subjects to fill 72 frames on a 36-exposure roll of Ilford HP5. But I read a recent article by Johnny Martyr on his use of... Continue Reading →