written by: Rusty SterlingAs a photographer, I look for inspiration. This takes me to the heights of epiphany or the depths of frus- tration. Most times I think I wallow somewhere in between. For me my epiphany as a photographer happened after three years of study with Dick Dischler, my mentor/photographer/teacher. My project “Where We Walk” began after a walk-about with Dick. During our stroll he stopped to make a few images, explaining to me that he “sees in small things the full landscape of an image.” A short time later I spied a light reflection on the asphalt of an alleyway. I Read more »
written by: Paul BrideGrowing up in the flat sprawling suburbs of Mississauga Ontario my first adventures were born out of imagination. The small ravine across from my house could easily transform into the darkest jungle providing hours of expeditions battling man-eating creatures, the discovery of lost civilizations and tracking Bigfoot. Like many kids I was attracted instantly to images in magazines of far off lands, unknown cultures and people in unique situations, I always wondered who took those amazing images and how one went about getting to go on such exploits. It was not until I was older and graduated college that my Read more »
written by: Christopher VanderyajtIt is 4 a.m. and I have just finished packing my car with camera gear. I’m driving to Readington, NJ, the location of the annual QuickChek Festival of Ballooning. Each year for three days hundreds of hot air balloons soar through the sky while spectators by the tens of thousands watch the amazing display. Although I am driving to the festival, hot air balloons are not my focus, because this year Red Bull is an event sponsor and the Red Bull Air Force Team is going to be putting on their own show. By 5 a.m. the sun is still Read more »
written by: Paulette TavorminaWendy Erickson: I am drawn into your images when I study them−I can almost smell the fragrance from the flowers. Your photographs are extraordinarily warm and inviting—I get the feeling these are extremely personal photographs. Paulette Tavormina: They are intensely personal to me as they all tell stories of the fragility of life and love, the fine balance of emotions, passion, vulnerability and the sorrow one feels that life and beauty can be so fleeting−tempus fugit. Being a sentimental person, photography is a way to capture and savor a moment. I pour myself into these images when I am creating Read more »
written by: Bryce McQuillanI am 23 years of age, from New Zealand and I’ve been making macro photos for about three years now. I got into macro photography though another photographer who came around to take some photos of spiders I was breeding, and seeing the images he took of the spiders really interested me. I thought I would try it myself— not knowing how much was involved with macro photography. I have always had a huge interest and obsession with bugs and spiders, so being able to photograph them has made my passion for them grow even more, as I am able Read more »
written by: Tadas NaujokaitisWhen I started photographing birds, my primary goal was to get as close as possible. Later I realized that background and lighting are even more important. All this makes bird photography truly challenging. Nevertheless, the internet is already full of beautiful bird images, so it’s time to make something different. This is not an easy task, but by using feeders for bird photography, even the most difficult ideas can become reality. The Setting Before enjoying bird photography, some preparations are needed. First of all, choose a location for a feeder: decide which species you want to photograph and find an Read more »
written by: Mike MitchellImagine a species of life vastly more evolved than human beings. Imagine it as a completely different ordering of life, so cognizant that knowledge itself is the very tissue of its body. Imagine it cares to tutor you, show you what it knows. Now close your eyes. When you open them again you will see this being in front of you. It is everywhere, it is light. My photographs in the last six years have all been experiments. Let’s see what happens if I do this…or this…or this. Let’s see what happens if I set up conditions in the studio Read more »
written by: Richard Koci HernandezAs a child I loved to color. I remember losing track of time and being absorbed in the process. I will admit to a slight sense of artistic accomplishment when one of my drawings was posted on the refrigerator. Ultimately, my reward was in the doing, not the result. Somewhere along my creative journey, I lost my box of crayons. Some 30 years after my last drawing was displayed in the kitchen gallery, I found a new creative tool and a new gallery to share my work. The newfound box of crayons I’m referring to is the iPhone and the Read more »
written by: Joseph HolmesStarting sometime in the mid-1990’s, it became clear that replacing color film with some form of digital capture was inevitable, but the wait for a workable replacement for my beloved Technika and its 4×5 film for scanning was a long one. About five years ago I met a clever fellow, Roger Howard, who turned me on to VR images built by stitching many frames from multiple rows of 360 degree captures from a Canon 20D. My gears started to turn. I wasn’t interested in 3D spherical results for my own work, but the prospect of quickly making, say, nine exposures Read more »
written by: Gina McGalliard, Tim MantoaniWe’ve all seen iconic photographs of our times: Steve McCurry’s portrait of the ‘Afghan Girl,’ the shootings at Kent State, the lone man standing in front of a tank at Tiananmen Square. But do we know about the photographers who captured these images? For San Diegan Tim Mantoani, it has become a personal mission to give credit to these unknowns with his Behind Photos project, which uses the art of large-format Polaroid photography to document photographers alongside their famous works. Mantoani first became interested in photography in high school on a school trip his freshman year to Philadelphia. Upon graduating, Read more »
