The annual running of the Kentucky Derby happened last weekend and I was there photographing all the action. It’s a wonderful event and the biggest annual event to hit Louisville.
This was the first year I’ve been to Churchill Downs for the race since 2008, and it was great to get down to the track again. This was the sixth time I’ve photographed the event, but the first time as a freelancer and I found the experience surprisingly relaxing. Read more…
Thunder Over Louisville, the annual kickoff for the Kentucky Derby Festival, was tonight and this year I decided to take a different approach to photographing the fireworks.
For the past several years I have gone close, close, close to get a good shot of the fireworks, which has always produced great results. This year, however, I decided to take a different approach. Thunder Over Louisville typically brings in an average attendance of around 650,000 people, which makes leaving downtown Louisville or downtown Jeffersonville extremely frustrating. The crowds are mad, I tell ya. Read more…
I was recently hired by a political consulting firm to photograph Jennifer Webb, currently running for Madison County Circuit Court Clerk. The photos will be used to update her website, fill up mailers and for general publicity/press releases.
The shoot would take place in Richmond, Ky., about two hours south of Louisville. It was an early start, with photos beginning at 9 a.m., so I left the house around 6:30 to give myself plenty of time. Read more…
I was recently asked by a photo enthusiast friend of mine a question that comes up about as often as “what kind of camera should I buy?” My buddy asked, and I’m paraphrasing, “ What kind of photo book can you recommend that will help me understand what the hell I’m doing wrong with my camera?” Read more…
I have been reading a stack of books these days about the business of photography, and Dane Sanders’ “The Fast Track Photography Business Plan” made an insightful plea for a new way of looking at the business of photography. This might sound like a boring prospect and an even boring-er read, but the explosion of new ‘professional photographers’ working these days makes it more important than ever to look creatively at how we approach the business aspect of the photography we create. Read more…
It is a difficult prospect to most photographers, especially the unestablished and uninitiated, to place a bid for a photography assignment. All types of things may run through your head, most of them unimportant, but the root of the problem in my experience is … well, experience.
Attending college, studying your craft and hitting the streets with your camera is an excellent use of your time. I mean lets face it … if you suck at creating photos, learning how to talk to prospective clients is the least of your worries. But let us say that we have put in our time for study and our confidence in our ability is assured. Now how do we talk to folks and convince them to give us their money? Read more…
There was a time when journalism was romantic. Jet setting, sophisticated, cosmopolitan … the days of Robert Capa, W. Eugene Smith, Ernie Pyle and Edward R. Murrow. I picture myself wearing a somewhat Indiana Jones-ish style outfit, sipping rum in a bar in Havana while reporting on the rise of Fidel Castro. Or maybe standing on a rooftop, a cigarette sticking out of my mouth as I photograph the first wave of the German Luftwaffe.
This is one of the reasons that journalism so enthralled me in college. Studying these old badasses made journalism seem like a most exciting undertaking. Add the fact that my images could end up in history books and you can see the appeal. Read more…
It’s the age old question: Who makes the best camera, Nikon or Canon? Any photographer worth her salt has had this conversation with a colleague. Maybe it was over a pint after class, or maybe on assignment as you wait for the president to arrive. Regardless, as photographers we’ve all fought for our particular brand … but what’s the deal?
As a photojournalist, picking a brand of camera to use is not a particularly difficult decision. You have two options. If you plan to work for a newspaper, you’ll be shooting Nikon or Canon … guaranteed. If you’re a commercial photographer, more than likely you’ll be using your own equipment, so, whatever. Fashion photographers are probably using a combination of 35 mm and medium format, but I’d bet a dollar their 35 mm rig is Nikon or Canon.
Let me take you back to my early days of college, the days when I was first moving into my courses on photography, the days when I had no camera. Read more…
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