The Perceptive Photographer

I am out on the road this week so just a quick note on the podcast. I hope you enjoy it. I have been driving across Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota so seeing lots of plateaus, but I digress from the topic of the week. A creative plateau is that strange phase where progress feels stagnant. You’re not getting worse, but it feels like you’re also not getting any better. It’s like hiking. There are...

Have you ever looked at two versions of a photograph where one is technically clean and the other one a little rough around the edges. For some reason, you feel something pull you toward the scruffy one. It drives you crazy because you can’t explain it and put words to why? Well for this weeks podcast we are going to dig in a talk about that and how to sit with that feeling. In my practice a...

Hey all. We are up to episode 589 of the Perceptive Photographer. This week, we are going to talk about how nothing is ever wasted in the creative process. I think one of the most damaging ideas for artists and photographers is the belief that every effort must produce a successful result. We head out with our cameras, hoping for great light, compelling subjects, and portfolio-worthy images. When...

Before we dive into this week’s episode (number 588, btw), just a quick reminder: two spots are still available  in the Photo Book Club —Click on the link under the workshop menu for more details.  This week, the inspiration for this episode came from the book we are reading for the book club — Robert Adams’s  Why People Photograph.  But before we dig into our topic...

Before getting into today’s episode, I want to acknowledge the passing of Jeff Schewe. Jeff’s contributions to the photographic community were immense, and his passion for the craft touched countless photographers worldwide. I learned so much about printing and processing from Jeff. He will be deeply missed, and my thoughts are with his family, friends, and everyone whose life he influ...

Photographers often hear that they should “shoot with intention.” I agree with this for the most part, but thought it might be a great topic for today’s episode of the Perceptive Photographer (episode #586). Like I said, I do agree that there is some intention always at play, but I don’ think we always know that intention before we pickup the camera. Sometimes, we learn abo...

In this episode of the podcast, 585, I talk about something that has come up in conversations several times over the past few weeks with different friends and colleagues: the challenge of photographing familiar places. There’s a tendency in photography to believe the next great image exists somewhere else. So we travel to new cities, another country, or another landscape. We just want something ne...

In Episode 584 of  The Perceptive Photographer , I dig into some ideas about how photography is ultimately about creating connection. Sure, a camera can record information, but meaningful photographs ask something deeper of us. They change how we relate things in the frame, such as people, objects, emotions, and ideas, into new ways that create coherence and resonance. I would argue that phot...

On this week’s episode of  The Perceptive Photographer , I talk about the idea that editing may be one of the most personal parts of photography. Not that behind the lens isn’t important, but long before someone knows anything about us, they can often sense something in the way we process an image. After all that is a part of what we emphasize, what we remove, and how we shape what we see in...

As I think about topics for  The Perceptive Photographer , I spend a lot of time thinking about how we see not just with our eyes, but with our awareness. And oddly enough, as we approached May 4 which is Star Wars Day I keep finding those same ideas is in  Star Wars . In many ways both photography and  Star Wars  are about perception from a certain point of view. I often talk about the idea that...

Welcome to episode 581 of the Perceptive Photographer. This week, I am sharing what I hope are five insightful suggestions to help you think differently about your work in your photography and deepen your creative practice. As I was digging into some new books, class prepping and thinking about some classic comedy and photographic techniques, I came up with five simple ideas for you to try out and...

Welcome to episode 580 of Perceptive Photographer. and today I want to explore the ever-evolving relationship we photographers have with technology. From the most basic cameras to today’s powerful digital tools, technology is always a factor but it shouldn’t determine how or why we create. Embracing — and Moving Beyond — Technology Photography has always been intertwined with technology, from pinh...

Welcome to episode 579 of the Perceptive Photographer. This week, we explore the unexpected connection between the distillation of alcohol and the art of photography. This idea came to me when I was thinking about a visit to a local distillery mean years ago. I was amazed how the process of removing impurities from spirits mirrors the photographic journey of refining images to their essential core...

This week on the podcast, we explored a deceptively simple but powerful mental exercise:  What if nobody cared about what you care about in your photography?  By playing this “what if” game, my hope is hat the can rethink not just what we photograph, but how we talk about our work, share it, and even how we select which images to show. As we open this episode, we dig into the importance of letting...

In episode 577 of the Perceptive Photographer, I wanted to offer a different take on how we approach composition that goes beyond traditional rules. Instead of simply arranging subjects within a frame, I wanted to start from the frame’s edges and working inward. I stumbled across this concept inspired by Charles Traub’s truism: “Construct your images from the edge inward. For me, the edges of a ph...

In this episode, we explore the “sweet spots” in photography. You know when things feel right when those , settings, and workflow tweaks that make your images realy connect. From camera settings to post-processing, sequencing, and viewing, I spend a little time diving into these little adjustments which can elevate our photos I talk about how small tweaks in camera settings can make a huge differe...

This week, I explore a positive “mind game” you can play in your photography that can inspire you to see your work differently. These mental strategies can motivate you to approach each shoot with fresh energy and purpose.  Your approach as you head out the door says a lot about your work. Are you looking for things, emotions, ideas, or concepts? What you set up as the basics is what w...

In episode 574 of The Perceptive Photographer, I dig into the idea of the emotional “entry points” that invite viewers into a photograph. This isn’t about leading lines or the rule of thirds. It’s about whether someone who knows nothing about you or your story can still feel something when they look at your work. It’s easy to make work that’s so personal it beco...

In this episode of The Perceptive Photographer, I sit down with Jenny Hansen Das a great friend and Seattle-based fine art photographer whose work has always amazed me as it finds intersections of beauty, absurdity, and deep emotional connection and notions of everyday life. Jenny’s photography centers on the simplicity of the everyday but presents it in unexpected ways, combining analog and...

Hey there!  I hope you are having a great week. In this week’s podcast, I wanted to talk about some of the things that came up for me when I revisited John Berger’s essay, “Understanding a Photograph.” As I was preparing for a class, this essay got me excited for a podcast discussion about meaning in our work. Berger asks us, at the core of the essay, a few things. One...

In the start of our 11th year, episode 572 of  The Perceptive Photographer , I dive back into a often discussed topic that every photographer eventually faces: conflicting critique. It is bound to happen to all of us. That moment when two thoughtful people look at the same photograph and see completely different things. One person calls it powerful and restrained. Another calls it distant and unre...

I hope you are having a great week and thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the Perceptive Photographer. The just happens to be episode 571 and we still have one week of the Winter Olympics left. Woo H00!. This week, we’re diving deep into the art of photographic composition and what truly makes a photograph great based on the inspiration of two quotes. One by Ansel Adams and the ot...

In Episode 570 of  The Perceptive Photographer , I found myself circling a couple of questions:  Is an audience required for meaning, or just for momentum?  And if no one ever sees a photograph, does it still matter? (and the difference between sees and seen) As photographers, we’re surrounded by feedback. Images are shared, measured, ranked, and quickly replaced by the next shot. It’s easy to abs...

When was the last time a photograph or moment behind the camera lens truly made you stop and catch your breath? Not just a quick “oh, that’s nice,” but a real, lingering moment of connection? Well, that is the topic for the show today, which is episode 569, btw. podcasts If you think about the images you see every day, there are so many of them. We’re living in an age of visual overload. It can be...

In this week’s episode , Episode 568 of  The Perceptive Photographer , I spend some time reflecting on a tension many photographers experience, whether we admit it or not: the pull between photographing for ourselves and photographing for validation. At some point, often without realizing it, we start making images with an audience in mind. We think about what will be liked, shared, or unders...