Blog

Samsung NX1: We Have Lift Off

The above image and copy is a post I did to my Instagram and Facebook pages this week. This Post is the first in a series of pieces I will do on my transition from the Canon System to that of Samsung. My perception is that this one system could serve as a foundation for professional level content creation in photography, cinematography and audio production. In my career in imaging, these shifts are more like massive leaps, and occur very infrequently, but always for the same collection of reasons. Those reasons can be summed up in this statement. “I want

Bali Journal, Week 2

We left Ubud by taking a winding route by our friend Gusti’s home, and then made our way out to the shore of E. Bali to spend a bit of time at the beach, as well as catch up with Michael Lorenti, a fellow member of 1% for the Planet with his company Sensatia Botanicals. Ketut, and her husband Willie drove u,s and we made sort of a family type outting of it, with the four of us. The tempo of life while being much more leisurely here, is pretty intriguing on several levels, especially when we got to have

Sense of Place

I have not spoken with many on this subject, though some of my closer friends have touched upon it with me on occasion. They do so in such a manner as to cause me to assume that most people, by and large, understand what “place” means, and how we ought to be when we visit one that is inhabited by another tribe, as it were. “Another” meaning simply a group of individuals who had not specifically invited us into a place of significant meaning to themselves. The process is endemic to Photo Journalism as we venture forth, to see what

Independence Day was Born on the Fourth of July

Not vice versa. This is why we consider the Declaration of Independence to be the blueprint for Liberty. It covers the underpinnings necessary for the pursuit of happiness. It is the God given and legal architecture of these united States, with which what I term “The Suck” (which applies to those who endeavor to control and suppress independence) battles, in ever more brazen fashion, these recent decades. Below is some beautiful verse written by my friend and colleague, photojournalist and soldier Jon Louis Blackburn. He is a proud Scot in heritage and tone, and a perfect example of what America

D Day Retrospective

June 6, 2014, Today in the US, we look back on an event in WW2, remembered as D Day. Here is the original historic dispatch from Associated Press. CNN brings us a fantastic retrospective on D Day in this Op Ed history based feature If you were a young American, British or Canadian soldier landing on the shores of France on June 6 1944, chances are you went into a very well defended series of kill zones in an early variant of an AAV. You can read a bit on the history of the LVT craft here. Or

North Coast Musings

I am seated at a small round table which is covered with a white table cloth, and rests in a bay window alcove. In the corner in front of me, a gas fireplace glows and fills the room with a soft warm embrace. To my right is a queen size bed in which my wife sleeps. At my left through moisture streaked windows, I see the faint outline of that vast diorama which is the rugged Northern California coast. Approximately 400 feet below me, down a near sheer cliff, lies the sea, and she has come awake with new

The Springs Fire

Pock pock pockata pock pock pock…. I had been dreaming of helos, hovering. I awoke to the stacatto rhythm of rain on the roof. In the dark, I figured it must be around 3 am. I was wide awake and thinking about the events of the last few days. Deep breath. Hmm wow, first time I have been able to take one of those in awhile. Funny what we may take for granted. Little things like breathing. My wife lay on her back next to me, I could hear the faint rattle in her chest as she slept. We both

Canon 5D Mark 2: Trial by Fire

My 5D Mark 2 system has been getting quite the workout of late. The other night Tyler Swain came by. Tyler is the talented director, writer, camera operator who, when I am lucky, I get to work with. He had dropped by after a long day working on an episode of Top Gear, to be briefed on the workings of the Canon 5DM2 which he would need to be shooting a show on in the morning. In explaining the workings of the system to him I realized how truly complex it is if one really wants to utilize the tremendous

Collateral Damage

I was 23 years old and saying a tearful goodbye to my wife of one month in LAX departures. As I slunk back in my seat moments later, and heard the soft thunk of the cabin door closing, I noticed Shaun Tomson sitting a few seats away. Dane Kealoha was nearby, and behind him I saw Mark Richards. We were all headed for Hawaii and what would be my first travel leg of the then IPS world tour. The next ten years or so of my life consisted of moments like that: traveling alone, or with some

Touch

It is not something I have any complete understanding of, but for some reason I recognize the touch of my friends and what may be affecting them. It often comes in the form of a subtle whisper. I have found that if I shut the heck up and just listen, the process applies quite dramatically in my work. I will experience new things as a result. That affects what I communicate to the world. It changes my perception, as the imprint broadens who and what I am. I need that. My life would be cold porridge without it. Last night

Blog

Categories