experience

Covering the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl Journey, From Ecstasy to Horror

While I photograph the Kansas City Chiefs' home games during the season, I don’t go along if they make the playoffs or Super Bowl. But that doesn’t mean I’m finished doing assignments involving them. This year, for instance, I was hired to cover their departure from Kansas City to Las Vegas, then the big downtown watch party the night of the game, and finally the victory parade and celebration that went from ecstatic to horrific.

How I Learned a Lesson About Having Multiple Backups as a Photographer

We’ve all heard the horror stories of wedding photographers having their cameras stolen only to lose all of their couples’ photos, the photographer whose car was broken into after leaving their camera gear inside, only to lose important photos in the case, etc. You never think it’s going to happen until it happens to you.

I Caught My Wedding Photography Nightmare on Camera

Being a wedding photographer for me is one of the best, if not the best, jobs in the world. As expected though, the best job in the world also has its negatives, and one of them is the reoccurring nightmares the night before a wedding day.

My Strange Ongoing Troubles with the Canon R5

I’ve been a Canon shooter since I moved into digital about 15 years ago. I had been using Mamiya and Minolta cameras with film and at that time the Canon 50D came out and I decided to give it a go. Since then I worked my way through the 5D lineup to the 5D Mark III and built up a collection of glass that has served me well.

Shooting the Landscape at 70 Miles an Hour

Landscape photography at 70 mph. Is it even possible? For years the idea of landscape photography was to put your camera on a tripod, frame very carefully, then wait for the light to be perfect before you shot. But what if you had to do everything in exactly the opposite way?

25 Years of Digital Photography: From Ugly to Awesome

When I received my Nikon Z9 in late December 2021, I was a bit anxious. Would it live up to the hype? Was it going to be the camera that Nikon had promised (and many Nikon users had been waiting for)?

My Journey in Photography: He Who Falls Today May Rise Tomorrow

The year was 2019, I had just gotten accepted into the USA Olympic Weightlifting program and had accepted a personal training position at a gym. As a former athlete, it felt as if all my dreams were finally falling into place. Little did I know that my euphoria would be short-lived and just one short month later I would wake up restrained to a hospital bed.

Which is More Important: Technical Photography Skill or an Artistic Eye?

Photographers have always endured an internal debate about the relative importance of learning either technical or artistic aspects. Most lean toward the technical, feeling they have a handle on the artistic side but lack the technical proficiency or expertise to produce really good photographs.

The High Arctic: The Best Photographic Experience of my Life

I have an irrational fear of ships based on 90-minute voyages on car ferries across the relative calm of the English Channel and yet I was sitting with my wife, Fre, listening to Tony Spencer trying to convince us that we should join him on “the adventure of a lifetime,” the fulfilment of a dream that Tony had been working on for three years.

I Stopped Trying to Impress Other Photographers, and I’ve Never Been Happier

My name is Jordan McChesney, and I'm a photographer based in Japan. Let me start by saying that I am not a professional photographer, and I’m well aware that my movement towards success is an ongoing process that is (hopefully) in the early stages of even bigger things to come. That being said, I think it’s a good idea to reflect on my last year or so of growth.

My Considerations Photographing the Military in Washington DC

While on assignment in Washington, D.C. in late January earlier this year, I had to think very carefully about the situation I was documenting. The events around the Inauguration of Joe Biden had swung the global spotlight around, and I knew that there would be scrutiny of any historical artifact that was produced in this space at this time.

Winter Wetlands: Photographing Whooper Swans

A winter wetland has always held a special place in my heart. A unique wildness derived from the winter wildfowl that visit from the remote Arctic landscapes, birds of prey drawn to harry prey during the short, cold days – the nervousness of wildfowl feeding anxiously – ready to take flight as a menacing shadow passes overhead.

My Visits with Ansel Adams

In the 1970s, I was seriously pursuing my hobby of black and white landscape photography with a 4x5 view camera. My prints were being sold by the Image Gallery in Palo Alto and the Focus Gallery in San Francisco and by me at occasional street fairs. Selling prints never generated much money, but I appreciated the acknowledgment of my work.

Shooting Portraits Inside a London COVID Hospital

I first came to the hospital back in June, having decided that the stories and experiences of the front line staff shouldn’t be forgotten. We’d all seen inside the Italian hospitals, but when the virus hit the UK, there was nothing coming out of the UK, so I made it my mission to gain access and document the life and death struggles going on behind closed doors.

My Experience With My First Gallery Exhibition

I originally moved from the UK to New Zealand in search of a place that allows me to spread my artistic wings and really obtain that deeper level of natural landscape beauty. I ended up in Wellington, the national and artistic capital of NZ, where everything and anything goes.

The Waitress, the Tarantula, the Body in the Bathtub, and Why I Had To Buy My Girlfriend a New Pentax

I’ve got a lot of 35mm negatives, which have suffered quite a bit of damage over the years. My ex had a penchant for purchasing houses that were prone to basement flooding. So my pix got flooded out precisely the same way in two different locations two years apart. Seeing my negatives go floating by gave me a feeling, which was the exact polar opposite of seeing my sons being born. Twice.

Death in the Camera Store: Learning to See On the Other Side of Fear

Crap. I’m only going to get 19 years? WTF? I am standing with my fingers knitted together, resting on the top of my head. A few feet away, there is a gun pointed at my face, and I’m trying like I’ve never tried anything to not pee on myself.

Getting Mugged in Colombia as a Travel Photographer

As a travel photographer, I'm often asked if I've ever been robbed or had any negative experiences in far-flung corners of the world, Previously I didn't have much to talk about, but after a recent trip to Colombia, that changed…

Shooting a Wedding with the Leica M9

My name is Tomer, and I've been a street photographer for the past 12 years. Over the years, I've done a lot of event photography, shooting weddings, couples, families, and more.

A Whale Tail: Overcoming Fear to Swim with Humpback Whales

It’s 2019, I’m 80 miles away from land in the Atlantic Ocean, and I just have to laugh. I just got out of the water and noticed that my camera housing is leaking. I couldn’t afford the Nauticam rental this time, so I went cheap and hoped for the best. It’s my third trip to the Silver Bank with Tom Conlin and Aquatic Adventures and once again my photographic luck was left behind on solid ground.

Does Photographing a Moment Steal the Experience From You?

Countless photographs are snapped every day by people looking to preserve their life's experiences, but is the incessant picture taking actually robbing us of them? Travel photographer and writer Erin Sullivan recently gave this interesting 8-minute TED Talk on the subject.

How I Succeeded at Doing a 365 Photo Project

Three years ago, I attempted a 365 Project. About 90 days in, I had to accept the fact that I wasn’t going to make it to 365 days, so I turned it into a 100 Day Project. I know that a 365 Project sounds pretty simple -- take and post one photograph each day. My standards for the images I post on my social media are very high, but in the end, I had to accept the reality that I wasn’t going to strike gold each day. I really did try though.

Film Photography Speeds Me Up

It’s been around a year since I switched to photographing on 35mm film for the majority of my work. Beyond a couple of false starts and some misconceptions, I think I’ve adjusted well, and I’m really happy to have made the change. Now that I have a good amount of work to reference, I’ve been thinking a lot about some of the adjustments I needed to make in order to adapt to a film mindset.

Freediving to Photograph Humpback Whales

The ocean is fascinating in every way. We know so little about its mysteries and tend to ignore its importance for all living life. What is it about the underwater world that draws people from all over the world to explore its depths? For me, the allure of marine life welcoming me into their natural habitat rather than the other way around is beautiful.

I Tried Unsplash for Two Years, Here’s What I Learned

It is now exactly 2 years since I started uploading stock photos to Unsplash, the "slightly" controversial stock photo platform where everything is free for everyone. I thought this would be a good occasion to share what I've gained from my presence on Unsplash.

I Was a Photographer at the Pentagon on 9/11

On an otherwise quiet and beautiful September morning, my business partner Adam Paseman and I found ourselves speeding down Route 1 in Virginia to take some photos for the Associated Press of the White House which had mistakenly been reported was on fire.

How I Got Outsmarted by a Kid with an Umbrella

I’m an experienced concert photographer. From the largest stadiums to the smallest, dirtiest night clubs, I’ve photographed thousands of bands and seen it all. I’m damned confident in my ability to anticipate the shot and be in the right place at the right time. Or, at least I was until last Saturday night.

How Emotions Mold the Art We Create

Have you ever wondered why the images you created a few years ago look very different from the pictures you are taking now? Chances are you became a better photographer. You trained your eye and you got better at post-processing. But I am not talking about the craft. I am talking about the art behind photography. The art that feeds off your emotions.