Alex Kilbee has over 20 years of professional photography experience. He received his formal education in South Africa at the prestigious Pretoria Technikon Photography School. He runs The Photographic Eye, one of the most respected photography YouTube channels.
Read MoreI Hate White Cars!
If you have ever attended a workshop of mine, there is one rant you will always here and will likely always remember. I hate white cars.
Read MoreNew Camera. New Hype. Old Drama
The release of a major new camera brings out all the drama.
Along with the uber-hype of the manufacturer, there are those that parse every specification looking for evidence of the product’s greatness or its obvious failings. Even before the camera has been used under real-world circumstances, everybody is ready to pick their corner. People don’t even wait for the bell to ring before they start throwing punches.
Read MoreThe Importance of Human Gesture
During my time in San Francisco attending StreetFotoSF, I was reminded of the importance of human gesture. It was something that I found of particular importance both in my own 2-day workshop as well as the Cage Match, where I and three other photographers critiqued images.
Read MorePhoto Critiques: How to Make the Most of Them
For over 25 years, I have been a photo educator in one form or another. Whether as a writer, adjunct professor or a workshop leader, I had shared my knowledge and experience with thousands of photographers with varying levels of experience.
However, there have been times when I am the student. And regardless of what I know, or think I know, there is always some insight to be gained when I am listening to another person sharing their knowledge and experience.
Read MoreSeeing Rather than Looking
I am always working on seeing rather than looking.
For me seeing is an active act, a conscious decision to observe the world especially its more subtle and nuanced offerings.
Read MoreStaying in the Moment
A photographer friend once told me a story of when he was photographing in a Tibetan monastery. He was creating images over several days when he noticed one of the monks carefully observing him. The monk watched him as he photographed, but never approached him or said a word. There was a moment when the photographer thought that the monk thought he was doing something wrong, though the link didn’t choose to verbalize it.
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Working Free as a Career Builder?
Is providing your photography for free a way to begin a career as a professional photographer?
That’s the question that arose while watching a recent conversation conducted by Zack Arias with Mikal Cho, the founder, and owner of Unsplash. Unsplash is a platform where photographers submit their images for use by anyone for free for any purpose, including commercial use without financial compensation or even attribution to the photographer.
Read MoreDo Great Photographers Make Bad Pictures?
The greatest source of education and inspiration for me has been looking at the work of great photographers. I have spent endless hours looking thru the monographs of Gordon Parks, Mary Ellen Mark, Roy DeCarava, Josef Koudelka, Tina Modotti, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Robert Frank, William Albert Allard and countless others. Those moments leave me marveling at the unique way a person can see the world and capture a moment with a camera.
Read MoreThe Candid Frame #369 - Lisa Krantz
Lisa Krantz grew up in Tallahassee, FL but has called San Antonio home since 2004. Before the Express-News, she was a staff photographer at the Naples Daily News in south Florida for five years. She has a B.S. in Psychology from Florida State University and a M.A. in Photography from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. She loves running and eating vegetarian food, but not at the same time
Read MoreInvesting on Gear or Time?
Okay, I am going to be honest. I have bought stuff that I didn’t need. There I said it. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but there it is. I’m guilty.
Oh, I could justify the purchase at the time. I either needed it for a job or a project that I was intending to work on. And there was always the voice of my accountant who reminds me that ‘you have to spend it to keep it’. There was always a reason why I would make the purchase, convincing myself that it was a good investment.
Read MoreTaking Risks - Buildings Wings
Next weekend, we will begin the 11th season of The Candid Frame and we're slowly working our way to our 400th episode. It is an amazing achievement, especially since there was a moment when I was thinking of giving it all up.
Read MoreNew Year Non-Resolutions
I have never been much for making resolutions. Such self-promises have lapsed into failure no sooner than I’ve put pen to paper.
Instead, I try to evaluate the past year. I look at where I’ve succeeded and where I’ve fallen short and I try to learn from both. Rather than seeing it as an opportunity to set myself up for a failure that I will berate myself for later, I instead try to reinforce those actions that helped me to succeed. Focusing too much on the things I don’t like has never led to a successful transformation. It’s only when I focus on the actions that get me closer to what I want that have resulted in change.
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