Hey everyone--
I’m Andrew, and I take lots of pictures of trees (good pictures of trees). And I want to help you to become a better photographer. Now you’re probably wondering, “Man, what does this schmuck have to teach me about photography?” (sometimes you slip into a weird Brooklynite persona when you’re wondering things). Well, allow me to explain.
My dad was a photographer long before I was born. He built a darkroom in his garage in the 70s, and tried to instill the love of photography in me ever since I was a kid, buying me my first camera at the age of 8. I used it to take a lot of pictures of sticks (a precursor to my later pictures of trees, no doubt).
It wasn’t until high school that I got really hooked on photography as an art form though, thanks to a digital photography course I took as an elective. That class was more than a decade ago. It was a simpler time. 12 megapixels felt like a lot, Adobe was a beloved purveyor of industry standard software instead of a soulless subscription-model company, and nobody was trying to convince me to switch to Sony mirrorless.
Before long, my love of digital photography branched out into 35mm film, then medium format, then buying and fixing up old cameras to use, then darkroom printing, and finally large format. These days I shoot a bit of everything - from my compact “take everywhere” camera to my trusty DSLR to my Intrepid 4x5. Over the years, I’ve honed my craft, expanded my knowledge, and most importantly, figured out what it is that makes me satisfied with an image. I like shooting portraits, families, engagements, and other “people” photos, but my favorite thing to shoot is nature (especially trees).
Yeah, no, I was serious.
I want to teach you how to use your camera, how to get the best out of your gear (whether it’s a Hasselblad or an iPhone), how to expose, how to edit, how to compose, how to print, how to use film and enlargers, how to critique your own work and improve--all of these things. But I think more than that, I want to teach you how to make art you feel proud of.
To that end, I have some questions for you. I think we’ll all benefit if you don’t simply read these questions, but imagine Billy Mays shouting them at you.
Are you brand new to photography and trying to figure out what you’re doing?
Are you unsure which camera or lens or tripod to buy?
Do you not even know what the right questions are to ask?
Do you have some really specific questions you want help on?
Do you feel like you have the basics down and want to know how to take your photography to the next level?
Are you confident in the technical side of photography, but feel like you’re struggling with the artistic side?
Are you confident in the artistic side of photography, but baffled by the technical side?
Have you been considering dipping your toes in to film?
Do you stay up late at night, scared about whether you should be calibrating your monitor?
Do you look at work from photographers you admire, and wonder why your work just isn’t as good as theirs?
Do you wish you could get a set of experienced eyes on your portfolio to help generate some constructive, actionable critique?
If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, I want to help you! Learning photography is a long process, full of practicing, trying new things, and taking pictures of proverbial sticks. But learning from and working alongside an experienced instructor can make all the difference in how fast you progress.
Here on this blog, you’ll find content that I believe will be helpful for photographers at any skill level. Expect to see tutorials, articles, videos, and photos designed to help you reach your photographic goals.
I also offer my services as a teacher. I believe that one-on-one learning is usually the most effective. Whether you want to do a workshop, an editing session, or just submit photos to me for a video critique, you’ll find what you’re looking for here.
Besides that, I’m always looking for topics to write about that actually matter to photographers. If you have a question you’d like to see addressed on my blog, leave me a comment or send me an email! I’d love to talk about it here.