The Stop Down Photography Podcast

I can’t believe 2021 is already half behind us! “The days go slow and the years go fast” … as the saying goes. For us photographers, the mid-year mark is a natural point to assess our progress for th…

In today’s digital age, post-processing is an important part of creating our images. I’ve used many different apps over the years to create my images, and I still use several software packages today.…

I tend to see the world in large sweeps. I see foreground, midground, and background as parts of a whole. That’s my natural way of seeing the world, and that influences how I see the subjects of my p…

Photographers are constantly managing tradeoffs. One creative choice for an image invariably comes at the cost of something else. Every frame we capture contains a compromise. Photographers learn thi…

For the past decade, I have exerted a lot of energy into improving my seascape photography. I’ve certainly improved, my workflow is more refined, and I am more consistently producing solid photograph…

It’s a fair statement that we photographers take more bad photos than good ones. Over time, our keeper rate will improve as we practice our craft and grow our photographic eye. But … a keeper rate ov…

While working through some photos taken a few years ago at Long Pond on Mount Desert Island in Maine, I realized how little I explored that area. The photos I have are nice, they are of good quality.…

In art forms like music, live performance, or motion pictures, the artist can take the audience on a bit of a journey. It could be a few seconds to a few minutes or longer. And at the pivotal moment,…

In today’s podcast, I share a story of how our subconscious mind affects our photography. And can do so in curious and interesting ways. After a recent visit to the San Diego beach, I noticed a theme…

I have been stepping out more with the camera of late. And, as you might have guessed, I made several visits to the San Diego coastline. Gotta get my fill of sand, surf, and sky! As summer approaches…

It is no secret to the Stop Down Photography Podcast audience that I am a Beatles fan. The Fab Four entered my photographic orbit again this past week. I was driving, iTunes on shuffle, and (as has b…

Photographers are visual storytellers. It is paramount that when you capture a photo, you know the story you are telling in that frame. Today’s podcast is a discussion about knowing the story of your…

Our paths as artists, as visual storytellers, is not a straight path. There are switchbacks, detours, pauses, and backtracking as we forge ahead on our quest to become stronger photographers. Yet the…

The contrast in a photo makes it powerful. Good contrast enhances the photo of a subject and lets our photos tell a stronger story. When we think of contrast, our first thought is usually highlights …

The contents of our camera bag are rarely static. The gear we carry evolves as we continue our pursuit of photography. And therein lies a story. The camera bodies, lenses, filters, and tripod we add,…

A few weeks ago, I had a great exchange with Joel, a friend of the show. We were talking about a set of original Ansel Adams prints on sale. Some of the photos are amazing and stop me dead in my trac…

Working on a post-processing course about localized adjustments, those little changes to tone and color we do after basic processing, put me in a reflective mood. My post-processing style is certainl…

I think it's fair to say that we all have a pent-up desire to meet up with our fellow photographers. To say the past 12 months have curtailed our engagement with landscape and nature photography is a…

I meet and talk with a lot of photographers. Those just starting their photo journey have so many questions it sometimes boils down to a very open-ended question: “Where do I start?” In this episode,…

Every time we pick up a camera, or go on location for a shoot, or work on our photos in the digital darkroom, it’s a learning opportunity. The lessons can be large or small, or just reminders of less…