Once in awhile I like to take shelter from uncontrollable factors outdoors and pay more attention to the creative process. The last three months have been creatively frustrating for me, like writer's bock. But instead of lack of inspiration, it was doubt of ability. Sure I could take adequate pictures, but that wasn't good enough for me anymore. Where I wanted to go and where I was going were two different destinations and I was frustrated.
Frustrating as it was, irritating as it felt, the last time I felt this creatively perplexed was in September 2014 when I accidentally discovered a photographer named Brooke Shaden--a breakthrough that completely changed my artistic life forever. Trusting a breakthrough was on the horizon, I pushed theory aside and used my eyes instead of logic.
And guys...it worked. The moment I took this photograph (left) felt like a giant wave lifted me up and I could see beyond the horizon for the first time--and the weather out there is BEAUTIFUL.
Most people aren't used to creating an image based on a theme they learned on the spot, so I started there. Three photographers with different experience, ideas and creative perceptions came together and out of their comfort zones to demonstrate one simple truth: there is more than one "right" answer to a creative question. For some that answer isn't as simple as it seems. Anyone who has ever had writer's block or the artistic equivalent knows what I mean. As one studies the works of others it can be easy to fall into the "right way" trap. An inability to exactly reproduce an image like someone else, or the concern that an idea has "already been done" can feel crippling. And to that I emphatically repeat: there is more than one "right answer" to a creative question. Here's how the exercise worked: The Challenge: Create at least one image interpreting a single theme with only one hour to prepare and one hour t...
Orem, Utah | Visiting the Colonial Heritage Festival is my favorite way to celebrate the Fourth of July. The festival is entirely run by volunteers -- which means when you meet somebody who's part of the festival, you know they want to be there. What they do is not easy. Some of them are on their feet in colonial-style shoes for hours at a time. Some wear full colonial garb like coats, petticoats, stockings, the works. July in Utah is sweltering hot. This year, we're even in the middle of a heat wave. And yet, there they all were with smiles on their faces and willing to let me take their picture. I have a lot of photographs from this festival at this point. Many of them are similar (still awesome, but similar). So this year I wanted to do something different: my portable studio on site. Bringing a portable flash is on location one thing. Bringing a backdrop that has to traverse a full size public park in the sun and wind is entirely another. The Portable Studio Off-Camera Fl...
Orem, Utah | Portraits from the Colonial Heritage Festival 2025. It’s not cosplay. It’s commitment. I brought my portrait studio to a place where no one owns a phone—but somehow they all know how to churn butter. Or at least, where the demonstration tent is located. No one broke character. Not even when I Vogue’d them. I didn’t mean to make it look like a 1776 fashion editorial. Well, just a little. I tracked them down from camp to camp and asked for a photograph in the shade. One reenactor offered me their “smoldering ye olde stare.” Another adjusted their bonnet like they were being interviewed for the cover of “Wool Weekly.” (I’d read it.) Their colonial confidence gave me colonial confidence. And don’t we all need more of that in our lives? Dressed as Colonial British officer's wife. The Studio My “studio” is portable, in a wagon—yep—with a backdrop stand held up by a bag of cornmeal. (JK, it's just playground-grade sand.) I carried around one light that many calle...
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