Thaipusam: Pre-Workshop Prep
Gavin Gough and I officially start our 2012 Thaipusam workshop tonight, here in Penang. So yesterday met several of the families we have arraigned for our participant to follow and photograph during the festival. We also did a pre-workshop run through with the models we have secured for our participants to photograph. We have found [...]
A Talk with Plateau Photo Tours About Tibet 2012
The other day had the pleasure of chatting with Brian Hirschy and Jamin York of Plateau Photo Tours about the Tibet workshop this coming March and April. We talked for about 45 minutes and covered almost every aspect of this tour, from our transportation, the altitude, where we will be sleeping to the things that [...]
When Insurance Is No Insurance
Many folks ask me what do I do for camera and gear insurance when I am on the road. In theory I have it covered by a very credible company. Though this theory has never been put to the test. (It has on the other hand cost me a lot in premiums.) I joined the [...]
Merry Christmas from our family to yours
Today is Christmas day. We had a wonderful time with family over the past few days. A classic Christmas in many ways – shopping, eating and reminiscing. A big treat for me was borrowing a friend’s 8mm projector and viewing family films from way back. I mean way back. The oldest was from 1950 in [...]
Vlog #9: A long way home.
Here is your latest installment of my video blog. We are up to number nine. This week I share with you my travel plans – I think this is a record for for me. The longest actual flight time, as in time in the air, I have logged in one trip – and a few [...]
Depth of Field: Keith Talley
I have known Keith Talley for years. Keith he is a commercial photographers out of Texas. Not the glam kind that take shots of sexy models in skimpy underwear. Keith’s has more talent that that, he makes vinyl flooring look sexy. Frankly, that’s talent. When he is not traveling all over the US shooting industrial [...]
Vlog #8 Is photo attribution all it is cracked up to be?
Today we talk about photo attribution. You know, those little words we photographers love to see under our images, “Photo by {insert your name here}” But are attributions worth fighting for, more to the point, are you willing to to swap attribution out for payment? Many people do. I think this is nuts! Are you willing [...]
Depth of Field: Mitchell Kanashkevich
My only problem with Mitchell Kanashkevich is his name – I can’t pronounce it! Mitch is an amazing photographer that at any given moment can be found documented the world with his camera. From the surfer miners of Java to shepherds in India passion lies in capturing disappearing ancient cultures and the human condition in unique, challenging [...]
Vlog #7 Dining Room Shoot and a Case Study of Geotagging Photos
Vlog #7 Dining Room Shoot and a Case Study of Geotagging Photos from Matt Brandon on Vimeo. So here is Vlog # 7. Moving right along. This week I wax eloquently…ok scratch that, I just ramble and tell you a story about how I did a short photo session in my dining room with my [...]
A conversation with Gavin Gough: Thaipusam
I needed to clear up a few things about the upcoming Thaipusam workshop – So I gave my co-leader and good friend Gavin Gough a call. We chatted a little over 30 minute and like always we rambled a bit but had a great time. Feel like listening in? Here you go: Please take a [...]
Congratulation to…
… Peter Bergmeier and Erika Brunner who are the winners of the X-Rite give away. Erika won the compact and handy X-Rite ColorChecker Passport and Peter’s is now set up to calibrate his monitors with his new X-Rite ColorMunki. Gavin and I want to thank all who participated in this contest. Thank you for helping [...]
Guest Post: Instant Gratification
Today’s guest post is by Stephanie Watkins. Stephanie has a creative eye and an artist spirit and it shows though in her work. I met Steph through her husband Nate, who you can see lurking in the back of my latest Vlog post (vlog #6). Her Polaroid work is stunning and I wanted to [...]
Video Blog #6 The Drobo Nightmare
Vlog #6 from Matt Brandon on Vimeo. Something new. Ok, it isn’t really new, I have done five other video blog post in the past. But I’ve never recorded any of them with the 5D MKII. So this is new. In this video I take a look at the Drobo storage device and how it [...]
Empty Nets
I am working on a project for a NGO that is focusing on the peoples of Africa and Asia’s coastal waters. In short, we are looking at issues of over fishing, climate change and natural disasters like the Acheh tsunami and how these factors effect the livelihood of the coastal people. This is from today’s [...]
And the winner is….
Today is Friday, at least somewhere in the world and we promised to pick a winner of the Phottix Strato II Multi 5-in-1 Wireless Triggers and the The SpiderPro Single Camera System. Yesterday we added two more great prizes into the mix. But it really isn’t fair to just throw them in and give [...]
But Wait… There’s more to gear to give away!
Gavin and I are excited to announce we have a new sponsor joining the Thaipusam Workshop and more product to give away! We are proud to welcome X-Rite the makers of the ColorMunki calibration device and ColorChecker Passport. These two little gems keep you color honest. No more guessing what that color was when [...]
Thaipusam Gear Giveaway!
As you no doubt have heard by now, Gavin Gough and I are leading an amazing workshop in Penang, Malaysia, February 4th – 11th, 2012. We are fortunate to have two very generous sponsors for this event, Phottix professional photo accessories and Spider Camera Holster. As such, we want to share the love with… well… [...]
A Wet Eid al-Adha
It was wet. It rained all night last night and the ground around the city square where the locals gather to pray was soaked and riddled with puddles. The crowds were sparse compaired to past years according to locals. But the faithful prayed on. Note to the squeamish: Below are some rather graphic images. [...]
Faces of Jogja
We finally were able to see Borobudur, though it was cloudy. Not the puffy white clouds on blue skies, the completely overcast gray white blanket kind. Great for portraits but not so hot for anything with a sky in it. So here are a few gray looking shots of the ruins of Borobudur. [...]
Rain, rain go away.
Come again another day…. preferably after I leave. Today was a wash – in many ways quite literally. We had planned to photograph sunset at Borobudur, the ancient Buddhist ruins from the 9th century, but we had so much rain we couldn’t even see the ruins. So we choose to skip it for the day [...]
The batik artists of Jogja.
Click of the images to view full size. A quick hello from Jogjakarta, aka Yogyakarta, Indonesia. We spent time today touring the around city learning about batik. I am told that Jogja (If your hip like me you can just call the city simply Jogja.) is the best batik in the world. It is certainly [...]
Depth of Field: John McDermott
I met John McDermott this past summer in Angkor Wat while I was co-leading a workshop there. McDermott is typical of the photographers I interview, modest, unassuming and willing to share his story. He first came to Angkor in 1995 to witness a total eclipse of the sun. Inspired by the surreal, otherworldly light of [...]
New deal from an old friend: PhotoShelter
I love PhotoShelter and I think you will too. These folks have a love affair with photographers. Really, they love us and when we do well, they do well. Sort of a symbiotic thing. They provide photographers with valuable services for working photographers like a photo website or and online galleries that can be [...]
I shoot for mostly NGOs and nonprofits. I photograph images of the unknown, the forgotten and the helpless. These are often the stories that most people overlook. 
The Absurdity of Working For Free!
Below Stephen Colbert brings a satirical, yet true to the point look at media professionals working for free. I’ve done it, and more than likely you’ve done it as well. But, it is never a good idea. Yet, CNN last month that laid off 50 reporters citing technological efficiencies and user generated content as the [...]
Dec 08, 2011 | Categories: Blog, News, Opinion | Tags: CNN, commentary, opinion, Stephen Colbert | 10 Comments »