A Black Box
All photos in this post taken by Jessie Brandon. Click on an image to view full size. © Jessie Brandon, 2011 The debate over what is the best camera, best format of camera or even what is the best lens has been going on long before digital media ever was even conceived. I really [...]
Make it Yours
Click on an image to view full size. This is a short post today. Just long enough to encourage you to explore and stretch. I just wrote that the geek needs to play by the rules to develop an instinct, where as the artist can break the rules anytime. Note: I didn’t say anything about [...]
A Developed Instinct
Henri Cartier-Bresson said “In photography, visual organization can stem only from a developed instinct.” I think what he meant here by visual organization is basic design principles and composition. These are things that can definitely be developed over time and yet he still uses that word “instinct”. As much as we want to believe [...]
What is your Un-Suck Filter?
Un-suckfilters, everybody has one. Oh sure, you might not want to admit it, but you have one. Everyone does. Back and white conversion or for the more creative duo-toned conversion has got to be the number one un-suck filter. We have all be tempted, but we must resist the evil that is known as duo-tone [...]
Penang Introduction to Photography
I just finished my first ever Introduction to Photography course here in Penang this morning. I had eight students with varied experience, all gather at my house around my dining table for a look into how to get the best out of their cameras. I must say, three hours seemed more like three minutes. But [...]
Aristotle, Excellence and the Photographer
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Aristotle This morning I met with some friends of mine for coffee. My buddy Hans tossed out this quote he’d recently read in a runner’s magazine of all places. He thought it might spur some challenging conversation. We were discussing [...]
Dear Beginner, You make ripples!
Recently I had an email from a reader who had some basic photography questions. He was dealing with some pretty common issues that most beginners deal with. He has been frustrated that his images, though taken in some very exotic locations don’t seem to grab the viewer. After I looked over some of his images [...]
I talk to myself. Do you?
I talk to myself. There – I’ve said it. I know, you think I’m nuts. That’s not new news–but that’s a whole other topic. The fact is, I talk to myself. Whenever I put the camera to my face, I talk to myself. Sometimes audibly, all the time in my head. I ask myself what [...]
Composition: Prescriptive or Descriptive?
If there is one question I get whenever I teach or discuss composition it is, “Yeah but do you shoot with all these compositional rules in mind or is it something you see afterwards?” To put it another way, are these compositional rules prescriptive or descriptive? And the answer, of course, is a little of [...]
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. 
