All Episodes
The Perceptive Photographer — 603 episodes
The way we see: Attention
Revisiting what makes a photograph good?
What are we really asking for when we make a photograph?
Finding Your Audience Without Losing Your Voice
Outside your genre and growing through seeing
The Way We See: Silence
Creative Plateaus: The Good, the Bad, and Why They Matter
Trusting Your Instincts When You Can’t Explain Why
In the Creative Practice, Nothing Is Ever Wasted
Why people photograph at all
Hesitation in your work is costing you
The misunderstanding of intention in your work
Interrupting that darn autopilot
Connections and relationships in our images
What Your Edits Say About You
May the 4th be with you
From Contact Sheets to Yes And
Rethinking Your Photographic Approach
Triple Distillation and a better photographs
Shifting Perspective in How We Talk About Our Images
The role of intention and edges in creating meaningful photographs
Working with sweet spots
Playing a good mind game with our work
Thinking about entry points
In conversation with Jenny Hansen Das
Exploring meaning from John Berger’s essay “Understanding a Photograph”
When Meaning Splits: Navigating Disagreement in Photographic Critique
Composition as Personal Expression and Growth
Is an audience required for meaning, or just for momentum?
Moments that make us stop
Photographing for Ourselves vs. Seeking Validation
Why two photographers never see the same scene: myth of objectivity
Relational vs. Transitional Viewing
In Conversation with Rachel Demy
Why your best work might feel boring to you
The Danger of Consistency
When the Photograph Stops Explaining: Seeing Without Searching
Not Every Good Photograph Needs to Be Shared
Books for the giving season
Working With What the Photograph Wants
Interpretation and translation
What it means to share your work
The Importance of Intention and Emotional Connection in Photography
Burnout verse rest
Magic in the mundane
Seasons of Light
Thoughts on Creative Momentum
Learning to Trust Your Eye
In Conversation: single images verse projects
What I don’t know may mean more than what I do know
The role of quiet or silence in our photographic practice
Are You Measuring the Right Things in Your Photography?
Which story telling structure do you use in your photography?
How spicy can you handle?
Storytelling Through Images
An arrow in the quiver
What you see and what you photograph
Finding Meaning Beyond Description
In Conversation with Ken Carlson on Roland Barthes Death of the Author
No title means you don’t know this week’s topic
Embracing Imperfection and Authenticity in Photography
In Conversation with Ken Carlson on Composition in Photography
How Do Truth, Wonder, and Trust Shape Your Photography?
Art for Me or for You? Navigating the Creative Tug-of-War
In Conversation with Ken Carlson: Curiosity, Craft, and the MFA Path
Finding Your Point of Entry in Photography
Seeing Clearly: Mentorship, Duality, and the Core of Your Work
Photographic trophies verse experiences
How asking “What do I see?” can transform your photography
Working with the mundane in your photography
Ep 533 Understanding the why of your visual narratives in editing & sequencing
Episode 532 How can embracing more of your irrationality over your rationality enhance your photography?
Talking about Robert Frank and The Americans
Discussing the power of “just one more thing” in your photography
Deepening our Understanding of Photography
Thinking about print size can change your approach
Are You Overthinking Your Photography and Missing the Moment?
Connecting “Things” and “Relationships” in Photography
Visiting the impacts of New Topographics on modern landscape photography
Choices Behind Minimalist and Simple Photography Part 2
Navigating the Fine Line Between Simple and Minimal Photography Part 1
Finishing the image
The Hawthorne Effect
Celebrating 10 Years
Random Thoughts on your past, present and future
The don’t know what you don’t know bucket problem
Where’s your focus?
Revisiting Our Approach to Understanding Photography Critique
Thoughts on finishing
Unpacking what makes a good photograph
Flip the question
Wishing you a happy new year
Exploring the Visual Language of Photographs
How we think about removing distractions can impact our images
Adapting Your Photography: Turning Personal Challenges into Creative Opportunities
Great photography exercises for the holiday season
How Can Finding Balance Transform Your Photography?
Finding Peace in the Frame: How Photography Helps Us Cope with Life’s Challenges
The importance of simplifying when facing complexity
The importance of simplifying when facing complexity
How Can We Embrace Mistakes as Happy Accidents in Our Creative Journey
Thinking about the Connection Between Perception and Photography
Are You “Mailing It In” with Your Photography?
Reflecting on 500 Episodes: The Importance of Patience and Discovery in Photography
Enhancing Your Photography Through Critique and Visualization
How do we draw the boundaries in processing our images
Do you already know the answer?
Theater, sitcom storylines and your photography
Realizing what we thought we knew we didn’t know in our work
Impacts of tension on our photography
Can Originality Be Taught? Exploring Innate Talent vs. Learned Skills
How we think about photographs
Forks in the road of the creative process
Embracing Fragmentation in Photography
Discussing the Role of Chance in Photography
Simple Language Shapes How We View our Photographs
The importace of learning in making meaningful images
The Role of Self-Acceptance in Your Creative Journey
Ideas on Time and Presence in Your Photographic Process
Musings on simplicity and complexity in photographs
Revealing Your Photography Personality through F-Stops
Understanding Photographs Through Repeated Engagement
A tale of distractions
Importance of good customer service
What would your camera club be?
Evolution, revolution and rants
Five ways resistance can impact your photographic process
Interview with Dave Cross
Defining your best work
Five Photography Challenges to Connect to Your Work
Defining value in the image: snapshots to fine-art
Diving deeper into photo inspiration and influences
Symbolic meaning and thinking in photography
The reason does matter
When it is practice and when is it insanity?
Discussing the concept of presets both in software and as a mindset for photographers
Imitate, Influence, Inspire: Lessons from ‘Art and Fear’
Key elements to thinking about your work as projects instead of images
Keeping perspective before and after the click
What can happen if you don’t revisit your work
Seeing the shots with community
Five bad habits to drop like a hot potato
Questions of quality: The viewing of a great Photo
Sights and Insights: Starting 2024 with a Photographic Mindset
Finding inspiration in quotes on photography and connecting
Embrace Failure: A Key to Success
Listener Question Week
Unlocking conversations about your work with 11 easy questions
Work is never linear
Hitting the bullseye in goal setting for your photography
The shape of influences
The difference between knowledge and wisdom in photography
Are you in it for the long haul?
Why sitting with uneasy feelings can help you better edit your photographs.
10 questions to being a better photographer
It’s not a corporate gig so don’t act like it is
Metaphors and story telling
Like healthy eating, you know what you need to do in your photography
Gear does matter. It affects your work
Celebrating the uniqueness of episode 444
A question of quality
Acts of Kindness
Framing considerations
Keep it simple with one small thing
Got a song stuck in your head? Might be good for your photography
Being bold
Considerations for better compositions
Where’s the fire?
Projects, odd questions and toning black and white images
Chicken and the egg
Working Projects
Simple lessons from my last workshop and an editing effect to keep a close watch on
Five challenges to push your photographic process forward
What to do with all those bad ones?
Generative AI, Diane Arbus and other musings on the creation of images
Details and other small things
Starting from failure
Balancing act in photography
Grief, loss and owning your emotions
Listening to your voice
One piece of advice you would give yourself
The power of multiple meanings in photography
Nature verse nurture?
How do you know you are making progress on making more meaningful work?
Listener Questions
Insights from The Nature of Photographs
Five cliches to help your photography
Simple acts make all the difference
Episode 415 Why do you photograph what you photograph?
Episode 414 Continuing thoughts on AI in photography
The 10% rule in your photography
Ep 412 Who judges who
Ep 411 The importance of practice in photography
Ep 410 What are the best ways to come up with project ideas
Ep 409 Quantity is the name of the game
Ep 408 Setting goals for 2023
Ep 407 Thoughts on Points of View
Ep 406 Some thoughts on titling your photographs
Ep 405 Explaining verse justifying your images and the importance of print storage
Three things to clean up before the end of the year
How to be a better speaker about your photographs
Thoughts on working with your audience
Is it recognition that you seek in your photos or something else
Episode 400 and a thanks to the community
The problem with clear and concise in photography
Pushing against the resistance
All photographers need to return to the basics and a good pair of shoes
Do your photographs fit into your emotional buckets
Self-doubt and the value of getting your shot
Understanding a photograph by looking at its peers
What is normal anyway?
Time is the ultimate variable
AI and the challenge of what it means to make art
Is straight out of the camera important or even possible?
10 tips to kick up your creativity in your photography
Is simple always good in photography?
The power of two & working with diptychs
How much does that photograph cost?
Has digital really changed photography that much?
What defines a great print in photography?
Photography and the expression of idea
Improv and the value of yes, and
Comfort food verse new food as an approach to your photography
Value of forgetting things
The lure of instant gratification
Research to make more meaningful images
Listener questions on how to improve quickly and when the subject is the light
Can we tell if you are upset?
Conversation starters
You can’t please everyone
The making of a one hit wonder
What is photography about?
Dealing with choices
Instant successes decades in the making
Lessons from bird watching to improve your photography
Pick one thing to focus on in your work
What makes a basic photograph interesting?
Blurry and sharp in your photography
Why you need I statements in your work
Well it has been 7 years since this all started
Sense of wonder or obligation
Two task challenge week
Are facts destroying your creativity?
Where do you put your time?
Who is your audience?
How am I today and how do I want to be?
Taking a moment to honor your images before you delete them
A wish for all of us in 2022
Some listener questions to end 2021
On our photographic journey a few little things to pick up along the way
Feeling verse knowing is huge in your photography
Meaning relationships and the impact on the photograph
What’s the purpose for the picture?
How you group images can really change things
It’s all been done before…
The notion of sequencing images
Thinking about the defining moment
What do you collect?
Memory is a powerful thing in photography
Revisiting the contact sheets
Subtle Nuances
Clarity is not just a slider in Lightroom
It is time for a reboot?
Listen to tell a better story in your photography
Increasing your satisfaction with your images
The process is part of your inspiration
If your settings on your camera are “correct” does that mean all the other options are incorrect?
Can I quote you on that?
Art of the metaphor
Everybody loves a parfait. Peeling back the layers on a meaningful conversation
Footnotes and endnotes Episode One
Being more successful by doing nothing
Why do you care what other people photograph and why bash on them?
Change your thinking not your settings
What’s the rush?
How do the spaces we work in and frames we create overlap?
Focus on the ripples in your pond
Does our style shift when working on different photographic projects
Stuck in neutral and the sense of going nowhere
How important is accuracy in a photograph?
The value of ideas that are both easy and hard
Of course, you shouldn’t know that…
How to tell better stories in your photographs
Are Cliff Notes the way to go to learn photography? (you can likely guess my answer)
The loss of sight and photography
Not everything has to be the same
Our reactions make the difference
Reading is fundamental
Importance of Spring Cleaning
Listener questions about new tech, inspiration, and finding one thing that matters
Staying with something good or evolving to something better
Nice photograph, but is it personal?
How long to wait?
It’s always something
Edges or overlaps in your approach to photography
Is it poor taste or a bad photograph?
Who’s your photo buddy?
What are you missing and the one thing approach
How do you feel about photography?
The start of a new year and celebrating the good
30,000-mile tune-ups
Do you have photographic traditions?
How to figure out your good photos from the bad
It’s Episode 300 so we are talking about celebrating milestones
AI and Computational Photography-When is it no longer a photograph?
The rules and repeatability of composition
The joy and pain of muscle memory
How do you approach knowing when enough is enough in your photography?
How do you value your images? Is it more than just a 1-5 star ranking?
Seeing the whole from the parts and a reminder to vote
Can you answer the question Why do you care?
This isn’t personal. It’s just business
A mile in someone else’s shoes
Questions to ask yourself and others about photographs
The power of the photographic interview
The value of small changes you can make even in a year of crazy to boost your photography enjoyment
How do you define photography and the impact of non-photographer based photography
Don’t blame the viewer, except……
Lessons learned from software release notes in my photography
How do you define a photograph?
Creativity exercises and new workshop announcements
Creativity is not left brain or right brain, you need a whole brain.
Do you keep getting distracted?
Lessons relearned in night photography and oh yeah, wear a mask!
Are you asking yourself the right questions?
Five projects for the week to keep you going when stuck at home.
Become a better photographer by seeking out diversity in the photographs you look at
Do you prefer to pick Junior Mints or Skittles when going to the movies and other thoughts on choices we make in photography
Do you run a complaint department?
When you get stuck, trying something else sometimes does work better
Is photography about non-intervention or do we play an active role in our creating and viewing of images
The notions of how and why in the critique of your photography?
Does binge-watching television programs impact your photography?
The notion of mundane and the art of stir crazy
Do you think about your ethics as a photographer?
Time, acceptance and the value of a daily check-in
Digging into your archives
Thinking about time and photography
Training puppies and language in photography
It’s a long, long road
A turning point in your work
More things change & the fear of simple mistakes
Putting your best photographic print forward
The misguided adventures of composition in photography
How does being focused on production lead to unnecessary pressure in our photography?
When the camera does it job better than you thought possible, then what is the excuse for bad photographs?
How sacred places, people and things can change our approach to our photography
Notions of the precious photographic moment
Why opposites aren’t always an either or proposition
The wrong type of research can ruin a photograph
The road to nowhere
Five listener questions to start 2020
2020 and the importance of time
Is your approach to your photography too narrow?
Autofocus or manual focus issues
Perspective is more than just about lenses
For the love of bad photographs
Hardest thing to photograph
Five pieces of gear for every camera bag
Updated: The act of giving and working without failure
Are you validating the wrong things?
Your mental approach is everything
Do you ever feel like you are on a hot streak?
Do all photographs have to tell a story?
Traffic roundabouts and intentions in photography
Ambiguity is a good thing
Is your photography signature worthy?
Trapped and the value of help
Part A inserts into part R and twist
Upside down and backwards
Dangers of too much
Religion, politics and photography
The art of giving up
The sum of the parts or the parts of the sum?
Updated: Are you setting the right goals?
How noise can diminish your photography
Is over-planning impacting your photography?
Games played and a lost and found
Why photographs should read, draw and sit still
The challenge of should and would
Does fear of missing out cost you?
Small Rituals Big Results
A numbers game
Ever seen a movie that ran a little too long?
Do you edit yourself out of your work?
Following breadcrumbs to your passions
Are you a how, why or where?
Routine is a winding road
Do you have to be right?
Do you better your subjects?
March madness and photography
That song is driving me crazy
Stick a fork in it
Inspiration requires a little work
Check your attitude at the door
Are technically good photos well seen?
Thinking about space in compositions
A big thanks to Opportunity
Time is more than shutter speeds
Abundance and fear in our work
Depth of the photograph
Podcast #202 Do you know a bad photograph?
Value of note taking
Giving Thanks
Hardest thing in photography
Podcast #198 Feeling Exhausted?
Podcast #197 Different doesn’t mean original
Podcast #196 Season of giving
Podcast #195 We all live in Crazytown
Podcast #194 Should it be easy?
Podcast #193 Are you self-conscious about being a photographer?
Podcast #192 Distance and intimacy in photography
Podcast #191 Imagination and our photographic process
Podcast #190 Light , time and ambiguity in photography
Podcast #189 Focus on the ideas
Podcast #188 Authenticity in photography
Podcast #187 Importance in finding shades of grey
Podcast #186 This isn’t horseshoes
Podcast #185 Are you doing Hollywood remakes?
Podcast #184 What drives your passion?
Podcast #183 Packing list to create for a trip that don’t involve gear
Podcast #182 Jealous much? It’s not a camera problem.
Podcast #181 Are you stuck in a photography loop
Podcast #180 Importance of balance in the frame
Podcast #179 What is style in photography
Podcast #178 Lessons from minimalism and staying organized for photographic editing
Podcast #177 Issues with the formulaic creative processes
Podcast #176 Listener Questions
Podcast #175 What’s it worth?
Podcast #174 Diverging and converging ideas in our work
Podcast #173 Getting it right in camera is about more than settings
Podcast #172 Value of simple pleasures
Podcast #171 When good is good enough
Podcast #170 Observation, listening and emotion in photography
Podcast #169 Insta language in photography
Podcast #168 What are perfect prints?
Podcast #167 Personality and photography
Podcast #166 Sports betting, new box smell and deep dish pizza
Podcast #165 Importance of celebrating your photographic successes
Podcast #164 How our context of the photograph defines our understanding
Podcast #163 Similarity and past experiences: Gestalt psychology in photography (2 of 2)
Podcast #162 Proximity and closure in photography
Podcast #161 Five elements of photographic stories
Podcast #160 Who is your audience
Podcast #159 See, Perceive, Recognize, Act
Podcast #158 Learning new task and what sort of photograph to show
Podcast #157 Less talking & more clicking
Podcast #156 Why photograph?
Podcast #155 Top printing questions from listeners
Podcast #154 Thinking outside the box
Podcast #153 Hard to learn lessons
Ep152 Breaking up is hard to do
Ep151 Trusting your instincts
Ep150 Value of a simple creative process in photography
Ep149 What you already know is enough
Ep148 Your internal sales pitch
Ep147 Goals and looks backs in photography
Ep146 Time and space in projects
Ep145 Is photography best when discussed like a sound byte
Ep144 When do you need new things?
Ep143 Holiday shopping and the creative racetrack
Ep142 Finish the work
Ep141 Does doing your best really matter?
Ep140 Types of small stories in photography
Ep139 In memory of my little brother: grieving, loss and photography
Ep138 Small ideas matter
Ep137 Visual literacy and impacts on critique
Ep136 Is repetition bad?
Ep135 Unnecessary questions
Ep134 Schrödinger’s cat and photography
Episode 133 Five simple habits to improve your photography
Episode 132 Changing seasons and the value of the printing process
Episode 131 Fraud in the creative practice
Episode 130 Yearly physical for your creative process
Episode 129 Smartphones verse the value of time and space in a creative practice
Episode 128 Passive aggressiveness in our creativity
Episode 127 Scaling the wall
Episode 126: New classes on Creative Live classes and discussing creative assumptions
Episode 125: Fake news, click bait and photography
Episode 124: Creative knowledge and creative wisdom
Episode 123: How storytelling in cinema can influence our photography
Episode 122: Answering listener questions
Episode 121: Well-played game and the well-shot photo
Episode 120: Doing the work and criticism
Episode 119: Image selection for juried shows
Episode 118: Considerations for photo competitions
Episode 117: Creativity and a sensing broken
Episode 116: Classification verse exploration in photography
Episode 115: Photography and fast food
Episode 114: Perception, conception and boredom in photography
Episode 113: Five lessons I wish I knew sooner
Episode 112: Why switch gear
Episode 111: Thinking about audience
Episode 110: Where is your line
Episode 109: Importance of daily rituals
Episode 108: Yoga Practices and Photography
Episode 107: Is your workflow really non-destructive
Episode 106: Facts and Truths in Photography
Episode 105: 2017 Workshops and Visual Literacy
Episode 104: What do you see
Episode 103 Interview with Erik Bennion
Episode 102 Interview with photographer Sarah King
Episode 101 Interview with Aaron Brethorst
Episode 100 Interview with author and poet Lori Kane
tPP99 Listener questions answered
tPP98 Saying Good-bye and the project process
tPP97 Why you became a photographer
tPP96 What drives your creative life
tPP95 Creative productivity in 2017
tPP94 Five things photographers should do in 2017
tPP93 Context is critical to understanding photography
tPP92 Lure of complexity
tPP91 End of the year award shows, gifts and creative spirit
tPP90 Five Mistakes Photographers Make
tPP89 Impacts of how we define our creative process
tPP88 Creativity and Artist in Age of Uncertainity
tPP87 Basic Zone System Review Part 2
tPP86 Basic Zone System Review
tPP85 Halloween costumes and Photography
tPP84 Condition of who we are meant to be
tPP83 Final things to consider when finishing a photograph for exhibition
tPP82 Five Good Habits for Photographers
tPP81 How sentimentality impacts our photography
tPP80 Thoughts on naming photos
tPP79 Sharing the Work Part 3 of 3
tPP78 Concepts to Photo Series Part 2 of 3
tPP77 Moving from Ideas to Concepts
tPP76 Purpose of your feedback
tPP75 Working with Checklist
tPP74 Food and Photography
tPP73 Lessons from Galen Rowell
tPP72 Influence of André Kertész
tPP71 Elevator Pitches and Packing
tPP70 World we look for
tPP69: Returning to meaningful work
tPP68: Workflow overview
tPP67: Last Minute Photography Rants
tPP66: the Lazy Photographer
tPP65: Working the Layers in your Photographs
tPP64: Considerations for paper selections for printing your photographs
tPP63: What is in your creative space
tPP62: What are you doing with your work?
tPP61: How to deal with critiques
tPP60: Lessons from a Leica
tPP59: Music and meaning in photography
tPP58: Meaning in photography and metadata
tPP57: Looking at Sontag’s On Photography Part 2
tPP56: Looking at Sontag’s On Photography
tPP55: March Madness and creativity in photography
tPP54: Secrets verse sharing
tPP53: The mundane photo
tPP52: Year in review
tPP51: Working your creative process
tPP50: 5 key business tips
tPP49: How to know if your work is ready
tPP48: Importance of storytelling
tPP47: Why basic workflow matters
tPP46: What makes a good photograph
tPP45: Equivalence in photography
tPP44: Getting organized for portfolio creation
tPP43: Studying R. Barthes Camera Lucida part 2
tPP42: Studying R. Barthes Camera Lucida part 1
tPP41: Color Basics part 2
tPP40: Color Basics part 1
tPP39: Interview with Gina White
Perceptive Photographer #38: Thinking black and white vs color
Perceptive Photographer #37: Thoughts on Editing and Sequencing
Perceptive Photographer #36: 3 key areas to improve your photography
Perceptive Photographer #35: Price and Value of a Photograph
Perceptive Photographer #34: Suggestions for Creating Creative Sparks
Perceptive Photographer #33: On The Photographer’s Bookshelf Part 2
Perceptive Photographer #32: Books every photographer should own part 1
Perceptive Photographer #31: Headlines and Titles
Perceptive Photographer #30: Value of Experience
Perceptive Photographer #29: Importance of Curiosity
Perceptive Photographer #28: Spec sheets don’t matter when buying a camera
Perceptive Photographer #27: Marketing the iPhone and value in photography
Perceptive Photographer #26: Rules of composition in photography
Perceptive Photographer #25: Being a professional photographer
Perceptive Photographer #24: Key Critique Concepts
Perceptive Photographer #23: Value of top ten list
Perceptive Photographer #22: For the love of it
Perceptive Photographer #21: Moments of Recognition
Perceptive Photographer #20: Value of the contact sheet
Perceptive Photographer #19: Can any photo be special
Perceptive Photographer #18: 5 key elements of critique
Perceptive Photographer Episode 17: Sharp focus and fuzzy ideas
Perceptive Photographer Episode 16: Impact of Time
Perceptive Photographer Episode 15: Working with inspiration and bias
Perceptive Photographer Episode 14: Working with Wet Plate
Perceptive Photographer Episode 13: Influence of Mile Davis
Perceptive Photographer Episode 12: 10 keywords
Perceptive Photographer Episode 11: Hot Sauce and Photography
Perceptive Photographer Episode 10: Photography and Online Dating
Perceptive Photographer Episode 9: Importance of Space
Perceptive Photographer Episode 8: Thinking about your audience
Perceptive Photographer Episode 7: Photography is about problem solving
Perceptive Photographer Episode 6: All things are not equal
Perceptive Photographer Episode 5: Lessons in Acceptance
Perceptive Photographer Episode 4: Importance of working early on artist statements
Perceptive Photographer Episode 3: Why I try to not like photos
Perceptive Photographer Episode 2: the Importance of Intention
Perceptive Photographer Episode 1