Inside a Paparazzo’s Photography Bag: Cameras, Lenses and Pepper Spray

It is interesting how similar the paparazzo's motive is to the photojournalist's. Pay particular attention to what he has to say about lenses and "photographers" who do not know what they are doing (and how that affects the images they make).

100 - 300 pics to get one "photograph"

Check out this short video and post about how photographer Pelle Cass constructs his images.

Ansel Adams: Master Photographer, Master Marketer

An interesting post on NYT Lens blog about the challenges of being a photographer - then and now.

Photoshop Tutorial: Retouching Shiny Skin

Check out this video tutorial from Lee Varis. It's a rather technical explanation - but quite successful - and with some great smaller tips on retouching included.

A great little video about lenses for photo and video

This is a nice and humorous video about important lenses that you should consider for photography and/or video. With regard to lens quality, you do get what you pay for - however, for many of the specific lens models mentioned (high end and expensive) there are often less expensive models of similar focal length. The "nifty-fifty" is a great example - they (50mm f/1.8) can be found for a little over $100 new - which is a fraction of the cost of the "faster" and more expensive models (50mm f/1.4 or f/1.2).

The First Photo

An interesting read about a quest to see where and how Niepce made his famous heliograph - credited as the first photograph ever.

My new self-published book now available on Blurb.

"A Salty Salute, 1992 - 1997" by Edward Stapel

I started making these photographs as a student at the University of South Carolina in 1992. After graduating, I continued photographing my friends, experimenting with various types of film and cameras. Around 1994, I began compiling the photographs with the idea of making an album. The project continued to evolve until I moved away in 1998, ultimately becoming two albums containing over 80 prints.

 Revisiting these images over the years has always brought me joy. With that in mind, I decided to make this book, hoping others may enjoy seeing these photographs as well. I edited the two albums down to these 40 photographs. They are presented in loose chronological order, but are sequenced slightly differently than the original albums.

Many thanks to my friends who tolerated me and my cameras.

Available in hard cover and ebook formats.