Quote of the day: Stephen Shore

"I discovered that this camera was the technical means in photography of communicating what the world looks like in a state of heightened awareness. And it’s that awareness of really looking at the everyday world with clear and focused attention that I’m interested in." - Stephen Shore

New gallery up on the website: St. John Carnival

St. John Carnival, U.S. Virgin Islands - Images by Kathryn Wagner

Quote of the day: Edward Weston

"The photograph isolates and perpetuates a moment of time: an important and revealing moment, or an unimportant and meaningless one, depending upon the photographer's understanding of his subject and mastery of his process." - Edward Weston

Image of the week, July 19th 2010: Carnival Fireworks

St. John recently celebrated Carnival throughout the streets of town. A carnival village is set up every year in Cruz Bay. West Indian food and drink is served to the beat of Caribbean music heard during nightly concerts. The festivities concluded with a show of fireworks, usually done near the Fourth of July, and held this year on the Fifth of July. This is one of my favorite times of year in the West Indies and this year was no exception. I had a wonderful time capturing this exuberant celebration!

Quote of the day: Paul Caponigro

'It's one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it's another thing to make a portrait of who they are." - Paul Caponigro

Quote of the day: Eliot Porter

"Sometimes you can tell a large story with a tiny subject." - Eliot Porter

RESOURCEFUL RESOURCES: Black Star Rising - Five tips for a successful travel photography shoot

So this is part of a consolidated list of my resourceful resources. Colleagues, as well as myself are always hungry for more information and I love to exchange with others where I go to learn more. I feel that one of the best things about being a photographer is that there is always more to learn. This series of posts will be my personal, curated resource of resourcefulness, services and information which have helped my creative business, and will hopefully help yours as well.



Five steps to a successful travel photography shoot from BlackStar on Vimeo.

I am excited and enthusiastic about contributing to the wonderful Black Star Rising photography blog. Black Star is one of the oldest photographic agencies in the U.S. and they count publications such as Time as thier clients. Above is my first contribution to Black Star Rising, detailing five tips for a successful travel photography assignment. Enjoy!

Image of the week, June 28 2010: Carnival is coming...

Carnival is coming! The annual event held each year on the island of St. John happily coincides with the Fourth of July. The photo above was taken just before the Carnival parade a few years ago. Scores of St. Johnians march in colorful costumes every year down the main street of Cruz Bay, and there is celebration all week. Coming from Virginia, Carnival to me is the closest thing to the annual Albemarle County Fair, complete with special foods, music and celebration.  A gallery of Carnival photographs can be found on my website.

Image of the week, June 21 2010: Santa Monica Pier

I photographed the Santa Monica Pier a few years ago while in Los Angeles. I was fascinated that this historic landmark was such a great representation of the city's cross section of culture. It seemed that most everyone from Santa Monica went to the Pier, whether it was for a stroll, some thrills from the kitschy amusement park, or to catch dinner by fishing off of the pier. It was a great spot to photograph during the day, and I would definately reccommend shooting there in the late afternoon, when the west coast sun hangs low with those who are hanging out on the Pier.

Image of the week, June 14, 2010: Laughing Gull

The laughing gulls are back in the islands. They observe a seasonal migratory schedule, though opposite from many humans here in the Virgin Islands. You know it is summer (or soon to be) when a flock of these bold seabirds approaches your boat in search of a treat. This avian creature followed us on our way to the British Virgin Islands, flying off the wake of the boat to scavenge for food. A word to the wise is to not feed these birds, lest you make a closer friend than you intended!

Client Work: June 2010 St. John Sun Times cover

This is a series highlighting commercial and editorial work with clients. Interested in a creative visual solution for your business or publication? Contact me. 

Image of the week, June 7 2010: Fly me to the Moon...

 Simply put, I love photographing from airplanes. Helicopters are even better, but there is something so timeless to me about gliding over the earth in an airplane, camera in hand. I also love landing while shooting from airplanes, as you watch the earth emerge and approach it with all of the grace a pilot has to offer. This shot was taken this past week, at cruising altitude, during a beautifully clear day when the moon afforded a distinct appearance. So much fun, I love when a shot comes together like this.

Interested in doing the same? A wonderful resource on photographing from airplanes, and how it relates to the practice of creative thinking can be found in Julianne Kost's lovely book: Window Seat: The Art of Digital Photography and Creative thinking. A great book to keep the ideas flowing.