Elvis Costello on tour in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1977. Photo by Anton Corbijn.

The only way to know what images are the most indicative of life in the world of rock ‘n’ roll is to be a part of that world yourself. In his new book, “Taking Aim,” photographer and singer-songwriter Graham Nash (of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young) has hand-picked the best photographs to take us into that world.

Collecting images from such luminaries in the photography world as Daniel Kramer, Charles Peterson, Annie Leibovitz and others, the book manages to give fans a glimpse behind the curtain of some of the most iconic singers and musicians. Included in the book are photos of everyone from Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin, to Kurt Cobain, Sting and REM’s Michael Stipe.

A veteran photographer himself, Graham Nash has been collecting photographs for almost four decades now. He has shown his own work in numerous exhibitions over the years, and is currently touring his “Taking Aim” exhibit around the country and talking about style, technique and what it takes to create a great rock ‘n’ roll photograph.

“I wanted energy,” he said in a recent interview about choosing which works to include in the exhibit. “I wanted to be able to show the energy of rock and roll in all its forms, be it very still or incredibly chaotic.”

To see Nash’s collection of images from music history, check out his book, “Taking Aim,” or try to catch him at one of his exhibits. Stay up to date on where his shows will be over at GrahamNash.com.

Photograph © Michael Zagaris 2010. All Rights Reserved

In the latest episode of “Advancing Your Photography,” Marc Silber sits down for an interview with acclaimed rock ‘n’ roll photographer Michael Zagaris. As one of the most notable names in both the music and photography worlds, Michael has been the band photographer for acts like The Who, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, and is currently the team photographer for both the San Francisco Forty-Niners and the Oakland A’s.

In a career that most artists can only dream of, Michael has picked up countless stories of his days on the road with some of the world’s most famous musicians and athletes. His ideas on style, technique and composition are a unique combination of experience and talent, and his take on the art of photography is unlike any other.

Watch the video and you’ll learn all about:

1.  What it means to be called an “Inside-Out Shooter” — Michael has gained attention over the years for his unique ability to gain insight into his subjects and capture their most intimate moments. Find out how he does it.

2.  What is it like to photograph rock royalty? –  Many of this year’s Grammy nominees appear in Michael’s images: from Carlos Santana, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton, to Madonna, Bono and Bruce Springsteen (who recently won the award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance).

3.  How do you “become what you shoot?” — Though it may sound like a puzzling phrase at first, Michael’s mantra of becoming what you shoot is central to his photography. Listen in on our interview to find out what he means and how you can use it to help strengthen your craft.

To see more of Michael Zagaris’ unique advice on how to improve your photography, be sure to watch the latest episode of “Advancing Your Photography” with Marc Silber. Also, check out some of Michael’s amazing shots over at www.WolfgangsVault.com.

Robert Redford. Photo by Ron Galella

Ron Galella is a controversial man. As one of the most famous celebrity photographers of the last half-century, he’s been called everything from a parasite and a vulture, to the “Godfather of the U.S. paparazzi culture.” And in the new documentary Smash His Camera, we’re given a whirlwind tour through the career of Hollywood’s most-hated man.

In his review of the film, Roger Ebert quotes Andy Warhol: “A great photograph,” the artist said, “shows the famous doing something unfamous. Ron Galella is my favorite photographer.” Galella spent nearly fifty years hiding out in search of famous faces, and he collected over three million of images of celebrities like Elvis Presley, Robert Redford, Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando (who punched him, causing him to lose four teeth and break his jaw), and his favorite, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Still, Galella sees his work as more than just fodder for gossip magazines. “I look for the glamor,” he says. “I’m interested in portraiture. I’m not like these other guys who take celebrity pictures now. There’s an art to what I do and it’s all about the expression. It’s not just about taking a picture of someone famous; anyone can do that.”

The documentary, which premiered last week at the Sundance Film Festival, showcases this tension between the two Galellas - the monster who hid in bushes and stalked movie stars, and the artist who captured some genuinely beautiful photographs. For Roger Ebert, this contradiction is why he is so fascinating. “He is a viper, a parasite, a stalker, a vermin. He is also, I have decided, a national treasure.”

To see a collection of Galella’s work, visit his website at RonGalella.com. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for Smash His Camera when it hits wide release.

 Photograph © Teru Kuwayama 2009. All Rights Reserved.

In the latest episode of Advancing Your Photography (AYP), I interview photographer Teru Kuwayama, a veteran, well-traveled photographer who has made a name for himself as one of the leading documentary photojournalists in the industry. His work has been featured in magazines such as Outside, Fortune, Newsweek and National Geographic, and he has received numerous awards and accolades, including grants from the Alexia Foundation for World Peace and the New Fork Foundation for the Arts. He is currently on a John S. Knight Fellowship at Stanford University.

Teru’s passion for photography arises out of a need for exploration. He frequently finds himself on assignment in countries throughout Asia and the Middle East, always striving to dig deeper and ask questions. His travels in Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan have brought him to the forefront of conflict, and still his curiosity pushes him further. In our interview, you’ll learn about what motivates Teru as a photographer, as well as his advice for  improving your own photography.

1. Curiosity – A desire to travel, to go deeper and to really connect with people plays a key role in Teru’s passionate photography. At the core of his work is sheer curiosity in the way things work, as well as how they don’t, and that should be your first step.

2. Be a contrarian – When Teru is handed an assignment and told to look for a specific shot, he tends to pursue the opposite. He looks for the “counter-narrative” in the story he is being told, and this allows him to be more aware of what’s really happening.

3. Compassion – The only way a viewer will be truly impacted by your work is if there is a palpable feeling between the photographer and subject. Photograph what you are passionate about.

4. Don’t think too much – Photographers, by nature, can be an obsessive breed. Even the best can lose themselves in the minutiae of their work. Ultimately, however, cameras and equipment are just a series of tools  at your disposal, and it is important not to get too distracted by anything more complicated than the act of looking at something beautiful and deciding to record it.

To hear more of Teru’s  advice on how to advance your photography, watch the latest episode of AYP. Also, be sure to check out Teru’s work over at TeruKuwayama.com.

Photograph above © Camille Seaman 2009. All Rights Reserved.

In the latest episode of Advancing Your Photography (AYP), I had the chance to interview artist and photographer Camille Seaman. Aside from having her work featured in magazines like Newsweek, Outside, Men’s Journal, Camera Arts, Issues, PDN and American Photo, Camille has also self-published several books, like Melting Away: Polar Images and My China. On top of that she has won numerous awards, including a National Geographic Award in 2006 and the Critical Mass Top Monograph Award in 2007.

The daughter of a Native American father and an African American mother, Camille offers a unique perspective on the art of photography that is at once an artistic inspiration as well as a practical set of suggestions. Watch the interview and you’ll learn all about:

1. Having a connection to your work – Raised as a part of a small Native American fishing tribe, Camille grew up knowing that she was a part of everything around her. The goal of her photography is to help people feel this connection to their planet.

2. Capturing natural light – Be sensitive to the quality of light wherever you go. Look at old paintings from the masters — Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Caravaggio — and pay attention to how they sculpt light. After sharpening her awareness to the qualities of light, Camille finds she can photograph inanimate object (like the gorgeous iceberg above) with the same intimacy she would use to shoot portraits of people.

3. The importance of your card – Camille offers an amusing if slightly scary story about a trip to Antarctica, where it was so wet that her camera strap began to unharness without her knowing. Just as she was stepping off the ship, the camera fell into a pool and was ruined by saltwater. Amazingly, her Sandisk card remained in perfect shape.

4. Composition — According to Camille, the important thing to remember when considering composition is that, as a photographer, you are trying to arrange objects in order to activate space. To do this, don’t think of the shot as three-dimensional. Think of it as a dance, where objects can interact and draw the eye, and you are the choreographer.

To see more of Camille’s indispensable advice on the art of photography, watch the newest episode of AYP. Also, be sure to check out a collection of Camille’s work over at CamilleSeaman.com.

In the latest episode of Marc Silber’s Photography Show, I interview accomplished dance and commercial photographer RJ Muna, who has made a career out of crafting innovative art. Aside from being a regular in such magazines as Commercial Arts and American Photography, RJ has won over 150 national awards, including the International Center of Photography’s Infinity Award for Applied Photography and the Lucie Award for Best Commercial Photographer.

In our interview, RJ fills us in on his preferred style, offers some helpful tips on getting the right lighting for your shoot and tells us what it’s like to photograph professional dancers. Here’s some more advice from the interview:

1. Develop a concept — Having a well-thought out concept is RJ’s essential ingredient for developing a great photo shoot. For him, the conceptual underpinning is the most important aspect. Once that is in place, all else follows.

2. How to get the right lighting — Try to start with one light, and determine where that will come from (whether it’s above, to the side, etc.). Then from there you can start to fill in the edges with key or edge lights.

3. Dance photography — When dancers come into RJ’s studio, he allows them to move freely before shooting, and then picks up on each dancer’s unique personality. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to be passionate about what you are shooting — “there is nothing more exciting than watching a human body in motion,” he says.

4. The magical element — To capture that elusive bit of magic in your work, RJ offers some great advice:  try to do something off balance from what you would expect. Put a new spin or angle on the standard, and that little bit extra will make it unique.

To see more insights into perfecting the art of photography, check out my interview with RJ Muna. Also, be sure to check out more of RJ’s work at his website, RJMuna.com.

Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor. Photograph © Baldomero Fernandez 2009. All Rights Reserved.

In the latest episode of Marc Silber’s Photography Show, I interview famed fashion and portrait photographer Baldomero Fernandez. Baldomero’s work has been featured in numerous magazines and trade journals, including The New Yorker and on the cover of Life Magazine. He’s also appeared in American Photography Annuals for the last decade, and has won numerous awards, including one from MTV for his work on a PSA.

In the interview, Baldomero offers some revealing insights into his personal motivations as well as tips on advancing your own photography. Here’s a taste of what you’ll learn:

1. Tell a story — Baldomero’s biggest passion in photography comes from his ability to tell a story. Creating a narrative, whether it’s preplanned or it just comes to you on the spot, is essential to great photography.

2. Be deliberate — The secret to creating good portraiture is being deliberate. A set that looks natural and effortless only achieves this because it has been thoroughly planned. Staging and presentation are everything.

3. Keep it simple — Even though you may have a dozen of lights up, the importance of simple lighting can’t be overstated. Baldomero also tries not to give his models a lot of direction, but rather lets the environment bring out the shot.

4. Stay focused — Most artists have interests in numerous places, as well as photography, so staying on point can be difficult. Baldomero overcomes this by diving back into his images and editing out the things he gets sidetracked on.

To hear more insights from Baldomero Fernandez, check out the latest interview from The Marc Silber Show. Also, make sure to visit more of Baldomero’s work at www.baldomero.com.

Alex Rodriguez in the dugout. Photo courtesy of Jamie Cohen.

Watch the video

In the latest episode of Marc Silber’s Photography Show, I travel to the Big Apple to interview famed sports photographer Jamie Cohen. Her work in the world of athletics includes calendars for NYC sports teams like the New York Rangers, the New York Knicks and a number of drivers for NASCAR. Most notably she has worked for Fox Sports over the last seven years, photographing some of the world’s biggest stars like Alex Rodriguez (above).

During the interview, Jamie offers some essential tips for those of us just beginning portrait photography as well as those who are seasoned veterans. For example, to capture unique images of iconic faces, Jamie has developed a number of tricks and techniques. One thing she likes to do is shoot her subjects “in between poses.” She’ll ask them to fix their shirt or adjust their hair, and as they break from a pose she manages to capture a more intimate, candid expression.

To see the entire interview, including some cool stories and behind-the-scenes footage of sports stars, as well as Jamie’s indispensable advice on capturing incredible portraits, check out the latest photography show episode.

“Any Window,” 1940. Photo by Roy DeCarava

Roy DeCarava, whose 70 year career in photography was marked by a style, substance and subject matter that made him one of the most respected photographers of the 20th century, passed away last week. He was 89 years old.

Growing up in Harlem in the ’30s, DeCarava discovered his passion for photography only after studying to be a painter. Among other reasons, he found the immediacy and freedom that photography offered not available to black painters of the time. This painterliness can be seen in much of his work — the band members solemnly exiting the stage; a young girl in a white gown walking down a trash-strewn street; a child sitting alone at the bottom of her stoop. These images defined his personal connection with his subjects.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to paint, but photography told me right away,” he said in an interview with The Washington Post in 1986. “I was very shy, scared to death of people, and somehow the camera gave me a license, a way of relating to people.”

Like his other work, DeCarava captured many of his famous contemporaries, like Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis, in a way that purposefully tried not to portray African Americans in a politicized light. “One of the things that got to me,” he said in a 1982 interview with The New York Times, “was that I felt that black people were not being portrayed in a serious and in an artistic way.”

And that’s how DeCarava’s legacy will be remembered: as a genuine artist who was uncanny at capturing the beauty of normal, ordinary people. To see more of his work, or to read about his influence on the photographers of today, check out these books and novels.

Click to Watch Video

It’s alway a pleasure and an adventure to talk with Chase. This time we met up in the bay area and talked about his new book The Best Camera, his new iPhone app and other amazing things he’s been up to.  He discussed some practical advice for “turning an image on its head,” which is his signature move.  What you’ll hear is how he keeps himself inspired, in fact you’ll find it rather catching, so get ready to go out and get shots after viewing this. And yes, he does tell you what the “best camera” is. So tune in and be prepared to advance your photography…

Watch the video

In the latest episode of Marc Silber’s Photography Show, I interview famed stock photographer John Lund, whose thirty-year career in photography has shaped him into one of the leading artists in the industry. Lund’s work has been featured in countless photography publications, journals and trade magazines.

During the interview, viewers are offered a candid look at a photographer with genuine skill and experience. With a style he himself describes as “clean, graphic and conceptual,” Lund offers a detailed breakdown of the process he goes through when creating each of his fantastic photographs — from initial conception, through the shooting of various images and finally to the polished product. Through this combination of high art ideas, multiple photographic images and some digital tweaking, Lund manages to create “new photographic realities [that] illustrate concepts.”

But the best part is he wants to share his techniques with you. So to hear more about Lund’s work, as well as his essential advice for both amateur and professional photographers, check out our latest photography show episode.

Soldier taking cover at Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6th 1944 - Photo: Robert Capa

In the 20th century, there were few photojournalists who were able to capture the honor, violence and horror of war as thoroughly as Robert Capa. In his short life, Capa covered five separate wars: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the First Indochina War. As a combat photographer, Capa’s working days were spent everywhere from the front lines of the Normandy Invasion in 1944 (above) to the mine-ridden jungles of Vietnam. His indomitable courage in the line of fire, all in the name of capturing a story, set the standard for war journalism to come.

Now, 55 years after his death in battle, Capa’s story will finally come alive on the big screen. The film, produced by Columbia Pictures, will be directed by Michael Mann and will be based on the Spanish-language novel, Waiting for Robert Capa by Susana Fortes.

The story follows Capa’s early days as a refugee from Hungary in 1935, and through his relationship with fellow photographer, Gerda Taro, an escapee from Nazi Germany. The two fall in love and find themselves on the front lines of a brutal and bloody battle, eager to protect each other yet also striving to capture the individual stories of war.

News of the film comes at an extraordinary time for Capa scholarship. Recently one of his most famous photographs, of a Spanish Loyalist soldier in the split second after being shot, has fallen under intense speculation after a handful of critics questioned its authenticity. Also, over 4,000 never-before-seen photographs taken by Capa and Taro during the Spanish Civil War were recently discovered in a couple of suitcases. They will be shown at Manhattan’s International Center of Photography next fall.

Watch The Video 

I recently had the pleasure of  interviewing Anna Kuperberg, a San Francisco wedding photographer who has also been noted for her child and dog photography. She gives advice for photographers on how to approach your subjects with curiosity, and shares her techniques to capture those moments of intense emotion and love while doing so naturally. Her tip for taking better photos is to not let your equipment get in the way, which is why she recommends high capacity compact flash cards so as not to miss those decisive moments.

Tune into this episode to get her inside story for taking photos that will be cherished for years to come. This year, Anna has been featured on the cover of Photo District News and PPA magazines, and was named one of the world’s top ten wedding photographers by American Photo magazine. Her work has appeared in InStyle, People, and Martha Stewart Weddings.

You’ll love her approach and her work is stunning, check it out.

Brian May can do a whole lot more than just play the guitar. The 62 year-old British musician is most famously known for playing lead axe in the rock band Queen for almost 30 years, yet lately he’s been gaining a name for himself in other pursuits. Last year he earned a Ph.D in astrophysics, and now he’s co-authoring a book about 19th century photographer T.R. Williams, whom May believes is “the master” of the daguerreotype.

Entitled A Village Lost and Found, the book brings together the work of T.R. Williams’ pastoral photographs from the 1850s, originally collected in his Our Village series. The photos included in the book give a unique perspective into the lives of villagers at the time — a blacksmith at his forge, workers out in the field gathering harvest, men sharpening tools at the grindstone.

What makes the book especially interesting is that it includes a focusing stereoscope, an instrument designed by May himself which brings every picture into 3-D. Along with his co-author, photohistorian Elena Vidal, May also provides annotation and footnotes that help provide meaning to the individual stories depicted in each photograph. This creates a “powerfully atmospheric and touching set of photographs,” and brings the work of a true pioneer of photography to a contemporary audience.

A Village Lost and Found, published by Frances Lincoln, is set to hit bookshelves on October 22nd. To place pre-orders or read some reviews, check out the publisher’s website here.

Chattanooga, Tennessee. Copyright © Robert Frank

In post-war American photography, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more influential book than Robert Frank’s 1958 masterpiece, The Americans. In it, Frank, an emigrant from Switzerland, details his cross-country trip through the United States with 83 stirring portraits of every corner of American society. His style and subject matter shocked and appalled critics, but with the help of friends like Jack Kerouac, William de Kooning and Allen Ginsberg, his work became an inspiration for generations of photographers to follow.

On his trip through the U.S., Frank effectively captured the contradictions existing between the glamors and realities of American life, between wealth, race and economic class. His focus on these tensions was highlighted by a unique style. His subjects were always off-center, or the lighting was poor, giving his work a dusty, gritty, haphazard feel. This new technique was unprecedented.

Unfortunately, such an abrupt style rubbed contemporary photographers and journalists the wrong way, and Frank’s book was ridiculed almost instantly. One critic even called his photos a “meaningless blur,” full of “drunken horizons and general sloppiness.”

But, in his new book, Photography After Frank, New York Times columnist Philip Gefter argues that Frank’s work was not meaningless. In fact, it was nothing short of groundbreaking.

“Robert Frank basically liberated the picture frame,” said Gefter in an interview with NPR. “[Frank was] aiming for a sort of poetic immediacy of experience in the work itself. like [Jack] Kerouac, he liberates the photo frame from the traditional compositional symmetry. That characterizes the divide of what I see as the photography before Robert Frank.” Indeed, Kerouac may have been the one who helped Frank on his feet. The two met on the sidewalk outside a party, and after seeing his photos, Kerouac agreed to pen an introduction.

Since then, The Americans has become one of the great cultural touchstones in American art. In describing his own work, Frank just wanted to show people something meaningful. “When people look at my pictures,” he once said, “I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice.”

And now you may have a chance to see Frank’s pictures, up close and personal. In commemoration of the book’s 50th anniversary this year, the complete set of original photos will be on tour with displays at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

“Viaje a Giraradot, Colombia,” from Nereo: Images From Half a Century

The art of photography is about more than just capturing an image. It’s about telling a story. That’s the idea behind the new collection from world-renowned Colombian photographer Nereo Lopez Maria, who, in his 89 years, has told many stories.

“As photographers we are witnesses to the time in which we live; that’s why we have to tell the stories like they are,” said Nereo, who currently lives in Queens, New York. “I’m a photographer to recount life.”

Nereo: Images From Half a Century (available through Amazon for $40) features 63 black-and-white photos, each of which displays Nereo’s uncanny ability at capturing human emotion. The book covers only the first half of a storied career that has spanned six decades, yet it includes moving portraits from a budding master. Inside are photos from bull-fights, including one where hundreds of people are running away with mixed expressions of joy and terror, as well as sincere and moving portraits of young children, nursing mothers and the field-hardened faces of farm workers.

The collection also includes exclusive photographs of author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, whom Meza met in the early ’60s when he worked as a photo-journalist. The two would become life-long friends, and Meza would accompany Marquez on a trip to Sweden where the latter artist was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Images is the first book available in the United States to showcase the work of Nereo. And if it garners him any of the attention he receives in his home of Colombia, it definitely won’t be his last.

Click To View 

David Smith is an award winning photographer from South Africa, who I met last year in “the bush.” David gives practical and useful tips for how to come away with natural and “inspired” photos from a safari, or just a hike in the woods with wildlife. Join us as I discuss with David how to approach animals in the wild, equipment tips and how to be prepared for action.  This interview will add a new dimension to your photography. BTW click to check out some of my shots from Aferica last year.  

Watch our Video

Deanne Fitzmaurice is a multi-award wining photographer, including Microsoft’s Icons of Imaging and the big kahuna, Pulitzer Prize.  She is an amazing mixture of talent, curiosity, sensitivity, yet raw courage, rolled into a disarming package—all of which have allowed her to reach deep into the lives of her subjects.

Her work is impressive and spans many genres from sports, to politics, human (very) interest, to candids on the street, she seems to handle these images equally well.

I had the pleasure of interviewing her and finding out about her approach to her subjects, which is open, direct and honest, leading her to be very much in touch with them. And did I mention she is gutsy? To illustrate: She told me about getting a shot of Barry Bonds, who in reply glared at her. Instead of backing off she hiked across the field and confronted him and asked if he were upset with her? He popped out of his scowl and got in touch with her, with the net result of their becoming fast friends on and off the field.

She passed along some very pragmatic advice about always checking your equipment, your cards, batteries, always being aware of exactly where you stand so you’re ready for that next shot.

And what about her host of celebrity shots? Same story, she gets right in there and charmingly breaks down the barriers. Like her five minutes with Matt Damon who seemed to be annoyingly putting up with this chore, until she, being from Boston, came out with “how ’bout the ‘Sox?” and she had him.

My favorite part was her description of what makes a very powerful image: Layering. No, not as in layers in PhotoShop, but in the images themselves as she shoots them. I’ve studied a lot of photography and talked with many, many photographers, but I’ve never heard this concept so well articulated. Watch the video for this; it’s worth the price of admission alone.

I’ve gotta say, the toughest part about our interview was deciding what to leave out, there was so much of interest. Let me know how you like it.

 Click to Watch

We had a wonderful time visiting Bambi Cantrell at her studio in Benicia last week. Winding our way through the sleepy artist town on the edge of the San Francisco Bay, we came upon her studio in a converted 19th century armory. Bambi greeted us with a smile and gave us a tour; I was immediately struck by her warm and welcoming personality and by this perfect environment for photography—immense ceilings, windows opening to the bay, tons of light and life.

Bambi is a total pro and when we were rolling she gave direct, spot on and immediately usable tips: How she identifies the key light in a room using her hand. How she puts her subjects at ease with her easy and playful approach. Her of course, anti-nerd reminder, “You have to know and f-stop from a bus stop but at the end of the day, cameras don’t take pictures, people do. At the end of the day, expression beats perfection”

Click to tune in and catch her great tips. Here’s a small sample of what you’ll see:

 Click to See Video

Ansel Adams was an ultimate icon of photography for me growing up. I read The Eloquent Light, his biography by Nancy Newhall when I was about 12 and was totally caught up by his ability to capture images in nature coupled with his deep commitment to the environment—myself being both a photographer and a budding outdoorsman.

Shortly after that Ansel came to my school—the Peninsula School, and had a exhibition in our gallery upstairs. I well recall my mom talking him about his shots of Manzanar where she had met him during “the war”—being introduced to him by her is an indelible image in my mind, but I regret there was no actual photo of that moment.

I went on to read all of his books on photography, which I highly recommend for basics of photography nowhere else covered.

Many years went by and I had the opportunity to interview Michael Adams in Yosemite, in fact at Glacier Point, before the park service opened the road for the season, so we literally had the place to ourselves. Michael then invited us to come to Ansel’s (now his) home on the Monterey peninsula. You can imagine the experience of walking in and taking in his home!

We shot a segment in his gallery where Michael told me stories behind many of Ansel’s classic work, including Moonrise, Hernandez, one of his most haunting images, from Michael’s perspective as a 7 year old.

We then went through his darkroom, the darkroom—fully custom made by Ansel, like none I have ever seen. You’ll see images of Ansel actually at work in it, printing his images. (Thank you to his family for loaning us this unreleased footage.) You’ll get an idea of how he was able to interpret his images as he had visualized them at the time of shooting. Whether you are purely a digital photographer or not, drink this in as the basis for our modern photography, for example you’ll see tools in use that live on in photo-software today.

I feel indeed fortunate to have had this experience and to see the surrounds that Ansel saw on the coastline every day. I’m really happy to share this rare glimpse into the world of a true master.