Articles
At one point I had a lot of written stuff on this website. In the late 2009 remodel of this website, I've abandoned nearly all of it. Most of it was either obsolete in the sense that technology has moved on, or in the sense that it no longer reflected my current thinking. What remains here is stuff that I felt was significant enough to keep or which someone specifically requested be dug up out of the archive.
If you're searching for something you think got abandoned in the purge, please see the archive page.
Folks who find these articles interesting might want to check out the content on my Photomusings blog (now closed) at http://photomusings.wordpress.com.Art is a Verb, not a Noun
Some thoughts on the trend toward art that tries to be outrageous, why people make such art, and what we can do about it.
Ability, Accomplishment, and Art
Some musings on the difference between ability and accomplishment, and what that difference means to us as artists.
The Flash of Recognition, (or Why I Photograph)
A few of my thoughts on what makes for a great photograph, segueing into why I make photographs.
Hunter-Gatherer or Farmer?
There are two types of photographers in the world, and I divide them neatly in this article on two different approaches to landscape photography.Variable Contrast Printing
My article on calibrating a dichroic enlarging head for use as a VCCE light source when printing on variable contrast black and white printing papers. This is an updated version of what appeared in Photo Techniques in February 1998. For a host of tedious reasons this article is presented as a PDF.
Loading Large Format Film Holders
An illustrated guide to loading sheet film into holders.
Are the Zone VI meter modifications worth the cost?
For years people have argued about whether there was any real difference between the Zone VI modified Pentax Digital Spotmeter and the unmodified meter. I happened to own one of each, and took the opportunity to compare them head to head.
Zone VI meter modifications (reprised)
I examine an article by Alan Ross on the modifications (the one on the calumet web site), some scanned pages from the old Zone VI catalog, some criticism leveled at my data by Kirk Gittings, and decide that a) the modifications do not improve the accuracy of the meter, and b) so much time has elapsed since I first published my data that I no longer feel my conclusions are tentative at all.