David duChemin is a photographer, author, and nomad. These are his photographs, words, and adventures. Welcome.
I should have been on a flight to the Yukon on Wednesday. I was meant, by now, to be sitting on a river with bears. I was, instead, lying on an operating table getting an emergency appendectomy. Don t let anyone tell you the life of a photographer isn t full of adventure. Oh, the romance of it all! Timing couldn t have ... The post Adventures & Appendectomies? first appeared on David duChemin -…
Learning to use a camera is only the very first part of this craft. Once you can do that, the rest is learning how photographs work. Last week I began this conversation by showing you one of my photographs, both before and after, and invited you to reverse engineer it. I encouraged you to speculate on the decisions that made ... The post Watch the Video: What Makes The Image Work? first appeared…
I ve got a question for you. Do you know how your photographs work? Not your cameras, you know how to focus and expose and use enough of the other buttons that you can mostly make it do what you want, but do you know how your images work? A still image is a lot of moving parts (metaphorically speaking). Sure ... The post What Makes Your Images Work? first appeared on David duChemin - Photographer,…
If everything went to plan, I m currently in the bush on the Zambezi River, probably just settling in for the evening by the campfire with a whisky in my hand and a blanket of stars above me. Behind me, a forest of winterthorn trees, and around me, the song of frogs. In the distance, splashing and the deep guttural noises ... The post One Thing: Simplify first appeared on David duChemin -…
I spent yesterday morning with a cup of coffee at the local marina, staring at the boats and the light and breathing it in, my deep pleasure at doing nothing at all spoiled only by an apple croissant that was, in fact, filled with marzipan. A nice surprise if you like marzipan, but I think it tastes like the inside ... The post Seeing Takes Time first appeared on David duChemin - Photographer,…
Your photographs probably don t matter that much, and neither do mine. The one that just took home the blue ribbon at the state fair? It s (probably) not going to change the world. The one that just made the cover of that magazine you ve always hoped might publish your work? In a couple of years, you ll likely look back on it ... The post Do Your Photographs Matter? first appeared on David…
Not 20 minutes after my arrival at Kutali Camp on the Zambezi River in Zambia, a large bull elephant strode through camp, walked up to the lunch table, and sampled—then summarily rejected—the cucumber salad that was due to be my lunch. Two mornings later, I woke to find him outside my tent at 4 am, walking right past the tent door ... The post An Elephant at My Tent first appeared on David…
I ve always loved high-key images for their simplicity, elegance, and power. There s a directness to them and no confusion at all about your intended subject. The technique is relatively simple, and yet for all its advantages, it s been a while since I ve thought to embrace it. Going into my recent trip to Kenya, I decided to remedy that by looking for ... The post All (High) Keyed Up? first…
I have an early memory of going photographing with my dad on a morning after a big ice storm came through. It was just after Christmas, the storm had knocked out power to much of the area, and the streets were thick with ice, impossible to drive on. I finally had my first real camera, an SLR with interchangeable lenses, ... The post Find Your “Hey, Look at That!” first appeared on David duChemin -…
Starting has always been tough. They don t tell you that when you buy a camera. Or the new lens you get so excited to use. This, we think, is going to change everything! Except it doesn t. At least not yet, because you re (to misquote Julia Roberts in Notting Hill) still just a girl standing in front of a boy asking ... The post Don’t Start Perfect. Just Start. Period first appeared on David…