Artfaul

    I hope to inspire all my students as well as show them they  can be as good as any others. Becoming a great photographer is about seeing, not what kind of camera you have. 

    Photography is a bit tricky - it is easy to do, but not easy to do well. Professionals try to do it well, but not all succeed. One needs patience, and there is no substitute for that. When using a camera, turn off all other distractions, and just concentrate on your vision and working with the camera. 

    I have a BA in printmaking, have attended 97 workshops, and kept my nose to the wheel for 50 years. I have studied with 27 of the world's best photographers, and as far as experience goes, I have made 1.6 million shots on film. In the beginning, I was advised to never turn down a job, and I have tried not to. 

I am working with students from various backgrounds, and have found that the competition suggests I charge more but I am charging about $50. My lessons are 90 minutes, and I have found they need to be hands-on. I have taught students who have have become news photographers, while others have gone on to be travel shooters, portrait artists, and work for clients like Travel & Leisure Magazine.  

    I began working for TIME Magazine, and slowly learned enough to where I could teach others. In my mid-twenties I taught at Holton Arms School in Bethesda for two years. I had some good students, and a few went on to become pro photographers. I really miss them, as they were a joy to teach. I've been teaching students alongside my work for decades, amd always finding more.

I've worked with the rich and famous as well as ordinary folks. Most have been in their late teens or twenties, while a large group were in their 30's - 40's. Now I feel comfortable teaching all ages. It is important to note that 'digital' and film are the same, with just the method of preserving the images one technology or the other. Digital is comparatively easy, but but styles are just that: styles.

I am a landscape shooter, and recently have been working with the small preservation towns of Harpers Ferry, WV and Brunswick, MD. I intend to take my students there, as there is a lot of see and things to be learned about photography and American history. Now I live closer to the Civil War battlefields and go there frequently to make photographs. 

I'd try to make sure they are not one-dimensional and have a depth of knowledge which come from doing more than reading an article or a book. Photography is complex as you need to have different levles of knowledge about film, digital, perhaps a bit of chemistry, light, and so forth. Most importantly, you need patience and need to be able to guess, surmise, or see. 

    Where do they want to go with photography? I had two students who become pros working for National Geographic. I am most proud that they were both women. Most photoraphers are men, but women make great photographers too. Margaret Bourke-White and Ruth Bernhard come to mind.