This week Zach & Courtney discuss photography projects that became obsessive, including Japanese photographer Masahisa Fukase’s Ravens, Catherine Leroy’s coverage of the Vietnam War, W. Eugene Smith documenting Pittsburg for two years, and Zach’s own project of photographing lost golf balls in the woods and the creek. **NOTES**– W. Eugene Smith’s Country Doctor story was…
This week Zach & Courtney discuss everyday photography, Zach’s 180 on fireworks photos, an important quote that influenced Courtney, and the work of photographers Sally Mann and Larry Fink. “Photography is nothing–it’s life that interests me.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson In this episode Books The Americans by Robert FrankWay Far by Ryan McGinleyKitchen Table Series by…
This week Zach & Courtney discuss how every single person is meant to create, a Pacers game 7 loss, what makes for a great summer photo, and more! “Photography is nothing–it’s life that interests me.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson Links & Resources View this post on Instagram A post shared by ZACH DOBSON PHOTOGRAPHY (@zachdobsonphoto) Mystery…
Welcome to our very first episode of Photography is Nothing! This week Zach & Courtney discuss starting a podcast, literally dropping a $5000 camera, attending & photographing the Indy 500, documenting the neighborhood swim team, and more! “Photography is nothing–it’s life that interests me.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson Links & Resources View this post on Instagram…
Indiana drag queens will get your Sundays off to a great start! Last fall I learned about a monthly drag show in Carmel, Indiana called Drag Me To Brunch. It sounded like an absolute blast, and conveniently located just a few minutes from my house. I reached out to the host, Pat Yo’ Weave, about…
What is color photography, really? As I always say… “Color Photography isn’t about taking photos IN color, it’s about taking photos OF color.” How does color contribute to the story that I’m telling? When does it add information? When does it distract from the subject? When is color the subject itself? These are things I’m…
Dance Photography I started doing dance photography a few times a year when two of my kids started dancing. Because my love of photography is centered around storytelling, I’m looking to document the experience of dancing. I look for moments of peak action in their movements. I stand backstage with the dancers peering between the…
This past weekend we made our sorta annual visit to Carmel Artomobilia, a car show in our town of Carmel, Indiana. As with most events I photograph, I wanted to focus on both the cars AND the people observing them. So here is my street photography approach to the car show… Related Posts If you…
Photographing light, whether natural or manmade, goes a long way in making an interesting & engaging photo. Photography at its core is light and shadow. That’s why it’s the first thing I look for when taking a photo. March in the Midwest means a lot of gray skies. So on a rare sunny March evening,…
Snow day! That means it’s time to head outside and create some black & white photography in the snow! There was big, heavy, wet snow this morning, and I went outside to take some pretty photos and video of giant snowflakes falling. In fact, I have a nice, 60-second pretty snow video you can watch…
We’ve been anxiously awaiting the new renovations at the Carmel Clay Public Library and were excited at the opportunity to take a preview tour before the doors opened to the public. My wife and I homeschool our 5 kids, so the library is one of our most important resources. It was great getting to see…
As a photographer, I thrive on the novel. I love documenting things I’ve never photographed before. So when I was asked to photograph a ballet class, I was excited to see what I could get. This is The Ballet Studio of Carmel (Indiana) lead by Ashley Thibodeau. It was a fun class to photograph! The…
If you want to know what it’s like to work in commercial photography, I have some behind-the-scenes photos from a big photoshoot last week to share with you! I worked with Borshoff, an Indianapolis-based advertising agency, on a new TV and web campaign for a utility company. I was taking still photos alongside a video…
This week I took a winter walk to shake off the Great Holiday Malaise and get back to taking some photos outside again. I like the variety of images in this series: abstract nature, people doing wintery stuff, and OF COURSE, just a couple golf balls. Hey, they were there! I had to do my…
Doing some late night photography lead to something I almost never do: using a tripod. Taking out the trash late one night, I noticed the (nearly) full moon shining down on my backyard and felt inspired to take some photos. I knew that I wanted to shoot at a lower ISO (for better image quality)…
Documenting lost golf balls as found in nature lead to an interesting series of artistic photographs.
A Study in Contrasts Contrasts always catch my eye. Whether it’s contrasts in tone, color or subject matter, I like to find ways to document them with my camera. This post examines the contrasts at a new Carmel, Indiana pool. Pool Open During Construction Our neighborhood has a new pool this year and the area…
Today we present a photo story of a young artist discovering a delicious medium. One of the many benefits of working from home when you have four (and soon five) kids who homeschool is witnessing, and subsequently documenting, their shenanigans. This is what happens when you leave a tempting item on the kitchen counter within…
One of the things I enjoy most about shooting this time of year is the diversity of people that come out to celebrate America’s independence. It’s a great reminder that we all love this country and we all are welcome here. Here’s a slideshow of some of our favorite images celebrating America… A handful of…
This past weekend was the grand opening of the Carmel Christkindlmarkt. I stopped by on Sunday evening to check out the scene. It’s a beautiful setup with the Palladium in the background. The iceskating is affordable, and there are special deals on Wednesday and Thursday, so be sure to check out the website for details:…
I try to get out every year to check out Carmel Artomobilia. The crowd was huge this year! I always take my kids with me, so navigating four little-ones through a crowd and making sure they’re not climbing into cars tends to limit the number of shots that I take. I’m happy with the selects,…
Here’s some documentary photography of a youth baseball team from Carmel, Indiana. These photos are taking at Grand Park, a massive 400-acre sports complex in Westfield. Baseball usually requires a really long lens to get any decent action, but with youth baseball, I can usually stand close enough to get some cool shots with my…
Time for high school boys basketball playoffs in Indiana. Here are some photos from Carmel’s 53-36 win over Westfield last night to get you hooked. There will be more in the coming weeks from regionals and state finals, so follow our blog, Twitter and Instagram so you don’t miss anything.
Deacon Bill Reid, St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church Deacon Bill spent 31 years working at Eli Lilly. As retirement approached, he began to consider his next chapter. His sister mentioned that she thought he’d make a great deacon, and he admitted that he didn’t know exactly what a deacon’s role was. As he learned about the…
Tommy Baldwin, Musician I met Tommy in a very serendipitous manner. I stopped by my office on Saturday after another shoot and noticed my office neighbors, Kingston’s Music Showcase, were in. For me, music is as big of a passion as photography, and I hadn’t yet found a musician to participate in the project. I thought…
Project Statement A couple years ago, the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho kept showing up on my radar. After hearing about it several times in just a few months, I thought it must be time to read it. The Alchemist is an allegory about a Spanish shepherd named Santiago who dreams of treasure at the Pyramids and…
Getting out in atypical weather is always something I enjoy. Wednesday we had an unusually dense fog that lingered until nearly noon. In looking for an interesting place to shoot it, I ended up at Prairie View Golf Club. I was happy to find some golfers out in the fog, which made for some interesting images.
I’m not sure what I was looking for when I left my office in the middle of the afternoon to go take photos. Typically, I avoid shooting in the middle of the day because of the harsh light, but I was feeling anxious after sitting at my desk for hours and thought I’d try to work…
CarmelFest is a big Independence Day celebration held every year on July 3rd & 4th in Carmel, Indiana. Since 2012, I’ve participated in the event as a sponsor and “official photographer”. I enjoy living in a smaller city where I get to see so many people I know celebrating our country together as a community….
Just down the street from me, there were about 20 acres of trees that are there no longer. Looks like they’re making room for another “mixed-use” blah, blah, blah. Anyways, I felt compelled to go over and take some photos…
I don’t typically do “portrait sessions” anymore, but when my nephew Harrison asked to do some photos for his senior year, I thought it would be fun to try some unique shots. Here are a few of my favorites…