Cats – Photography is Nothing – Ep20
Episode 20 – Cats have been a part of photography since its beginnings. As early as the 1870s, people have been taking silly photos of…
Indiana University – Photography is Nothing – Ep19
Episode 19 – Indiana University is our alma mater and we love it! After IU football’s Rose Bowl victory over Alabama, we decided to talk…
State Fair – Photography is Nothing – Ep10
This week Zach & Courtney discuss their visit to the Indiana State Fair plus Zach’s project documenting fairs & festivals around the state of Indiana…
Photo Stories That Went Too Far – Photography is Nothing – Ep06
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….
The Only Revolution is Within – Photography is Nothing – Ep05
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…
Your Purpose is to Create – Photography is Nothing – Ep03
This week Zach & Courtney discuss how every single person is meant to create, a Pacers game 7 loss, what makes for a great summer…
AI is Getting Dumber – Photography Is Nothing – Episode02
Episode 02 – This week Zach & Courtney discuss how AI is getting dumber, photographing kids in the style of a war photographer, how famous…
It’s Easy to Start a Podcast – Photography Is Nothing – Episode01
Welcome to our very first episode of Photography is Nothing! This week Zach & Courtney discuss starting a podcast, literally dropping a $5000 camera, attending…
Indiana Drag Queens Know How To Sunday Brunch
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…
Kissing the Bricks at the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon
More than 20,000 people ran the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon in Indianapolis last Saturday. The highlight for many runners is taking a 2.5-mile lap around the…
Josef Newgarden at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
Josef Newgarden visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum last week for the first “An Evening With” event in the newly renovated space. Fans bought tickets…
Grand Reopening of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
Last week I spent three days at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum documenting grand reopening events and it’s absolutely GORGEOUS! At first glance of the…
Caleb Hearon in Indianapolis – So True Live Tour
Caleb Hearon’s “So True Live Tour” visited Indianapolis last week. Hearon and guests played a sold out show to around 1400 people at the Egyptian…
Creating Art with Art: Documentary Photography at Museums
For the last hundred years there have been photographers creating documentary photography at museums. Famed photographer Elliott Erwitt documented so many museums around the world…
Firelight Photography at A Merry Prairie Holiday Festival
Firelight photography gives a nice warm glow to your photos. It’s challenging to get exposure and focus locked in when you’re using a candle or…
Using Color Photography to Tell a More Complete Story
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…
advice | art | documentary | events | fairs & festivals | tourism | travel
The Challenge of Photographing a Balloon Glow
Photographing a Balloon Glow like Jupiter Flights at Connor Prairie is challenging due to quickly changing light conditions. Digital photography makes this much easier with instant feedback and take a lot of frames. However it is possible on film especially with an automatic mode like aperture priority.
Colors, Excitement, and Moments of the 2024 Indiana State Fair
The Indiana State Fair is one of my favorite places to take photos. I go each year and there’s always so much to see and…
Reverence & Spectacle of the National Eucharistic Congress
Gregorian chants echoed off the bleachers as tens of thousands knelt in the darkness, in near-silent prayer & meditation. It was a long way from…
Taking the Familiar and Making it New & Exciting: Cars & Coffee Photography
Cars & Coffee photography is something I’ve done regularly this year. When engaging with a familiar subject, it’s important to me to keep it feeling…
Backstage With a Professional Ballet Company
Ballet INitiative in a nonprofit dance collective based in Indianapolis, Indiana. My introduction to their group came last winter when one of my kids was…
Cars & Coffee & Cameras: Using the X100VI with some Amazing Autos
Last weekend Graham Rahal Performance hosted a cars & coffee event at their location in Brownsburg, IN. I headed out with the boys to see…
Telling the Story of the Dance Experience With Photography
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…
Street Photography at a Carmel Artomobilia
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…
A Look Behind the Scenes of a Commercial Photo Shoot
Let’s go behind the scenes of a commercial photoshoot I did recently. This was a 5 day shoot at locations like small businesses in Indianapolis,…
Documenting Race Weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
I recently worked with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to document their Verizon 200 at the Brickyard race weekend. There were four races over the weekend…
documentary | events | sports
Photoshoot with an Indianapolis Motor Speedway Camaro
Having lived in Indianapolis for 17 years now, I always wondered who got to drive the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Camaros I’d see around town each…
2023 Indianapolis 500: Two Different Views
The Indianapolis 500 is a month-long celebration during the month of May in Indiana. This year I photographed two different perspectives on the festivities. First,…
They Almost Won the Indianapolis 500: Second Place Finishers
I went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum this spring, and seeing as the Indy 500 is this weekend, now is a great time to…
A Wild Weekend of Gaming – Big East Esports Championships
The Big East Esports Championship at Butler University was full of action and emotion and I was there to document it all! Scroll through the…
Photographing Light as a Subject
Photographing light, whether natural or manmade, goes a long way in making an interesting & engaging photo. Photography at its core is light and shadow….
Documenting Work Truck Week in Indianapolis
Work Truck Week in Indianapolis is always a joy to photograph. This year was my fourth time documenting these big big trucks inside the Indiana…
How To Create Social Media Content with Zach Dobson Photography
Creating social media content for clients using my documentary photography experience to share client products, services, and locations.
Learn How I Find Great Photos on a Live Photo Walk
Live from _____, It’s a ZDP Photo Walk! Have you tuned in to a live photo walk yet? I’ve been a photographer for over 20…
Black & White Photography in the Snow
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…
A Look Inside the New Carmel Clay Public Library
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…
Documenting a Ballet Class
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…
Photography by Candlelight – A Merry Prairie Holiday
Available Light Only Documenting the mood and atmosphere of A Merry Prairie Holiday at Conner Prairie was a fun challenge as a photographer. There was…
How To Use Motion Blur in Photography to Tell a Story
Using motion blur in photography is a great way to convey action, movement, and excitement while telling a story. In this post I’ll give some…
Taking Great Photos of Everyday Scenes
Beauty in the Ordinary Taking great photos of everyday scenes is something I pride myself in. I often say that while we’d all love to…
New Butler Esports Park in Indianapolis
Photographing the new Butler Esports Park was my second photoshoot this year in esports. It’s been great learning about this new frontier in sports and…
Taking an Artistic Approach as an Event Street Photographer
Recently I decided to take some photos as a sort of “event street photographer.” Here I’ll talk about the process and show the results! What…
NBA2K in Indianapolis – Live esports tournament
Recently I had an opportunity to photograph something new: esports! Indianapolis played host to a 5v5 NBA2K tournament, called The Turn, in a brand new…
2022 Winter Photo Walk in Nature
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 Art of Everyday Photography
I feel that “everyday” photography is greatly underrated. Scroll any social media feed and you’ll see plenty of tropical locations and mountain vistas, often with…
Late Night Photography
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…
13 Minutes in the Fog – A Photographic Journey
The title of this series is 13 Minutes in the Fog: A Photographic Journey. A foggy morning is always great for making you look at…
Stonewall Sports – Indianapolis Kickball
Stonewall Sports Indianapolis is a community sports organization for LGBTQ+ individuals and allies. I went out to document opening day for their fall kickball league…
The Serenity of McCormick’s Creek State Park
Seeing the peace and serenity of McCormick’s Creek State Park, it’s easy to see how this became the first state park in Indiana, founded in…
High Contrast Black and White Nature Photography at Home
Looking for a fresh perspective on my own surroundings, I created some black and white nature photography in my yard. If you enjoy photography, you…
Basketball Emotion in the Hoosier State
I absolutely LOVE doing documentary photography of basketball! If you haven’t heard, Indiana is a HUGE basketball state. Yes, more than other states. There’s nowhere…
8 Tips for Great Snow Photography
I love taking photos in the snow! It lets me see everyday locations with a new perspective. Snow provides technical challenges and unique visual possibilities. Let’s…
advice | documentary | winter
Photography Practice: Return to the Scene
A good photography practice can be to return to the same scene multiple times to photograph it under different conditions. If you saw my post…
Moody Photos of Night Snow
Twenty years into photography, it’s rare to find a subject I haven’t already photographed in some capacity. Enter Night Snow. Whenever possible, I get outside…
Documenting Construction, Design and Collaboration
Documentary construction photography, design & collaboration for Cityscape Residential for their website by Common Design.
Sun in the Wintertime
What’s a photographer to do in a pandemic? I’m someone who likes to photograph people most of all. I need to avoid people as much…
See more: Eating Well Magazine’s Thanksgiving Issue
Photos for Eating Well magazine of Nate and Liz Brownlee, owners/operators of Nightfall Farm in Crothersville, Indiana.
Fall Photography in Ritchey Woods Nature Preserve
Took at walk with the kids at Ritchey Woods Nature Preserve in Fishers Indiana and got some great fall photos.
As It Lies: Artistic Photography of Lost Golf Balls
Documenting lost golf balls as found in nature lead to an interesting series of artistic photographs.
It’s May
It’s May and we’re half in the box. Documenting life in the here-and-now has been very interesting. As a trained photojournalist, I’ve always thought of…