Photographer Profiles

In May, 2010, during one of his many trips to Tanzania, Norton was informed by local Maasai tribesmen of government plans to build a highway bisecting the northern part of the Serengeti, the storied 5700 square-mile national park listed among the 10 wonders of the world.

“Photography is always a bit random in the UK because the weather is so changeable,” Martin Turner says. When he and his friends arrived late in the afternoon at the Weston-super-Mare seaside resort in North Somerset, they were greeted by “absolute, gorgeous sunshine.” Which lasted about 45 minutes. “All of a sudden the sky went black,” Turner says, “and we had to stand underneath the pier whilst it chucked down rain for quite a while.” Then the clouds broke, and at about 8:00 in the evening he was able to capture this sunset image.

By any definition, Sebastião Salgado is one the most important photographers working today. Currently he has a large exhibition of his work on display at the International Center for Photography (ICP) in New York City through the very beginning of January 2015. It is will be the last photo show at this location, before ICP’s move next year to a new exhibition space in New York’s Bowery neighborhood.

Switzerland-based photographer John Wilhelm's images are all-in-the family and out-of-this-world. In his whimsical and beautiful work, Wilhelm digitally inserts his three daughters into a series of outlandish scenarios that are fantastical, funny, and sometimes just downright bizarre.

I think Mr. Erwitt’s talking about “the way you see” is the best advice for any photographer no matter what their experience level may be. One way to open your mind and eyes to different ways of seeing the world is to look at other people’s images, and that’s one of my goals with this column. Helping us with that today are four Shutterbug readers who bring their own unique views of the world to bear on the art and craft of photography.

Dan Root is a buddy of mine who is always doing something interesting photographically. His most recent project is a mind-bending series of black-and-white photos called Quadratis.

In 2004 I was out late one night for a walk on the beach, as I often did to de-stress from a long day at work. This night was particularly beautiful, with a full moon shining overhead, so I decided to bring my camera and tripod along to take some oceanscapes. I found the perfect location, set up my gear, and opened the shutter of my camera for a long exposure. While the exposure was running I accidentally bumped my camera. When I checked the image and saw that the light from the moon had left a streak going across the sky I had an epiphany. My mind raced at the possibilities of using my camera and the moonlight to draw images in the sky, and from that moment on I was a light painter.