Recently, I lost a dear friend and mentor, Fred Bauman.
He passed away 2 weeks shy of his 95th birthday. We associate the word ‘mentor’ with someone who influence and shape lives but Fred was more than that.
Fred Bauman, my dear friend and mentor, was in his 80’s when he pursued standup as a hobby. He would perform without any sort of cheatsheets or cue cards unlike many of the other younger comics.
I shared this on Facebook, at first on the former Press-Enterprise employees’ group and then afterwards on my personal page.
Fred who retired from the Press-Enterprise newspaper, before he was really ready was the best boss ever.
Fred was a one-of-a-kind boss. After he retired, in his 80’s he did some standup comedy. I drove him to and from the evenings he had gigs. While many (younger) comics had cheatsheets on index cards, Fred never needed them.
With RIverside City College students in downtown RIverside
This being “Teacher Appreciation Week” reminds me of so many photographers today who are so proudly claim to be ‘autodidacts’ so-called self-taught.
Many don’t realize that had it not been for the internet, youtube and the generosity of content creators who share their knowledge about photography, those autodidacts would be still stuck trying to get out of Automatic or Program mode. Continue reading One teaches, two learn→
It’s that time of the year and if you have a photographer in your life, I have some suggestions for you.
If your photographer mostly shoots landscapes, a tripod and a set of graduated filters are no-brainers.
The trouble with my suggestion of a tripod is this. They can be expensive.
You should only be buying a tripod once hopefully it’s just like marriage.
But just like in real life, we sometimes have more than 1 spouse and we often misplace our photo toys. My feeling is that it’s best to buy the best tripod you can afford because they really don’t break. Continue reading Christmas toys for photographers→
Regardless of your skill level, all these are relevant.
So here are my suggestions for improving your photography
Seek out positive mentors. There are so many out there but not all are compatible with your way of thinking
Having your camera with you increases the odds you will use it or you will come across something interesting or unexpected. Phones are ok but often they respond too slowly
Bring your camera with you everywhere. You’re dropped a fortune on it already, it doesn’t cost you anything to tote it everywhere, use it
Break down pictures you like, specifically ask yourself what was used to take the picture. You may be surprised with the workarounds that exist that don’t cost an arm and a leg. Read more about how I made this picture of water polo player Nicholas.
Keeping his cool– Despite the frigid water temperature, Nicholas was a good sport. My main light, a Canon 600-EX-RT Speedlite at camera right, was triggered by Yongnuo YN-600-EX transmitter. Canon 40D with 17-35mm lens. ISO 400 1/250 f8
