What if Your House Burned Down?
As many of you know, I live northwest of Fort Collins where a fire’s been raging for a week now. Sunday evening the fire got close to our home and we packed up a trailer and were ready to evacuate in a moment’s notice. Fortunately, we were not asked to leave and our home is… continue reading
An 11th Tip for Long Exposure Photography
Last year I wrote an article entitled “Ten Tips from Cole Thompson for Long Exposure Photography” which you can read below. However I recently discovered there’s a very important “11th Tip” that applies to long exposures over 30 seconds. When I was shooting with very long exposures (1, 2, 4 and 8 minutes) I kept… continue reading
Don’t Copy Others, Even if it’s Yourself!
A couple of years ago my family and I were vacationing in a small village on the coast of England and the only preparations I had made to photograph there was to bring along a white bed sheet. The Story of the White Bed Sheet I had recently photographed ghosts at Auschwitz-Birkenau and wondered if… continue reading
I’d Rather My Art Be In Thousands of Homes, Than To Sell It For Thousands of Dollars
A friend and I were recently talking about how to set the price for our images and this brought up some thoughts I’ve had over the years. Typically people price their work in one of three ways: 1. Cost method, total up your costs and then add a percentage for profit. 2. What others are… continue reading
NEWS de Cordoba Magazine and 121 Clicks Interview
The April edition of NEWS de Cordoba features all sixteen images from The Ghosts of Auschwitz-Birkenau portfolio. This is the official publication for the Photographic Association of Cordoba, Spain. I was greatly honored that they chose my image for the cover. Also, I recently completed an interview for 121 Clicks which I really enjoyed because… continue reading
I’ve done a number of interviews recently and there is this thought that keeps coming back to me again and again and it has to do with the role photography plays in my life. It is often assumed that I earn a living through my art; I do not, I have a full time job… continue reading
The Story Behind “The Ghosts of Auschwitz-Birkenau”
I would like to tell the story behind “The Ghosts of Auschwitz-Birkenau.” My wife and I were visiting my son who was serving in the Peace Corps in Ukraine (providing balance to his two brothers who were serving in the Marines). Being part Polish, we decided to visit our homeland and took a train to… continue reading
Rochester, NY – Exhibition, Talk and Workshop
I was a 14 year old boy living in Rochester, NY when I discovered photography. Now some 45 years later I return to Rochester to exhibit, speak and conduct a workshop. I will be exhibiting “The Ghosts of Auschwitz-Birkenau” and speaking about my experience at the Death Camps and well as sharing impressions from my meetings with Holocaust… continue reading
My friend Angela Faris Belt has just published the second edition of her book The Elements of Photography – Understanding and Creating Sophisticated Images. What I like about the book is that it addresses both the technical as well as the creative components of photographic art. Too often as photographers we focus on the technical… continue reading
