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As I get older, I consider myself retired from the day job of actually having to make a living from photography. The Old Rose Gone are the days of endless client revisions, of taking photographs to satisfy someone else's brief, only to be sent back to do it all again. The demands of the establishment are now comfortably behind me. When I retired, everyone asked the same question: "What will you do with all your spare time?" The answer, it seems, is work harder than ever. The

I’ll admit it — I’m a little burned out. Last month was something of a photographic workout: preparing the next Focus Quarterly, chasing advertisers, untangling various websites, juggling lectures… and somewhere in all that, trying to keep the creative flame from flickering out. Craig Semetko once said, “I try not to think at all… thinking just constipates things.” A vivid image — but not entirely inaccurate. So how does one keep the creative current flowing without overworki

Thinking about making a submission to Focus Quarterly? There is often a hesitation when it comes to writing about photographs. For many, the work feels complete in the image itself—resolved in tone, form, and atmosphere. To then translate that into words can feel like a second act entirely, one that sits slightly outside the comfort of the practice. And yet, what we’re really asking for is not explanation. It’s something closer to presence. Raining When we look at a body of w

There was a time when photography felt obliged to explain itself. To describe. To record. To declare—clearly and without ambiguity—what stood in front of the lens. And of course, it still does that remarkably well. But I find myself drawn elsewhere now, toward something quieter, less resolved. “Atmosphere over declaration” is not a rejection of truth, but a softening of its edges. Alone with his thoughts. The early Pictorialism movement understood this well. Their images wer