The Wells Point

How a liberal arts education saved my career again and again

davidhwells — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:51:32 +0000

College graduation season is upon us and with it discussions about the importance of educating young people for the so called “jobs of the future.” With a daughter half way through college, I have plenty to worry about in terms of her future. Yet I am here to make a last stand for a liberal [...]

Artfully road testing the Olympus Tough TG-2 camera

davidhwells — Wed, 29 May 2013 15:37:33 +0000

While I was experimenting with the Olympus Tough TG-2 I went a bit overboard in trying to see just how far I have moved past my previous concern in terms of “fearing for the camera’s safety.” What happened was I dreamed up the idea of videos made from weird angles via a rig I would [...]

How fabricated images ruin my work

davidhwells — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:16:13 +0000

Another controversy is erupting in the world of photojournalism. The image that won World Press Photo of the Year 2012 is starting to look like it was HIGHLY manipulated or an outright composite. Though I no longer work as a photojournalist, I have been following this (and other recent image manipulation) controversies closely because it [...]

Photography as a second language

davidhwells — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:35:43 +0000

With graduation season upon us, thousands of photographers-in-the making will soon be graduating from institutions across the country. The commencement speakers those students would be listening to will be loath to admit it, but getting paid to be a photographer is dying as a career option and it is clearly time for a new paradigm [...]

How to organize the unorganized

davidhwells — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:21:29 +0000

Another query comes in and another blog post comes out…. I received an e-mail with a question that was so good that I immediately answered the writer AND told him I would turn it into a blog post. His question, to put it succinctly was “How could he organize the unorganized?” This is a question [...]

Connoisseur of Light in Singapore

davidhwells — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:14:31 +0000

I am just back from Singapore, having spent three weeks there on my annual visit, teaching and photographing. Every year, I teach a couple sections of my favorite class, Light, Shadow Night and Twilight. And every year, at least half the class starts out complaining about how there is no dramatic light in Singapore. Because [...]

Rochester takes down another photojournalist

davidhwells — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:40:02 +0000

The annual winners of the prestigious photojournalism contests are starting to be announced. Another photojournalist has got himself stuck in a controversy, largely of his own making. One upside is that this is one of those old fashioned ethical controversies where digital image manipulation had NOTHING to do with it. One downside to commenting on [...]

How to Build Awareness for Your Work

davidhwells — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 08:16:53 +0000

This week’s blog entry is a cross posting of a blog that was the result of an interview I did with photographer and marketing expert Cindy A. Stephens for the Boston Photography Focus blog, which is sponsored by the Photographic Resource Center at Boston University. The blog was posted on February 13th, 2013 and was [...]

Image abuse via Tumblr, Instagram, etc.

davidhwells — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:42:27 +0000

A question came my way recently via email and again during a class in SIngapore. Any question that recurs that often is almost guaranteed to be worth a blog entry. After answering the question a couple times, in person and by e-mail, I knew I had a moderately intelligent answer that became this blog entry.

Cafe Coffee Day vs Starbucks (advice to Howard Schultz)

davidhwells — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:08:31 +0000

People who know me are aware that I don’t drink alcohol, be it wine, beer or hard liquor. I do love my coffee though. In fact, am something of a “specialty coffee” junky (as the marketing types call it.) Starbucks will soon be opening locations across India, expanding into a country and culture that I [...]

My Geo tagging adventure

davidhwells — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 06:10:22 +0000

Geotagging of photos is one of those technological advances that vaguely impressed me, but it is also one I was sure I would never use. It all seemed so “gear-head-esque” to me. I am here today to eat my words, having just finished a project where Geo tagging was a savior (and a bit of [...]

Day to day India, part two

davidhwells — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 16:02:13 +0000

I am continuing my time in India, most recently hosting some old friends from Brazil as well as my daughter (and her friend.) As we have been taking them around, I have been again paying attention to the advice, warnings and cultural highlights I have shared with them. I recently blogged about some of those [...]

Day to day India

davidhwells — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:16:40 +0000

I am about half way through a six month adventure in South Asia. I am going to be leading more photography workshops to India in the future, including ones in February and December of 2013. Both of these realities prompted me to pay attention to the day to day routines I encounter (and practice) in [...]

Words of advice for a soon-to-be graduate (part two)

davidhwells — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 11:18:30 +0000

In last week’s blog entry I parsed an e-mail from a “soon-to-be graduate” The two questions that he raised were: “…what are your favorite aspects of your work” and “…how someone could break into a field like this.” I suggested the real question to ask and answer was “…what are your least favorite aspects of [...]

Words of advice for a soon-to-be graduate (part one.)

davidhwells — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 13:14:23 +0000

With a subject line like the title above, how could I not reply to the e-mail that recently came in from a “soon-to-be graduate” and how could I not turn my reply it into a blog? I have been sitting on this for awhile trying to figure out how to answer without turning into some [...]

The Constitution, Catholicism, slaves and guns

davidhwells — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 14:51:28 +0000

I am going to out on a limb here and I may risk offending a few readers but the recent killing of in Connecticut of twenty seven people, mostly school children, should be offensive to all Americans. Yes, I am a liberal and I live in the North Eastern liberal-belt between Boston and Washington. On [...]