Uzzell in Ireland. Over the years, Uzzell has learned how to account for weather and light to produce great photos.
Photo courtesy of Steve Uzzell
the shoot, a police officer pulled up
to one of the trucks. Uzzell saw that
the officer and his driver both got out
of their vehicles and started walking
towards each other.
“Then they both stopped, simultaneously. And, they both raised
their right arms and pointed at each
other,” Uzzell described. “They burst
out laughing. They ran towards each
other and gave each other a hug. They
both had been Arizona State Troopers
and hadn’t seen one another in 10
years.”
Because it was a slow Sunday morning, the police officers offered to help
them shoot other locations around
town. They shot in the financial district, the Tower on Market Street, the
Pacific Coast Highway and the Golden
Gate Bridge.
“How’s that for chance favoring the
prepared mind?” Uzzell commented
wryly.
Accidental Masterpieces with
Digital Photography
These days Uzzell continues commercial photography, but has limited his
practice to four clients – the ones who
best understood the creative process.
He marvels at the new technology,
which gives photographers more tools.
It allows the photographer to gain
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control over the entire process, from
shooting to processing the photos.
Uzzell was guest lecturer at
a Conference for
technical high schools in
New York City when a
student smugly came up to
him and said, “Mr. Uzzell,
I can do anything with my
iPhone that you can do with
your Nikons.”
According to Uzzell, the new digital
world of photography also has created some unintended consequences.
While more and more people have access to photography, and are enabled
to produce the occasional “accidental
masterpiece,” it gives amateurs a false
sense of security.
Uzzell was guest lecturer at a Conference for technical high schools in
New York City when a student smugly
came up to him and said, “Mr. Uzzell,
I can do anything with my iPhone that
you can do with your Nikons.”
The student was dead serious. And,
while the student didn’t know anything about photography, he did
know how to manipulate the iPhone’s
extraordinary algorithm on how to
control exposure. Uzzell’s met professional photographers who’ve used
smart phones to take beautiful photos, which they can easily export into
software to refine the image.
Per Uzzell, the difference between
amateur and professional photographers is that amateurs take photos
when they want to. Professionals are
required to take photos when they
have to. There are different requirements needed to produce photos and
be artistically and financially secure
with that production.
Best Place in the World to Shoot
Uzzell loves what he does and
wouldn’t want to do anything else.
When asked the best place in the
world to visit and photograph, he
recommended New Zealand - spectacular, mind-blowing scenery and great
people. The picture-perfect scenery is
aided by the clearest air on the planet
and not much light pollution.
Uzzell looks forward to speaking to
TASBO attendees and has prepared a
thrilling presentation showcasing his
art, as well as the creative solutions
he used to produce the final products.
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