Talking Pictures

Driving along busy US 50, I decided to stop in a small town in the Amish country of the Midwest. Spotting the mural on the side of the old building, I parked and grabbed my camera. My wife urged me to hurry as the real horse and buggy might leave. Hopping out of the van, I set the camera up as I hustled to get in position to frame the shot before something could change. Nothing says peaceful...

The Beach. Aquamarine sea. Azure sky. Beige sand. A seashell. A seagull. No people. No boats. The Beach. This photo was taken at Miami Beach, Florida, in the heart of the tourist season. Even in the midst of crowded civilization, one can find nature if you look for it. The Beach.
—Leonard Malkin
Troy, MI

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My family and I were visiting the Cincinnati (Ohio) Museum Center at Union Terminal during the end of their dinosaur exhibit. As part of the exhibit, they had a life-sized dinosaur outside the museum facing away from the building.

When we left the museum, I noticed how the dinosaur was facing the downtown Cincinnati skyline, so I positioned myself to frame the scene without the...

I shot this image casually, as a friend and I relaxed in a nearly empty waterfront café after a shoot. I can’t tell you why I shot it, but I can tell you why it gradually has become a sort of personal favorite. Although it contains nothing dramatic, it says something very basic about photography.

We don’t know whose sunglasses these are, how they came to be...

While on the freeway, I pass over this giant drainage system on the way to my studio each day. And each time, I catch a glimpse of this shopping cart way off in the back. I often wondered about the chances of it still being there in case I wanted to make a shot. Well, after about a week of seeing it every day, the shopping cart was still there. So, I waited until the sun was nice and low...

While sitting under a shade tree in the backyard, I took a quick shot of some oak leaves against the evening sky (shown upper right). When I processed the images I discovered the pleasing effect of the silhouetted leaves and spent the next few days scouring the yard for interesting shapes. I employed my Third Hand tool, which has a rod with an alligator clip on each end, to hang the subjects so I...

A couple of years ago, I took my mother on a trip to Tokyo, Japan. I planned this trip as a way to give my family an opportunity to get out of their day-to-day routines and travel across the world to gain a new perspective on things. Our trip was full of fun and exciting excursions, and a few meaningful experiences. One of these experiences took place at the Kotokuin Temple in Kamakura, Japan.