Barry Feinstein

Barry Feinstein died this week at the age of 80. Most folks probably have never heard of Feinstein. But his fingerprints on two of my favorite things--music and photographer--are significant. He is considered by many to be among the best music photographers of all time.

A perusal of Feinstein's work will not reveal technically stunning images. The wow factor so obvious in his work is the seemingly complete comfort his subjects have in front of his lens. I certainly never met him or any of the artists he shot, but in so many of the shots in his portfolio or in the more than 500 album covers he captured, I feel like I can see into the soul of the artist. Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Georgia Harrison, Eric Clapton, and so many others sought him out for album cover photography. And Feinstein served as the photographer for two of Dylan's tours.

Gaining the trust and comfort of a subject, is a worthy lesson for any photographer. How many times do we look through the lens and see a tight, stiff subject transformed by a case of nerves and discomfort. Take a moment to celebrate Barry Feinstein's life by thumbing through his portfolio and the lifes of the artists he captured.

Chantarelle

It's not every day that one of my neighbors calls and says, "I've got the most amazing fungus in my backyard. Bring your camera and come over here." I'll have to admit, I've never photographed a mushroom before. But after hours of photographing people, electrical outlets, robots, sunsets, waterfalls, and countless other items and landscapes, why not a fungus. So Nikon in tow, I'm off to Ben's house.

Sure enough, it's an impressive mound of fantastic fungi. I don't think it's laden with psilosyban, which did quickly come up in conversation, but that's not a topic where I have vast experience either. But buried in deep shade with bright sunlight in the background, there's some tremendous rim lighting if only I can pull out some details in the shadowy foreground. I always keep an speedlight in my camera bag. Ben was surprised to the see the wireless control of the Commander system as I placed a CTO on the SB800 and started banging away.

For the record, I think this mushroom is called a chantarelle. If so, it's edible, apparently a delicacy is French cuisine. I'm not French, I'm not that fond of French food, and I'm not big on playing the mushroom taste-test lottery. But they are much more fun to take photos of than you might expect.