So, You Like to Take Pictures Do You?

By Cameron Salehi, Dallas

www.cameronsalehi.com

©Cameron Salehi

So, you like to take pictures do you? Fancy yourself a photographer when you convert that digital image of an abandoned building into black and white? Or wait, you might even shoot with film! Hot damn- you must be a professional! Well slow your roll and sit back, because you’re about to enjoy the first installment of truth from your favorite traveling photographer, me.

Firsts thing is first, and that is education. Check out these links so you can better know who the top dogs are in the photography world:

1. http://www.magnumphotos.com/

2. http://santafeworkshops.com/

3. http://www.theworkshops.com/

4. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/

And yes those are in order of importance. Magnum Photos is the premiere photographic cooperative, completely owned and operated by its members. It was started in 1947 by such amazing photogs as: Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Capa (ring a bell? they should).

Numbers 2 and 3 are photographic workshops that provide amazing experiences with the top

photographers of our time. You can choose from your hearts content about what kind of workshop you want to take- whether it be lighting with Tony Corbell or a beautiful poetic image with Keith Carter (both

at Santa Fe) you will not only return a better photographer but a person as well. Trust me. Want to know

how big of a deal they really are?

©HCB

Keith Carter sold one of his last editions prints to Steven Speilberg for a cool $25K and the Obamas also display his work proudly.

©Keith Carter

The fourth is National Geographic, and well if you need education on that then you’re already a lost cause. Some of you might be wondering why Nat Geo is last on my list. Well without going in to too much, they are a corporation and as you can see whenever you turn on your TV have become more and more about marketing and big business than about the art of photography. Does that diminish the photography that they put out there? Not by a long shot. The National Geographic photographers that I know and work with are some of the

greatest in the world… and they’ll tell you the exact same thing about the company. So instead of just checking out Nat Geo as a whole, try just one of their photogs for a change. Maybe start with my one of my favorites, and amazing friend, Raul Touzon:

http://www.touzonphoto.com/

©Raul Touzon

Well kids, Beatles Rock Band just arrived on my doorstep, which means we’re done here. But

hopefully this has given you a little insight into the world that we are all a part of, but rarely get to truly experience and know about. As a sidenote: Tony Corbell, is a huge Beatles fan and getting interviewed by NBC (© Tony Corbell) in LA today on all the festivities. Look at all these things you’re learning on The Well Set, it's the thing you've been missing! However if you steal any of these pictures, or mine, I'll lose my job and you'll be the one missing. And nobody wants that.