Welcome to My Newsletter on Photography

After twenty years in this industry, it's time to throw the doors wide open.

A U.S. Army soldier observes a road for insurgent activity in the Tangi Valley, Wardak Province, Afghanistan, 2009.

As I type this, there is a case full of cameras and lenses sitting next to a desk that's not my own. An afternoon wind kicks up a dusty bite of Mexico City air and spits it through the window. In the morning, I'll get a Covid test so I can fly to New York City. I'm not sure how long I'll be there before I am back on a plane. 

Since my early twenties, this has been my life as a photographer—traveling on assignment, often to areas of conflict and unrest, coming home and trying to live in peace, keeping up with a rapidly changing media and photographic landscape, and most importantly, telling stories. 

Now I am going to write about it. After the pandemic forced us to look inward, I decided to launch a newsletter on photography. In this twice-weekly project, I will explain my conceptual and technical processes, write a journal from the road, interview colleagues, and have an honest conversation about photography.

Governess, 19, Tibooburra, New South Wales, Australia, 2017.

Over the years, I have received a flow of emails asking for advice about photography, many of which I didn't have time to respond to. Last year, I started a series of remote workshops. My students were engaged with what I had to say, and the process of teaching made me reflect on my work in ways I didn't anticipate. But I also realized the scope of teaching one-on-one is limited, and I wanted to share my experience with a larger audience, especially one that may not have the means to pay for private tuition. 

The media landscape has changed since I began my career nearly two decades ago. I came up through a traditional path: art school, intern, photographer's assistant. But as my career grew the editorial market for journalism declined. Traditional power structures have broken down, and the paths to the top are not as straightforward as they once were. The proliferation of digital technology has made everyone a photographer, and there's been an overdue diversification of voices in storytelling.

I'm optimistic about most of these changes, and I don't want to sit on the sidelines through these transitions. This newsletter will draw back the curtain on my practice and offer what I have learned from years of working for legacy media to younger artists and new voices entering photography.

US Marine, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion 6th Marines, Combat Operations Post Coutu in Marja District, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, 2010.

If you can't afford a subscription, email me and I'll sign you up, no questions asked. If you can afford a subscription, your contribution will help me offer my knowledge to photographers, artists, and storytellers that need it.

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If you have questions about photography you’d like to have me answer, get in touch at mail@adamfergusonstudio.com.