Author Profile

Bill

Sharpsteen

Bill Sharpsteen
Bill Sharpsteen has seen photography evolve from the primitive days of film (his first camera was a cheap metal box with plastic lens and a hundred light leaks) to digital sophistication (he now works with a Canon EOS-1D X). Not once has he ever uttered the words, “Real photographers only use film.” He's a freelance photographer and writer; his first book project, Dirty Water: One Man’s Fight to Clean Up One of the World’s Most Polluted Bays, was released in 2010, and his next book, The Docks, about the Port of Los Angeles was published in 2011, both by University of California Press. His latest book, self-published in 2015, is a collection of essays and photographs about the sport of canyoneering called Canyon Deep: Descents Into Hidden Landscapes. His photographs have appeared in Washington Post, Entrepreneur, Emmy, Westways, Washington Journey, Outdoor Photographer and Photo Techniques. He has published more than 60 articles for such publications as Los Angeles Times Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine, Washington Post, TV Guide, Entrepreneur, Photo Techniques, Outdoor Photographer and Alaska Airlines Magazine. The topics covered a wide range of interests including business, television, the environment, personalities, travel and entertainment. Sharpsteen also worked during the early 1980s as an award-winning documentary director covering Alaska Natives and the social issues facing them. Those shows garnered such awards as a silver medal in the 1983 International Film & TV Festival of New York, the Lincoln Unity Award and Alaska Press Club awards for best documentary and best video photography. He lives in the Los Angeles area.

All posts by Bill Sharpsteen

Canoodling Selfies: Romantic Portraits of Just the Two of You
February 12, 2017 By Bill Sharpsteen
Exploring A Museum: The Tales of the Art-Loving Photographer
January 5, 2017 By Bill Sharpsteen
Wait For It: Improving Your Photos With a Little Patience
December 20, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
The Fade Tool
December 9, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
Shooting From the Hip: Taking Pictures at a Low Angle
December 2, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
Juxtapositions: Adding Dimension to Images
November 16, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
Desert in the Winter: Joshua Tree
November 1, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
Desert in the Winter: Photographing Death Valley’s Backcountry
October 22, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
Death Valley: Photographing the Desert in Winter
October 8, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
Little Rays of Sunshine: Photographing the Sunburst
September 25, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
Blurred Lines: Shake Your Camera For A Different Perspective
September 13, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
The Ultimate Storage Solution: Creating Books of Your Photography
August 31, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
The Local Angle: Photographing Your Neighborhood
August 23, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
Repeat Performance: Going Back to Old Photos For New Inspiration
July 31, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
Repeat Performance: When You Don’t Get the Shot the First Time, Go Back!
July 19, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
Cropping in Photography – Unleash Your Composition Potential
June 27, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
The Edge of Darkness – Using Vignettes to Improve Your Images
June 14, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
Surely You Gesture: Let your images tell a message
June 4, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
Documenting the Passage of Years
May 25, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen
Superselfie: Taking Better Self-Portraits
May 4, 2016 By Bill Sharpsteen