Project: Taryn Simon's Secret Sites

As much time as we spend on lighting around here, it is easy to forget that flash and other technical aspects comprise only a small part of what photography is really about. To grow as a photographer it helps to be mindful of the whole process.

Photographer Taryn Simon sums the balance up pretty well in the first line of her TED Talk, on photographing secret sites in the US:

"Ninety percent of my photographic process is, in fact, not photographic. It involves a campaign of letter writing, research and phone calls to access my subjects which can range from Hamas leaders in Gaza to a hibernating black bear in its cave in West Virginia."

Sounds boring, right? Until you see where the phone calls and letters lead her... Read more »