How to Build A Fine Guitar

Today I began work on a new project to photograph makers of musical instruments in the Boston area. Bill Tippin of Tippin Guitars in Marblehead, MA welcomed me to his shop on the waterfront. A master luthier with over 30 years of experience making fine instruments, Bill specializes in crafting and repairing steel string guitars for finger-pickers and flat-pickers. Each instrument is custom built for the owner, considering the style of music, technique, and sound preferred by the musician. Recently he has parlayed his devotion to deep sea fishing into a sideline for his shop — custom made fishing rods. Please click the little arrows for  full screen view.

Continue reading

Band Portraits

Yesterday I had the pleasure of making publicity photographs for the bluegrass-roots-Americana-fusion band Acousticana. The setting was The Waterworks Museum beside the Chestnut Hill Reservoir in Boston. The band wanted to avoid cliche album-cover images such as railroad tracks, brick wall, and dry, open fields. The museum’s fascinating restoration of giant wheels and pumps provided the ideal setting.    

Continue reading