The Tao Of Steve

Happy Earth Day

2011-04-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

The future of the planet is in your hands. Do the right thing.

Joyeux Printemps

2011-03-21T09:50:00.000-07:00

Behold the Goldmine Nectarine. To see more of the Steven Rood Spring Collection just click here.

Les Fleurs - Part Deux

2011-03-16T21:53:00.000-07:00

In This Troubling Economy, It's Important To Have Some Good Stock Worth Investing In

2011-03-11T11:56:00.000-08:00

I am pleased to announce that Steven Rood Stock Photography is being hosted by PhotoShelter. Fine art stock imagery for advertising, design, editorial, retail and interior design. New images are being added daily, so be sure to bookmark this page for future reference.

Brrrrrrrrrr

2011-03-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

Contrary to popular belief, it does snow in Southern California.

On The Rocks

2011-01-27T17:55:00.000-08:00

Stirred, but not shaken.

Into The Yosemite

2011-01-21T17:43:00.000-08:00

Fresh beauty opens one's eyes wherever it is really seen, but the very abundance and completeness of the common beauty that besets our steps prevents its being absorbed and appreciated. It is a good thing, therefore, to make short excursions now and then to the bottom of the sea among dulse and coral, or up among the clouds on mountain-tops, or in balloons, or even to creep like worms into dark holes and caverns underground, not only to learn something of what is going on in those out-of-the-way places, but to see better what the sun sees on our return to common every-day beauty.

- John Muir

Les Fleurs

2010-12-10T16:55:00.000-08:00

Never Stop Evolving

2010-11-08T17:41:00.000-08:00

Fresh From The Oven

2010-10-31T18:13:00.000-07:00

Happy October

2010-10-01T21:22:00.000-07:00

A time of wind, fire and combo swells.

Spring

2010-04-15T00:10:00.000-07:00

Woo-Hoo

2010-03-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

Two images from my Animalia series were selected from a field of 1,538 entries for an exhibition at The Center for Fine Art Photography this summer. Many thanks to juror Karen Irvine and congratulations to the other winners. This is going to be a great show.

Dear Apple

2010-03-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

Stop playing around with designing toys for the digital hipsters. Because if you don't start upgrading the hardware that brought you to the dance and made you famous, you're going to lose your core consumer base and have a revolution on your hands. In other words, stop writing jingles and love songs and get back to the rock n roll.

Wandering In The Garden Of Stone

2010-03-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Hail To The Chief

2010-03-11T17:09:00.000-08:00

A little remembrance from this past Presidents' Day.

Hmmmmmm

2010-02-23T18:21:00.000-08:00

Michael Kenna 1999

Josef Hoflehner 2010

It Will Get Better

2009-12-31T15:08:00.001-08:00

Goodbye 2009 and good riddance.

WTF?

2009-11-24T13:08:00.000-08:00

If you are a photographer and you have a Blog and all you do is post links to or snippets from other people's Blogs are you still a photographer? This people, is not an effective use of social media. Who cares what everyone else it up to. It's not like they're promoting you, so why promote them? Take care of yourself.

A Hole In The Sky Where The Sun Once Was

2009-11-08T21:32:00.000-08:00

How do you explain a piece of your world that is now missing? How do you explain the passing of your hero? How do you explain the disappearance of your best friend? You can't. And yet I carry on. So that when next I see my father, I will have the most amazing stories to tell him. Shine on you crazy diamond.

Corporate Identity

2009-10-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

It's Time

2009-09-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

You Are What You Hang On Your Walls

2009-09-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

So buy some fine art photography and 10% of your purchase will go to help the environment. Do something good today.

A Sign Of The Times

2009-09-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

Late Summer Escape To The Happy Place

2009-09-06T09:49:00.000-07:00

The Apocalypse

2009-09-01T19:49:00.001-07:00

Saigon. Shit, I'm still only in Saigon. Every time I think I'm gonna wake up back in the jungle, I'm still in Saigon. Tomorrow I was going to the worst place in the world and I didn't even know it yet. Weeks away and hundreds of miles up a river that snaked through the war like a main circuit cable. Plugged straight into Colonel Walter E. Kurtz.

Armageddon

2009-08-31T09:43:00.001-07:00

Fire season returns to the City of Angels and Demons. A pyrocumulus cloud forms behind the Hollywood Sign as the Station Fire triples in size on Sunday, August 30th, 2009. A big thank you to Daryl Lang of PDN for featuring this shot on Photo Of The Day. And another hearty thank you goes to Larry O'Hanlon of Discovery News for getting this photo featured as the Big Pic on the Discovery Channel site.

Honorable Mention

2009-08-24T12:04:00.001-07:00

Returned from ten days of shooting in New Mexico to find that my Animalia project has received an Honorable Mention in this year's International Photography Awards. A rather nice home-coming present. Many thanks to this year's judges.

Blimp

2009-08-11T09:39:00.001-07:00

Picture House

2009-08-07T12:16:00.001-07:00

You Should Have Been There

2009-07-13T16:48:00.001-07:00

Neverland

2009-07-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

RIP Gloved One.

Sierra Spectaculara 09 - 2.1

2009-06-28T19:32:00.000-07:00

Sierra Spectaculara 09

2009-06-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

When The Going Gets Tough

2009-05-19T08:52:00.001-07:00

Drink

When Mars Attacks

2009-05-06T19:41:00.001-07:00

As Santa Barbara burns, a memory from the Malibu fires of '07

Horsepower - An Auto Biography

2009-04-27T19:24:00.001-07:00

Think Of A Tree Today

2009-04-24T10:57:00.001-07:00

And rejoice. For today is Arbor Day. And without trees, life would pretty much suck.

Happy Earth Day

2009-04-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

Save the animals and you save the planet.

What To Do When It's Hot

2009-04-21T12:48:00.001-07:00

Take your shoes off and play by the water.

Like The Swallows Of Capistrano

2009-04-17T15:56:00.001-07:00

All hail the return of the South Swell.

Site Requires Adobe Flash 8 Or Newer

2009-04-17T15:27:00.000-07:00

There is no faster to way to lose an art director or designer from looking at your site. Same goes for "Click Here To Launch". Remember, you're selling photography, not technology. Less is more.

Interactive Is For Dorks

2009-04-15T09:50:00.000-07:00

I've always felt interactive advertising is a complete waste of everyone's time. Total crap. Nobody goes online looking for webisodes, microsites or stupid games to play on a company's site. And I don't buy the argument that advertising geared towards a captive audience (TV, print and outdoor) is dead either. This is where ads work best. Advertising is not an active pursuit. I don't wake up in the morning and start up my computer to go in search of the latest viral or social media exercise. The message should come to me. I shouldn't have to go looking for it buried somewhere online. Advertising is best served to a passive viewer. See above for a slam dunk that could not have happened online. (Santa Monica BMW responds to a wussy billboard posted by Audi) Not that an online presence is bad. Where would we be without the glory of websites? But people need to realize online is just another media placement. Like a building wrap, bus side or a coffee cup. Online advertising is not the second coming. It should be used as a reinforcement to traditional media. How does one do this? Think of traditional and online advertising working together as if they were part of a print ad - wherein TV and print work as the headline and visual while a website works as the copy so you can learn more about a product or service. However, all of this is moot if agencies and clients don't get back to doing kick-ass, inspirational work like we all did in the 80s and 90s. Shoot it and they will watch.

And for what it's worth, I'm not the only one who feels interactive is an overpromise. You can read more here.

Today Was Not A Surf Day - Part II

2009-04-09T07:00:00.001-07:00

Everyone Should Have A Tree As An Escape

2009-04-08T07:44:00.001-07:00

Nothing Like A Lazy Monday

2009-04-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

To get over a hectic weekend.

Help The Homeless

2009-04-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

If you're like me and live in a big city, you get tired of hearing jets, news helicopters and sirens all the time. And I live in the suburbs. So imagine the sound of baby birds instead. And just as we're going through a housing crisis, so are our avian friends. As more homes are built, more habitat is lost and thus less places for birds to nest. So add on to your house this year with something others can enjoy. But like us, birds aren't real cool with a one size fits all approach to domestic bliss. Different birds have different needs. You can build your own or you can buy a birdhouse already made to the specs of the type of feathered neighbors you'd like to attract. To learn more, go here.

It's Time To Live Green, Or Else

2009-04-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

Spring Is In The Air

2009-04-01T20:53:00.001-07:00

And so is the smell of high-octane love. Just a little tease from my soon to be released project entitled "Horsepower".

Hmmmmmm

2009-03-24T16:42:00.001-07:00

Sally Gall

David Burdeny

In Honor Of St. Patrick

2009-03-17T09:46:00.001-07:00

Time to get wee in the the green room.

Comes A Time

2009-03-14T19:41:00.001-07:00

When a boy must become a man.

Today Was Not A Surf Day

2009-03-12T15:31:00.001-07:00

A new project I'm working on.

Happy Belated Birthday Charles Darwin

2009-02-13T23:18:00.000-08:00

Without you, where would we be?

California Gold

2009-02-09T19:39:00.000-08:00

Just a little something to get us all through until the rains stop.

Dear Nikon

2009-02-07T08:01:00.000-08:00

If you really want to sell the the D3X and create some separation from the D3, please include the following -

- 1080p HD Video capability with 60, 30 and 24 fps.

- An OLED swing out monitor for LiveView and playback.

- Ability to record sound in stereo and 5.1 with external mics.

- Auto focus while shooting footage.

- Ability to lock aperture while shooting footage.

- Ability to shoot footage to a tethered laptop.

- Ability to shoot footage, playback and focus via remote.

- Ability to write stills and footage to SDXC cards.

- Footage compressed with h.264 codec.

Thank you.

Why photography for your walls?

2009-01-14T09:58:00.000-08:00

Because it’s an investment in the arts that is affordable. Unlike other major works of art, photography is easily within reach for a majority of people. Especially those just getting into collecting. In addition, works of fine art photography have been increasing in value and fetching higher prices at auctions faster than ever before. That is why collectors, and lovers of photography are buying up images from contemporary photographer’s. Because today’s generation of photographers are tomorrow’s masters. And in these times of shaky investment returns, who wouldn’t want to sleep better at night knowing their walls were appreciating in value quicker than their home?

The Christmas Swell That Wasn't

2008-12-27T22:16:00.000-08:00

So here's a memory from last year's - somewhere in California.

Waves In Toyland

2008-12-26T13:13:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a swell holiday.

A Sign Of Things To Come

2008-12-24T11:33:00.000-08:00

A preview of my upcoming 2009 project entitled "The Stylists"

The Future

2008-12-16T07:29:00.000-08:00

- Self-publishing and on-demand printing will replace the big publishing houses.

- Online photo galleries will replace the brick and mortar snob palaces. This will allow for greater photographer exposure and sales.

- Digital printing will replace darkroom printing. And thus ending years of toxic lab chemicals being dumped into our environment.

- Online magazines will evolve into something different from their printed forms. Look for online video journals with multimedia, interactive elements to replace word based articles.

- HDSLRs will replace still format cameras.

- More photographers will become cinematographers.

- Cell phones will replace landlines and laptops.

- Home delivery from supermarkets will increase.

- More companies will allow people to work from home.

- People will continue to move out of the cities.

- High-speed trains will rival airlines for domestic travel.

- We will vote for President via the internet.

- People will finally realize that fighting over waves is dumb.

- In 'N Out Burger wagons will replace Roach Coaches. Well, maybe.

Two Kinds Of People

2008-11-24T19:24:00.000-08:00

People come into your life for two reasons - to show you what you want from life, and what you don't. Appreciate the first kind.

"Photos May Not Contain Nudity"

2008-11-22T22:06:00.000-08:00

Why not?

Making A Difference

2008-11-19T11:45:00.000-08:00

There are those who take pictures. And there are those who make pictures. Therein lies the difference between being a photographer and a tourist.

Finally

2008-11-06T12:15:00.000-08:00

America has entered the 21st century. We were just eight years behind.

For an impressive slideshow of imagery by photographer Damon Winter of our new President, just go (here).

More outstanding images from photographer Scout Tufankjian can be seen (here).

Why Do I Take Pictures?

2008-10-29T16:36:00.001-07:00

Because nothing lasts.

If You Want To Be Given Everything

2008-10-13T21:04:00.001-07:00

Give everything up.

Plagiarism

2008-09-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

If a writer steals from another writer, he's called a plagiarist. But what does one call a photographer who rips off the style of another photographer?

What Makes A Photographer Famous?

2008-09-26T10:06:00.001-07:00

Is it he images? Or the people who own them?

Never

2008-09-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

Never say "I can't." My mom taught me that.

Greatest Political Quote Ever

2008-08-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

Fuck The Dumb!

Spray-painted on a wall in Laurel Canyon after the 2004 Presidential Election.

Success

2008-08-25T22:40:00.000-07:00

90% of becoming a successful photographer is becoming a successful businessman.

Words To Live By

2008-04-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.