Franklin Knox Photography

10/30/2026

I spent $3 on Amazon to have a stainless-steel kitchen sink strainer delivered as a gift to Toyota's Vice President of Quality today.

There's a story behind that.

I'm replacing the brakes on my Toyota Tundra myself. My most recent repair-shop brake replacement resulted in warped rotors, so I'm taking my weekend time to do it correctly.

With the brakes apart, I discovered that the dust shields and parking-brake backing plates were badly rusted. They're cheap pieces of sheet metal and this is common, but replacing the backing plates requires major disassembly of the rear axles and hubs.

Toyota's engineers certainly knew what water and road salt do to cheap sheet metal. Yet they chose it for inexpensive components that are extraordinarily expensive to replace.

Low grade stainless steel would have made those components last, for the price of a pot of coffee for their "valued customers" in their service department waiting area. Toyota wouldn't even have needed to absorb the additional cost. They could simply have added the price of a sandwich to the truck's purchase price. I would gladly have paid it.

Instead, a tiny manufacturing saving becomes an enormous expense for the people who trusted Toyota enough to buy its product. For many owners, that's a repair bill amounting to a paycheck or two.

So I ordered a stainless-steel kitchen sink strainer and had it shipped to Toyota's quality executive, with a note pointing out that even manufacturers of cheap kitchen hardware spend a little extra on corrosion-resistant materials rather than leave their customers paying for the consequences.

Total cost, including tax: $3.20.

10/21/2026

“Think it solvable.”

Thats the philosophy behind Cerenome, a Houston-based company working on some of medicines toughest challenges: cancers of the brain and central nervous system.

Today I photographed Cerenome's Board of Directors.

Formerly Plus Therapeutics, the company is working to develop better ways to diagnose and treat these cancers. Their work addresses diseases for which patients and their families desperately need better options.

One of the things I value most about my photography is the opportunity to meet and work with people who are making a meaningful difference in the lives of others. Todays assignment was one of those opportunities.

I've lost several family members to cancer, so I know something about what progress against this disease can mean to patients and the people who love them.

I'll be following Cerenomes work with genuine interest and hope for their success.

https://cerenome.com/

08/14/2026

Optimistically, I have about 780 Mondays left in my career.

I hope to continue working another 15 years. My uncle was born in 1935 and still regularly completes 30-to-40-mile bicycle rides. My great-grandfather, also a cyclist, remained active into his nineties and likely would have reached 100, but died by su***de at 93. My family history suggests that my plan isn't absurd and that I may remain physically capable for many years.

Even so, the number 780 creates a sense of urgency. The challenge is to act on that urgency without surrendering to hustle thinking.

Urgency says not to postpone indefinitely the work, relationships, and experiences that matter. Haste says every day must be productive or it was wasted. Haste can consume the very quality of life that urgency is intended to protect.

Every Thursday, I try to plan the following Monday. I consider Friday my last chance to get that done.

After 38 years as a full-time photographer, my objective is not to squeeze something impressive from each of the next 780 Mondays. It is to decide what matters before they arrive and not to sleepwalk through them.

07/23/2026

Every custom portrait begins with its own lighting design. By the time my client arrives, I have built and tested it so our time together can be devoted to creating the photograph.
Of course, Mrs. Franklin Knox Photography often gets drafted as the test subject.

07/15/2026

07/10/2026

A few months ago, a doctor called while planning a visit to Charlottesville for a UVA Medical School alumni gathering. He wanted me to precisely recreate the 1940s lighting used in a portrait of his father, who was also a physician.

I love working in the noir and Hollywood portrait styles used by top photographers of that era, but they are only right for some clients. Sadly, I could not fit him in while he was here.

He remembered me.

Today, he booked an appointment for later in July. He will drive from Norfolk to my studio, about three and a half hours each way, so I can create this portrait for him.

A portrait made for your business or profession represents you and tells part of your story. Sometimes, though, it carries something more.

07/10/2026

Summer has a different rhythm.
People are focused on vacations, part of the team is often out of the office, and the pace can feel a little slower before fall gets busy again.

That makes it a good time to replace old executive portraits.

If your team’s business portraits are starting to look dated, or if my dogs have better portraits than your leadership team, it may be time for an update.

06/19/2026

Many of my referrals come from attorneys, physicians, executives, marketing professionals, and others whose own reputations matter.

These people rarely simply purchase a photograph.

Before scheduling a session, they usually want to know:

"Can this photographer create images that accurately represent who I am, what I do, and the story I need to tell?"

For them, a portrait is representation.

Professional referrals are among the highest compliments I can receive. When a client refers a colleague, they are associating their own name with mine and expressing confidence that I will take good care of someone important to them.

I never take that trust for granted.

06/17/2026

Set up at today's Discover Expo hosted by the Hanover Chamber of Commerce and ChamberRVA.

The display includes a judge's portrait, a healthcare CEO's business portrait, and portraits of a musician, and attorney, and a dancer.

Different professions call for different approaches. A judge, physician, CEO, musician, and entrepreneur are all telling different stories.

Clients already know who they are and what they want to communicate. My job is to understand that story and create images that support it.

What do you think makes a business portrait effective?

06/02/2026

There is a difference between buying a camera and dedicating a lifetime to mastering light.
It's not something one can ever finish. I am still learning.