McMullen Photography

06/21/2026

Connla and the Fairy Maiden – Celtic Mythology Series No. 1

"The ocean is not so strong as the waves of thy longing. Come with me in my curragh, the gleaming, straight-gliding crystal canoe. Soon we can reach Boadag's realm. I see the bright sun sink, yet far as it is, we can reach it before dark. There is, too, another land worthy of thy journey, a land joyous to all that seek it....

06/05/2026

Art & Fear

After years of hearing nothing but great things, and a mention in Sally Mann's Art Work: On the Creative Life, I finally got a copy of Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland. And I have to say, it is every bit as good as every one said it was. I've highlighted, like with a highlighter, parts of this book....

After years of hearing nothing but great things, and a mention in Sally Mann’s Art Work: On the Creative Life, I finally got a copy of Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland. And I hav…

06/03/2026

Connla and the Fairy Maiden

"The ocean is not so strong as the waves of thy longing. Come with me in my curragh, the gleaming, straight-gliding crystal canoe. Soon we can reach Boadag's realm. I see the bright sun sink, yet far as it is, we can reach it before dark. There is, too, another land worthy of thy journey, a land joyous to all that seek it....

“The ocean is not so strong as the waves of thy longing. Come with me in my curragh, the gleaming, straight-gliding crystal canoe. Soon we can reach Boadag’s realm. I see the bright sun…

05/31/2026

“Real Photographers Shoot Film”

You need not dig very far into the photography discourse to find the familiar refrain. "Real photographers shoot film." It's said effortlessly, almost zombie-like, in comment sections and forum postings. In fact, it's said so often, some might be inclined to think it's true. My most recent interaction with this particular nugget of immortal wisdom was on an Instagram reel. A street photographer walked up to a guy, took his picture, and the guy responded "Real photographers shoot film," before walking away, victorious in his battle against mediocrity....

You need not dig very far into the photography discourse to find the familiar refrain. “Real photographers shoot film.” It’s said effortlessly, almost zombie-like, in comment sect…

05/14/2026

Postcrossing – March to May 2026

Here are the postcards I have received since I began Postcrossing. They range from as far as Japan and as close as Tennessee. I've sent 11 so far. The only one still traveling is going to Ukraine and, well, you can probably guess why it hasn't made it yet. Happy Postcrossing!

Here are the postcards I have received since I began Postcrossing. They range from as far as Japan and as close as Tennessee. I’ve sent 11 so far. The only one still traveling is going to Ukr…

04/09/2026

Toy Photography – The Master Studies

I've been toying (lol) with the idea of doing action figure, scale model, and diorama photography for a while. My post The Calm After the Storm was my first diorama build. This is a custom character that I'll be using in a small series.

I’ve been toying (lol) with the idea of doing action figure, scale model, and diorama photography for a while. My post The Calm After the Storm was my first diorama build. This is a custom ch…

03/27/2026

Postcrossing

I discovered Postcrossing recently and decided it fit neatly into my goal of being less chronically, and chaotically, online. Postcrossing is a website that facilitates the sending and receiving of postcards to people all over the world. I immediately loved the serendipity of it. It satisfies my interest in physical media, ephemera, and human story. And the excuse to buy more fountain pen ink and have my photos printed onto postcards doesn't hurt....

I discovered Postcrossing recently and decided it fit neatly into my goal of being less chronically, and chaotically, online. Postcrossing is a website that facilitates the sending and receiving of…

02/06/2026

The Calm After the Storm

Visit the post for more.

01/16/2026

Through a Glass Freshly Windex-ed

Twenty years ago I would have said that colorizing historical black and white photos or film was nothing short of vandalism. I felt this way for two reasons. One, the technology wasn't nearly as good. You got results that were at best reminiscent of the hand-tinted photos you saw on old postcards and at worst looked like someone stabbed a photoshop document with the flood fill tool....

Twenty years ago I would have said that colorizing historical black and white photos or film was nothing short of vandalism. I felt this way for two reasons. One, the technology wasn’t nearly…

01/07/2026

Little Boxes All the Same

One of the things I know about myself is I like boxes. I like frames, and physical boxes. I like ratios and fences. Wide open spaces are nice but intimidating. Endless possibilities are oppressive. I never liked studying biology because species are not well enough defined for me. What do you mean a toucan and an ostrich are both birds. Squids also have a beak, is that a bird?...

One of the things I know about myself is I like boxes. I like frames, and physical boxes. I like ratios and fences. Wide open spaces are nice but intimidating. Endless possibilities are oppressive.…