{"id":6692,"date":"2025-11-26T13:50:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T18:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/?p=6692"},"modified":"2025-11-28T14:50:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T19:50:59","slug":"photographic-insights-from-eric-meola","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/6692\/photographic-insights-from-eric-meola\/","title":{"rendered":"20 Questions With Photographer Eric Meola"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u00a9<\/a><\/p>\n

Enjoy our video Conversation Color!<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

View 12 Great Photographs by Eric Meola<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Read 14 Great Quotes By Photographer Eric Meola.<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Read our short Q&A<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Read our extended conversation.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Discover more by Eric Meola.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Eric Meola<\/a> provides quick, candid answers to 20 questions.<\/p>\n

As an undergraduate at Syracuse University, he studied color printing and color theory at the Newhouse School of Journalism before graduating in 1968 with a B.A. in English Literature and then moving to NYC in 1969 to work with Pete Turner as his studio manager. A Canon \u201cExplorer of Light,\u201d he has lectured extensively, including at Syracuse University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Brooks (Santa Barbara), the Art Center at Pasadena, Parsons, the Academy of Art College (San Francisco), the George Eastman House, and venues including PPA., WPPI, and A.S.M.P.<\/p>\n

What’s the most useful photographic mantra?
\n<\/strong>Never stop looking<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the best thing about photography?<\/strong>
\nMistakes<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the worst thing about photography?<\/strong>
\nMistakes<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the thing that interests you most about photography?<\/strong>
\nSeeing something I\u2019ve photographed before, but in a new way<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the thing that interests you most about your own photographs?<\/strong>
\nWatching my own way of seeing evolve.<\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the thing that interests you most about other people\u2019s photographs?<\/strong>
\nLearning how differently we all see things<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Who were your early photographic influences?<\/strong>
\nErnst Haas, Jay Maisel, Pete Turner<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Who are your photographic influences now?<\/strong>
\nAaron Siskind, Richard Misrach, Ernst Haas<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Who were your early non-photographic influences?<\/strong>
\nWriters such as John McPhee and Peter Matthiessen<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Who are your non-photographic influences now?<\/strong>
\nPainters such as Jackson Pollack, Kenneth Noland and Mark Rothko<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the most inspiring work of art you saw recently?<\/strong>
\nFrank Lloyd Wright\u2019s masterpiece \u201cFallingwater.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the best thing about gear?<\/strong>
\nNiche lenses\u2013macros, PC\u2019s and ultrawides<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the worst thing about gear?<\/strong>
\nThe weight<\/em>.<\/p>\n

How do you know when an image doesn\u2019t work?<\/strong>
\nYou know immediately<\/em>.<\/p>\n

How do you know when an image is good?<\/strong>
\nWhen you can\u2019t stop looking at it<\/em>.<\/p>\n

How do you know when an image is great?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s an adrenaline rush that only gets better<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the most useful photographic mantra?<\/strong>
\nNever stop looking<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Do you practice another art form? (If so, which?)<\/strong>
\nNo<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What was the most significant visual moment in your life?<\/strong>
\nThe second I saw my first print in the developer<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Which was the most important image to you that got away?<\/strong>
\nBruce Springsteen reading a newspaper that said \u201cElvis Dead!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

What failure did you learn the most from?<\/strong>
\nWhen a mentor forgave me for ruining a shot<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What accomplishment are you most proud of?<\/strong>
\nMaking a few images which have put food in other people\u2019s mouths<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the thing you most hope to accomplish?<\/strong>
\nMaking someone else excited about photography<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If you had to do it all over again, what would you change?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019d shoot a lot more \u2013\u00a0a LOT more<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If you had another life to live a completely different life, what would you choose to do?<\/strong>
\nGo live on the Marquesa Islands<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What are the most important questions to you?<\/strong>
\nAre you being true to yourself?<\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s your idea of perfect happiness?<\/strong>
\nA roomful of dachshunds running around<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What is your greatest fear?<\/strong>
\nThat I won\u2019t learn from failure<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Which historical figure do you most identify with?<\/strong>
\nSitting Bull<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Who is your favorite hero in fiction?<\/strong>
\nHolden Caulfield in \u201cCatcher in the Rye.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Who are your heroes in real life?<\/strong>
\nInspiring teachers<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Which living person do you most admire?<\/strong>
\n???????<\/em><\/p>\n

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?<\/strong>
\nNot listening<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What is the trait you most deplore in others?<\/strong>
\nBreaking promises<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What is your greatest extravagance?<\/strong>
\nRelaxing<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What is your favorite journey?<\/strong>
\nDreaming at night<\/em>.<\/p>\n

On what occasion do you lie?<\/strong>
\nWhen I think it won\u2019t hurt<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What do you dislike most about yourself?<\/strong>
\nI don\u2019t know when to stop<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What is your most marked characteristic?<\/strong>
\nStubbornness<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?<\/strong>
\nFar too many<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What is your greatest regret?<\/strong>
\nNot having children<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What do you consider your greatest achievement?<\/strong>
\nMaking someone else happy<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your most treasured possession?<\/strong>
\nI don\u2019t have a most treasured possession<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What is your favorite occupation \/ pastime ?<\/strong>
\nDreaming\u2026I love to dream<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What do you most value in your friends?<\/strong>
\nBeing upfront and honest, even if it hurts<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your motto?<\/strong>
\nAlways remember, someone\u2019s trying harder<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What other talent would you most like to have?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019d love to be able to play the piano<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019d like to be more patient<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What is it that you most dislike?<\/strong>
\nBad food<\/em>.<\/p>\n

How would you like to die?<\/strong>
\nVery, very quickly<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Read more Photographers On Photography here.<\/a><\/strong><\/span>
\nRead more Photographer’s Q&A’s here.<\/a><\/strong><\/span>
\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Enjoy our video Conversation Color! View 12 Great Photographs by Eric Meola Read 14 Great Quotes By Photographer Eric Meola. Read our short Q&A Read our extended conversation. Discover more by Eric Meola. Eric Meola provides quick, candid answers to 20 questions. As an undergraduate…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[2589],"tags":[1809,803,80,2388],"post_folder":[],"yoast_head":"\n20 Questions With Photographer Eric Meola - John Paul Caponigro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/6692\/photographic-insights-from-eric-meola\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"20 Questions With Photographer Eric Meola - John Paul Caponigro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Enjoy our video Conversation Color! View 12 Great Photographs by Eric Meola Read 14 Great Quotes By Photographer Eric Meola. Read our short Q&A Read our extended conversation. Discover more by Eric Meola. Eric Meola provides quick, candid answers to 20 questions. As an undergraduate...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/6692\/photographic-insights-from-eric-meola\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"John Paul Caponigro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-26T18:50:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-28T19:50:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Meola2.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"johnpaulcaponigro\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"20 Questions With Photographer Eric Meola - John Paul Caponigro","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/6692\/photographic-insights-from-eric-meola\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"20 Questions With Photographer Eric Meola - John Paul Caponigro","og_description":"Enjoy our video Conversation Color! View 12 Great Photographs by Eric Meola Read 14 Great Quotes By Photographer Eric Meola. Read our short Q&A Read our extended conversation. Discover more by Eric Meola. Eric Meola provides quick, candid answers to 20 questions. As an undergraduate...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/6692\/photographic-insights-from-eric-meola\/","og_site_name":"John Paul Caponigro","article_published_time":"2025-11-26T18:50:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-28T19:50:59+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Meola2.jpg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"johnpaulcaponigro","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/","name":"John Paul Caponigro","description":"Illuminating Creativity","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/6692\/photographic-insights-from-eric-meola\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Meola2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Meola2.jpg","width":425,"height":284},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/6692\/photographic-insights-from-eric-meola\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/6692\/photographic-insights-from-eric-meola\/","name":"20 Questions With Photographer Eric Meola - John Paul Caponigro","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/6692\/photographic-insights-from-eric-meola\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2025-11-26T18:50:29+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-28T19:50:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/858a1050968a36008905f1980aae47b0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/6692\/photographic-insights-from-eric-meola\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/6692\/photographic-insights-from-eric-meola\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/6692\/photographic-insights-from-eric-meola\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"20 Questions With Photographer Eric Meola"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/858a1050968a36008905f1980aae47b0","name":"johnpaulcaponigro","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/309d46e93fff33337943899d8f3269cf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/309d46e93fff33337943899d8f3269cf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"johnpaulcaponigro"},"url":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/author\/johnpaulcaponigro\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6692"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6692"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46267,"href":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6692\/revisions\/46267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6692"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=6692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}