Paul Baker, 98, director, educator and author, died yesterday at his home near Waelder in the Texas Hill Country. Paul was the founder of the Dallas Theater Center and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Mark Lowry at TheaterJones.com has written an excellent obituary. He’s also providing a space for friends of Paul to post tributes.

On May 11, of this year I photographed Paul and his family at his ranch in the Texas Hill Country. Those images are part of a slideshow at TheaterJones.com. At 98, Paul was still quite alert and eager to discuss theater and the arts. Mark and I spent several hours with the Bakers; Kitty his wife, and his daughter, Robyn Baker Flatt, founder of the Dallas Children’s Theater.

Paul was delighted to hear that both my sons were graduates of Booker T., 2000 and 2007, and wanted to know everything about them and their careers in the arts. Clearly, Booker T., was one of his greatest passions.

National Geographic Traveler photographers Eddie Soloway and Michael Melford are teaching a one-day workshop on nature and outdoor photography at the University of Dallas on Nov. 8.

I saw Soloway’s work while attending the Santa Fe Photographic Workshop in July and he’s both a brilliant photographer and excellent lecturer. “Poet with a camera” comes closest to describing Soloway. He sees, he doesn’t merely photograph. His images are both lyrical and intuitive. Most important, from the perspective of a workshop attendee, he’s an excellent teacher.

There are at least 10 bajillion workshops out there these days and the majority of them are a waste of time and money. It’s critical that a workshop leader also be a talented teacher. Far too many “workshops” are day-long, top-down, this-is-why-I’m-brilliant egofests. It’s far cheaper and less frustrating to buy the megalomaniac’s book and pass on his lecture. Better yet, check the book out of the library.

Never, never, never sign up for a workshop without first speaking to someone who’s a former student of the workshop leader. Check references. Friends don’t let friends attend bad workshops.

Soloway is the real deal. Like Joe McNally, this guy can both teach and inspire.

These guys are on tour, so for more information about this workshop and others offered worldwide by the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, check out the Web site.

One of my students emailed me a link to a slideshow featuring Time magazine’s top 10 list of doctored photos. Conspicuous in its absence is Time‘s famous distortion of the OJ Simpson image on its June 27, 1994 cover.

Upon publication Time was criticized by minority groups for altering the photograph to make Simpson appear more “sinister.” Newsweek‘s cover photo ran unaltered, making Time‘s treatment all the more blatant. The uproar was so intense that Time immediately pulled the first cover and published a second, more accurate photo.

Time also neglected to include the infamous moving pyramid image in the slideshow, published by National Geographic magazine on its February 1982 cover.

Time, however, had no problem including the covers of TV Guide and Newsweek in the slideshow for similar, yet less egregious, transgressions. I think Time is selling itself short because the OJ cover is certainly in my, and most photojournalists’, top five.

The current issue of Harper’s Bazaar features a 12-image slideshow of Tim Burton’s Halloween fashion imaginings.

Tim Walker shot the photos and I’d love to see the behind-the-scenes video from this shoot. I’m guessing a crane was involved.

. . . at least that’s what I’m calling it. It’s a damned nifty little tool that lets us see the before and after of models shot by Greg Kessler in and out of makeup at Milan fashion week.

It’s used in T Magazine‘s The Moment blog and the reader comments are overwhelmingly positive. A great use of Flash, imo.

Kudos to the propeller-heads at NYT.com.