We are starting up our next round of cabin fever macro next week, and I am always excited about creating new bubble images. I have received a lot of emails about how this works, so I though I would outline the basic technique. Just a warning, though, it is addictive! First, you are going to Read More
Nikon 14-24mm F2.8 Z lens filter holder
One of the best things about the new Z mount Nikon 14-24mm F2.8 is it can take filters. For starters, the lens comes with two different hoods, one of which allows you to screw in 100mm ND filters and polarizers. This is a huge advantage over the F mount version which really can’t take filters. Read More
Silhouette Wildlife Photography
We have a local pond that is being drained for development, which is unfortunate that another open space in our town is going to be developed. The short term silver lining is as the water goes down, hundreds of fish are being revealed. And with fish come eagles; yesterday we saw 30 bald eagles in Read More
Reducing noise
Improved high ISO performance in today’s cameras has changed the way I shoot. I just spent my morning in our backyard bird blinds photographing in low light. How low? Murky enough light that I was using ISO 12,800 on my D6. Yep, and getting terrific files. If you would have told most photographers a few Read More
Nikon 14-24mm F2.8 S Line mirrorless lens
The DSLR version of the Nikon 14-24mm F2.8 has been one of my favorite lenses ever. With performance leading sharpness, and a very useful super wide angle range, I have used this lens on countless assignments, night shoots and with extreme adventure sports. The performance was so good I knew multiple non Nikon shooters who Read More
Beyond 1x Macro
We’re finishing up our online cabin fever macro class, and today we are discussing getting really close. As in closer than your macro lens can get. While we will be discussing extreme close up lenses, we will also look at getting your standard macro lens even closer for 1.5x or 2x magnification. Extension tubes are Read More
Perspective and Tension
We have been doing a lot of online image reviews during these stay at home times, and landscape images have been a hot topic. One thing I see a lot of is a technically perfect image…but no tension in the image. What does this mean? Think of tension as eye movement, not necessarily drama or Read More
Focus Peaking Landscapes
This week during our online advanced landscape class we talked about maximizing depth of field, and figuring out where exactly to focus in an image. Traditionally photographers have used techniques like depth of field preview, hyperfocal distance and LCD image review to check critical focus. I still use my depth of field preview button on Read More
A quicker way to autofocus
Modern DSLRs have extensive menu systems. Each new camera seems to offer more customization options, which is good for photographers. When I first buy a new camera, I know I will spend a hour just going through the menu and setting my preferences, as well as setting different functions to different controls on the camera. Read More
Vanishing Point
Next week we are getting ready to start up another 3 day online class of Advanced Landscapes, and I was reminded from participants in our earlier classes how much they loved hearing new compositional guidelines. During workshops we get the chance to highlight some of these, but not nearly as in-depth as we do with Read More