Awhile back I talked about how to create silky water effects using multiple exposure. This is very handy when you forget your ND filter. The basic technique involves shooting from a tripod, using a three frame multiple exposure, and photographing a moving subject. For example, if you photograph a stream, then the banks will be Read More
Blog
Fall color shooting tips
My friends in Alaska tell me that fall is in full swing up north, hard to believe sitting on the front range of Colorado in the heat. But I did just drive through the Black Hills, and noticed some shades of yellow in the trees. Fall will soon be showing its colors across the country. Read More
Toxic Bath: How I got that shot
If someone told me I was going to have so much fun shooting a deserted diamond mine town, I’m not sure I would have believed them. But that is exactly what happened at Kolmanskop, Namibia. The Namibian desert is quickly overtaking this ghost town, with sand filling the rooms and buildings daily. This creates an Read More
JAX Lighting Workshop
Just a heads up for anyone in Colorado or Wyoming. I’m teaching a lighting class in conjunction with JAX on Sept. 23. Our day will start with classroom time discussing lighting and flash, the evocative portrait, posing and creative lighting setups. And here is the cool part. After lunch we are moving to the Articulate, Read More
Black and White Conversion
I often get questions on workshops about converting color images to black and white. There are numerous ways to do this, and lots of great software to help. I regularly shoot and write stories for Digital Photo Pro and Digital Photo magazines, and recently Digital Photo Pro asked me to do a piece on converting Read More
MacBook 12″
In my quest to go light, I have used a variety of Mac laptops through the years. I started with a 13″ Macbook Air, then moved onto a 11″ Macbook Air, which I have been using for years. But as we all know, computers rapidly advance and I was overdue. So for my recent trip Read More
Nikon 16-80mm F2.8-4E ED lens
I just returned from two weeks in Namibia, and I am still working through my images. Namibia is a beautiful country with fantastic wildlife, sand dunes, tribal groups and even a deserted diamond mine. Packing for the trip I wanted to go light. But with animals, portraits and landscapes on the agenda, I needed a Read More
Creating contrast
Recently I spend a few days at Old Car City in Georgia, and I have to say, I was impressed. I’ve photographed a lot of old car junkyards through the years, but this place has hundreds of cars beautifully nestled in the forest. What really caught my attention was the location. Pine needles, trees and Read More
Umbrellas versus softboxes
I just finished a lighting class with the Mentor Series in Chicago, and a common question came up. What is the difference between an umbrella and a soft box? Here is a quick list of pros and cons. Umbrella: -lightweight, easy to set up -inexpensive -produces nice soft light -can’t control light spill easily -light Read More
Dealing with mosquitos
I have been on the road for the last month, and a big part of that was shooting a major assignment in Alaska. This year we shot nearly 7000 images on a shoot for Alaska tourism. Weather can always be a challenge in Alaska, and this summer was a particularly gray, wet summer. But I Read More
Chicago Lighting workshop discount
As many of you know, Popular Photography closed it doors earlier this year. One of the longest running photography magazines, it was a shock to see them close down shop. Along with shutting down the magazine, the long running Mentor Series photography workshops also will be ending this year. I have been teaching for the Read More
Focus Limit Switch
I just got in this morning from a great trip to Alaska with ANPW. We were on a roll with wildlife shooting; bears, whales, puffins and even a wolf. Some of the most memorable moments were photographing puffins in flight. Any bird flight photography is challenging, and puffins are even more erratic than other Read More