I’m always on the lookout for third party software that streamlines my editing and workflow. I’ve been using Topaz Adjust for years, and really like some of the effects. But recently I have been using Topaz Clarity In Studio, and it is rapidly becoming a favorite. LR and PS certainly give you some quick sliders Read More
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Photography Road trip
I just got done calculating my road miles for 2018, and once again it was over 20,000. The majority of these miles are not daily photo shoots but instead long photography road trips. If I can drive to a destination, and have the time, I always will drive, even if it is a day or Read More
Think Tank Emergency Rain Cover
I’ll be posting my holiday shopping guide next week, and one of the items on this list will be the Think Tank Emergency Rain Cover. Rain covers typically are too big and often require an instruction manual on how to attach them to your camera. But wouldn’t it be nice to have a small simple Read More
Lightroom eye dropper white balance tool
Colorado is buried in snow right now, we are having a banner year so far. And in Alaska, the northern lights are creating amazing displays. I was working on some northern lights images the other day, and realized how great the eye dropper tool is for white balance. This tool often gets over looked, but Read More
Topaz Gigapixel to enlarge photos
As megapixel counts have risen in cameras, enlarging files hasn’t been as big a priority for many photographers. But let’s face it, there are still times you photograph distant wildlife, crop down to the subject, and then want to enlarge the image. Enlarging RAW files right out of the RAW editor gives fairly decent results. Read More
Yosemite Perspectives and Composition
There are very few national parks that have the extreme verticality that Yosemite has. You can walk to the base of El Cap and have over 3000 feet of smooth granite towering over your head. For the photographer this creates a challenge. Trying to create compositions with El Cap and foreground requires some extreme perspectives. Read More
Digital Photo Cover Redwoods
I have been writing stories for Digital Photo, Digital Photo Pro and Outdoor Photographer for many years. These magazines are a bargain ($20/year), and offer lots of technique and gear reviews. In an age where so much is online, I love getting a printed magazine in my mailbox. I can flip through the pages at Read More
Focus Stacking
Focus stacking has been around for awhile, but now it is easier than ever to produce the images for the stack. Cameras like the D850 have automated the entire capture process; you just have to seam the shots together in the computer. Why focus stack? For starters, it allows you to maximize your depth of Read More
Tucson/Sonoran Desert scouting report
Cree and I decided to spend the holiday photographing in one of our favorite places, Tucson and the Sonoran Desert. We spent many years guiding climbing and hiking in the area, and who can resist those incredible saguaro cactus. We also wanted to photograph at our friend’s bird blinds and put the final touches on Read More
Password managers
If you are like me, you probably have a ton of passwords for various websites. One for your bank, one for your credit card, one for Amazon, one for accounting software…and the list just keeps getting longer and longer. Yes, I was one of those people that wrote down all my passwords and had a Read More
Photoshop improvements
Many photographers have a subscription to Adobe Lightroom that also includes Photoshop. You can do a lot in Lightroom in the Develop module, and may never go into Photoshop. Two reasons I frequently use Photoshop is to work in layers, and to remove objects that Lightroom can’t manage. The good news is Adobe just updated Read More
Focus Peaking
I got a question from a workshop participant asking about focus peaking. What exactly is it? Where is it on my camera? And what does it do? All good questions! Focus peaking has been around for awhile, but initially only video photographers used it. Focus peaking shows in real time what is in focus by Read More