A little while ago Digital Photo asked me to do a story on flash, and one topic that comes up all the time is manual versus TTL flash. There are two schools of thought, and very passionate opinions on which is best. Honestly, I’m less worried about what is best versus what works. If you Read More
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Lightroom Keyboard Shortcuts
Photographers spend a lot of time processing their images. Post processing is a critical step in digital photography, and needs careful thought to take your image to what you envisioned. But honestly, I would much rather be out walking the streets or hiking trails with my camera in hand rather than sitting behind my computer. Read More
Tips for faster autofocus
Expanding on my last post, I’ve had some folks point out that not many photographers are using super telephotos with Memory Recall buttons. Point taken. Their question is how to speed up focus with just a normal lens. Perfect, here is a list! Focus limit switch. Many lenses have a focus limit switch. This switch Read More
Memory Recall/Faster Focusing
Any technology that increases focus speed is a good thing for photographers. Whether you are photographing a street performer in Florence, or a bird returning to its nest, if you don’t get sharp focus, your image gets deleted. One function that many telephoto lenses have is Memory recall. If you are wondering why you pay Read More
Quick tip; are you left eye dominant?
Photographers like tack sharp images, so we do everything we can to stabilize our cameras. Tripods do the trick…except when you don’t have one. I photograph a lot of travel, and most times I am roaming the streets shooting hand held. Being spontaneous is important with street photography. I can increase my ISO and open Read More
Speed up your workflow; UHS II flash cards
You might know this person on your photo workshop: Mr. Speedy (I’m not making this up; a group once named a workshop participant Mr. Speedy). Mr. Speedy was that photographer who came to the bar with all the day’s images already downloaded…after only being back in his room for an hour. How was that possible? Read More
Improve creativity and technique using LR metadata
One of the reasons I love to teach workshops is to share some things I’ve learned about developing creativity. First, we need to develop our technical skills. You have to know how your camera operates, and maybe some advanced techniques, to help you bring your creative ideas to life in photographs. There are some who Read More
D850 best all around SLR; weather sealing
Someone recently asked me if I agreed with all the buzz about the D850 being the best all around camera…i.e. it can do everything great. For my photography this is an easy answer; yes! High res portraits…check. Landscape camera cable of producing huge prints…check. Sports camera with 9fps using MB-D18 grip…check. Travel camera that you Read More
Mindshift Backlight 18L
What is about photo backpacks? You can never find the perfect one. Some are too big, others the compartments aren’t great, zippers blow out or are hard to access. And my real hang-up…hipbelts that are only a piece of 1 inch webbing! Having spent many years of my life as a mountaineering guide carrying 80 Read More
D850 MB-D18 grip
I continue to be amazed at the Nikon D850. There is a reason that this camera is still on backorder a year after it was released. Since this is my main camera right now, and I shoot a variety of assignments and subjects, I decided to get the MB-D18 grip. Why get a vertical grip? Read More
Carrying super telephotos
Each year I travel to Alaska on assignment and to lead workshops. Living there 10 years forever changed my concept of wilderness and wildlife photography! And every year I travel to Alaska, I bring the big glass. I’ve carried everything from 200-400mm, 500mm F4 and 600mm F4 lenses. Prime big glass helps capture those incredible Read More
Use the Dehaze filter the other way
I have been working on images from my recent trip to the redwoods, and have used some filters and plugins that might interest others in their post processing techniques. Take a look at the image above. My goal: enhance the fog, and do anything to add to the ‘mythical forest’ concept. To enhance fog, my Read More