I’ve been holding off writing a review of this lens until I really had a chance to use it…a lot. I’ve shot over 40,000 images with it over the last month, extensive shooting in Texas at bird blinds and just home from a bird photography workshop in Nome Alaska. Yes, this is one of the Read More
Blog
Do I need a Polarizer?
I did an online presentation last night for Singh-Ray on filter use in my photography. I have used their filters my entire career, and they open up creative possibilities I wouldn’t have otherwise. After the show I had a question from a viewer who asked ‘do you really need to use a polarizer in the Read More
Nikon Z9 Swallows in Flight
After leading multiple bird photography workshops as well as jungle wildlife trips shooting over 80,000 images in the Z9, I’m starting to get a feel for the incredible performance of this camera. I practically wept when I sold my D6…could the Z9 be that good? Yes, and then some. I just spent hours on my Read More
What is editorial photography?
Just back from leading a workshop in Spain…beautiful country with friendly people and great food! During our trip we did image reviews and talked a lot about what makes a good travel image…and portfolio. A lot of my assignments involve travel imagery, and creating work that conveys the experience to the viewer. During our time Read More
Nikon 800mm F6.3
I just returned from 10 days of photographing in the south Texas bird blinds, and the shooting was so good I took over 30,000 images. Crazy, right? Migrants and colorful nesting birds kept the action going all day long. While I was there I got a note my new Z 800mm F6.3 lens was ready Read More
How to improve creativity. Try primes.
Probably the question I get the most teaching workshops is how to improve creativity. Sure, there are a lot of questions on new camera features and techniques. But these things are tangible to most photographers, and are easier to quantify and learn. But creativity…is there a step by step pathway to better creativity? One thing Read More
Photographing Lightning
Spring is here, and with that comes thunderstorms…and lightning. Every year I race out onto the eastern plains of Colorado hoping to catch a dramatic storm and lightning. Generally my best chances for lightning photography come on our Badlands trip in early June (image above from the Badlands). How do you photograph lightning? There are Read More
Multiple Exposure Flowers
Spring is here, and the flowers are blooming. I really enjoy macro photography this time of year, especially flowers. I photograph a lot of flowers using available light with reflectors, but sometimes I will use flash as well. It really comes down to the look I want. Last week in Costa Rica our hotel had Read More
Six Autofocus Tips
I just returned from two weeks of photographing in Costa Rica. We had a great trip, took thousands of images, and I can’t wait to return. I had a chance to shoot nearly 20,000 images with the Z9 in some of the toughest autofocus conditions you can imagine. We also had Canon R5s, Sony A1s, Read More
Best Lightweight Luggage
During our travels each year we often fly in small planes, which means luggage and weight restrictions. Africa, Costa Rica, Alaska…we often are working with 40lb weight limits for both camera gear and clothes. My photo gear generally comes in around 20 pounds or so, which leaves another 20 for clothes. Many people travel with Read More
Symmetrical or Asymmetrical Compositions?
We were photographing windmills in Sicily recently, and got lucky to have an incredible sunset as a background. There were two main windmills, and compositions revolved around where you placed the windmill in your shot. A question came up during this shoot….did one or two windmills look better? Many in our group thought one windmill Read More
Travel during Covid
Cree and I just returned from two weeks in Sicily, and I can’t tell you how great it felt to be traveling to Europe again. We have been teaching workshops, both domestic and international, for months now. And we hear from a lot of our travelers wanting to know how it is traveling during covid. Read More