Gear Talk

Four years ago I wrote on this blog about LensCoat.  LensCoat are custom designed neoprene camo covers for your lenses.  Many people continue to ask us on workshops why we use them, and do we recommend them.  We think they work well…there is only one time we may take them off. First, what do they Read More

Okay, I know I have been absent from blogging recently.  I just returned from circling the globe teaching workshops for the last month, and what a trip it was.  Starting in Alaska, then off to Norway, down to New Zealand via Singapore…and finally back to Colorado.  I have lots to report on this blog, including Read More

Have you seen the piles of luggage at London’s Heathrow Airport?  It is just incredible…piles and piles of luggage and angry customers wondering when, or if, they will ever see their luggage again.  I have had luggage arrive a few days late before, but the stories now are about travelers never seeing their luggage again. Read More

I’ve never been a fan of 2x converters.  While 1.4x works great with many lenses, 2x just seems to loose a lot of acuity.  But we photograph in a new world now; the sharpness of new mirrorless lenses way surpasses older versions.  I have been very happy using the new Z 1.4x on my 100-400mm Read More

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

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

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

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

I often travel with two tripods.  One is my larger RRS TFC 3 with a large gimbal head; the other is my Ascend -14L with head built into the tripod column.  But sometimes while using my telephoto lens on my gimbal head I want mount my landscape camera onto the tripod.  If I attached the Read More