Shooting Tips

I have been using my Nikon mirrorless for a lot of studio shooting (before Covid19).  My normal routine photographing indoors is starting with an exposure of 1/1200, F8 at ISO100.  In any low light room or studio, this renders the scene totally dark.  With a dark room as my starting point, I know only my Read More

Like most of us, I have been staying at home recently.  This has given me a lot of time to catch up, and even shoot some assignments (more on this with a later post).  One task on my to-do list was updating my Z mirrorless cameras to firmware 3.0.  With this update came one shooting Read More

A month ago I was in Japan photographing beautiful red-crowned cranes and foxes in falling snow (above), as well as photographing the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.  Walking through busy city streets and alleys I carried my camera the way I always do in crowded places.  But I noticed others in my group getting bumped Read More

I just returned from 10 days in South Texas photographing birds.  We ran two bird blind workshops, and we had participants who have been traveling with me for decades.  What really caught my attention was a comment coming from almost everyone….”I learned more on this workshop than almost any other trip”.  Photographing birds requires a Read More

I posted on pan and blur technique a few years back, and thought it might be worth revisiting after a recent trip to Patagonia.  Cree and I spent a month in South America, mainly Patagonia, but also exploring some new countries, and everywhere we went wildlife was abundant.  Visiting Patagonia in early December is special; Read More

We just got another round of snow in Colorado yesterday, and a few weeks ago I was in an Alaskan snowstorm photographing eagles.  Snowstorms are terrific for photography; they add an atmospheric element that creates mood and uniqueness to a shot.  Here are a few ideas about photographing in the snow. First, make sure your Read More

I just returned from an incredible eagle photography workshop in Haines, Alaska.  Hands down this is the most eagles I have ever seen in one spot, and they land to eat salmon right in front of you.  What makes the Chilkat Eagle Preserve special is that ability to capture eagle fighting and flight images at Read More

We have all experienced it; you are walking around at sunrise looking for a great image.  It could be any subject, but you just can’t see anything.  Even more frustrating, other photographers in the group just seem to be finding all sorts of things to photograph.  Your mind wanders, you’re just not into it, and Read More

A few years ago (starting with D810) Nikon introduced a new metering mode…and many photographers I’ve talked to don’t even know it exists.  We all know about spot, center weighted and matrix metering modes…but who uses Highlight Metering Mode?  My default metering mode is still matrix metering mode, but when you are worried about clipping Read More

  I photograph a lot of landscapes, and many times filters will transform the shot into something special.  I’ve always tried to create my work in the field, not later in post production…camera craft is very important to me.  I just returned from photographing in Sedona for a week, and filters were invaluable there.  I Read More