I just returned from shooting in Mexico, and much of my time was spent aboard a boat. Since I knew I would be photographing wildlife like dolphins, whales and birds, I brought along my 500mm F4. This lens is incredibly sharp, and I love how the background blurs at F4 with wildlife photos. But all Read More
Shooting Tips
Creating silky water effects with multiple exposure
I returned from a fantastic trip to Norway with the Mentor Series. We explored the Lofoten Islands, a dramatic fjord landscape along the north coast of Norway. Our main goal was to capture the dramatic, moody landscape of this remote area. Weather changes by the minute there, creating dramatic lighting and cloud formations. We even Read More
Angle of view
One question that recently came up on a trip to Cuba was how to deal with busy street scenes. Or, in other terms, how to clean up the shot. One simple answer to this question is change your angle of view. But what does that really mean? Imagine this scenario. You want to photograph part Read More
When to use Auto ISO
I know I have said this before, but new camera technology continues to give photographers more tools than ever to ‘getting the shot.’ I shot film bodies for years, and honestly, not much changed. Frame rates got better, metering slowly improved and films evolved. I mean it was a big deal when Fuji introduced Velvia Read More
Live view composition
Here is a quick travel photography tip: you don’t have to look through the viewfinder to take a picture. How many times have you walked through a market browsing the goods and taken a few snapshots. And that is what they are, snapshots (I’m done it many times!). Instead, look at the objects on the Read More
Everyone is a photographer with camera in hand.
Recently Scott Kelby came to Denver to do a full day talk, “Shoot Like a Pro, Reloaded”. Naturally I decided to go visit and heckle Scott from the back row. I do training videos for KelbyOne, and have had some fun times shooting with Scott. Sitting in the audience it was a pleasure to see Read More
speedlight diffusion dome
Most speedlights come with a diffusion dome. This small white translucent dome snaps onto your speedlight and diffuses/softens the light. Or does it? Here is a quick guide when to use the dome, and what it really does. A fundamental lighting principle states that the soft quality light on your subject is directly related to Read More
EL Wire light painting
After being inspired helping Dave Black teach a light painting class, one thing I knew I wanted to try out was light painting with an EL Wire. The wire looks like a fiber optic cable that is glowing red, green, purple…you have lots of color choices. How does this work? As with a lot of Read More
Speedlight modeling light
I was recently on a portrait shoot and was talking with my assistant about how convenient a modeling light is for portraits and landscape flash. If I want to make sure my flash is aimed perfectly at my model’s face, using a modeling light will show me where my flash will hit. The same can Read More
Two minute portrait
I just returned from weeks shooting assignments in Alaska; over 13,000 images. One of my assignments was for a tourism bureau photographing a variety of activities, places and people. A typical day might start out at sunrise (4am in Alaska, ouch!) photographing moose, then onto some nice scenic mountain vistas. Next up is photographing a Read More