Shooting Tips

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

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

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

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

Cree and I just returned from three days of shooting in Jackson, Wyoming.  We used to live in Wyoming, and love the Tetons.   It also gave me an opportunity to continue to explore the autofocus options of the Z9.  One thing is very obvious about the Z9, similar to otherl mirrorless cameras; choosing the Read More

I have been using back button autofocus for years now…it was tough to switch over, but once I did couldn’t imagine anything else.  The biggest reason was I often needed to focus on a spot, recompose, and shoot.  DSLRs don’t cover 100 percent of the viewfinder with autofocus points, so you just focus on the Read More

As photographers we are all trying to create better images.  We refine our camera technique, go to exotic locations and buy new photo gear (yes, technology helps!)…all of these things can improve our photography.  I think the best way to create better photos is really simple….just get out and photograph a lot.  The more time Read More

If you have ever gone on one of our photo workshops, chances are you have heard terms like shaky, zoomy and twisty. Not exactly precision movement terms you might expect when describing landscape photography.  But after photographing clean, sharp landscapes, you might want to try something different….say a little abstract.  That is where these movements Read More

I’ve been shooting a lot of all landscapes lately, and we have had some great clouds in the images.  After capturing a static shot, I love to put on a 10-15 stop ND filter and shoot the scene again at 2 minutes and longer depending on the light.  The moving clouds render as silky, mysterious Read More