Shooting Tips

If you have ever photographed at sunset or sunrise with a bunch of photographers, chances are you have heard someone talk about civil twilight.  Civil twilight is defined as that period when the sun has set, but there is still enough light to see terrestrial objects.  In other words, about 30 minutes before sunrise, and Read More

Photography has many axioms that we are taught to follow.  These ‘rules’ have been established over time, some dating back hundreds of years…who hasn’t used the rule of thirds in a photograph?  These guidelines help photographers compose their photograph, and serve as a starting point to explore compositions that break the rules.  I always tell Read More

I’ve been out of the office the last few weeks in Australia and Tasmania on a workshop.  We had an incredible time, you can see our trip report right here.  We photographed many wonderful landscapes and wildlife, and I finally got a chance to photograph the Twelve Apostles, something I’ve wanted to do for 30 Read More

One thing that I frequently discuss on workshops is developing creativity.  While some photographers may feel like they have a good understanding of their camera functions, creativity is more elusive and harder to quantify.  And when we travel to national parks or international destinations, there are those famous overlooks (you know the one, with the Read More

I shoot a lot of portrait assignments for magazines and advertising.  On some tourism shoots we might photograph 40 or 50 different people over a one week shoot.  Often the client wants light, airy inviting people images….and light/airy often means adding sun flare.  Flare adds a positive uplifting feeling to most portraits, which is what Read More

As part of my earlier post on flash extenders, I wanted to follow up with a simple post on flash exposure using a Better Beamer or similar product.  You have two main choices for flash mode, Manual or a TTL mode.  Manual flash is just that; the flash pops at whatever power setting you are Read More

Last night I did a webinar for Singh-Ray Filters, and the audience had some terrific questions.  One question brought up a point you don’t hear mentioned a lot when talking about when to use filters; lens diffraction. What is lens diffraction?  Light waves enter the camera through the aperture opening reaching the sensor, resulting in Read More

I just returned from an assignment photographing birds in Texas for an upcoming magazine story.  Contrary to what I expected, we didn’t get endless sunny days.  Instead, cool wet weather was the norm.  This diffused light is great for photographing birds; less contrast, saturated colors and you can shoot all day.  But you loose the Read More

I just got done calculating my road miles for 2018, and once again it was over 20,000.  The majority of these miles are not daily photo shoots but instead long photography road trips. If I can drive to a destination, and have the time, I always will drive, even if it is a day or Read More

There are very few national parks that have the extreme verticality that Yosemite has.  You can walk to the base of El Cap and have over 3000 feet of smooth granite towering over your head.  For the photographer this creates a challenge.  Trying to create compositions with El Cap and foreground requires some extreme perspectives. Read More