One of my favorite things to do in photography is use a flash light to light paint objects. They can be small objects like flowers or big things like bridges or waterfalls. In this one hour seminar, I show the techniques I use and how the results can be rather surprising.
One of the techniques I enjoy doing with my photography is light painting. Much like it sounds, I illuminate subjects in a similar way as painting a wall. But I use a flashlight, sometimes a big one. During my Vermont Fall Foliage Workshop I like to take people to Chittenden Reservoir and light up an island that is about 250 yards from the shore. I have a big 18 million candle power flashlight that does a great job on the […]
Let’s Talk Filters is a fun video is part of my monthly photography seminar series.
One of the most common questions I get during workshops is What lens should I use? Most photographers make their lens choice based on how far away they will be from the subject or how much of the scene they can get in the shot. But the creative use of lenses is based on the foreground/background relationship. I explain it all in this video.
My Iceland photography workshop is winding down and the weather isn’t being nice. Another day of rain and strong wind kept us from shooting much but it was also planned to be a bit of a travel day. We made our way to the little town of Vik and the beautiful black sand beach. The rain was coming down hard and the wind was blowing 50-60 mph, not a great combination for scenic photography. We went to the beach anyway […]
[envira-gallery id=”13973″] Photographing water fascinates me, it can be the waves of the ocean, a river winding through a field or a creek falling off a hill. I decided to look closer and photograph water drops splashing and colliding. Getting these shots takes some special equipment, the key is controlling the drops and then synchronizing the camera and flash to catch the drops at peak time. I got a setup from MJKZZ, it consists of a tube that holds liquid, a […]
It’s been over a week since experiencing the total solar eclipse in Oregon but it is constantly on my mind. I’ve looked at tons of photos taken by other photographers and yet I haven’t finished putting together a composite of the phases. Those tend to all look the same and mine isn’t any different, so I’m not overly motivated. I’m doing lots of research on the next eclipse that is crossing Chile and Argentina in July 2019. I want to […]
I just read another “pro” blog saying to leave your DSLR camera and lenses at home when traveling and just take a small mirrorless camera with one lens. If the purpose of your trip is to make great images, then that is the most stupid advice there is. Let me get this straight: You’re going to a grand location. You may never go there again. You want to make great images. You’ve invested a good deal of money for the […]
Today I got to play with Canon’s newest wide angle marvel, the EF 11-24mm f/4L USM Lens. I’m hosting my Meetup groups in Havre de Grace, MD, and we photographed the bald eagles at Conowingo dam this morning. Canon pro rep Tony Kurdzuk brought a bunch of long lenses to use for the eagles but I also asked him to bring me an 11-24mm so I could give it a try. Well, it is incredible. It is rectilinear lens, which […]
I don’t know how I got so lucky to have great family and friends. My wife Robin and I had dinner tonight with our friends Brian Horton and Marilyn Dillon. Marilyn was Robin’s editor back in the day and helped get Robin going in the right direction as a writer. Marilyn continues to be a strong inspiration for both of us. Brian was a longtime photographer and headed sports photography for the Associated Press. He set up AP’s coverage for […]
Download Video as MP4 Tripod buying guide – selecting the right tripod for you Most out-of-focus pictures are due to camera movement, it isn’t because you focused in the wrong place or your subject moved. It is because your camera moved. It doesn’t take much, especially as your use longer telephoto lenses. That is why I shoot over 90% of my photos with my camera on a tripod. I’m a believer that you can’t have a tripod that is too […]
Let’s start with when you need a neutral density filter. A normal ND filter cuts down the amount of light going through the lens. You want to do that when the light is too bright to get a slow shutter speed you want, like when you want moving water to look milky. Or when you want to use a large aperture, like f/2.8 on a sunny day to limit your depth of field. People shooting video frequently use an ND […]