March 11 has been a good day for photography, starting with the image above created 40 years ago today.
Favorite Photos – March 11
Favorite Photo – March 10
The Orion Nebula in Orion Nebula, Canon 7D camera, 300mm lens, and an iOptron Sky Tracker.
It was 10 years ago tonight, March 10, 2016 at 11:04 pm. I had acquired a simple star tracker and was ready to test it out. I set up in a park west of Lamoni Iowa. I was using a 70-300mm lens on a Canon 5D Mark III. The aperture was f/11 and the shutter was open for 177 seconds. Without the star tracker my shutter speed would have been limited to about 1-2 seconds to prevent the everything from blurring due to earth’s rotation.
iPhone vs 250mm Lens at 450 Yards
Four people going ice fishing on Lake LaShane. iPhone image resized for the web. Click for a larger version.
I was looking at some iPhone photos from a month ago and came across this photo. My dog and I were out walking at one of the local lakes and I took this picture with my iPhone. Hundreds of yards off in the distance (upper left) I saw some people on the lake, so I got out my “toy” camera and lens. (See the 2nd and 3rd links below).
Beth and Aquila – Engagement Photos
Beth and Aquila, the Ad Building.
On January 27 it was my happy privilege to do the engagements photos for Beth and Aquila. I told them I would not post any photos until they had the opportunity to send out photos with the announcement of their engagement. The indoor photos were created at the “Ad Building” on the Graceland University campus. We also shot outside the Ad Building and near two local lakes. The windchill was 9 degrees so it was one of my coldest outdoor portrait shoots. Beth and I have done violin portraits outside in the cold and snow before (link below), so her name shows up twice on my list of “ten coldest portrait shoots”.
Favorite Photos – 2025
Click to see a larger version.
“Why don’t you post your favorite photos at the end of the year?” Good question. A lot of photographers do that. I have not been one of them, at least until today. This morning I decided to pick my favorite photos for 2025 and post them. The individual photos are below.
Hundreds of Geese in Flight
Snow Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese near Lake LaShane. February 27, 2026.
Hundreds of Greater White-fronted Geese and Snow Geese have been in the Lamoni Iowa area. These geese are flying in all kinds of directions over a corn field, looking for a place to land.
iPhone vs 400mm Lens
iPhone photo
I took a photo from the same location with my iPhone and a 400mm lens on my Canon 7D2 DSLR. This is the iPhone photo above.
Colorado, February 29
Bishop Castle, Rye Colorado. February 29, 2008. The three large windows at the top right are in the Great Room.
As I made my way north from southern Colorado toward Denver Colorado, I stopped at Bishop Castle not far from Rye Colorado. This is one of my favorite unusual places in Colorado.
Colorado, February 28
Mount Princeton. February 28, 2008.
I began the day by backtracking a bit. From Buena Vista I went north on U.S. 285 just far enough to stop at a picnic area on a hill east of town. This is one of my favorite views of Mt. Princeton and I wanted to capture it with all of the winter snow.
Colorado February 27
Moraine Park, Rocky Mountain National Park. February 27, 2008.
Today was half Rocky Mountain National Park and half travel. It was a beautiful blue sky with clouds kind of morning.
Colorado, February 26
Moraine Park in Late Evening Light, RMNP, Colorado. Feb 26, 2008.
My favorite picture of the day was at the end of the day. I was near the Moraine Park visitor’s center watching clouds drift across the sky as the stars came out.
Colorado, February 25
Deer, Rocky Mountain National Park. February 25, 2008.
This fine young buck was standing not very far from one of the park roads.
Upper Tahquamenon Falls
Upper Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan. February 25, 2006.
A winter storm was on the way to Northern Michigan so I hopped in the car February 24, for the long drive from Columbus Ohio to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. My plan was to beat the storm to St. Ignace. I didn’t quite make it. It was snowing like crazy north of Gaylord, and crossing the Mackinac Bridge was not fun. But I made it safely to St. Ignace.
Colorado, February 24
St. Malo Center, Colorado. February 24, 2008.
This series of articles is kind of a nostalgia thing. Rocky Mountain National Park is one of my favorite places on the planet and it has been a while since I have been there. I am usually here in the summer or better yet in the fall, my favorite season in Colorado, but I am usually not keen on winter photography trips. But here I was, 18 years ago today.
Sami with Rose Petals
Sami with rose petals. February 23, 2007.
It was nine days after Valentine’s Day and I had a photo shoot scheduled. Most of the dozen Valentine’s Day roses were done and had been thrown away, but a few were still looking good.
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl, February 21, 2016.
I found an online report that there were numerous Snowy Owl sightings in northern Michigan thanks to lots of snow and cold weather. I made spur of the moment decision to leave Ohio and drive to Michigan. I am so glad I did. It was 10 years ago today.
Lyn Marie, Day 3
Lyn Marie, Columbus Ohio. Windchill 8 degrees.
Lyn wanted to go out and play in the snow, so she put on another of the many outfits she brought with her from St. Louis. She opted for clothes that look a bit distressed. The windchill was 8°F so she got very cold.
Lyn Marie, Day 2
Lyn Marie, Columbus Ohio. February 19, 2008.
Lyn came all the way from St. Louis to work with me. The windchill for the outside photo was 4.5 degrees, making it my third coldest portrait shoot ever. Lyn is a cold hardy model
Lyn Marie, Day 1
Lyn Marie, Columbus Ohio. February 18, 2008
The message went something like this: “If I drive from St. Louis Missouri to Columbus Ohio, can we spend a few days working together?” I said yes and she came to Columbus. We created these images 18 years ago today, February 18, 2008.
The Sunny f16 Rule: Basic Daylight Exposure (BDE)
A Quick “Sunny f16” Summary
When the Sunny f16 rule applies, you don’t need a camera meter to get the right exposure. As long as the sun is high in the sky and is not being obscured by clouds, haze, smoke, dust, or other particulates in the air, it is a constant light source. That is why the Sunny f16 rule works in spring, summer, fall, and also winter as long as there isn’t any snow on the ground. (If there is snow on the ground, read this article.) The Sunny f16 rule is also known as Basic Daylight Exposure (BDE) and the “fig” rule because f16 hand written looks like the word fig. It is pretty simple.
President George Washington
This is the famous “Lansdowne portrait” of President Washington by Gilbert Stuart. Stuart painted 3 famous portraits of Washington (and Stuart followed up by painting many copies of the originals due to lots of requests). The Lansdowne portrait is named for the Marquise of Lansdowne, former British Prime Minister and recipient of this painting.
Beth in the Snow
Beth playing her violin in the snow.
February 12 is a red letter day! It started when Beth and I did a photo shoot in a snow storm in January 2020. We had so much fun we wanted to do it again. I was working in my office six years ago today and I looked out the window. Big, beautiful snowflakes were falling. I said to myself, “This would be a great day for another photo shoot in the snow.”
The Best Colors Come From the Best Exposures
Gretag-Macbeth ColorChecker
This has to be one of the least known photographic secrets: The more accurate your exposures are, the better your colors will be. Why? If your exposures are off, the colors in your photograph will shift, and to make matters worse, the colors will shift in different directions. You can correct the exposure in post processing, but you can’t correct the color shifts. Since the colors shift in different directions, if you try to correct one color (as you will see below), the other colors will get even worse.
Second Coldest Portrait Shoot
Selina, Downtown Columbus Ohio. January 29, 2010, 5:57 pm. Windchill 4°F.
It was 16 years ago this evening. The windchill when I took this photo was 4°F. We scheduled this photo shoot weeks ahead of time and we knew it would be cold in January, but not THIS bone chillingly cold. I contacted her before she left home and asked if she wanted to re-schedule, but she wanted to go ahead with the shoot despite the forecast and she drove up from Kentucky. By the end of our shoot (photo below) the windchill was 3°F. This is my second coldest portrait shoot ever.
RGB vs Luminance Histograms – How To Use Them
RGB Histogram (upper right) and Luminance Histogram (lower right).
If your camera offers both RGB and luminance histograms, choose RGB. An RGB histogram is one of your most valuable exposure tools. A luminance histogram can lead to bad exposures and poor colors.
Exposure Warning: Turn On The Blinkies
Camera LCD Display With The Blinkies Turned On. Washed out pixels in the photo are flashing white and black.
Some camera’s come with a highlight overexposure warning, commonly called “the blinkies”. If you have overexposed, blown out pixels, those pixels in your image will flash white and black. A quick look at the LCD image will tell you if part of your image has white, washed out, featureless pixels. If your camera has a highlight overexposure warning, I suggest you turn it on. If you see the blinkies and you don’t want washed out pixels, tone down your exposure until the blinkies go away.
Your Camera Loves “Middle Gray” – And Why That is Important
Sarah, Professional Fitness Trainer
Your camera is in love with middle gray. The quicker you learn how to deal with this infatuation, the better your photos will look, including all of your color photos.
Finding GPS Data in Online Photos
Canon T5i Menu Screen
I was looking at this photo of a menu screen in the article I re-posted this morning about using an exposure compensation scale. I was curious where I was when I created this image. The original article was posted back in 2015. I moused over this image of a Canon T5i screen and it was taken October 16, 2014. That was over a decade ago. I took pictures of the menus on the back of two cameras, one Canon and one Nikon, so I was clearly some place that sells cameras. But where was I? I was in Columbus Ohio at the time and there are a lot of places in Columbus that sell cameras.
How to Use Your Camera’s Exposure Compensation Scale
Dawn at Sprague Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park
The exposure compensation scale on your camera is one of the keys to mastering exposures, getting better images, and ending up with professional quality colors. This means taking your camera off of full auto mode and taking control of your own exposures.
Tim Grey: Digital Photography Expert
Tim Grey has been one of my favorite sources of digital photography information for a long time. I recommend him highly. He is my digital photography guru and I asked him a lot of questions when I was a digital photography newbie. I am still learning from him. He was traveling across the country and we met for lunch in German Village (just south of Columbus) to chat in person.