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.

Continue reading →

Martin Luther King’s “Other America” speech should be as well known and well listened to as his other more famous speeches. People need to learn what life is like in the “other America” King describes in powerful and compelling words.

Continue reading →

This is the audio (with still photos) of the entire, powerful, prophetic speech MLK made to a packed church in Memphis, Tennessee, on 3 April 1968, just a day before he was assassinated.

This is the final and famous highlight from the powerful, prophetic speech MLK made to a packed church in Memphis, Tennessee, on 3 April 1968, just a day before he was assassinated.

Martin Luther King, I have a dream, the full speech, delivered at the Lincoln Memorial August 28, 1963.

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States. This is a 5 minute highlight from the end of the speech which was delivered at the Lincoln Memorial August 28, 1963. A video of the whole 17 minute speech is here.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Today is Martin Luther King Day in the United States. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born January 15, 1929. He was a Baptist minister and a prominent civil rights advocate. King was the youngest person to receive a Nobel Peace Prize when it awarded to him in 1964. He was assassinated April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

One of his most famous speeches was delivered at the Lincoln Memorial August 28, 1963. Often referred to as the “I have a dream” speech, it is one of the most significant and powerful speeches of the 20th century. A portion of the speech follows. Links to the full speech and an audio file are at the end of this post.

Continue reading →

Vincent van Gogh lived a tortured life. He suffered from poor health and struggled with depression. He spent occasional periods of time in psychiatric hospitals. In an angry confrontation that ended his friendship with artist Paul Guaguin, he famously severed part of his own left ear with a razor. He ultimately took his own life with a gun shot wound to the chest at the age of 37. During his life he was considered a madman and a failure. Appreciation for his art did not happen until after his death. He is one of my favorite artists. Don McLean wrote this beautiful and haunting reflection on his life. Paintings by Van Gogh were added by “wysty67”, the creator this video.

Snowy Owl, Photo Location P1

A simple change of background can turn a disappointing wildlife photo into a great one. Professional wildlife photographers think about backgrounds all the time and do everything they can to improve the background. Less experienced wildlife photographers are so excited to find an interesting creature that they give the background precious little thought.

Continue reading →

Silent Night, Moraine Park, Colorado

Snow glistens in the last light of dusk.
Distant clouds glow with the fading light from the sun, long since set.

Continue reading →

Put a camera on a tripod and take a picture of the night sky. If the shutter speed is too long the stars begin to streak due to the rotation of the earth. A star tracker compensates for that rotation. A quality star tracker will extend your shutter speeds from seconds to several minutes so you can capture more detail in your night sky photos. A star tracker is the best way to do long exposures of the night sky without going to the time, trouble, learning curve, and high dollar expense of doing guided photography with a telescope.

Continue reading →