Sandy Hook Elementary, Newtown Connecticut, December 14, 2012.
Category Archives: General
How to See and Photograph the Northern Lights
Northern Lights over Lake Michigan. Click to see a larger image.
As we head into fall the Northern Lights activity will pick up. The best time to view Northern Lights is from September to late March (although things may start up in August and extend into April). This article will tell you how to capture the Northern Lights with your camera. The Northern Lights come and go in an erratic fashion so this article will also show you how to know which nights are likely to be the best to go out and look.
My First Post At This Blog
Screen capture of my first post at this blog.
My first post at this photography blog was December 9, 2004, 16 years ago today. The first thing that jumps out at me is the photo could have been edited for a better color balance and exposure. But it was a start.
POTD: Beth Presler, Slip Bluff Lake
Another image from our lake series.
Review and Introduction: the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i
I just purchased the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i. I read several comparison articles before making my choice. I put it through its paces and decided to write a review with a basic introduction as to how to use it. Not only does it work, it works very well. This photo of the Andromeda Galaxy was taken on my first night out with clear skies.
December 21: the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn is Coming!
December 21, is the “Great Conjunction” of Jupiter and Saturn. This is the closest they have been in 397 years. Start looking now. Go out and look in the southwest sky at dusk. Jupiter and Saturn will be the brightest objects you will see other than the moon.
The Best Star Trackers
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.
Freedom from Want
Norman Rockwell’s classic painting “Freedom from Want” was created in 1943 and was part of his Four Freedoms series. It was inspired by FDR’s annual address to Congress, January 6, 1941. That address became known as the Four Freedom’s Speech. Contemporary photographers and artists have been inspired to create contemporary versions of the Four Freedoms. This is one of them.
Happy Thanksgiving!
“Freedom from Want” (1943) by Norman Rockwell
I love Thanksgiving! When I was growing up, we spent many a Thanksgiving and Christmas at Grandpa’s house. Thanksgiving was a much anticipated and happy time. We would often leave home on Wednesday afternoon after dad got home from work. It was a long 7 hour drive to Grandpa’s house in those pre-interstate highway days, so it would be really late by the time we arrived.
How To Find Wildlife, The Best Books
Wildlife Guidebooks
The first step to photographing wildlife is finding wildlife and one of the best ways to find wildlife is to look at wildlife location books. They will save you hours of frustration by sending you to the best locations to find wildlife.
How To Choose A High Quality Telescope
Meade and Celestron Telescopes
Astronomy is one of my hobbies so I get questions about telescopes. Here is some basic advice with suggestions as to places to go to get the best information.
Buying a Red Headlamp for Night Photography: The Essential Feature
Photographers with red headlamps. Field Trip, Sprague Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
A red headlamp is an essential tool for night photography. Before you rush out and buy one, make sure it has the most essential feature (other than the red LED). Some inexpensive headlamps have this feature and some very expensive ones don’t, so cost is not the issue.
The Best Online Backup For Your Photos and Other Important Files
39% of Americans never backup their data. That’s not good. Another 19% do this only once per year. No wonder so many people lose important files and photos if they have a hard drive crash.
Putting Together a “Studio in a Backpackâ€
Portable “studio in a backpack” set up and ready to go.
If I am visiting family and friends and traveling by car, I often bring my “studio in a backpack”. I never know when I might be asked to do some portraits and having some studio gear along helps create better images (especially when natural light is not a very good option). If you want to do portraits on the road (or even at home), these items are very useful. You can order these items from Amazon via the link at the end of this article.
AlienBees: High Quality, Economical Studio Lights
AlienBees Studio Lights
For the best combination of quality and price, it is hard to beat AlienBees studio lights. I’ve been using AlienBees in my studio for over 15 years, and like so many other photographers, I’ve been singing their praises. It would be hard to find the same quality for less money.
A High Quality, Compact RØDE VideoMic for Your DSLR and Smartphone
RØDE VideoMicro in use at Acadia National Park.
Let’s face it. While many recent DLSRs, ILCs and smartphones can give you excellent visual quality in the videos, the sound quality of the built in microphone leaves a lot to be desired. For a modest amount of money you can bring the sound quality up to par with the visual quality. That is why video mic sales have exploded.
Tripod Head Recommendations: Some of the Best of the Best
Two ball heads and two 3-way heads.
A good tripod head will save you lots of frustration. For still photography I recommend two types of tripod heads. If you do a little of everything you will want a quality ball head for the quick and easy aiming of the camera. If you only do landscape or architectural photography and you want precise separate controls in each axis of motion, you will want a 3-way head.
Tripod Recommendations: The Best of the Best
Looking for a tripod? Choose wisely. Other than a camera and a good lens, nothing can make a bigger difference in your photography than a good tripod. This is the place to find information, recommended models, and links to more information.
How to Choose the Best iPhone Lenses
iPhone photography has become a huge thing. According to Flickr, their millions of users take more pictures with an iPhone (47%) than any other camera. A lot of iPhone photographers are looking for add on lenses for their phone, and that may include you. So which lenses are the best?
The Best Rugged Digital Cameras for Underwater and the Beach
The Olympus Tough (TG) Waterproof Camera System
Water, sand, and grit can wreak havoc with ordinary cameras, so unless you have a waterproof case for your camera (more about that later), your best bet is to get a rugged, waterproof camera for underwater and the beach. This is especially true if you are around salt water.
GoPro: Amazing, Small, Inexpensive, HD Video Cameras
GoPro Hero9 Black
Looking for a small, mountable, “ideal for sports and action”, inexpensive, high definition video and still camera with a waterproof housing and image quality that Lucasfilm (the Star Wars people) calls “amazing”? This camera will go anywhere and mount just about anywhere. Prices range from $198 to $399 (which is a lot less than your typical DSLR with HiDef video).
Choosing an Inexpensive Canon DSLR and Lenses for Video and Still Work
Just a few of many Canon refurbished cameras and lenses from the Canon USA web site.
Do you want to buy a Canon DSLR and/or lenses on a budget? Is video quality important to you? This article is for you.
Get a Quality DSLR and Two Lenses for Less than $400
Canon T6 camera with 18-55 and 75-300mm lenses for $360.00
Yes, you can get a quality, name brand DLSR with two lenses for under $400. I checked out this special this morning (November 18, 2019) at Canon USA.
Inexpensive Gifts (Starting at $8) for Photographers
Flash adapter and umbrella for a shoe-mount electronic flash.
There are a lot of practical and inexpensive (more or less) gifts for photographers. Here is a nice list of items starting at $8. To make it easy to track them down, these items are individuality linked plus most of these items can be found in the Misc Goodies section of my photography store which has direct links to Amazon.com. Prices are current as of the date of this post, but prices do fluctuate. Some items can be temporarily unavailable. These items are not listed in order of price.
The Best Digital Cameras for 2020 (Including 2012 – 2019)
Canon EOS R5
The holiday season is here and I am getting the usual questions about which digital cameras I recommend. In every price range there are some cameras that are better designed than others. How do you find them? That is what this article is all about.
Project: Photograph the Sun, Moon, and 8 Planets in One Day
When I read at various astronomy related web sites that it was possible to see all of the naked eye planets in one day on or around November 16, 2020. I decided to try and photograph all of them, along with the moon and sun. As an added bonus I would photograph Uranus. It is not visible to the naked eye but easy to photograph with an ordinary camera and lens with a long exposure. Neptune was also out but I thought it would be too faint to pick up in a long exposure. I was wrong. To my surprise and joy, Neptune showed up as a tiny streak of light on my images.
Buy What You Can Afford!
The first rule when choosing camera gear is to buy what you can afford. It is hard to enjoy taking pictures if you are worried about how to pay for the camera you are holding. So buy what you can afford now, and upgrade later. And the second rule? We will get to that later.
How Long Will Your Photo Lab Prints Last Without Fading?
Estimated Print Life from Wilhelm Imaging Research
Would you rather pay for a print that will fade in as little as 5 or 6 years, or would you rather pay for a better quality print that will last up to 50 years? That’s not all. The print with a very short life expectancy might cost more than the better quality print. People buy short life span prints all the time. Why? Because they don’t have the right information, and they may have no idea that prints have such widely different life spans.
POTD: Beth Presler, Lake LaShane
Beth Presler: Planning for a Fall Water Portrait
The leaves are turning in southern Iowa so I decided it was time to act on a portrait idea in my head. I pictured a young woman in water with fall leaves in the background reflecting in the water.