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.
Merry Christmas!
Category Archives: General
Winter Photography Safety Essentials
Some of the winter travel items I carry in the trunk of my car. This is the “kitchen” and “furnace”.
I grew up in Colorado where strange weather can strand you in any month of the year. Even though it is rare, I’ve seen blizzards in the Colorado high country in July. So I learned to carry some safety essentials when doing winter photography in remote locations. You never know when you might be stranded for several hours, a whole day, or longer, until the blizzard abates and someone can come find you. This is what I carry in my car when I hit the road in the winter and pretty much any time I am going to be in the High Rockies. I include a few winter travel tips, too.
Mixing Flash and Ambient Light for a Christmas Portrait
Kristina at Christmas
On Christmas eve I found myself doing Christmas portraits for Kristina’s portfolio. She is a friend of mine who is a model and actress in L.A.. There isn’t a lot of space in my studio when the Christmas tree is up so I had to improvise a bit with the lighting and I needed to get the right mix of flash and ambient light for the look I wanted.
How to Photograph Christmas Lights with Your DSLR, ILC, or Smartphone
Christmas Lights, Easton Shopping Center, Columbus, OH
‘Tis the season and there are a lot of Christmas lights out there to photograph. It is fun and easy, and with a few tricks up your sleeve there are creative things you can do. Many of these techniques can be used on other lights throughout the year, so this is a good time to practice your skills for photographing lights.
The Best National Parks to Photograph in Winter
Bryce Canyon
Winter provides some wonderful photo opportunities in our national parks. But some national parks look much better in the winter than others. So if you haven’t gone into hibernation for the winter, here are the best national parks to go photograph this winter, grouped by state from the west to the east. There are a few bonus locations thrown in too. At the end I give you my “best of the best” list.
Posted January 17, 2017. Updated and re-posted December 18, 2019.
Holiday Concert at Living Art Studios
A happy and appreciative crowd gathered Saturday evening at Living Art Studios in Lamoni Iowa for a holiday concert with Francis Acland and Rose Waldeier. New studio lighting was unveiled at this concert, which added a nice festive holiday touch to the studio space.
Lest We Forget. Seven Years Ago.
Sandy Hook Elementary, Newtown Connecticut, December 14, 2012.
Graceland’s Christmas Concert is a Musical Treat
Like a delectable array of tantalizing Christmas goodies that you just can’t wait to sample, Friday’s night’s Graceland University Christmas Concert was a tray of treats for both the ears and the eyes.
Tonight’s Portrait Photography Master Class
Over the last few days I have been doing some major and minor revisions to my master class for this evening at Living Art Studios in Lamoni Iowa. I do this before every class, workshop, or seminar I do. I look at past presentations and I make changes.
Photography Master Class, December 7, Lamoni Iowa
Guess what I am doing this week? Re-working the presentations for my master class this Saturday evening in Lamoni. I do this before every class, workshop, and seminar. I revise this and that, add new things, and work on ways to make what I do even better. The primary emphasis for this class will be portrait photography.
Happy Thanksgiving!
“Freedom from Want” 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.
Best Book on Professional Exposure Techniques
After you’ve mastered all of the basic, intermediate, and advanced exposure skills and techniques, what book should you read next?
My Hard Drive Crashed (Burned, Drowned)! Where Do I Send It To Get My Data Back?
This laptop burned in a house fire. DriveSavers recovered the data.
So your hard drive crashes or is damaged in some other way. Where should you send it? The choice is important. If you don’t send it to one of the first rate data-recovery services (expensive as they are), a cut rate company could mess up your drive and make it impossible for a first rate company to retrieve your data.
Wireless Camera Control and Wireless Photo Transfer with CamRanger
My grandson inside using my laptop to control the tripod mounted camera outside.
CamRanger provides wireless image transfer from your camera to your laptop or smartphone. CamRanger also give you wireless control of your camera with your smart phone or laptop.
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.
Some days, no matter what you do, it just isn’t going to happen.
As you might guess from my post yesterday, I was seriously looking forward to Mercury’s transit of the sun today. But the day began here in southern Iowa with dense cloud cover. All morning long I kept looking outside hoping for the clouds to thin out.
Veterans Day
How to Safely Watch and Photograph Mercury’s Transit of the Sun, Monday November 11
Mercury will transit the sun, Monday, November 11, 2019 from 7:35 am EST (1235 GMT) to 1:04 pm EST (1804 GMT). Don’t miss it! There will not be another transit for 13 years. If you have solar eclipse glasses or solar safe binoculars from 2017’s solar eclipse, you have everything you need to watch the transit.
Light Modifiers (Softeners) for Speedlites
Umbrella, flash, and flash bracket on a tripod.
Photographers are always looking for ways to soften the light when doing portraits. The light from an accessory flash can be quite harsh so there are a wide range of modifiers to soften the light for more pleasing portraits. Here are my favorites for both on-camera and off-camera flash.
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.
Get Sharper Images By Using The Best Lens Calibration Tools
Lens Calibration Tools
A lot of photographers have discovered their almost sharp lens was actually a very sharp lens once they tweaked the micro-adjustment settings. You will get sharper images if you adjust the settings for your specific camera and lens combinations. You do this using the micro-adjustment settings in the camera menu along with a lens calibration tool which you can buy or make yourself.
The Chinese Lens Rip Off Series – Overpriced, Low Quality Camera Phone Lenses
The ads started showing up on FaceBook all the time. They talk about wonderful lenses that will turn your smart phone into a camera that is better than a DSLR costing thousands of dollars. They brag about German engineering, a NASA optical formula, or the testing that proves their lenses are better than expensive lenses from Nikon, Zeiss, Leica, or Canon. The names of the companies change on a regular basis, but the scam is the same. Sad to say, a lot of people actually fall for this nonsense.
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.
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 found this special this morning (Nov. 8, 2019) at Canon USA.
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? This article is for you.
The Best Digital Cameras for 2019 (Including 2010 – 2018)
Canon 5D Mark IV DSLR
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.
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.
Fall Color Photography Guide to Marshall Pass and O’Haver Lake, Colorado
Marshall Pass is a beautiful fall color drive in southern Colorado, and still pretty much a secret. It does not turn up on most lists of the most beautiful fall color drives in Colorado. It is a beautiful drive with a lot of fall color photo opportunities.