Eastern Bluebird
Based on the theory that you can create nice images with inexpensive camera gear, these photos were all taken with my “toy camera” and a $239, 55-250mm telephoto lens. I am impressed with the job this lens is doing. These are recent examples.
I was processing this image of Lyn Marie in Photoshop and the longer I looked at it the more I decided the color of the door frames, carpet, and walls took away from her colorful clothing. It made sense to me to remove all color from the image except Lyn Marie. In this tutorial I will show you how to do that. The simplest approach was to create a black and white layer on top, and remove part of that layer so you can see the color layer of Lyn Marie underneath.
Nicole, casual portrait, Grove City Ohio, May 7, 2018.
Seven years ago, the Graceland University Choir (from Lamoni Iowa) was on tour and I caught their performance at a church in Grove City Ohio. I was in the lobby taking casual portraits of the choir. This young women happened to step into the sunlight that was streaming through a lobby window, making for wonderful, warm “short side” lighting. Short side lighting means the light is shining on the side of the face that is away from the camera.
The Conference Chamber, The Auditorium, Independence Missouri. My favorite image of the morning.
I was photographing a Communion service at a church conference in Missouri using two DSLR cameras and an iPhone. All told, during this one service and the short time before and after, I created 354 images. So how many “selects” did I pick? When an editor asks you for “selects” from an event, that means they want your best images in chronological order. The editor will narrow that down even further when deciding which images to publish. Several photographers were covering this event as a team so I didn’t have to worry about capturing everything. This article explores the selection process between taking the photos and the final published images.
Great Egret. Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Fremont, California.
When I posted this photo on one of my Facebook pages, a friend posted this happy comment “I LOVE this egret photo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Look at the right wing trailing in the water. How DO you capture these?!”
Good question.
Jack Ergo, pianist, Graceland University Symphonic Band Concert
After 24 years at Graceland University, Jack Ergo is retiring, so this is his last performance with the band as a faculty member. Parker Worden, the band director, planned the concert as a tribute to Jack. This is a selection of photos from the concert.
Click any of the images to see a larger version.
Dance Recital, Living Art Studios
One of the highlights of the year in Lamoni Iowa is the annual spring dance recital featuring the dance students at Living Art Studios. The award-winning Graceland University Gadets also performed. This is a selection of photos from this year’s recital. If you want a print, you can order prints here. Ordering information is at the bottom of this page.
Click any of these photos to see a larger version.
We’ve been down this road before. To understand how this scam works, read this article. It covers all the details.
Moon Over Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, Utah.
Are you planning a spring photography trip to one or more U.S. national parks? Where should you go? Which parks will provide the best photographic opportunities? Which parks are at their best in the spring?
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.
Snowy Egret Feeding
Some days are “so so”, some days are average, and some days are amazing. Summer is not my favorite time of year to photograph birds at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but July 14, 2016 was an amazing day. This photo of a feeding Snowy Egret was just one of many fine images from the morning. He stabbed at his prey and it came out of the water but not in his beak.
The view across the wildlife refuge looking west at the Dumbarton Bridge.
Located on the east side of San Francisco Bay near Fremont, California, the Don Edwards San Fransisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge is one of my favorite places to go when I am in the Bay Area.
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.
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.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The video quality of some of these links is iffy.
I Have a Dream – short version with still photos
I have a Dream – short version with video
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.
Kristina in the Snow
The white snow in a winter scene can and often does fool a camera meter into underexposing a portrait, so here are the steps to take to get the right exposure. I throw in a few portrait suggestions too.
Mount Hunter from a Bush Plane. Denali National Park. Alaska.
Metering for scenes with a lot of snow can be tricky since the bright snow fools the camera meter. I see a lot of winter photos with gray snow, which means the camera meter did exactly what it was designed to do. The solution is quite simple provided you know what to do.
Last Light on El Capitan, Yosemite National Park
In addition to all of the usual photographic challenges, winter provides some extra complications, especially in terms of metering. So I began this series of articles on winter photography. Check out the links below. The articles will help you meet the unique challenges of winter photography. So get out there, have fun, and create some great winter images!
Have a joyous holiday season!
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.
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.
Granite Ledges and Otter Cliff, Acadia National Park, Maine
Your camera falls down a mountainside or off a cliff. An unexpected rogue wave drenches your valuable photo gear in salt water. Your photo backpack is stolen from your home, motel room, or trunk of your car. To add insult to injury, you learn your homeowner’s insurance will not replace the value of your damaged or stolen gear.
Ava, Living Art Studios Dance Recital
When photographers crop photos they can choose any aspect ratio (length vs width) that they want to suit their artistic purposes. If they are making their own prints that isn’t a problem.
My favorite camera stores are B&H Photo, Adorama, KEH Camera, and Amazon. I will tell you why I like them, and why you should be wary of so many other online camera stores.
Estimated Print Life from Wilhelm Imaging Research
Would you rather have a high quality print that will last up to 50 years, or a print that will fade in 5 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.
Full Moon (Supermoon), November 15, 2024.
With a nice clear sky I went out to photograph tonight’s supermoon. Then I pointed my lens at Jupiter.