Electronic Lens Mount, Canon EF 17-10mm f4L Lens
Few things are more frustrating than having a lens quit, especially when you are on an important photo shoot, or a once in a lifetime trip. If you have a modern camera, the failed lens might also be accompanied by an error code on the camera body. On Canon cameras this is usually Error 99.
Imagine this image . . .
Imagine this image: A well toned fitness trainer running along the beach. She is silhouetted against the water by the beautiful, warm light of the rising sun. That was the plan for yesterday morning. It didn’t happen. It went down like this. . .
Union Soldier, Civil War Reenactment
Photographing a Civil War reenactment involves capturing the action of the battle but it also means looking for individual faces.
Autumn, Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Fall color is sweeping the country. To make the most of it, you want to be at the right place at the right time. With some help from the internet, I will help you find the best fall color locations at the peak of the season.
Photo by James Nachtwey for TIME magazine.
On this date, thirteen years ago, we experienced a great national tragedy in the United States. Not only in the lives that were lost in the terrorist attacks, the families torn asunder, and the emergency responders who are suffering terrible health problems as a result of working at the scene – but also in the way we view ourselves and our world.
In remembrance of that day, and to honor the lives that were lost, I am posting some tributes.
Bill Biggart’s final photograph. He was killed when the second World Trade tower collapsed on top of him. He was 53 years old.
Joseph Lange, How To Photograph Landscapes
I was packing the car for a 10 day trip to Iowa, and I picked out a few essential photography books to take with me. My plan was to revisit them in preparation for my upcoming nature photography workshop in Colorado. When I unpacked in Iowa, Joseph Lange’s How to Photograph Landscapes was missing. Oh No!
Autumn Leaf
I found this leaf while walking my dog yesterday afternoon. This feels really early to me, at least for central Ohio. (iPhone photo.)
Kristin in a Stairwell
Kristin wanted to do some photos that didn’t look “senior picturey”.
Nature Photography Workshop in Colorado
My nature photography workshop in Estes Park Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park is just 3 weeks away. I am so excited, I can’t wait.
Photography Field Trip, Twilight, Gibraltar Island
The first evening of our photography workshop for OSU on Gibraltar Island, after some intensive classroom explorations we went out to north point to shoot at sunset and on into twilight. I captured this image of several photographers silhouetted against the evening sky.
Photography Workshop, Gibraltar Island
This is one of my favorite photos from the nature photography weekend at OSU’s Stone Lab on Gibraltar Island.
Nature Photography Books
A good photography book can put you well ahead of the game, and three essential nature photography books (plus maybe a few others) can save you years of time learning things the hard way.
Kristin in the shade with some fill flash.
Cloudy bright days are great for portrait photography. No harsh shadows. Soft even, flattering light. So what do you do in the harsh light (at least for most portrait photography) of a bright, sunny day?
Old Wooden Fence
You can blame this (sort of) on Dewitt Jones (I have written about Dewitt before). I pass this fence almost every day as my dog and I walk to the park, but I pay it almost no attention.
Kristina
This is good news. Kristina wrote this afternoon to tell me her modeling agency wants to use this image as her main commercial shot for their website. Modeling agencies are very particular about the type and quality of images they use, so this made my day!
Journalist James Foley. Photo by Rick Wood.
Back in the 80s I was a freelance photographer and writer for the Yukon Review, a small town newspaper in Oklahoma. As a part time journalist I didn’t face anything more dangerous than the possibility of being run over by a football player while I took photographs from the sidelines. I did get to rub shoulders with and learn from some fine professionals and I feel a certain kinship to the profession. It saddens me to note the passing of each “conflict journalist”, the brave souls who put themselves in harms way to bring us stories from the war torn parts of the world.
Kristin, Piano Reflection.
Ansel Adams, a classically trained concert pianist who became a world class landscape photographer, often said “The negative is similar to a musician’s score, and the print to the performance of that score”. Adams was right. Today we might say the digital camera file is the score and the work in the digital darkroom is the performance. The click of the shutter is an important step in the photographic process but not the end of the process.
Kristin with a backdrop and backdrop stand.
Sometimes I haul a lot of equipment to a portrait shoot. I have worked with a lot of models and I’ve noticed that only about 1 out of 10 offers to help carry my photo gear. So an offer to help with my gear usually takes me by surprise and I take note of the thoughtfulness. This young woman is one of the 10%.
Kim Eung Hwa Korean Dance Company
If you are looking for bright, colorful subjects to photograph, head for the nearest festival. If you live in one of the nation’s big cities, there are probably several major festivals to choose from. If you don’t, do a little research. Google is your friend.
Digital Contact Sheet
There are a lot of reasons photographers create “visual reminder photos”. It’s not unusual for me to hand my camera to someone else to take pictures. When I do, I usually leave myself a visual reminder by taking a picture of my hand before and after the other person’s photos. Visual reminder photos can also be used to mark panos and other photos you need to find quickly and easily. One sports photographer I met used them to mark touchdowns and other critical plays. With a photo of the receiver high in the air catching the football (and no field markings due to the angle of the photo), it may not be obvious later (amidst hundreds of other photos) that this particular catch was a touchdown, or set up a game winning play. Some news photographers use visual reminders to quickly find special photos or favorites they want to locate later. During fast moving events it takes too long to write a “fav 2457” note on a 3×5 card. It is so much faster to create a visual reminder photo right after photo #2457.
World Ranger Day
Happy World Ranger Day!
Over many years and at many national parks and monuments I have had good encounters with helpful rangers and other employees of the U.S. National Park Service as well as park rangers in Canada. Today is a good day for me to say thanks to park rangers and other park service employees for the excellent work they do.
Images of Colorado. Photo information below. Click to see a larger version.
I am very excited about my upcoming nature photography workshop in Estes Park Colorado and field trips in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Saturday Workshop and Evening Field Trip – Sep 27
The Saturday workshop is a fast paced, fun filled, action packed day, combining intensive classroom explorations with several “go out and shoot” moments to practice the techniques you are learning. The Saturday workshop includes an evening field trip in Rocky Mountain National Park. The Saturday workshop and field trip are limited to 12 participants to allow for plenty of interaction.
Spider with pea in a kitchen sink
I found this common house spider in our kitchen sink, hanging on to this pea which was suspended from an overnight web. The spider wasn’t moving at all so I touched it gently with the tip of a pen to see if it was alive. It quickly ran up a strand of its web. I left it alone and it eventually came back to the object of it’s interest, the pea. It was time to take some pictures.
Most of these have been around for a long time, but they are still effective. And cheap!
Amazon’s initial “in stock” statement.
A two day book delivery promise from Amazon can turn into 2 1/2 weeks. Or longer.
Portrait in the Park
This photo is pretty close to a “to do” list for portrait photography. Focus on the eyes. Shoot in soft light. Have the face at a slight angle. Use a short telephoto focal length. Have the camera lens just above eye level. Use a non-obtrusive background. Give the subject something to do. Move in close for extra impact. Portrait rules to be followed and broken. So when do you follow the rules and when do you break them?
Red Winged Blackbird, composite image
When you just can’t get the right pose out of a wildlife subject, compositing two images together may be just the right ticket to the image you want.