If you are looking for an excellent gift for a photographer, or for yourself, Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies is one of the highest rated photography books on Amazon.com, and one of the most comprehensive at 384 pages. It is highly recommended by both beginners and professional photographers.
“What are your favorite memorable photos?” That’s the question I was asked by one of my friends yesterday. This is one of the images that moves me deeply (click on the photo to see a larger version). The expression of love and tenderness on the mother’s face as she bathes her 16 year old daughter. The daughter’s face and body showing the ravages of Minamata Disease. The play of light and shadow. To my eyes this is a stunning image, even if you know nothing about the story behind this photo. It is clear why many photographers consider W. Eugene Smith to be one of the best photojournalists of the 20th century.
Photography is about inspiration and great photography is one of the sources of inspiration. Once a week I receive a “Celebrate What’s Right With The World” photograph from Dewitt Jones, and you can too.
JPEG and RAW Files, both overexposed by two stops and both corrected in Photoshop
RAW files have a number of advantages over JPEG files, one of them being the significant advantage in exposure latitude. You can prove this for yourself by doing a simple exposure test and learn your own camera’s exposure latitude.
Support the NPS!
During the government shutdown of our National Parks, some park service employees have come under fire in the media during circumstances which are not of their own making. While there may be a few grumpy people in the NPS (and anyone in any profession can say some some things in stressful moments they wish they could retract), in 30 plus years of taking photos in our National Parks I have had many excellent encounters with the hard working members of the NPS.
Cemetery for Military Working Dogs, Fort Irwin California
This cemetery for military working dogs is at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin California. Something about this place touched my heart. It was good to see the dogs that serve our country remembered in this way. The crosses indicate the dog’s name and the month and year the dog died.
Mushrooms
One of my neighbors couldn’t wait for me to get home from a long trip so he could show me the mushrooms in his back yard. While I was gone he mowed around several bunches of mushrooms, pine needles, and leaves so he wouldn’t disturb the scene, hoping I would get home while the mushrooms still looked good.
Denali Sunrise from Reflection Pond
You can have many of the advantages of a $300 – $400 incident light meter for less than $20. Sound too good to be true? It isn’t too good to be true. This is about as close as you can get to a photographic “free lunch”.
The Chalice of Life
This morning I was sitting in a waiting room with not much to do when I became interested in the play of light through a wall made with glass blocks. I decided to have a little fun with my iPhone and some apps.
This remarkable video was filmed by a GoPro camera on the back of an eagle in flight. GoPro cameras have become the “go to” cameras for exciting, high definition action video.
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 and arrive at the peak of the season.
Autumn Leaves, Banff National Park (modified image)
I take pictures with my iPhone just for fun. And that includes altering the photos, like the one above, with some of my favorite iPhone apps.
Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies
With 12 books, hundreds of magazine articles, over a dozen instructional videos, and numerous workshops to his credit, digital photography expert Tim Grey really knows his stuff. In one of his eNewsletters, Tim gives this excellent recommendation for Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies:
Martin Luther King Jr.
50 years ago today on August 28, 1963 at the Lincolm Memorial, Martin Luther King delivered one of his most famous and stirring speeches, known as “I have a dream”. A portion of it follows. Links to the full speech and an audio file are at the end of this post.
Exif Viewer, GPS Photo Location Data
Your smartphone is designed to geotag the locations of your photos and store it in the photo’s “metadata”. Many other cameras do the same thing. This means if you take pictures of your family and post them online, anyone (including some very unsavory characters) can pull up a map of where the photo was taken. Is there really a danger? Yes. Burglars and kidnappers are already using online photos to track potential victims. Law enforcement offices are warning that sexual predators can do the same thing. See the articles and videos linked below. What can you do to protect your family? Keep reading.
Originally posted August 13, 2013. Revised and updated January 28, 2015. Updated again Dec. 17, 2016.
Sunrise, Gibraltar Island. OSU photo workshop.
This sunrise photo was taken at last year’s outdoor photography workshop hosted by OSU’s Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island. The workshop this year starts tomorrow.
Twilight, OSU Stone Lab Photo Workshop
Jeremy Bruskotter and I will spend this weekend with a group of eager and excited photographers. It is OSU’s annual outdoor photography workshop at Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island.
Nature Photography by Jim Doty, Jr.
OSU’s Prestigious Stone Lab is hosting the workshop “Capturing the Wonder of the Outdoors”. This is your chance to take your nature, landscape, and wildlife photography to the next level. This is an intensive weekend that combines class sessions with hands-on field trips. Join us August 9-11 on Ohio State University’s scenic Gibraltar Island near Put-in-Bay, Ohio. There is still time to register.
Kristina
A backlit, window light portrait can be challenging to meter, but the photographic possibilities are definitely worth it.
Backyard Portrait
Sunlight is usually too harsh for portraits so I try to avoid full sun on the face when shooting outside. My usual choices are to shoot in the shade or put the sun behind my subject (as in the case of this photo).
United States at Night
The Strip, Las Vegas with Fireworks
You can point your camera at the sky in auto exposure and autofocus modes and fire away whenever you see a burst of fireworks, but for the best quality photos, it helps to know a few tricks of the trade. It’s easy when you know what to do.
Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale, 1800
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.â€
From the Declaration of Independence, signed July 4, 1776. Written by Thomas Jefferson (1762-1826). 3rd US President (1801-09).
More images (including Thomas Jefferson’s original draft and George Washington’s personal copy) and the complete text follows the break.
Banff, Alberta
Happy Canada Day to all of my Canadian friends!
Nature photography by Jim Doty, Jr.
OSU’s Prestigious Stone Lab is hosting the workshop “Capturing the Wonder of the Outdoors” This is your chance to take your nature, landscape, and wildlife photography to the next level. This is an intensive weekend that combines class sessions with hands-on field trips. Join us August 9-11 on Ohio State University’s scenic Gibraltar Island near Put-in-Bay, Ohio.
Window Light Portrait
One of my grandsons was sitting next to me in my office looking intently at photos on my computer monitor. The moment was too good to miss so I grabbed a camera.
Photographer Using an ExpoDisc
There are a lot of advantages to using an incident light meter, and you can read about them in this article. But they are expensive. What if you don’t to buy an incident light meter? There are several less expensive alternatives, and one of them is to use an ExpoDisc.
California Poppies
I have never entered a photo contest before, but I responded to a request to enter the May photo contest at Midwest Photo Exchange (MPEX). The theme was “Spring” so I submitted an early April photo of California Poppies. Photographers from all across the United States entered photos. Winners were announced June 3 and I won the “People’s Choice” award for the photo that was voted for the most by other photographers and visitors to the site. This is a first for me and I am thrilled!
