Venus and the stars over Lake Michigan. Click for a larger version.
Twilight hangs on for a long time in June in the far northern reaches of the United States. I captured this image a few days ago while leading a photography workshop in northern Michigan.
Pika, Rock Cut, Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
What are the best national parks to photograph in the summer? Here are my choices, grouped by state from west to east. This list includes the favorites I have been to and want to go back to again, plus the ones I haven’t seen and most want to photograph.
Royal Arches, North Dome, and Washington Column from Stoneman Meadow. Yosemite National Park. California.
Summer is the most popular time to visit the national parks. With so many to choose from, where should you go? Which national parks will provide the best photographic opportunities in the summer?
What do you do when you lose photos from your memory cards?
Memory Cards in Think Tank Memory Card Holders
Fake memory cards have been a problem at Amazon for several years. The biggest problem with fake cards is card failure and the permanent loss of the photos on the card. Just think about how you would feel if you lost precious, once in a lifetime photos on your memory card. And to make matters worse, you find out data recovery software can’t recover the lost photos from a fake memory card. They are gone forever. Continue reading
UPDATE, June 3: Due to a last minute cancellation we have one slot open this weekend. This is your chance to register. Go here.
Are you ready to take your nature and wildlife photography to the next level? Are you ready to learn the professional secrets that make the difference between good images and great images? Are you ready for a high intensity, action packed, total immersion photography weekend? Come to Park of the Pines on beautiful Lake Charlevoix June 8-10, 2018.
U.S. Flags at Sunset, Rose Hill Cemetery, Lamoni, Iowa
From Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Washington D.C. Click for a larger version.
Richard Duane Klug (the name just above the rose) was born January 26, 1946. He died in Darlac Province, Vietnam, November 14, 1967 at the age of 21. He is one of over 58,000 American soldiers that died in Vietnam, and one of over 1.1 million American soldiers that have died in all American wars (almost half of them in the Civil War). It is with a profound sense of gratitude that I reflect on the lives of those who “gave the last full measure of devotion” on behalf of their country.
This 20 minute video is not about photography. It is about you and your value as a human being.
“Catch of the Day”, © Thomas D. Mangelsen
Tom Mangelsen is a world class wildlife photographer. His image Catch of the Day has been called the most famous wildlife image of all time. His book Images of Nature has pride of place in my photography library. In this 12 minute video at 60 Minutes you go out into the field with Mangelsen and Anderson Cooper.
This gallery contains 28 photos.
The Graceland University Choirs in Concert. Grove City Community of Christ, Ohio. Click any photo to view the individual images.
Southwest Colorado in the Fall.
Come spend four exciting days on a total immersion photo safari in beautiful southwest Colorado. Colorado is magnificent in the fall as the aspen turn gold. The safari is September 28-October 1, 2018. Registration is limited and this photo safari is filling up. Detail are here.
Whites Sands New Mexico
Controlling depth of field is one of a photographer’s most powerful creative tools. That is why my photography book devotes two chapters and 40 pages to tools and techniques you can use to control depth of field.
Camera and lens mounted on a Kaidan KiWi-L panorama rig.
If you are looking for an excellent, inexpensive panorama adapter, the Kaidan Kiwi-L is an excellent choice. It has been discontinued which means you can find it for around $30 – $40 on eBay and other sites that sell used camera gear.
O’Haver Lake, Mt. Ouray, Colorado.
You have heard it said a lot, and maybe said it yourself: “This picture doesn’t do the scene justice.” That is often true and for several reasons. One is that digital cameras do not capture reality. No matter how fancy or expensive, digital cameras simply do not capture what your eyes see. That is also true with film cameras. All color photographic films have different color characteristics. Some have better reds, others have better greens or blues. Some are more saturated and others less saturated. But none of them are totally color realistic. So why don’t digital cameras give you realistic images and what can you do about it?
Originally posted December 16, 2015. Revised, expanded, and re-posted May 4, 2018.
Ansel Adams, BBC Master Photographer Series (1983).
“Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico” is probably Ansel Adams’ most famous image. This YouTube video is by Swann Auction Galleries.
Ansel Adams. Photo © Yousuf Karsh. Used with permission.
Ansel Adams is the best known American landscape photographer and he has had a profound influence on a lot of photographers. Many of his images have become icons of the American west. He is one of my favorite photographers and I periodically dive into one of his books for inspiration. I have written several articles about Ansel Adams plus articles inspired by the concepts he taught. There are several YouTube videos, including an excellent full length documentary by PBS. The links follow.
Naruto, Photo by David Slater
The Monkey Selfie copyright case case is finally over. In 2011, Naruto, a crested macaque, took David Slater’s camera and took several selfies. In 2015, PETA filed a suit claiming Naruto owned the copyright to the photos, not Slater. The 9th Circuit found in favor of Slater. Continue reading
John Muir
John Muir was born April 21, 1838. He had a profound influence on how Americans viewed our wild lands and his influence led to the establishment of many of our National Parks and other protected lands. He was nicknamed The Father of our National Parks. This is National Parks week. Go explore somewhere this week, or make plans to visit sometime this year.
Here are photos from some of my favorite National Parks along with quotes from John Muir.
Ocotillo. Big Bend National Park, Texas.
Believe it or not, spring has finally arrived in areas of the country that were dealing with a lingering winter. Which national parks are at their photographic best in the spring? Here are my choices, grouped by state from west to east. This list includes the favorites I have been to and want to go back to again, plus the ones I haven’t seen and most want to photograph. Don’t forget, this is national parks week and many of our national parks are having special activities all week long.
National Parks Collage. Click for a larger version.
April 21-29 is National Park Week and April 21 is a fee free day! The National Park Service is partnering with the National Park Foundation to celebrate our national parks. It is time to head to one of our national parks.
Photo by David Muench.
You can get a free 122 page photography ebook if you subscribe to the Muench Workshops newsletter (the newsletter is also free). David Muench is a world class photographer. His work has inspired me for years.
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.
My two favorite introductions to landscape photography.
How to Photograph Landscapes by Joseph Lange and Digital Landscape Photography by John and Barbara Gerlach are my favorite introductions to landscape photography.
Sunset, “The Window”, Big Bend National Park, Texas.
David Muench is a world class landscape photographer. So when he recommends his favorite national parks, I pay attention.
Last Light on El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California.
I know, April seems like an odd time of year to write an article on winter photography hot spots. But I was going through old photography magazines before consigning them to the recycling bin and found a great article on winter photography hot spots.
Posted April 3, 2018. Updated April 9, 2018.
Wildlife Location Guides
Looking for wildlife this year? If you want to photograph wildlife you need to find wildlife. A good wildlife location guide can send you to the right places and save you hours or days of frustration looking in all the wrong places.
“The Knockout Punch“, Grand Prize Winner by Christer Berg
Digital Photo and Outdoor Photographer magazines announced the winners of their joint 2017 black and white photo contest. The photography is excellent.
Thunder Hole, Acadia National Park. Photo © Sue Anne Hodges.
I came across an article on the prettiest drives in America. One of the photos that jumped out at me is this excellent photo of appropriately named “Thunder Hole”. Kudos to Sue Anne Hodges for this image (and my thanks to her for permission to use this image). It is filled with action, intensity, and drama. You can feel what it would be like to get drenched if you were at the end of the observation area.