This is a much earlier date for this workshop than in prior years. We are only seven weeks away and this workshop is filling up fast. Register now and come spend a fun and exciting weekend learning how to take your nature photography to the next level. The weekend is May 26-28, 2017 at Park of the Pines on beautiful Lake Charlevoix in northern Michigan with an optional all day field trip to Michigan’s U.P. on Monday, May 29.
California Poppies
There are times when iPhones can take great photos. Lots of light and the need for a semi-wide angle lens are ideal.
The last issue of Popular Photography, March/April 2017.
This is a sad day. After 80 years of publication Popular Photography magazine is closing. The March/April issue that arrived in my mailbox will be the last. No new content will be added to the PopPhoto.com web site after March 10.
Anoush, tone mapped
Ansel Adams often said “The negative is similar to a musician’s score, and the print to the performance of that score.” Over a period of years he would take the same negative and print it in several different ways, giving the negative a new and different performance.
Cascade, Barry, and Coxe Glaciers, Prince William Sound, Alaska
The “snow exposure latitude” for every camera is different. You won’t find it in your camera’s manual but it is easy to determine with a do-it-yourself test. Why does it matter? If you don’t know the snow exposure latitude for your camera and how to apply apply it to your images, the color and quality of your winter photos will suffer.
Bryce Canyon After An Overnight Snowstorm
Cold and snow can cause a lot of damage to your camera gear. Something as simple as shooting outside and taking your camera inside your house or car can cause hidden damage that won’t show up until days or weeks later. The simple steps in this article could save you hundreds of dollars in repair bills.
I am excited to announce my total immersion nature photography workshops for 2017. They are all listed and linked at JimDoty.com. These are action packed, fun filled workshops that are crammed full of practical photography tips, techniques, and go-out-and-do-it field trips that will give a big boost to your photography. Read what photographers say about the workshops.
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 my series of articles on winter photography. I am in the process of revising and updating this series. I am also revising some related articles and adding new ones. 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!
Fake Firefox update notice. Click for a larger version. Note the address bar does not include the word Mozilla.
Don’t click on that critical Firefox update notice! It could be a scam. Someone could be pretending to be Mozilla to plant some malware on your computer. So how do you know?
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.
Article posted Dec. 28, 2016. Updated Nov. 21, 2017.
Image and Pop-Up Window
PhotoME used to be my preferred online metadata viewer but it is no longer being updated. So I went looking for an alternative add-on for Firefox.
Lela Rae, Columbus Ohio. December 13, 2007
Lela Rae is a stunning model to work with so it was a special treat for her to make the drive from Detroit to Ohio of us to spend some time working together.
Snowy Owl Looking for Prey
One of the great things about winter is the return of the Snowy Owls. They are now back in the far northern U.S.
Can a world class, National Geographic photographer lose his passion? Yes! How does he get it back?
If you want to master color in Photoshop, Dan Margulis is the best of the best. He is one of the first three persons to be named as a member of the Photoshop Hall of Fame. And the book to get is Professional Photoshop: The Classic Guide to Color Correction (5th Edition). It is well worth finding on the used market (which you can do via my photography store). What Margulis teaches you to do with color is amazing. The before and after images will make your jaw drop.
Scott Kelby has written some of the best, most readable introductions to Elements, Lightroom, and Photoshop. If you are new to this software, this is a great place to start.
Is composition something that can be taught, or is it innate? Probably a bit of both. It is hard to look at photographs by Frans Lanting, Art Wolfe, Galen Rowell, and Dewitt Jones without coming to the conclusion that they were born with some kind of innate sense of composition. On the the other hand, it is clear that photographers can improve dramatically with the right kind of guidance.
The Art of Photograph, Art Wolfe and Rob Sheppard.
Art Wolfe is a world class photographer, and it shows in The Art of the Photograph. There are a lot of books on photographic composition (I own several, and I’ve looked through a lot more in various libraries), but this is far and away the best introduction to photographic composition I have come across. If you aren’t an experienced professional photographer, this book is an absolute must read. (I am assuming professionals already know this stuff.)
Watch the video. Automatic sky replacement with a single click. This is impressive.
Ansel Adams: Yosemite and the Range of Light.
Marc Silber interviews Michael Adams, son of Ansel Adams, in Ansel’s home and workroom/darkroom. They discuss Adams’ book Yosemite and the Range of Light. “The Range of Light” is the phrase John Muir used to describe the Sierra Nevada. Some video footage of Ansel Adams is included. Watch and learn.
Dawn, scenic overlook. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Exposure for the sky.
In a single exposure your camera can’t capture everything your eyes see in high contrast situations with a wide range of tonalities. HDR photography gives you more options.
Update, November 18, 2017: An updated version of this article is posted here.
The clouds were rolling in and the sun dropped behind the mountains when my photography workshop stopped in a parking lot just above “Fern Curve” in Rocky Mountain National Park. Mother nature didn’t provide a sunset so we were on Plan B and then Plan C. It was starting to get dark when we began taking photos. As it gets darker there are some interesting color shifts I wanted the workshop participants to see and photograph.
Bull elk, Rocky Mountain National Park.
Come spend a fun and exciting weekend learning how to take your nature photography to the next level. It is September 23-25 in beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park. There are only a few openings left. Now is the time to sign up.
Travel Route to 47 U.S. National Parks by Randy Olson. A larger version of this map is farther down the page.
So you wake up one morning with the crazy notion you might want to go on a road to all 47 of the U.S. national parks in the contiguous 48 states. Setting aside the sanity of such a project, how would you go about it? And what if you only want to go to some of these parks?
Canon announced the new Canon 5D Mark IV today. The news is all over the internet. This is a significant upgrade to the highly popular Canon 5D Mark III. Early previews for the camera look very good.
Sigma 150-600mm Sports and Contemporary Comparison to Canon. Photo by The Digital Picture
So you want a longer lens and can’t decide which one to get. There are several good options and one of them might be better for you in particular. What about resolution? Do you want to be at 600mm most of the time or just some of the time? Does it matter if the zoom and focus rings turn in Canon’s direction or Nikon’s? What about size, weight, and cost?
I walked out the door after church Sunday and was greeted by perfect portrait light thanks to a big cloud over the sun. I love spontaneous shoots and I have been shooting this young woman since she was three years old (along with the rest of her family).
You order a set of lenses expecting to pay $29. Your credit card gets charged several times that amount and you get socked with an outrageous $85.00 shipping charge. You find out later you could buy the same lenses at Amazon for less than $10. You’ve been ripped off.
Posted Aug. 9, 2016. Updated Dec. 2, 2017.
Today is National Lighthouse Day. In this photo the planets Venus and Jupiter are in the sky over the lighthouse “Big Red†and the Holland breakwater light, Holland State Park, Michigan.