Michael Fulks, the publisher of Apogee Photo Magazine, wrote at an excellent review of Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies and gave the text an A++, the magazine’s highest rating. The review follows.
Category Archives: General
Choosing an Inexpensive Canon DSLR and Lenses
Just a few of many Canon refurbished cameras and lenses from the Canon USA web site.
Do you want to buy a Canon DSLR and/or lenses on a budget? This article is for you.
Originally posted May 2, 2017. Revised and re-posted Nov. 1, 2017.
Tim Grey Recommends Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies
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:
The Best Book On Photographic Lighting
Many photographers say Light: Science and Magic is THE best book on photographic lighting – and I agree with them. If you intend to be seriously involved in photography, this book should be on your required reading list.
Camera Choices: Using Full Size Test Images from DPReview.com
I’ve been recommending DPReview for years in my photography classes, workshops and online. It is one of the best camera review sites. One of the nice features is the ability to download full size JPEG test images of their “standard studio scene” for comparison purposes.
Great Deal? Don’t Get Burned!
Is it a special deal, or is it a rip-off?
Is it a great deal? Or is it a rip-off? You are searching online for a good price and you come across a terrific deal. Are you about to get burned? There are ways you can tell.
How Long Will Your Photo Lab Prints Last Without Fading?
Estimated Print Life from Wilhelm Imaging Research
Would you rather pay more money for a print that will fade in as little as 5 or 6 years, or would you prefer paying less a very high quality 8×10 print that will last up to 50 years? People pay more money for prints with a short life expectancy 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.
How to Get the Best Results from the Best Online Photo Labs
The lab you choose and the kind of file you send to your lab can make a big difference in the quality of print you get back. How do you pick a good online photo lab? How do you get the best results from your lab? What color space should you use for your digital files and how do you convert your files to the right color space? How big a print can you make from your digital files?
Buyer’s Guide: Recommendations For The Best Photography Equipment, Software, Books, Magazines, DVDs, Online Photo Labs and More
I get lots of photo questions and many of them begin with “What is the best . . . .” They usually come from photographers or someone shopping for a photographer.
Here is my list of “best of the best” of articles recommending the best photo gear, software, books, DVDs, calendars, online photo labs, and a whole lot more.
Originally posted Nov. 1, 2017. Most recent update: April 7, 2018.
Some of the Best All Purpose Photography Books
This is a list of books that were the most helpful to me when I took a serious interest in photography, and I continue to refer to them. These books were written back when film was king, but that makes them all the more valuable to today’s digital photographers. Some digital photography books get so lost in technical information that the heart and soul of photography can get lost. The best film photography books are about light and shadow, subjects, form, texture, line and shape – all of which applies to digital photography.
Total Immersion Nature Photography Weekend in Beautiful Northern Michigan
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.
POTD: Aspen Leaves in a Snow Drop
Tiny aspen leaves in a snow drop.
Snow was melting on aspen leaves, creating “snow drops”. The clouds were beginning to part and sunlight was shining on the leaves. I was looking for another great leaf at the same location as the prior post.
POTD: Aspen Leaf with Snow Drops
Melted snow on an aspen leaf.
Bob, my brother-in-law, and I were driving down the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway and stopped at the classic overlook between mile 38 and mile 39 between Nederland and Ward Colorado. This is a great location for both grand and intimate landscapes.
POTD: Bull Elk, Rocky Mountain National Park
Elk, Horseshoe Park, Rocky Mountain National Park
Cars stopped in both directions as the big bull elk crossed the two lane paved road at the west end of Horseshoe Park. Their cars still sitting on the road, motors running, everyone was out of their cars and snapping photos with phones, small point and shoot cameras, and serious camera gear. It would have been hard not to get a great photo, even with a smart phone.
The Chinese Lens Rip Off! Part Nine. Comparison Test Two: 8-18X Telephoto Phone Lens vs 12X Telephoto Phone Lens
8-18X telephoto lens on an iPhone SE.
If you haven’t done so already, read this article first: Don’t get ripped off! Part Seven. Comparison Test One: Telephoto Phone Lens vs DLSR and Zoom Lens. It will explain the background and methodology behind this comparison test.
I purchased the 8-18X telephoto lens to check it out. Like the lens in Comparison Test One, it is another Chinese lens for smart phones. The ads for this lens say this lens is amazingly sharp. It is being sold for $59.99. That is an outrageous price of course. I found one on Amazon for less than $12. I knew when I bought it that it would not be worth $12. I had read other online reviews for this lens which point out how bad it is, but I wanted to see for myself.
Posted Sep. 22, 2017. Revised and expanded Dec. 12, 2017.
Buying a Headlamp for Night Photography: The Essential Feature
Photographers with red headlamps. Field Trip, Sprague Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
A red headlamp is an essential tool for night photography. Before you rush out and buy one, make sure it has the most essential feature (other than the red LED). Some inexpensive headlamps have this feature and some very expensive ones don’t, so cost is not the issue.
Canon 7D Mark II for Astrophotography and Wildlife
This stunning photo of the Horsehead Nebula in Orion was captured with a Canon 7D II. Copyright © Roger N. Clark. Click for a larger version.
I found two interesting articles extolling the virtues of the Canon 7D Mark II (7D2) for astrophotography and wildlife.
How to Choose the Best iPhone Lenses
iPhone photography has become a huge thing. According to Flickr, their millions of users take more pictures with an iPhone (47%) than any other camera. A lot of iPhone photographers are looking for add on lenses for their phone, and that may include you. So which lenses are the best?
Posted Sep, 19, 2017. Revised and expanded Dec. 2, 2017.
The Chinese Lens Rip Off! Part Eight. How much does this lens really cost? $224.50? $2.99?
The ads for these smart phone telephoto lenses keep popping up on Facebook and elsewhere online. How much do they really cost and why do the prices vary so much?
Posted Sep. 18, 2017. Expanded Dec. 2, 2017.
The Chinese Lens Rip Off! Part Seven. Comparison Test One: Telephoto Phone Lens vs DLSR and Zoom Lens
12X telephoto camera phone lens vs DSLR and zoom lens. Click for a larger version.
I see the ads for smart phone lenses on Facebook almost every day. You click on the link and you read an article that says their telephoto smart phone lens has “been tested, and found to equal or exceed the photos produced by such top makers as Zeiss, Leica, Nikon, Canon and Sony.” It is all utter nonsense of course, meant to fool clueless people into spending $56 or more on a poor quality lens that they could buy for as little as $4.00. So I decided to buy one of these lenses on the cheap and do my own comparison test.
Posted Sep. 18, 2017. Revised and expanded Dec. 12, 2017.
The Chinese Lens Rip Off! Part Six. Video: “Does It Suck?”
The short answer? Yes, it sucks. Long answer? Watch the video.
The Best National Parks for Fall Photography
Hallett Peak and Flattop Mountain, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
What are the best national parks to photograph in the fall? Here are my choices, grouped by state and province from west to east. This list includes the favorites I have been to, plus the ones I most want to see based on the recommendations of the photographers I trust, like Tim Fitzharris and QT Luong. More about them later.
Two Photographers and Eleven Outdoor/Travel Writers Pick the Best National Parks for Fall
Long’s Peak and Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park
Fall is a fabulous time of year to visit the national parks. Crowds are usually smaller than in the summer, temperatures are cooler, and some of our national parks have glorious fall colors. With so many to choose from, where should you go? Which national parks will provide the best photographic opportunities in the fall?
Finding the Peak Fall Color at the Best Locations
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.
Colorado Fall Color Travel Guide
Maroon Bells and Maroon Lake. Mid-morning. September 24, 2015.
This article is updated and re-posted every year. To find the most recent version, go to the Favorites/Most Popular page and look for the name of this article.
Welcome to my Colorado fall color travel guide with over 100 pages of information (if you print it all out), 114 photos, and 17 maps. I cover some of the best known fall color locations in Colorado, and one real gem of a road that is mostly unknown to photographers and leaf peepers. Spend anywhere from a few days to three weeks exploring the beautiful Colorado Rockies at a gorgeous time of year.
The Chinese Lens Rip Off Series – Overpriced Camera Phone Lenses
The ads show up on FaceBook all the time. They talk about wonderful lenses that will turn your smart phone into a camera that is better than a DSLR costing thousands of dollars. They brag about German engineering, a NASA optical formula, or the testing that proves their lenses are better than expensive lenses from Nikon, Zeiss, Leica, or Canon. The names of the companies change on a regular basis, but the scam is the same. Sad to say, a lot of people actually fall for this nonsense.
Posted Sep. 12, 2017. Updated Feb. 12, 2018.
The Chinese Lens Rip Off! Part Five. The fascinating story of cheap, Chinese camera phone lenses
Wholesale Chinese camera phone lenses from GlobalSources.com.
How do $2 – $3 Chinese camera phone lenses get sold as marvels of German engineering for $50 or more? It is all very simple.
Posted Sep, 12, 2017. Expanded Dec. 2, 2017.
September 11th As It Happened
This compilation of news reports captures the essence of that morning better than almost any other video on YouTube.
9/11 Tribute – In the Arms of an Angel
Chip East Reflects on the Last Photos of His Friend, Bill Biggart, Taken on 9/11
Photographer Chip East was staring intensely at his laptop screen.
It was two weeks after two jetliners had plowed into the towers of the World Trade Center. His good friend, photojournalist Bill Biggart’s body had been recovered from the rubble. His personal effects, including his cameras had been released by authorities to his widow, Wendy.