Top: Original image. Bottom: Optimized version.
This before and after version is one more example. Your best images deserve to be optimized.
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Category Archives: Photographs
Total Photos vs Event “Selects”: What Is Your Percentage of Keepers?
The Conference Chamber, The Auditorium, Independence Missouri. My favorite image of the morning.
I was photographing a Communion service at a church conference in Missouri using two DSLR cameras and an iPhone. All told, during this one service and the short time before and after, I created 354 images. So how many “selects” did I pick? When an editor asks you for “selects” from an event, that means they want your best images in chronological order. The editor will narrow that down even further when deciding which images to publish. Several photographers were covering this event as a team so I didn’t have to worry about capturing everything.
Blue-winged Teal
Blue-winged Teal
I take our dog for regular walks at our local lakes. I watch the waterfowl come and go with the seasons. I always have my “toy” camera gear with me, just in case (link below). For the last two weeks I watched the number of Blue-winged Teal slowly drop from 54 to 11. I wanted a photograph but they were always way out in the lake and too far away for a good image. And then it happened.
Capturing A Bald Eagle in Flight – Real vs AI
You don’t need a $1,400 camera and a $2,000 lens to take a picture like this. You don’t even need a camera at all. You don’t need any photographic knowledge, skills, and experience either. You don’t even need to go outside. It took me less than 30 seconds to create this image from scratch on my computer.
Loons, Seney National Wildlife Refuge, and the Return of ABJ
Loon, Seney National Wildlife Refuge, July 1, 2019.
Seney National Wildlife Refuge is one of my favorite places on the planet. Loons arrive every year in the spring, one of the many reasons to go to Seney. Not only are they fun to watch and photograph, there is nothing quite like hearing the call of a loon. Seney is in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula just north of Germfask. As an added bonus, ABJ has returned once again to Seney this spring. More about him later.
Graceland University Symphonic Band Concert – April 18, 2025
Jack Ergo, pianist, Graceland University Symphonic Band Concert
After 24 years at Graceland University, Jack Ergo is retiring, so this is his last performance with the band as a faculty member. Parker Worden, the band director, planned the concert as a tribute to Jack. This is a selection of photos from the concert.
Click any of the images to see a larger version.
Earth Day!
There is no Planet B. Take good care of this one!
Happy Birthday, John Muir!
John Muir
Today is John Muir’s birthday! He 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”. Tomorrow, April 22, is also Earth Day, so I am combining the two in this article.
Here are photos from some of my favorite national and state parks along with quotes from John Muir.
Lightning Over Lake Michigan at a Favorite Photo Location
Screen Capture. Click to see a larger version.
I walked into the office this morning and this photo on my computer monitor greeted my eyes. This is a favorite memory and a favorite photo. Great job screen saver!
Living Art Studios Dance Recital, Spring 2025
Dance Recital, Living Art Studios
One of the highlights of the year in Lamoni Iowa is the annual spring dance recital featuring the dance students at Living Art Studios. The award-winning Graceland University Gadets also performed. This is a selection of photos from this year’s recital. If you want a print, you can order prints here. Ordering information is at the bottom of this page.
Click any of these photos to see a larger version.
Your Camera Loves “Middle Gray” – And Why That is Important
Sarah, Professional Fitness Trainer
Your camera is in love with middle gray. The quicker you learn how to deal with this infatuation, the better your photos will look, including all of your color photos.
Lunar Eclipse
Lunar eclipse, totality.
Lunar eclipse, March 14, 2025. Click the image to see a larger version.
Exposure Data: Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 100-400mm lens at 400mm, f/8, 1 sec, ISO 3200.
How To See and Photograph the Blood Moon Eclipse, March 13-14, 2025
Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse from Lamoni Iowa, May 15, 2022.
Don’t miss it. This total eclipse happens this Thursday-Friday, May 13-14 (depending on your time zone). This article will show you how to photograph it. To see it, just grab a lawn chair, a warm blanket, a cup of hot chocolate, and go outside and enjoy the show. A pair of binoculars adds to the show. Continue reading
Winter, Great Sand Dunes National Park
Deer, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
I usually prefer to go to Colorado in the fall to create landscape images, but I needed to be in Denver in early March anyway. So I headed south to the Great Sand Dunes and arrived February 28, 2008. The temperature was 44 degrees, so pretty pleasant for photography. It can be much colder in late February.
Sami Lynn, A Valentine Portrait
It was a week and a half after Valentine’s Day and most of the dozen Valentine’s Day roses in a vase on the dining room table were done and had been thrown away, but a few were still looking good. I asked Sami to lay on the floor, handed her a long stemmed rose, and I carefully arranged her hair. Then I stood up and pulled the best looking petals off of more roses and randomly dropped them on her. Some didn’t land quite right so I re-positioned a couple of them.
Patrick Demarchelier, Fashion Photographer
I recently watched The Devil Wears Prada for the first time. Fascinating and fun movie. In one scene, Amanda (Meryl Streep) the very particular and tough-as-nails editor of RUNWAY magazine says to Andy (Anne Hathaway) her new 2nd assistant, “Did Demarchelier confirm?” Andy is clueless. So Emily (Emily Blunt), Amanda’s 1st assistant, grabs a phone and says, “I have Patrick”. I got the Demarchelier reference instantly. I am a huge fan of Patrick Demarchelier’s work. You may not recognize his name but you have probably seen his work.
Some Days Are Amazing!
Snowy Egret Feeding
Some days are “so so”, some days are average, and some days are amazing. Summer is not my favorite time of year to photograph birds at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but July 14, 2016 was an amazing day. This photo of a feeding Snowy Egret was just one of many fine images from the morning. He stabbed at his prey and it came out of the water but not in his beak.
Favorite Photo Places: Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
The view across the wildlife refuge looking west at the Dumbarton Bridge.
Located on the east side of San Francisco Bay near Fremont, California, the Don Edwards San Fransisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge is one of my favorite places to go when I am in the Bay Area.
Rachel in Rembrandt Lighting
Rachel
This is Rembrandt lighting. The best clue is the triangle shaped light on her right cheek.
Beth: “The Incident”
Beth warming up in the car after the incident.
It was January 24, 2020, out in the country in Decatur County Iowa. “The Incident” is etched in my memory!
It was five years ago today at about 4:30 in the afternoon. It was cold and the wind was fierce, but Beth and I were determined to get a portrait of her playing the violin in the snowstorm. Why were we doing that? That story is here.
It Started at a Christmas Concert
Beth playing her violin in the snow.
First things first. Yes, see really is a real concert violinist. Yes, she really is playing the violin.
Why is she doing this out in the snow? Good question.
Your Camera Loves “Middle Gray” – And Why That is Important
Sarah, Professional Fitness Trainer
Your camera is in love with middle gray. The quicker you learn how to deal with this infatuation, the better your photos will look, including all of your color photos.
How to Use Your Camera’s Exposure Compensation Scale
Dawn at Sprague Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park
The exposure compensation scale on your camera is one of the keys to mastering exposures, getting better images, and ending up with professional quality colors. This means taking your camera off of full auto mode and taking control of your own exposures.
How to Photograph a Musician in the Cold and Snow
It was my happy privilege to do winter portraits of Beth Presler who is a superb violinist. This article has suggestions for photographing any musician on a cold, snowy winter day.
Metering Evening Winter Scenes
Snow Hummocks, Merced River
Just like metering daytime winter scenes, the key to metering evening winter scenes is knowing what to meter and deciding how much exposure compensation to use.
Metering People in the Snow
Kristina in the Snow
The white snow in a winter scene can and often does fool a camera meter into underexposing a portrait, so here are the steps to take to get the right exposure. I throw in a few portrait suggestions too.
First Trip to Yosemite
Sunset Light on El Capitan
We spent most of the Christmas holiday in the Bay Area visiting family. When we left the Bay Area the morning of December 30, 1990, we decided to make a side trip to Yosemite before making the long drive home.
Kristin – 10 Years Ago Today
Kristin
Kristin wanted to know if we could squeeze in a photo shoot while she was home for the holidays. “Of course”, I said. December 29 was the day that worked for both of us. Despite the sunshine, the windchill was 26° during our shoot. We were texting Christmas greetings to each other today and I reminded her how cold it was for this photo shoot. She didn’t realize it was that cold. She was caught up in the shoot.
Optimizing Photos, Because Cameras Aren’t Perfect
Jack Ergo, original file (left) and optimized version (right).
For a variety of reasons, cameras do not capture what your eyes are seeing when you click the shutter. One of the reasons is dynamic range. Your eyes see a remarkable range of tones from black to white in a wide variety of lighting conditions. Your camera has a much more limited dynamic range. That is one of the issues with this photo.
Photos: Graceland University Christmas Concerts
Graceland Concert Choir
Graceland University in Lamoni Iowa did two Christmas concerts. The first was a more formal concert in the Shaw Center auditorium with the Graceland Concert Choir and the Graceland Symphonic Band. Two nights later there was a more casual, laid back concert in the Shaw Center lobby with the Graceland Jazz Ensemble and Graceland Harmonium, a smaller vocal group. Cookies, hot chocolate, coffee, and water were served. The cookie stuffed crowd was invited to sing along with Harmonium on the Christmas carols. Click any of these images to see a larger version.