A couple of weeks ago, Beth and I went out into the cold and snow to create images. She played her violin while I took pictures. For that shoot she wore her long black concert dress. Since then, much of the snow has melted in southern Iowa. If another day came along with the right conditions we wanted to shoot again.
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.
Snowy Owl
What is a Snowy Owl expedition really like? This article is your chance to find out. Join me for a two day photo safari! I give you tips and photo suggestions along the way, and you get to see how I prepare, plan, and adapt on a photo trip. I tell you what went right and what went wrong so this is also about what to do when things don’t go according to plan.
Snowy Owl looking for prey.
If there are cold enough temperatures and plenty of snow cover on the ground, the northern United States has a winter invasion of Snowy Owls. These are magnificent creatures and well worth your photographic time and attention. This series is filled with tips on how to find and photograph snowy owls.
Lyn Marie, Ohio. Windchill 8°F.
It is difficult enough to create a beautiful nude image under normal circumstances, much less in the cold and snow. You need to bring some significant skills and experience to the task. So does your model.
Selina, Downtown Columbus Ohio. Windchill 4°.
You would think a windchill of 4° Fahrenheit (-16°C) would be too cold for a photo shoot, but not with some models. We booked this January shoot weeks in advance so we knew it would be cold, but we had no idea how cold until the day arrived. Here’s the story behind this image and how to work with a model when it is so cold.
Denali Sunrise from Reflection Pond
The Sunny f16 rule is really useful on bright sunny days in the spring, summer, and fall, but you can’t rely on it for accurate exposures on bright, snowy winter days. It will often lead you astray and you will have seriously blown out highlights. There are much more accurate ways to meter in the winter.
With a nice coating of ice on trees and bushes, my plan was to go out in the country and photograph late afternoon sunlight glinting off the ice. Instead, I ended up with this image of a Short-eared Owl.
Cougar
Most wildlife are medium to dark in tone, making them a challenge to meter properly in the bright, white tones of winter. If you trust one of your camera’s automatic exposure modes, the odds are good you won’t get the best exposure. If you switch over to manual exposure and make the right decisions, you can get great exposures and better quality photos (more about that later).
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 12-15, 2020.
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 this series of articles on winter photography. 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!
Bryce Canyon
Winter provides some wonderful photo opportunities in our national parks. But some national parks look much better in the winter than others. So if you haven’t gone into hibernation for the winter, here are the best national parks to go photograph this winter, grouped by state from the west to the east. There are a few bonus locations thrown in too. At the end I give you my “best of the best” list.
Posted January 17, 2017. Updated and re-posted December 18, 2019.
Marshall Pass is a beautiful fall color drive in southern Colorado, and still pretty much a secret. It does not turn up on most lists of the most beautiful fall color drives in Colorado. It is a beautiful drive with a lot of fall color photo opportunities.
U.S. News and World Report released their list of the 10 best national parks in the U.S. These parks should be high on your list of places to go.
There is still plenty of fall color to be found across the country if you know where to go and when. Here are a few great options with links at the end to a lot more options.
You are on a road you have never been on before. You to stop to take a picture which includes a prominent mountain. How do you find out its name?
It was the end of a glorious day in Colorado. The sun was going in and out behind some clouds in the western sky. Before the sun dropped behind a mountain range, it came out of the clouds and lit up this row of aspen. Perfect!
Tripod mounted camera in live view mode. The image is visible on the LCD along with the RGB histogram.
“Live View” mode is a huge boon to digital photographers and magnified focus is one of the reasons why. Focusing this way is more accurate than the camera’s autofocus modes, at least with non-moving subjects, and you will have sharper images. Landscape photography is the usual time to use this technique but sometimes it works for wildlife.
Photography workshop at night. Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park.
The most important and difficult step in night photography is to focus your lens at infinity. If you have tried to focus on the stars at night you have already learned that it is an impossible task for the autofocus system and just about impossible for you to do manually. You just can’t see clearly enough through the viewfinder in the dark of night to manually focus on the stars. Fortunately, there are some ways to get the job done.
Originally posted Jan. 8, 2017. Revised and re-posted Sep. 5, 2019.
Autumn, Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Fall color will soon be sweeping the country (and already is up in Alaska). 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.
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?
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.
Maroon Bells and Maroon Lake. Mid-morning. September 24, 2015.
Headed for Colorado this fall? Welcome to my Colorado fall color photography and travel guide with 120 photos, 17 maps, and over 100 pages of information (if you print it all out). 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 two weeks (or more) exploring the beautiful Colorado Rockies at a gorgeous time of year.
Sometimes things work out just great. Sometimes not so much. I saw two Perseid meteors this morning, neither of which made it on to film. One happened at Location 1 while I was setting up. The other happened in between frames at Location 2.
Perseid Meteor photographed from Rose Hill Cemetery west of Lamoni, Iowa. 4:55 am CDT, August 13, 2018. Cropped from the original image.
The night of August 12-13 is the predicted peak night of the Peresid Meteor Shower. But you can look for the next few nights after the peak night. This article will tell you what you need to know to see and photograph the most popular meteor shower of the year.
Thirteen years ago I was looking through some of my images and decided my portrait photography was lacking. That is when I got the bright idea of working with a professional model.
Favorite Photos, July. Click for a larger version.
Here are my favorite photos for the month of June. The story behind this “favorite photos by date” project is here.
This was another spontaneous Sunday afternoon photo shoot. The light was perfect and I picked a large tree trunk as the background. The braids help make the picture. And look at those eyes! If you have been following this series you have seen Ava before. I have been taking pictures of her and her two sisters since each of them were two or three years old. This is one of my all time favorite portraits and my most favorite image for July 31.
Bob (my brother-on-law and photo buddy) and I were at Brainard Lake in hopes of capturing some nice landscape images. But it was cloudy and drizzly, and occasionally raining. We retreated to the car to eat a late snack/supper. We ate and talked and watched the rain drops on the windshield.
It was the last night of SPECTACULAR and this interpretative dance was part of the closing Communion service.