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.
Bill Biggart’s final photograph. He was killed when the second World Trade Center tower collapsed on top of him. He was 53 years old.
Photo by James Nachtwey for TIME magazine.
I will never forget staring at the screen. I was stunned. It was just a few moments after I got the phone call to turn on the TV. Then the second plane hit.
On this date, nineteen years ago, we experienced a great national tragedy in the United States. 2,977 lives that were lost in the terrorist attacks. So many families were torn asunder. The way we view ourselves and our world changed. Emergency responders continue to suffer terrible health problems as a result of working at the scene. The way we view ourselves and our world changed too. Over 2,000 first responders have died of health issues related to 9/11.
In remembrance of that day, and to honor the lives that were lost, I am posting some tributes.
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 11-12 is the predicted peak night of the Peresid Meteor Shower this year. That is tonight. But you can look for the next few nights. This article will tell you what you need to know to see and photograph the most popular meteor shower of the year.
Sarah, Columbus Ohio. August 10, 2006.
Fourteen years ago I was looking through some of my images and decided my portrait photography was lacking. I had some portrait images I was really proud of, but I lacked consistency. That is when I got the bright idea of working with a professional model.
Photographers in a drizzle using coats, jackets, sweaters, hoodies, and anything else to keep their cameras and lenses dry. Rocky Mountain National Park.
Rain is not good for your camera. Some professional level cameras are “weather sealed”. So are some professional level lenses. They even have gaskets for where the lens contacts the camera. But weather sealed is not waterproof. My rule of thumb is weather sealed gear can easily handle a bit of drizzle or a light rain for a short period of time, but it will not handle a light rain for a long period of time, or a heavy downpour. A few drops of rain on weather sealed gear is ok. Much more than that and you need to protect your gear. In this article I provide you with some simple to professional suggestions to protect your gear.
We have been down this road before. The last time around, people paid from $60 to $200 for a cheap Chinese lens they could have bought for $12. The lens was touted as a German product and the ads used fake quotes from a fake German engineer. They created fake test results and used fake testimonials. They grabbed professionally created photographs taken with professionally photo equipment and passed them off as iPhone photos created with the fake German lens.
Keep up to date with all things space at the 2020 Space Calendar at Space.com. Updated on a regular basis, the Space Calendar lets you know about meteor shower, planetary conjunctions, rocket launches and more. Some dates change, like rocket launches, so the calendar is updated accordingly.
Photographing comets is very much like doing other kinds of night sky photography. The basics are the same. Proper focus, high ISO setting, and long shutter speeds. Plus you need to find your subject in the night sky.
Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale, 1800
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.â€
From the Declaration of Independence, signed July 4, 1776. Written by Thomas Jefferson (1762-1826). 3rd US President (1801-09).
More images (including Thomas Jefferson’s original draft and George Washington’s personal copy) and the complete text follows the break.
Summer is here and that means hot weather. So it is time for a “save your camera gear” reminder. Camera gear has a temperature and humidity rating. A top of the line Canon camera body has a limit of 115°F and 85% or less humidity. A black camera on a hot day can easily exceed that limit. Less expensive cameras of any brand have lower limits so it is important to protect your gear.
The Spanish Peaks in Colorado are special to me. As a small boy growing up in southern Colorado I could look out our living room window every day and see the Spanish Peaks.
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?
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.
Welcome to the first (and maybe only) episode of “The Clueless Chef”. Clueless Chef is tongue-in-cheek. I am no where near being a chef. The kitchen is not my forte. But I have been able to take recipes I have found, switch out and add ingredients, and come up with something tasty that my family and friends like that does not involve using all kinds of ingredients from scratch. And if you are a bit clueless in the kitchen, this easy to prepare recipe is pretty simple to do.
Allow about 45 minutes for prep time and cooking.
When the light is soft and non-directional, the shooting angle usually doesn’t matter. Soft light is very forgiving in terms of shooting angle and direction. Other things still do matter, like background and composition. But direction, not so much. It is a very different matter in hard light.
The Canon EOS SL3 is Canon’s smallest and lightest DLSR. It is GPS capable, so I decided to check out how the GPS works. It is a fine little camera and has good reviews. It received a Silver Award at DPReview.
Every time I am in the airport I see all kinds of people using laptops, myself included. What happens if your laptop is stolen while you are traveling? Or what if someone hacks into your computer from a remote location? How much damage could they do if they had your most important data?
39% of Americans never backup their data. That’s not good. Another 19% do this only once per year. No wonder so many people lose important files and photos if they have a hard drive crash.
In addition to being an actor who is best know for playing Spock on Star Trek, Leonard Nimoy is also known for being a fine photographer. One of his best known photography exhibits was “Shekhina”, which also became a best selling book. You can learn more about the exhibit and book here and at the links below.
Yes, you can get a basic Canon camera kit for $288. You get a Canon T6 DLSR body and two lenses: 18-55mm and 75-300mm. And you get the same one year warranty as if you bought the items brand new. The same camera with only one lens (18-55mm) sells new today for $399 at Amazon.
I had fun early, early this morning. I saw two fireballs and four meteors. Not one of them was thoughtful enough to occur in front of my camera lens. Meteors are fast and streak by in a fraction of a second. Fireballs (very bright meteors) burn up more slowly in the atmosphere and can last for a few seconds.
Today is the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day. This is one of my favorite photos taken on Earth Day, the entrance to Boquillas Canyon in Big Bend National Park.
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.
Perseid Meteor photographed from Rose Hill Cemetery west of Lamoni, Iowa. 4:55 am CDT, August 13, 2018.
This is the best week to see the Lyrid Meteor Shower. The peak is Tuesday night through early Wednesday, April 21-22, but you can see meteors through the 25th. This article will tell you what you need to know to see and photograph this popular spring meteor shower. Best of all, this will be a mostly dark sky week without much interference from the moon.
Seagate External Hard Drives
I read about a professional photographer who lost a bunch of photos because they were all on just one external hard drive with no backups. The cost of recovering the photos, if they can be recovered, will run between $500 and $5000 depending on the number of photos and the complications involved in the recovery process.
Sarah, Professional Fitness Trainer
When using studio flash units, usually the best way to check your exposures is to use an incident light meter which is capable of metering flash exposures. But what if you don’t have an incident flash meter? Or what if you have a subject that absorbs a lot of light? Or a subject that reflects a lot more light than your typical photographic subject? You can double check your exposure settings by using the histogram on your camera. FYI: Do not trust the LCD image on the back of your camera to judge your exposures.
This is related to my prior post, It’s All About The Light, Part Two. This video is by Lindsay Adler, one of the best commercial portrait photographers in the U.S.