Short List:
SanDisk
Lexar
Memory cards are the “film” for your digital camera. You don’t want to have a card failure and lose your photos. A reliable brand is important.
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:
Recommended Incident Light Meters
Incident Light Meter. Photo © Jim Doty Jr.
There’s no question that in some complex metering situations, an incident light meter can be quicker, faster, simpler, and more accurate than the meter in your camera. Many incident light meters can also measure light from an electronic flash, a huge bonus when you are using a flash in the manual mode.
Keeping Your World Straight With A Double Bubble Level
Double Bubble Level
Why waste time fixing crooked horizons when a simple accessory will put an end to the problem. Read the complete information article here.
Save money and buy a Manfrotto Double Bubble Level from Amazon.com (and get free shipping), or you can order it at my photography store which is powered by Amazon. Same price, same free shipping, same great service, same guarantee..
Best Panorama Gear: Living In Pano Heaven
CAmera, nodal slide, and panning clamp
If you are using an Arca-Swiss compatible quick release system, which I highly recommend, two simple pieces of easy-to-carry equipment can put you in panorama heaven. Get the full story here.
Link
The best of the best photography gear, books, accessories, and online photo labs:Â a series of articles.
AlienBees: High Quality, Economical Studio Lights
AlienBees Studio Lights
For the best combination of quality and price, it is hard to beat AlienBees studio lights. I’ve been using AlienBees in my studio (and on location) for 6 years, and like so many other photographers, I’ve been singing their praises. It would be hard to find the same quality for less money.
The Best Camera Quick Release System
Arca-Swiss compatible “L-bracket” and tripod head
Mounting a camera onto the screw on top of a tripod head is time consuming. Doing it in the dark when your hands are cold is annoying. Once the camera is mounted, if you flop the camera over to the side to take a vertical photo, the camera tries to rotate on the screw. To provide a solution, all kinds of “quick release systems” have been created. Some of them work quite well, some not so well. Most systems have a weakness of one kind or another.
Tripod Head Recommendations: Some of the Best of the Best
Ball Head with Clamp, Really Right Stuff BH-3
The short list.
3-Way Tripod heads:
Manfrotto 056 3D Junior Head (replaces 3025)
Manfrotto 3025
Manfrotto 115 3D Super Junior Head (replaces 3028)
Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head
Ball Heads:
Slik Pro Ballhead 800
Kirk Enterprises BH-3
Kirk Enterprises BH-1
Really Right Stuff BH-40
Really Right Stuff BH-55
Light Modifiers (Softeners) for Accessory Flashes
Umbrella, flash, and flash bracket on a tripod.
Photographers are always looking for ways to soften the light when doing portraits. The light from an accessory flash can be quite harsh so there are a wide range of modifiers to soften the light for more pleasing portraits. Here are my three favorites.
Tripod Recommendations: The Best of the Best
Looking for a tripod? Choose wisely. Other than a camera and a good lens, nothing can make a bigger difference in your photography than a good tripod. This is the place to find information, recommended models, and links to more information.
It is best to buy your tripod legs and tripod head separately. The best brands are interchangeable so you can match the legs you want with the tripod head that you want, even if they are from different companies.
Great Deal?? Don’t Get Burned!
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.
Inexpensive ($4 – $80) Gifts for Photographers
Gorillapod
There are a lot of practical and inexpensive gifts for photographers. Here is a nice list in order of approximate cost from $4 to $80. All of these items can be found at my photography store (powered by Amazon.com with Amazon’s terrific ordering, shipping, guarantee, and service). Most of the items below are in the Photo Goodies section. Prices do fluctuate so the prices below are approximate.
The Best Image Editing Software
Adobe Elements 11, Lightroom 4, and Photoshop CS6
Your photos will look their best if you optimize them with some good image editing software.
Short list:
Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 or 10
Adobe Photoshop CS6 or CS5
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 or 3
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?
2013 Calendars for Photographers
Just a few of the many beautiful calendars in my photography store.
Inspiration is one of the keys to better photography, and beautiful calendar images are a great source of inspiration for the whole year. This is the place to be if you are looking for beautiful calendars for yourself (or for the photographer in your life). I picked an extensive selection of beautiful calendars for my photography store (which is powered by Amazon.com).
Veteran’s Day – 2012
Remembering all of those who have served and are serving in the Armed Forces of the United States of America.
Great Gift for Photographers
Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies
Looking for a great gift for someone who loves photography? Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies is a great gift for anyone who wants to improve their photography. Several ratings and review highlights follow below. Details about the book’s contents are in this article and you can order it at a discount at Amazon.com.
OSU’s Nature Photography Workshop Dates for 2013
OSU’s Stone Lab Photo Workshop, 2012
Next year’s nature photography workshop on Lake Erie’s Gibraltar Island will be August 9-11, 2013. Mark your calendar now. Join us next summer at OSU’s Stone Laboratory for a fun, action packed, informative, and inspirational weekend! Some preliminary information is on this page at JimDoty.com. The Stone Lab site has not been updated with next year’s information.
iPhone 5 Camera vs iPhone 4S Camera
They are different, and the iPhone 5 camera is definitely faster, but is the image quality better? That may depend on how you like your low light images to look. Do you prefer sharp and noisy, or a smoother with image detailed blurred? Read this review.
POTD: Last Light on Mount Rundle
Last Light on Mount Rundle
This is a lesson in patience. Most photographers missed this sunset. I was on location four separate evenings hoping to capture stunning sunset light on Mount Rundle. It only happened once. It also helps to know where to be, when, and how to meter in high contrast lighting situations.
Nature Photography Workshop – October 6 in Calgary
Landscape and Nature Photography by Jim Doty
Update, October 5: The workshop will be from 1:00 – 5:00 pm, one hour longer than originally planned.
I will be doing a photography workshop October 6, 2012 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm in Calgary, Alberta Canada. Thanks to the sponsoring organization, there is no charge for this workshop!
How to Find the Fall Color Peak at the Best Locations
Point Iroquois Lighthouse, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
Fall color will soon be 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 and arrive at the peak of the season
Bill Biggart’s Last Photos – 9/11
Bill Biggart’s final photograph. He was killed when the second World Trade tower collapsed on top of him. He was 53 years old.
I Believe – A 9/11 Tribute
Bobcat: Fast and Simple Tonality Adjustments with Adobe Camera Raw
Bobcat, Before and After a Tonality Adjustment
With the right software, you can do amazing things. There are some lighting situations where it is almost impossible, and certainly not practical, to get the correct white balance setting in the camera. This bobcat photo is an example. The best, fastest, and simplest solution is to get the right while balance setting after the fact using software like Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). A few minutes work with ACR can make a huge difference in the look of your photo.
Best iPhone/Android Apps for Photographers: Painteresque
Bumble Bee and Flowers
There are a lot of apps that claim to jazz up your iPhone and Android photos. A few of them will actually do wonderful things to your photos. If you want to turn some of your photos into “paintings”, there is a great app that will do that for you.
OSU’s Outdoor Photography Workshop – August 10-12, 2012
Nature Photography by Jim Doty
Ohio State University is again offering the photography workshop “Capturing the Wonder of the Outdoors”. Spend a fun and exciting weekend on Lake Erie’s Gibraltar Island while learning to take your outdoor photography to the next level. The workshop is August 10-12, 2012 and there is still time to register.
“Jim Cathey Comes Home” Pulitzer Prize Winning Photo and Article
Jim Cathey Comes Home
This evocative, Pulitzer Prize winning photo by Todd Heisler has been widely shared on the internet. Jim Sheeler’s deeply moving story that accompanies the photo (a Pulitzer Prize winning article) isn’t nearly so widely known. His article follows. Heisler and Sheeler both worked for the Rocky Mountain News at the time.
Relight the Sign on the Yukon Oklahoma Mill
Lightning over Yukon
The unique photo above was taken during a thunderstorm over Yukon Oklahoma. The view is looking west on old U.S. 66, “the Mother Road”. You can see the lighted sign over the “Yukon’s Best Flour” mill. The sign is no longer on, so the Friends of Yukon are raising funds to relight the sign. To support this project, I am donating 20% of all sales of my Yukon Oklahoma prints to relight the sign.
Portraits During Events
War of 1812 Ceremony
When doing photographic coverage of events, it is important to do some closeup portraits of people involved in the event. I always look for participants with interesting faces.