Wildlife Location Guides
The first step to photographing wildlife is finding wildlife. In the case of common wildlife, that’s easy. If you are looking for squirrels you may not need to look any farther than your own back yard. But if you want to photograph something a little more exotic, like Chachalacas or Green Jays, you need to know where to look for them (the southern tip of Texas).
Can a world class, National Geographic photographer lose his passion? Yes! How does he get it back?
Golden Brook. Photo © Tony Sweet
I’ve been reading two excellent nature photography books by Tony Sweet. They are published by Stackpole Books. They choose first class photographers who have written an excellent and ongoing series of photography books. I’ve been giving high praise to Stackpole’s photography books for years and I now have two more to add to the list.
I have no idea how Michael Freeman can be a well traveled, international photographer and still find time to write so many terrific photography books. But somehow he manages to do both. I suspect he never sleeps. I imagine him creating images and writing books 24 hours a day, stopping only to eat once or twice a week!!
Vermilion Lakes, Banff National Park
Vermilion Lakes (a string of three side by side lakes) just outside of the town of Banff, Alberta is a great landscape location. On this particular day the light was beautiful. Evergreens are usually quite dark in a photograph but the low side-lit angle of the sunlight was trans-illuminating the evergreens so they glowed a bright green. The lightly dimpled lake was just calm enough to give me a nice, slightly blurred reflection.
Joel Sartore, Fundamentals of Photography. 24 lessons on 4 DVDs.
I finally found an excellent series of photography lessons on video to complement my book, Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies, and it is by Joel Sartore, a first class photographer who does a lot of work for National Geographic. He does stunning photography in amazing situations all over the world. You can see some of his work in the galleries at his web site.
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.
If you are looking for an excellent gift for a photographer, or for yourself, Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies is one of the highest rated photography books on Amazon.com, and one of the most comprehensive at 384 pages. It is highly recommended by both beginners and professional photographers.
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.
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.
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.
The Day that Changes the Rest of Your Life. A self portrait.
Sarah is an exceptional model, a photographer, and most important, a friend. That is why this self portrait and the story behind it are important to me. In her own words:
Remembering all of those who have served and are serving in the Armed Forces of the United States of America.
The original DeLorme inReach Two Way Satellite Communicator
Every now and then you hear tragic stories about people who lose their lives simply because they didn’t have a cell phone signal and couldn’t call for help in an unexpected emergency. A $260 – $340 satellite communicator would have saved their lives.
Many photographers would 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.
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 8 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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
The best of the best cameras, accessories, photo books and more.
It’s the time of year that the number of photo questions I receive increases dramatically. Most of them have to do with the upcoming holiday season and gift giving questions: “What should I get for . . . .”
So once again I am revising my list of articles recommending the best photo gear, books, DVDs, software, calendars, online photo labs, and a whole lot more. As I rewrite each article I will update the links below. You can check the date at the top of each article. This is the most recent update to the list (Nov. 10, 2014).
The Milky Way, Moraine Park, RMNP
Although there is some sky glow from the cities along Colorado’s front range, you can still get some nice photos of the Milky Way from Rocky Mountain National Park.
Night Sky, Rocky Mountain National Park
This photo was taken just before the workshop photo in my last post with the same camera settings. The only difference is I left out the photographers in the foreground. I wanted to include more sky so I went with a low horizon of mountains and trees.
Photo Field Trip, RMNP. (Click to see a larger image.)
You don’t have to put your camera away just because the sun sets and the stars come out. Stay outside and have fun. Put your camera on a tripod (if it isn’t already), set your shutter on B (for bulb) and take long exposures of the night sky. Be sure to include some of the landscape.
Photo Field Trip, Rocky Mountain National Park
The last light of sunset has faded and we are waiting for the stars to come out. During the long 30 second exposure (based on a meter reading of the sky) I wandered around a fired a hand held flash at the photographers.
Photo Field Trip, Rocky Mountain National Park
Catching the last light of sunset. Workshop field trip in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Sarah
This photo is all about the back muscles. This is another photo from my shoot with Sarah who is a professional fitness trainer.
Mt Sneffels and the Sneffels Range from County Road 7 (Dallas Creek).
Mt. Sneffels is one of the most photographed peaks in Colorado. One of the best locations to create some images is along County Road 7 (Dallas Creek).
