Planetary Kp Index Map for the U.S. and Canada. Click for a larger version.
The planetary Kp index tonight (October 7 into the early hours of October 8) is projected to be 7. That is one of the highest readings in months. If you live north of the yellow line on the map above, your odds of seeing the Northern Lights are good. Of course you need clear, dark skies. That means little or no clouds, no moon, and you need to be far away from big city lights.
Sarah, Hiawatha National Forest, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Sooner or later a lot of serious artists turn their attention to the artistic portrayal of the human figure. For me that happened when I did some simple figures studies in the studio for a class illustration at the art institute. When you teach at the art institute, it goes with the territory. It did not occur to me at the time that I would ever do figure studies in the landscape.
Check out my nature photography workshops for 2016. Five of them are now online with more to come.
Milky Way, horizon to horizon, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
After using a super wide angle lens to do a more traditional photo of the Milky Way, I switched to a lens with a 180 degree diagonal field of view, pointed my camera almost straight up, and captured the entire length of the Milky Way from horizon to horizon.
Lunar Eclipse, Super Blood Moon, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Sunday evening, September 27, I was leading a photography workshop in Rocky Mountain National Park. We were in pursuit (along with half the rest of the world) of the eclipse of the “Super Blood Moon”.
The Maroon Bells and Maroon Lake by Moonlight with the Milky Way. Colorado. Click to see a larger version.
The Maroon Bells deserve their reputation as one of the best photo locations in the state of Colorado, especially in the fall. They look just as spectacular by moonlight. It is an added bonus if you get a hint of the Milky Way in the frame (left side of the image). It won’t be as sharp and defined as on a dark night without the moon, but it will be there.
Aspen and Evergreens, Marshall Pass, Colorado. September 25, 1990
This article is updated and re-posted every year. To find the most recent version, go to the Favorites/Most Popular page and look for the name of this article.
Welcome to my first Colorado fall color travel guide with 100 photos and 17 maps. 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 two days to two weeks exploring the beautiful Colorado Rockies at a gorgeous time of year.
Autumn, Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
The update of this article is here.
Fall color is 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 at the peak of the season.
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. Many of them have to do with “What is the best . . . .”
So once again I will be revising my “best of the best” of articles recommending the best photo gear, software, books, DVDs, calendars, online photo labs, and a whole lot more. Most of the articles will be revised in October and November, but I am re-doing some of the articles now. As I rewrite each article I will update the links below. You can check the date at the top of each article. Today is the most recent update to the list (Sep. 15, 2015).
Adobe Photoshop Elements 13, Adobe Photoshop CC, and Lightroom 5
Your photos will look their very best if you optimize them with high quality image editing software. Short list:
Adobe Photoshop Elements 13, 12, or 11*
Adobe Photoshop CC or CS6*
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC, 6, 5 or 4*
*The software versions listed above include all the versions that use Adobe’s newest “process version”. See the section below on Adobe’s new process version for more information.
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.
Bill Biggart’s final photograph. He was killed when the second World Trade tower collapsed on top of him. He was 53 years old.
Photo by James Nachtwey for TIME magazine.
On this date, fourteen years ago, we experienced a great national tragedy in the United States. Not only in the lives that were lost in the terrorist attacks, the families torn asunder, and the emergency responders who suffered terrible health problems as a result of working at the scene – but also in the way we view ourselves and our world.
In remembrance of that day, and to honor the lives that were lost, I am posting some tributes.
Nature Collage. Click to see a larger version.
CAPTURING THE WONDER OF THE OUTDOORS
Photography Weekend – OSU’s Gibraltar Island
October 9-11, 2015
4:00 pm Friday to 3:00 pm Sunday
CAPTURING NATURE’S WONDERS
Photography Workshop – OSU’s Mansfield Ohio Campus
Saturday, October 17, 2015 – 9:00 am to 9:00 pm
I am excited. My nature photography workshops in Ohio are fast approaching.
Northern Lights over Lake Michigan. Click to see a larger image.
It was an amazing night for Northern Lights in Northern Michigan, and I was leading a photography workshop. What a treat for all the photographers! I specifically picked this location on Lake Michigan so we would have the lake, some trees for framing the image and a good view in the expected direction of the Northern Lights.
Forget-Me-Nots, Thorne-Swift Nature Preserve, Michigan
Today’s question came by email. I am posting the question and my answer below. The person asking the question uses Canon gear but the information below also applies to Nikon and other brands.
Question From “D”: I have been looking at a 58mm closeup lens for my Canon camera. I am also looking at closeup filters for my 28-55mm or 55-250mm Canon lenses. What do you recommend I get?
Proud Rooster, String of Pearls, Emira Michigan
On the way home from my photography workshop in Northern Michigan, my eyes were drawn to all kinds of vivid colors as I drove through the village of Elmira. I made a mental note to stop and take pictures the next time I was up that way. (If you have been in one of my recent workshops – I was going to put a reminder in “Field Notes” the next time I stopped for a break.)
If you walk out the back door of your favorite restaurant, you never know who you might find in the back alley parking lot.
Michigan Photo Collage: Mackinac Bridge, Point Iroquois Lighthouse, St. Joseph Lighthouse, Sunflower, Showy Ladyslipper Orchid, Sunset – Lake Michigan, Upper Tahquamenon Falls – Winter
I am home from leading my first nature photography workshop in Northern Michigan and I just posted information for next year’s workshop, August 12-14, 2016. I suspect this one will book full months in advance. If you are interested, let Winnie (the registrar) know soon. When we start taking paid registrations, she will send you an email so you have the first shot at registering. The workshop is limited to the first 10 paid registrants.
Light Path of the International Space Station. August 1, 2015. 10:05 – 10:09 pm EDT. Click to see a larger version.
The International Space Station (ISS) passes over Columbus Ohio. It isn’t that hard to find and it is relatively easy to photograph. In this photo the light path curves below the center of the frame from lower left to upper right (click to see a larger image). There are also airplane lights in the lower right corner of the frame. The stars are slightly streaked due to the motion of the earth during the long photograph.
Great Egret. Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Fremont, California. June 8, 2015.
When I posted this photo on one of my Facebook pages, a friend posted this comment:
“I LOVE this egret photo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Look at the right wing trailing in the water. How DO you capture these?!”
That is an excellent question.
Beautiful Michigan
I am SO looking forward to going to Northern Michigan next week. Such beautiful country. I will spend a couple of days creating images and I will be leading a nature photography workshop August 14-16 on the shores of beautiful Lake Charlevoix between Petoskey and Boyne City. If you love nature photography and want to up your game, this weekend is for you.
Hallett Peak and Flattop Mountain, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. September 29, 2014.
I am SO looking forward to my annual fall color trip to Colorado. I will be doing a three day photography workshop* at Rocky Mountain National Park (September 25-27) as well as doing one-on-one sessions with individual photographers who want to up their game in the shortest possible time (September 28-29). Plus I will be doing some wandering on my own. It is hard to beat Colorado in the fall.
Aspen and Evergreens, Marshall Pass, Colorado. September 25, 1990
UPDATE: The most recent and updated version of this article is here.
Welcome to my first Colorado fall color travel guide with 99 photos and 17 maps. 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 two days to two weeks exploring the beautiful Colorado Rockies at a gorgeous time of year.
Electronic Lens Mount
It is an unhappy thing when a lens quits working normally, or stops altogether, complete with some kind of error message on the camera body. The good news is that you can usually bring your lens back to life and it only takes a few seconds to a few minutes to do. Details are here.
The Strip, Las Vegas with Fireworks
You can point your camera at the sky in auto exposure and autofocus modes and fire away whenever you see a burst of fireworks, but for the best quality photos, it helps to know a few tricks of the trade. It’s easy when you know what to do.
Venus and Jupiter in the night sky over Fremont California. Canon 5D Mark III vs iPhone.
Camera phones have serious issues when it comes to low light photography. They simply do not have what it takes.
(Click on any of the images in this article to see a larger version.)
Jupiter and Venus over Big Red lighthouse and Holland State Park, Michigan. May 16, 2015.
Tonight is the night for the “Star of Bethlehem” conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. They will come within 1/3 of a degree of each other in the western sky.