Initial Setup with light in front washing over the flowers and lighting the white wall at the same time. I held a Macro Flower and Still Life workshop in early March. I have been playing with the flowers on and off since that workshop. Today I decided to write a blog post showing how with… Continue Reading
Working with artificial light scares many photographers, and I don’t really understand why. Sure there are some unknowns at first, but suck it up and figure it out…if I did, so can you. It can be a little intimidating initially, but once you start to learn how it works there are tremendous opportunities to experiment… Continue Reading
Studio Lighting provides the opportunity to shoot excellent quality images indoors without having to resort to high ISO and the image degradation associated with it. You don’t have to make a significant investment to get started with studio lighting. Most starter kits include 1-2 lights and some type of basic modifier. Over time you can… Continue Reading
I started in photography in the late 70’s. I was taught early on to expose for the highlights and then develop (print) for the shadows. The same principles hold true today in the digital era. If you over expose your highlights you will irrevocably lose detail in the brightest areas of your image. I pay… Continue Reading
I often get asked “What Camera Should I buy?” People get frustrated when I tell them “It depends”. There are so many factor that play into the decision it is impossible to quickly tell someone what camera to buy. Factors to take into consideration include: How a person plans to use their camera How… Continue Reading
I recently announced a Fundamentals of Exposure workshop for March 12th. I have some great examples of why this knowledge is so helpful. We had a big wet snow fall yesterday, so I went out this morning to capture the snow capped trees. My first shot (shown above) was woefully under exposed, so I… Continue Reading
Most photographers only ever work with natural light or on-camera flash. Meaning they shoot with the light they find outdoors or in their homes. I have taken many of my favorite images in natural light to be sure, but learning to take control of light and craft an image is an incredibly rewarding experience. This… Continue Reading
I first became aware of nik filters in January of 2009 when I attended my first Imaging USA trade show. Professional Photographers of America hosts the annual show and the trade show is akin to a photographer’s heaven. I quickly became a huge fan of the power and versatility nik packed into each of… Continue Reading
By slowing down your shutter speed (1/15sec) you can get some very interesting motion into otherwise static images While in Washington DC last week I was able to get out one morning with my tripod for some early morning photography as the city came to life. I am increasingly drawn to longish exposures. For at… Continue Reading
Every photographer should have a circular polarizer. It removes glare from reflective surfaces such as water, glass and canvas. In the examples above and below I adjusted the polarizer to maximum effect, then turned it until there was little or no effect. The difference is substantial. The glare in the image below would be very… Continue Reading