Last week we photographed at Eagle Creek in Oregon’s Columbia Gorge, a shutterbug bucket-list location that shows phenomenally well in the fall. The Columbia Gorge is slot canyons Northwest, a mesmerizing, choreographed symphony in black, yellow and green. As with any photo shoot, photographing here requires preparation. Study the area, look at photos on-line, and […]
Photo Tip: Suction Cup Mount ____ 2012/10
I biked to the local Ace Hardware last week and picked up a pair of suction cup mounts. Ace sells USA Progrip® Suction Cups online for $4.79/pair; free shipping if you pick it up at a local store. The rubber cup diameter is 3”. They have a ¼-20 female thread, so to mount a ball […]
Photo Tip: Create Pop and Mystery in Lightroom 4 ____ 2012/09
A partly-cloudy western sky made me anxious as I approached the famed Mirror Lake at Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground, Mt. Rainier National Park. Could a mackerel-like sky develop? A lenticular cloud above the peak? Would there even be sunset light on the mountain? This was my 10th or 11th trip to Indian Henry’s over many […]
Canon Custom Shooting Modes C1 C2 C3 ____ 2012/08
Nice sunset. When a buck passed by in the foreground, it could have been captured within the scene by zooming out a bit, followed by a quick switch to a wildlife-appropriate Custom Shooting mode. I had neglected that set-up, and I missed the shot. If you haven’t taken advantage of the Canon Custom shooting modes […]
Photo Tip: Wireless Remote Control ____ 2012/07
In 2001 I bought the Canon wireless remote LC-4. I used it for solo kayaking shots, usually with the camera ashore on a tripod and me triggering the shutter remotely from a kayak. The 3.5-sec delay option gave me time to stow the transmitter and pick up the paddle. That was in the film days, […]
Photo Tip: Photograph Birds at Eye Level ____ 2012/06
At an April presentation “ Adventures in Bird Photography” at Rainier Audubon, I listed a few tips for photographing birds. A short list, and the tip I thought most salient was “photograph the bird at its eye level”. For intermediate bird photographers—especally those passionate for more after their early forays at bird photography—I can’t think […]
Canon 5D Mark III: Autofocus (AI Servo) for Birds in Flight ____ 2012/05
Edited 5/16/2012 Re: Case 5 On a recent shoot with the Canon 5D Mark III, I was photographing a Yellow-rumped Warbler, hand-holding a 500mm f/4 from a kayak. Routine for me—and should be routine with the new 5D III—but the camera failed to pick up the bird. I was on the bird with a focus […]
Photo Tip: Gearing Up! ____ 2012/04
We all make decisions about photography gear based on perceived need, cost or cost-effectiveness and—as pro photographer John Shaw pointed out—the “lust factor”. I’m guilty on all counts. Here’s what I did last month. Spring is always a transition. In our local (Kirkland, WA) watershed park, Indian Plum blossoms early. Next up are the dazzling […]
Photo Tip: Shoot the Moon ____ 2012/03
The Photographers’s Ephemeris (TPE), moon and sun locations and more . . . Back in January I was very much impressed by a Lee Rentz photo of a perched Snowy Owl backed by a round red moon. Of many Snowy Owl images from this irruption year, this one struck me as unique. It also struck […]
Photo Tip: Milky Way Photography 101 ____ 2012/02
Last April in Baja I didn’t get it right photographing the heart of the Milky Way, located near the constellation Sagittarius. Baja is great dark sky country—dry and clear, with little light pollution. Through research I discovered Sagittarius would be in the SSE night sky in the morning just before dawn. I rose in darkness […]