Camera and tripod instinctively pop out when we view a mountain sunset or ocean seascape. The tripod legs spread; we mount the camera, plug in the cable release and fire away. Later we inspect the photo and discover that it doesn’t match our memory. An elementary problem in photography is translating a dynamic 3D world […]
Light-Weight Backpacking and Photography __ 10/2009
I was tempted to call this tip “Small is Beautiful”.I started pruning backpacking poundage after a 1995 trip to Washington State’s Enchantments, when my pack for five days in mid-September tallied 55 lbs. There’s no reason to re-hash the old gear, but the same trip today would weigh in at about 35 lbs, with better […]
Photo Tip: Backpacker Panorama Hardware __ 09/2009
A year ago I built a light-weight panorama tool out of wood. My hope was to make back-country panoramas. My dream was to rival the pixel count of high-end, medium-format digital backs, or scanned 4×5 film cameras without the weight, bulk or cost. Here in Washington State, I imagined Prusik Peak in the Enchantments, or […]
Photo Tip: Image Maturity ___ 08/2009
The late, great Galen Rowell crafted the term “image maturity” to describe a quality of an image. In his 1993 book, The Art of Adventure Photography, Rowell explained that “immature” subjects require straight-forward depiction; with “mature” subjects, subtlety or originality prevail. He used a Snow Leopard and a deer as an example. A Snow Leopard […]
Photo Tip: 10-day Power Trip ___ 06/2009
Gearing up to photograph for a ten-day trip without power—in this instance a sea kayak trip—has two obvious concerns: flash memory and batteries. You need enough capacity in both to shoot through to the finish. Still, ten days isn’t so long that you can’t keep it simple. On a recent trip around Isla Carmen in […]
Photo Tip: Gimme Dat DNG? ___ 03/2009
Like many folks, I wasn’t even aware of the DNG (Digital Negative) format for Raw files until I started using Adobe Lightroom in 2007. DNG is a publicly documented, open-source Raw format developed by Adobe, and a response to a potential format management quagmire that may evolve as camera manufacturers use and discard proprietary formats, […]
Photo Tip: A Matter of Numbers ___ 02/2009
If you work at composition—and what photographer doesn’t—you’re probably aware that number is a compositional element, and a powerful one. Consider that composition is a way of organizing a photograph. The best compositions paring down, simplifying, gett to the essence. It puts a stamp on who you are as a photographer.Number is one of many […]
Digital Thinking: A Vertical from a Horizontal __ 01/2009
For many of us, shooting verticals takes a conscious effort. The comfortable grip of most cameras—especially most dSLR’s—induces “landscape” shots. Only high-end dSLR’s have a built-in vertical grip that helps make “portrait” shooting routine. Still, rotating the camera 90° involves either a thought like “I should get this in a vertical for its cover potential”; […]
Photo Tip: RAW vs. jpg ___ 10/2008
Since going to a digital SLR in ’05, I’ve always shot RAW. Shooting jpg was for hobbyists—or so I thought. For the unfamiliar, RAW is a generic term for unprocessed image data straight from the camera. The formats are proprietary, with extensions like CR2 for Canon or NEF for Nikon. With RAW, all the image information […]
Photo Tip: Take Your Eye Off the Viewfinder __ 07/2006
Serious film photographers wouldn’t think of it, but point-and-shoot digital shooters routinely snap photos with camera at arms length. Not just holding the digicams straight out in front of them, but overhead, down low or off to the side. Some point-and-shoot LCD’s even cleverly fold out and twist to aid in composing, though this isn’t […]