Starbursts are light rays emanating from point light sources — from the sun, moon, streetlights, sunlit waterdrops or reflective surfaces. They are creative photographic elements that can enhance an image — adding drama to a dull sky, a focal point to a silhouette or waterdrop, a twinkle to street lights. Starbursts are created where light […]
A Most Important Thing ____ 2014/02
Early on, nature photographers are taught the necessity of using a tripod. The great teacher John Shaw calls the tripod a crucial, best single accessory. Pros use tripods. With a tripod you slow down, take control and become a better photographer. You can better fine tune compositions, pick and choose elements like line and shape, […]
2013 Favorite Images Critique ____ 2014/01
I wasn’t thinking I had many favorites when I created a 2013_best_images Collection in Lightroom from the filtered three-star-or-better images of 2013. But I found many I was quite fond of, and in a couple short sessions whittled those to ten. Often it’s the field experience as much as the composition that yields a favorite, […]
Lightroom 5 HSL Panel: More Pop and Mystery ____ 2013/12
Last year (2012/09 Photo Tip), I wrote about using Lightroom Development tools to create Pop and Mystery in a photo. The gist: darken skies, selectively increase color saturation and increase contrast. Ansel Adams famously said the negative is the score, the print the performance. The RAW file you create in camera is a digital negative; […]
Background in Wildlife Photography ____ 2013/11
Photographing elk is much like other wildlife photography, in that background is often key. Early in October I was in Jasper National Park, Alberta, waiting for the weather to break for a planned kayak paddle of Maligne Lake. While I waited I met a friend, Norm Dougan, by coincidence, and for two days he graciously […]
Photo Tip: Road Less Traveled ____ 2013/04
A good route to success in outdoor photography is finding a niche that you love. Find your passion; focus like a laser. Be a big fish in a small pond. My particular niche is sea kayaking. As a vehicle, the sea kayak transports a photographer to unique photo ops, sometimes just a stone’s throw out […]
Photo Tip: Foreground Elements _____ 2013/03
In the field, I often stalk through a potential photo op with the viewfinder glued to my eye, seeking just the right composition or perspective. If I plan well, I’m scouting before the light gets good—in the afternoon for a sunset shot, or the day before for the sunrise. What I’m scouting for is foreground. […]
2012 Favorite Images Critique ____ 2012/12
At the start of 2012 I added three new cameras: Canon 5D Mark III, Canon G1 X w/housing, GoPro Hero2. I also added a new lens, a Rokinon 24mm f/1.4. The 5D III’s improved autofocus gave me more bird photography keepers; the G1 X, a magazine cover shot (Sea Kayaker, Dec. 2012). The GoPro—a POV […]
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 […]
Photo Tip: Ligthroom 3 Black and White ____ 2011/11
If Ansel Adams had had the darkroom power of Lightroom 3 to manipulate black and white imaging, he’d do a leaping victory dance like Jack Black in The Big Year. Ansel artfully dodged and burned his negatives, and controlled light in the field with filters, one filter per shot. Today, digital age tools boost control […]