Tilt and Telephoto: Tools for Summer Wildflowers ___ 2010/06

Mt. Rainier National Park. A conventional 24mm could capture this shot (maybe), but seeing it is far easier with the TS-E. With the conventional 24mm, the depth-of-field preview button darkens the viewfinder too much; an alternative, an in-camera (digital) test shot evaluation, is time consuming. Near-to-far focus that’s not attainable with a conventional short telephoto […]

Photo Tip: Full-frame Bokeh __ 05/2008

APS-sized sensors for wildlife are touted for their ability to extend the reach of telephoto lenses, making, in the case of APS-C (e.g. 1.6x multiplier for Canon 40D), a 300mm lens into a 480mm equivalent. This is a enormous asset for hard to reach wildlife, or for trailside flower photography when you can’t step off […]

Tutorial: Floral Portrait Conundrum ___ 07/2007

When shooting wildflower or floral portraits — pictures of single flowers or small groups of flowers — it’s often difficult to achieve both sharpness in the flower(s) and pleasing, poster-like, out-of-focus backgrounds. In the past I ususally went for the pleasing background, picking the most important floral part, like the stigma or edge of a […]

Photo Tip: Beat the Gray Sky Blues ___ 04/2007

The Northwest (US) where I live features some of the planet’s grayest skies, a nightmare of gray on gray for sometimes unending weeks at a time. In summer, on the coast, it mostly ruins photography while kayaking, but those same gray sky conditions present opportunities as well. Just ask Ansel Adams. A gray sky provides […]