Browsing all posts in Digital Photography.

PocketWizard Straight Out of the Box

I purchased two PocketWizard FlexTT5 Transceivers (here’s the one for Nikon) for use with my Canon EOS 7D and Canon Speedlite 580EX II. This morning I took them out of their boxes, put the batteries in, put one on my speedlight (which was mounted on a light stand) and one on my camera’s hot shoe. [...]

Flash, Strobe, or Constant Light?

When casting light upon your photographic subject, which is better, flashes and strobes, or constant light sources such as bulbs and lamps? The answer, as in many things in life, is “it depends”. Five Reasons To Use A Flash or Strobe: 1. You really need to be able to direct, modify and shape the light. [...]

Composition – Leading Lines

By Steve Russell Have you ever observed a scene you thought was beautiful so you photographed it only to have the photo turn out to be very mundane? I know I have and I suspect that if honesty were to prevail we would all say we’ve had a similar experience. Remember that the camera doesn’t [...]

Super Moon!

In honor of tomorrow’s anticipated “Super Moon” event (Saturday May 5th), here is a rerun of Steve’s article on photographing the moon from last year. ———- By Steve Russell Whether you’ve photographed the moon numerous times or have just thought about doing it, Saturday evening, March 19, 2011 May 5th, 2012, is a must do [...]

Yes, you can shoot at midday!

We’ve all had the “golden hour” concept drilled into our heads – those times around sunrise and sunset when the light is long and lovely, creating beautiful conditions in which to capture our photographs. So does that mean your camera has to languish in its bag during the midday hours? No, it does not! All [...]

Is True SOOC Possible

By Steve Russell One of the great things about photography is there are few absolutes. Even an image that’s overexposed or underexposed can be interesting and compelling to some people. What really makes a good photograph is whether the photographer thinks it is. It doesn’t make any difference if I like it or if the [...]

Three Bad Photography Habits I’m Going to Break

1. Relying on one shot. Believe it or not, often times when I photograph something I’ll just take one or two shots of it, then move on to the next thing. It’s like my attention span won’t allow me to consider that it may take a half-dozen or more shots to really get it right. [...]

Discuss: Is true SOOC possible?

Here’s a question for you, my friends. Do you think it is possible to “get it right” straight out of the camera, with no post-production necessary? Or do you think it’s impossible to obtain the correct exposure, white balance, and color balance without post-production? I recently watched this video, in which Mark Wallace explains why [...]

The Importance of Perspective

How large do you suppose these rocks are? Could you pick them up in your hand? Step over them? Are they the size of your bed? Your car? Your house? Well, now take a look at this photo: That’s me up there! Here’s another angle. Here’s another one. Pretty mountain stream? Or enormous Upper Falls [...]

Two Initial Impressions

I recently purchased a Canon EF 2.0X III Telephoto Extender and a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM 1-to-1 Macro Lens, and I wanted to share my initial impressions with you all. First, the 2x converter. Construction is very solid – it’s made of the same gray/white body material that the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L [...]