Browsing all posts in "Photography".

Prioritize Photography

I work about sixty hours a week (between my “day” job and my freelance work). My schoolwork (yes, back to school I go!) occupies about 10 hours a week. I absolutely INSIST on at least 8 hours of sleep every night, so that’s 56 hours. Throw in another three hours a day for things like, [...]

RAW vs. DNG

The debate on whether to import and post-process files as RAW or as DNG (Digital Negative) is almost as heated – and opinionated – as whether to shoot with Canon or Nikon. The long and short of it is, “it depends,” and “it’s up to you.” There is no “right” answer. RAW files are digitally [...]

Your Weekend Photography Project – Get Low

I took this shot while balancing precariously with one foot a rock, the other foot on a branch, camera held down at a level lower than my feet. There was no way to look through the viewfinder to compose the shot, of course. So I set the camera on aperture priority (f/2.8), zoomed it all [...]

Lock in the Light

I was standing at the top of a mountain when I took this picture (click to enlarge). The wind was blowing, my hands were freezing (even in Arizona, it’s cold at an elevation of 7600 feet in January), it was about 4:30 in the afternoon, and I was completely blown away by this LIGHT. This [...]

Backgrounds and Backdrops Outside The Studio

Last week, on the subject of backgrounds and backdrops, I focused on the studio environment; a place where the photographer is in control. I thought it would be good to complement that article with one where the photographer has less control; outside the studio. In doing so I’ve decided to list a number of things [...]

Product Review: Case Logic SLR Camera/Laptop Backpack

I have a new go-to bag for extended travel. The Case Logic SLR Camera/Laptop Backpack (model SLRC-206) is everything I need for a road trip or plane trip. It is roomy enough to fit all of my essential equipment, but low-profile and lightweight enough to lug around all day or stash in overhead/under-seat storage on [...]

Photography News from CES 2012

Here are a handful of the items that came out of the Consumer Electronics Show (held in Las Vegas last week, with a crowd of over 140,000) that I found to be the most intriguing: Fujifilm announced the introduction of the X-Pro1, which sports a new CMOS sensor that is supposed to provide resolution that [...]

Studio Backdrops/Backgrounds

When you look at most professional portraits you might think that the photographer had a really nice studio in a room of their home or even a really nice space in an office building or a retail building. The truth is that most photographers have their studios in old warehouses, garages of their home or [...]

Noise Reduction in Lightroom

The technology contained within today’s DSLR cameras enable us to take startlingly clear photographs in near-darkness. Sensors are more sensitive, ISO’s go up to 12,000+, and lenses get faster and faster. However, that capability to take photos in low light costs us in the way of increased noise. Noise is that “grain” you see, which [...]

Thoughts on Family Photos

I don’t think we tend to take pictures with the thought in mind that people in future generations will be looking at them. We figure we’ll always be around to clarify the photos – who is in them, where they were taken, when they were taken, what the occasion was that prompted the shot. Or, [...]