Browsing all posts in "Photography".

What Does Your Best Shot Say About You?

I spent some time before writing this article searching for the photographs that I, personally, consider to be among my best shots. Here are three of them: In considering these shots, and others that I’m fond of, it’s easy for me to see that I gravitate towards landscapes. I know precisely why that is – [...]

Rounded Corner Tutorial

Last weekend I was messing around in the back yard, trying to determine how best to photograph subjects in harsh light where the sun was directly overhead (another topic for another day). I had my Lensbaby Composer on my Canon EOS 7D and was just messing around. When I got back to my computer and [...]

Set Your Goals for 2011

Setting periodic goals for yourself is an excellent way to continue to enhance your photography skills. We are now less than two months away from 2011 (it sneaked up on us so fast!), so now is a great time to start thinking about what you’d like to accomplish in the forthcoming year. Following is a [...]

November Photo Challenge

Each month we feature a month-long “challenge”: one photographic “theme” in which participants are encouraged to take photos of a certain subject or concept, and one “technical challenge” in which participants will use a certain photography technique. Contributors can either combine the theme and the technique in a single photograph, or in individual photographs that [...]

The Beauty of Soft Focus

We talk a lot about how to achieve tack-sharp, perfectly focused photographs. We extol on the virtues of the Unsharp Mask in Photoshop, and enumerate the countless ways to steady our cameras in order to achieve perfectly crisp images. There is great beauty to behold, though, in a softly focused photograph – keeping in mind [...]

Back to Basics: ISO Explained

The term “ISO”, when used in photography, refers to the speed rating of film. “ISO” stands for “International Organization for Standardization”, and this organization is responsible for defining standards for many, many industries and disciplines. With respect to photography, the film speed ISO rating system was created to standardize the quality of film throughout the [...]

Introduce Your Kids to Photography

When I was very little – around six or seven years old (and yes, that is me in the photo above, but I was about three then) – we had a friend of the family who was a professional photographer. He had a very complete darkroom in his home, owned every piece of photographic gear [...]

Christmas Wish List 2010

I recently saw a jarring headline on CNN’s website – there are about five paychecks left between us and Christmas. Good lord, that deadline sneaked up awfully suddenly, didn’t it? So, it’s time for our annual Photo Gear Christmas Wish List! Give this list to your loved ones to give them ideas for your gift, [...]

Your October Photo Challenge Contributions

The October 2010 Photo Challenge Subject is “autumn”, and the technique is “flash”. The challenge runs all month long, so you have until the end of the month to share your shots! All of your efforts are very much appreciated and valued. Thank you so much for your participation. Here are some of the contributions [...]

Around the Internet

I’ve amassed quiet a list of finds from around the internet that I’ve been meaning to share with you all. There’s no time like the present! First is the incredible shot of the Popocatepetl volcano in San Andrés Cholula, Mexico, that you see above. I came across it on Flickr not too long ago, and [...]