These tips should probably be in the category, "I should have known that." Podcast: Tips on using Split Neutral Density Filters and Mirror Lock-up http://www.tomdwyerphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/ND.mp3
Read more...This is not going to be a definitive treatment of the pros and cons of HDR versus in-camera capture. Rather, I hope it will serve as a first step in a discussion that involves more than just my thoughts on the subject. Let me say first, that I generally want to use the technology we call HDR (High Dynamic Range) in situations where the light is either too high contrast to capture in a single image or too flat to render an interesting image. Since I prefer final results that are as "realistic" as possible, the images we often see that are extremely vibrant and even course (or worse) don't typically...
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One of the questions I'm asked most often by participants in my nature photo tours and workshops concerns what filters I use. In the days of film most of us carried (and used) many filters . . . numerous filters to affect color rendition (warming and cooling filters) for example. Most of us don't use these filters today because we can control our color rendition in other in-camera ways, such as changing our white balance. Of course there were (are) filters for everything from creating a star burst (which we can do without a special effects filter - but that's for another time), to...
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I spent the greater part of this afternoon out in my backyard, pulling down wild grapevines and burning them along with other after winter scrub I picked-up along the way. It was a beautiful day and while I totally enjoyed the early spring feel to the afternoon, my mind kept suggesting that perhaps I ought to get out and start tracking down some spring wildflowers to photograph. I know that a couple unseasonably warm March days don't make it spring. In all reality, it's too early for just about all spring blooms, but the way the past few winter months have been (did we really have winter...
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As many of my friends already know, my wife and I recently went on vacation. This wasn't a typical vacation for us, during which we seek out photo opportunities and quilt stores/shows. We fully intended for this vacation to be a break from our norm. Toward that end my wife carried a nominal collection of quilting “projects,” which barely got touched, and I limited myself to one Nikon Coolpix P80 compact camera. We weren't going anyplace where lack of my full complement of photo gear would cause me to go into withdrawal. Still, as you can imagine, I found a few opportunities to pull...
Read more...I was visiting my friends at the MQ Camera Center in Syracuse, NY today and encountered a question about a previous blog post in which I touted the ability of some digital SLRs to be used to capture, in-camera, High Dynamic Range images. So, let me make a couple points. 1) My experience, thanks to fellow photographer Chuck Letterman who introduced in-camera HDRs to me, is limited to the capabilities of my Nikon D300. 2) I'm not suggesting that this is the best way to produce a quality HDR image. That said, one of the reasons I like my in-camera capability is it's simple, in part because it can minimize...
Read more...I know Christmas is history by almost two weeks, but I'm still as excited as a kid. My wife took my subtle hints to heart (she normally does) and I unwrapped a new Kirk ball head from under our tree on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, it was dark so I had to wait until morning to take it on its first test drive. When I did, my respect for Jeff Kirk and his team at Kirk Enterprises jumped right to where I understood it would be when I threw my first hint. (Actually it was a list my wife insists on every Christmas, but the whole hint routine sounds better). I had been struggling with a ball head...
Read more...I wrote this a couple weeks ago and failed to post it, so it's a bit late. Still, I think the sentiment it explores is still valid. Those in-between seasons, is what I call those long days between "real fall" and "real winter." Between "real winter" and "real spring," and . . . well, you get the idea. These are those days when the fall leaves have mostly fallen, the horizons are gray and the skies, at least around here, are matching tones of gray as well. Yet, the crisp, clean days of winter, with the landscape blanketed with snow and the bluest skies imaginable haven't yet arrived. No sense...
Read more...As every photographer knows, we can drop a bundle on gadgets. Some people call them "toys," but I learned long ago that "tools" is a more appropriate term, even if they are technically "unnecessary." The right gadgets can make life easier in the field, allowing us to concentrate more on the challenge in front of us and hopefully contributing to the creation of our art. One of the tools I've found useful, especially when I have a long lens perched atop my tripod, is a wireless radio remote control shutter release. My first such release, came with the Nikon D70 SLR. I immediately fell in love with...
Read more...To be up-front honest . . . I don't know. I actually didn't go to it on purpose. Well, I guess I went on purpose, but I hadn't taken time to really understand what I was attending. My friends at the MQ Camera Center in Syracuse, NY had invited me. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a special engraved invitation. I think probably every customer who could walk in the door got the same invitation. Still, they're all good guys at MQ. So, it's easy to accept an invitation to learn something new about photography equipment. It wasn't until my friend Ross and I showed up at the community darkroom on the Syracuse...
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