I pleased to announce the release of my latest eBook, Play Fool to Catch Wise. The title is inspired by a blog post of mine last year, which in turn was inspired by a colorful Jamaican proverb. Play Fool to Catch Wise is a selection of essays and articles from my writings on my personal photoblog, the Outdoor Photographer Magazine blog, and Nature Photographers Online Magazine. In making this selection, I avoided [...]
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I recently went to my local wildlife park to do some final testing of the Tamron AF18-270MM F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD lens. I previously published an optical resolution review of the lens, as well as my first impressions. As I have alredy mentioned, I am being compensated by Tamron to test, review, and write about this lens. For my final review, I was hoping to do a lot of wildlife shooting [...]
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A few months ago I posted a “first impressions” review of Tamron’s 18-270mm lens. It’s taken me awhile, but here is my promised test of lens resolution. I assessed the lens against a few of the full frame lenses I have in my kit, including the incomparable Nikon 14-24mm, the Canon 24-105mm L, and the Canon 100-400mm L. These are three pro-class lenses, worthy benchmarks for any lens review. How did the Tamron [...]
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12 Comments Winter is arguably one of the prettiest times to be an outdoor photographer; winter white can transform an otherwise lifeless brown landscape into a magical wonderland. However, winter is also one of the most challenging times to be outdoors shooting. Frankly the biggest limiting factor in winter photography is personal comfort (for me anyway, I’m a wus). If you’re not comfortable you won’t be free to think and see creatively [...]
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Shout-out (n.) Slang. 1. To acknowledge with respect. 2. A kind mention of a homey. 3. Like when rappers thank people when they make a CD. Source: Urban Dictionary Today, the Shout Out travels to lovely Romania, nestled deep within the heart of Europe. In recent centuries, Romania has been mostly famous for its creatures of the night—everyone knows the place is infested with more vampires than even Forks, Washington. In recent years, however, one [...]
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Eastman Kodak Co., which for 130 years has been a pioneer in camera and film technology, which brought the world the handheld camera and inspired a hit song by Paul Simon, has recently filed for bankruptcy protection. Kodak’s current struggles are indelibly linked to the ascendancy of digital cameras and the virtual disappearance of film in the past few years. The popular refrain “mama don’t take my Kodachrome away” is now answered [...]
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OK, I know what you’re thinking after reading that title. Roller Derby. But what I am actually referencing here is one of my very favorite locations, the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Preserve/ Bombing Range. That’s right, you did not misread this. Twenty years ago you could have called one of the nation’s great remaining wildernesses a dual usage area. When you got your permit to go out there you had to sign [...]
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My latest post to the Outdoor Photographer blog, Wide Angle Lenses and the Art of Inclusion, discusses the perspective effects of different focal lengths, and how different lenses can yield different artistic approaches and results. The image that illustrates the post, shown below, was taken with an ultra-wide angle lens (14mm) in the extremely chaotic Hoh Rain Forest of Olympic National Park. I got very close to the foreground ferns [...]
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12 Comments “…Honey, Love The One You’re With” (Stephen Stills). I’ll leave it up to you guys to do your own dit, dit, dits. And I do apologize in advance if the song gets stuck in your head, it’s pretty catchy. It seems as though I’m into the mantra thing lately (see my previous post Just Do It!), especially if it relates to improving one’s photography. As many of you already know, I [...]
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Everyone sees the world in different ways. It never ceases to amaze me when I shoot with other photographers—we may photograph the same scene, but more often than not we come away with entirely different photographs. Some photographers seem to compose using “left brain” analytics, whereas others rely more on “right brain” creative intuition. Some folks are wide-angle junkies (guilty as charged), others prefer longer glass. Some see in a way that is sweeping [...]
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1 Comment One of the joys of being a nature photographer is simply to be there, on location to bear witness to the transition of light. To stand in nature’s wild maze and watch the light slowly creep over the land, and watch it fade as quietly as it came. While all forms of light bring photographic opportunity, some of the best come on the fringes of the day. Those that stay past [...]
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Have you ever seen a photograph and wondered how it was made? Each book in my Behind the Lens eBook series presents a collection of twenty stunning photographs, and takes you behind the scenes for a step-by-step description of how each was made. In the newest book in the series, Great Smoky Mountains Behind the Lens, my good friend and colleague Richard Bernabe takes you behind the lens to discuss twenty of [...]
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7 Comments I don’t have any New Year’s Resolutions or great epiphany to share at the close of 2011 and I’m about to celebrate (if you can call it that) my 42nd birthday on Monday. Don’t worry, I’ll include my shipping address below so you can send gifts. That means I grew up in the ‘80s and am a Gen X’er (whatever the hell that means). I watched Dukes of Hazard on [...]
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2 Comments Following up my last post in which I celebrated the good times, I would like to relate my finest personal shooting experience. It was in the sandstone and brainrock of N Arizona. That is what I still call - The Most Incredible Day of Shooting Ever, or as I will refer to it in the future - TMIDOSE . We started shooting around 1:00 PM, and didn’t stop until the rainbows faded at sunset. In the final [...]
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