Travel is becoming harder these days, especially for the globe-trotting photographer. Packed planes, clients that want you to fly coach, lessening overhead space in addition to many airlines charging for what was once a given on flights, that space over your seat in which to place your gear. Over the past years, I’ve been working on reducing my “footprint” of gear, you can read my blog piece, “Traveling Light” to further explore that idea of minimizing to maximize. Having said …
Creeks and Waterfalls Captured all in Camera
I love shooting creek and waterfalls. I love hiking along creeks and rivers listening to the magical sounds of the flowing waters as they drown out the rest of the world leaving me in the moment along the beautiful forest trails of the Pacific Northwest. I do most of this type of shooting in the spring or fall, and I prefer overcast skies for balanced light, giving me awesome colors and crisp white waters. My second choice would be shade …
Is There a Perfect Aperture for Landscape Photography?
The sun sets into Pacific Ocean fog as seen from Fremont Peak State Park, elevation 3,169 feet, Gabilan Mountain Range, California. Sony a7RII, Canon 11-24mm, f/16, 1/4th, 100 ISO. How often do you think about your aperture choice? There is an old saying amongst photojournalists: F/8 and be there! Many amateur landscape photographers seem to think f/16 is the popular choice. If one thinks about maximizing depth-of-field, then their thinking is correct. But when should one use f/22? Is that …
“All-in-camera, old school photography” with digital cameras, Part 3
In this third installment, I’d like to drill down further into the “Digital Rolls of Film” process that I rely on, show you a few images and explain the filters and settings I used to create each image entirely in the camera – with less than one minute each of post-processing time! Silver Falls in Golden and Silver Falls State Natural Area in Oregon. F/22 @ 1 sec. -1 stop Exposure Compensation, ISO 50, 67mm with Singh-Ray LB Circular Warming Polarizer. …
For stronger foregrounds, try taking a bug’s eye view!
Editor’s note: Don’s technique for capturing and processing this image is also a great way to solve the challenge of combining a very long exposure for one element of a scene with the need for a faster exposure to avoid motion in another part of the scene. Sony a7RII, Sony/Zeiss FE 16-35mm, f/16, 8.5 minute exposure (separate exposure on foreground – explained below), 100 ISO, Singh-Ray 15-stop Mor-Slo solid neutral density filter. Back in my college days at San Jose …
Tips for using your Mor-Slo™ 10-stop solid neutral density filter
Editor’s note: This post is the second in a series on using solid neutral density filters, arguably one of today’s most popular creative tools for photographers. Singh-Ray pioneered the development of these filters and now offers a choice of 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-stop Mor-Slo filters. We’re often asked, “Which lens filter should I have in my bag?” but that clearly depends on the types of effects/images you are looking for, the time of day and the lighting conditions. You …
Tips for using your Mor-Slo™ 5-stop solid neutral density filter
Editor’s note: This post is a little different from our regular feature articles by leading photographers using Singh-Ray filters. Instead, it is a response to numerous inquiries we’ve received for tips on using solid neutral density filters, arguably one of today’s most popular creative tools for photographers. Singh-Ray pioneered the development of these filters and now offers a choice of 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-stops. We’re often asked, “Which should I have in my bag?” but that clearly depends on …
“All in camera, old school photography” with digital, part 2
This is the second article in my “All in Camera” series for the Singh-Ray blog. Today, I’d like to highlight the need to control white balance during image capture and discuss a valuable in-camera tool you might not currently be using that can help you with this – what I call the “Digital Rolls of Film” settings available in most DSLR cameras (“Picture Control” in the menu of Nikon DSLRs and “Picture Style” in Canon DSLRs). Let’s start with this …