For the most part, the students don’t exactly know what a polarizer does so they’re not at all sure when to use it. I start by explaining that Singh-Ray offers four different polarizers; two ‘standard’ types, the LB Warming Polarizer and LB Neutral, as well as the Gold-N-Blue and ColorCombo Polarizers. (Each of these filters is fully described on the Singh-Ray website.) Since my personal choice for about 85% of my images is the ColorCombo, that’s the filter I demonstrate …
Wet weather failed to dampen a well-planned visit to Olympic National Park
The next day, I met up with Dustin, a photographer buddy of mine from the Sacramento area. We jumped on the Bainbridge Ferry and headed to the Port Angeles and Olympic National Park area. Driving from the ferry to Second Beach in a heavy downpour, I wasn’t at all confident that I could capture any images. From the parking lot, we hiked about a mile through mud, rain and flimsy wooden bridges to reach Second Beach. What a sight! As …
Adventures in Costa Rica’s rain and cloud forests
What would be different about this particular trip, was that — despite the incredible photographic opportunities presented by Costa Rica’s vast biodiversity of wildlife — my focus would be on capturing landscapes of the rain and cloud forests of Monteverde. Our journey would also include a brief jaunt into the northern tropical dry forest area of Guanacaste and Santa Rosa National Park. Finding strong compositions within the tropical rain and cloud forests is challenging. Simply put, these forests are busy. There …
How super-simple it is to create extremely-long exposures with the new 10-Stop Mor-Slo ND filter
There have been so many times when I’ve found myself at an impressive river scene or rocky coast line with the mid-day sun beaming straight down. Very bright light creates a challenge for me since I like to shoot rivers, streams, water falls, and seashore surf at very slow shutter speeds to get that soft-silky look to the moving water. In such situations, I like to expose my image for 10 seconds or longer. But even if I set my …
Following up a ten-day visit through Scotland with an adventurous trip to Ireland
After a couple of days in Dublin we rented a car and drove to Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Our plan was to head straight to the scenic northern coast of the island and then swing back through the Republic of Ireland following its western edge as we made our way back to Dublin and our plane back to the States. In the early afternoon we arrived in the beautiful little town of Ballycastle which was …
Coming back to Vari-ND when wanting to try doing something different
I began reflecting on the images I’ve created this past year, and I have made an interesting observation. There was one filter that was pivotal in the creation of some of my favourite images — images that I would have really struggled to create any other way. And that was my Singh-Ray Vari-ND. Some of the techniques I’ve been able to use with this filter have been rather interesting — and I like to share them with other photographers whenever …
Finding the Singh-Ray Filters even more useful
One reason I’ve survived for over 35 years in the competitive world of freelance photography is my ability to read the writing on the wall. It’s just an awareness to cues about impending change that are given by the marketplace, cues that many will ignore. For example, I used to do a lot of photography for corporate annual reports. Before the internet, a publicly-owned company presented its face to the investing community with a glossy annual magazine-like publication that stated …
Covering the scenic western United States in a very big way
I try to visit new places each year, I will revisit a place many times, however, if I feel I can pull out an image that is different from what I already have. I usually stay for a period of three to ten days or more. It depends on the number of image opportunities I expect to find and the distance I will need to travel. Even if the potential of a place looks bleak when I arrive, I almost always …
Visiting Navajo Country and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon with LB Polarizers
We were blessed with fantastic clouds, sunrises, and sunsets every morning and night, resulting in some of the best photographic opportunities I have had since moving to Arizona 18 years ago. As leader of the workshop, however, capturing great photographs is secondary to providing individual attention to the students. However, while everyone was busy firing away, I was able to take a number of photographs that I am very happy with. On the first morning, we were guided by our …
10-Day Tour of Scotland fulfilling a life-time dream
While I was anticipating beautiful scenery, I did not expect it to be so overwhelming. There was some rain, but what would the Scottish Highlands be without the rain, fog, and dramatic clouds? After a few days in Edinburgh to get over the jet lag, we rented a car and sped off to the town of St. Andrews. For those of you who are not avid golfers, St. Andrews is the birthplace of the sport and home to the greatest …