Solid neutral density filters – I use Singh-Ray Mor-Slo and George Lepp solid ND filters – have become increasingly popular the past few years. Their ability to increase exposure times from 1-stop to 20-stops (2x to, amazingly, more than 1,000,000x) helps to emphasize motion, thus adding a soft and ephemeral feel to moving elements such as waterfalls and clouds. However, there is another use for these filters beyond emphasizing motion, and that is to hide it. To soften detail. To …
Trip report: bad weather is good weather!
Recently I was leading a workshop for American Nature Photography Workshops in Arches National Park, and once again I was reminded of a photography truth; bad weather is good weather. Sure, it’s no fun when the forecast goes south after you have been planning your photography excursion for months. But the real question is what will you do with it? I think of bad weather as a unique opportunity to create original images. Especially if you have the tools to …
Along the Blue Ridge Parkway
Editor’s note: Nye Simmons is a long-time Singh-Ray friend and author of Best of the Blue Ridge Parkway, written with Nye’s photographer’s eyes, with photographers in mind. This handy paperback tells you everything you need to know to help plan a visit and make the most of your time. And Nye is the photographer for Blue Ridge Parkway Celebration, a coffee table book of images, poetry and prose, illustrating the many photo possibilities along the Parkway’s 469 miles. It had …
More than just a camera
Editor’s note: We’re pleased to welcome Mark Lissik, a longtime Singh-Ray shooter and acclaimed photographer and workshop leader, to our team. Be sure to take a look at his new pro gallery page on this site. No matter what your photographic abilities the challenge of keeping your creative level at its peak can be daunting and one I face every time I pick up a camera. It is all too easy to fall into a creativity rut where we tend …
Photographing the Yosemite, Part 2: Summer in the High Country
In the summer months at the Yosemite, it’s the high country for me. And you don’t need to get far into the wilderness to experience it. David Brower’s ice cream cone scenario often comes to mind as we leave Tuolumne Meadows on route to the Yosemite high camps beyond. The camps were built in the 1920’s mostly and remain one of my favorite locations for many reasons. There are six of them and they are some six to ten miles …
Get into the flow… using filters for dramatic waterfall photography
Editor’s note: Robert Clark is a master of waterfall photography. He is a graphic designer, architect, landscape photographer and teacher – and works as a media designer, manager and frequent photographer for the National Park Service. This post is loaded with Bob’s great waterfall shots and tips! Waterfall photography is a very popular among landscape photographers. Of all the landscape images I make, I find that shooting waterfalls remains my favorite in terms of subject matter. Capturing the very real …
Oregon – Five “Before” and “After” Long Exposure Images
Editor’s note: We’ve been huge fans of Cole’s tremendous black & white work for years – and have often wondered what his images looked like out of the camera, before he applied his unique conversion and processing vision. So we were delighted when Cole sent us this post. I’ve had a number of people ask if I’d do some more “before” and “after” shots. So here are five from my recent Oregon trip. All are long exposures created with my …
A Resident Artist
Editor’s note: In our humble opinion, Chuck Kimmerle is one of today’s truly outstanding black & white photography artists. Our thanks for this reflection on the residency he just completed in Joshua Tree National Park, along with some of the extraordinary images he created during that time, with a little help from his Singh-Ray Vari-ND, Galen Rowell grads and LB neutral polarizer. Taken with Singh-Ray LB neutral polarizer I was getting a bit apprehensive. It was my second day of …
My National Geographic Expedition to Iceland, Greenland and the Northwest Passage
Editor’s note: Longtime Singh-Ray shooter and National Geographic and Pultitzer Prize winning photographer, Jay Dickman, takes us through some wonderful images he shot during an expedition he led this past August. You might be surprised to know that these were all taken with the Olympus E-M1 mirrorless four-thirds camera. And, of course, with Jay’s Singh-Ray Galen Rowell neutral density grads, polarizers, Vari-ND and Color Intensifiers, the latter a filter that rarely comes off his lenses. Keeping up with the mirrorless …
Singh-Ray filters: Essential tools for preserving photographic integrity
Editor’s note: Singh-Ray shooter Richard Thompson recently published his first hardcover book, “Visions of Michigan,” featuring his outstanding photography in Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas, accomplished using Singh-Ray filters. To find out more about his book or order a copy, visit Richard’s website. When I’m on the road traveling, I always give special consideration to my surroundings and try to be attentive to circumstances that will best portray the places I’ve come to photograph. With outdoor photography, it’s ephemeral moments …