Back in the days when I shot film Singh-Ray filters were an indispensable part of my technique that enabled me to control the light, balance dynamic range and give a little extra snap to every image. Fast forward to the digital age and the same still holds true. It’s easy to get caught in the trap of saying “I’ll just fix it in post”, but the truth is filters are every bit as important in the digital age as they were …
Waterfall Polarizer
The Singh-Ray Bryan Hansel Waterfall Polarizer When photographing waterfalls, one of the popular looks is to make the water look silky. On the waterfall workshops I teach, it’s the most sought-after effect to learn. Photographers love the look and being able to achieve the silky look brings a smile to a photographer’s face. The look also changes the emotional impact of your shot. With the silky look, the image feels more peaceful and calming which is one of the emotions …
Two Must-have Filters for Traveling Photographers
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 …
Patagonia Bound
Some Landscapes Capture Your Heart and Soul “Is that what I think it is?” I ask my wife, Cree, as we paddle up to the shell midden in the remote Isla Chonos of southern Chile. “No way! How could it survive all these years just laying on the beach?” I ponder as we get closer to shore. We had been paddling for nearly two months exploring these remote fjords. I have slowly become amazed, awed and obsessed by this landscape. …
Rediscovering My Origins with Singh-Ray Filters in Hand
I was born in 1960 in Augsburg, Germany, just 15 years after World War II destroyed significant parts of this historic city. Augsburg’s origins go all the way back to two decades BC. It has survived the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages, Medieval Times, the Crusades, the Renaissance, the Industrial revolution, two devastating World Wars, and now the Technological Revolution. The city’s population is just a bit over a quarter million today, about 60,000 people more than when I lived …
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 …
Choosing the Right ND Filter
I assist with the occasional photo workshop (John Barclay Photo Tours) and I am seeing something that bothers me. Participants are coming with a 10-stop ND filter and wanting to do 30-second or longer exposures. There’s always disappointment when they learn this filter will only give them a few seconds. I’m not claiming that I’m an expert, but I do shoot a lot of long exposures and would like to share my thoughts on choosing the right ND filter. This …
Photographing Wildlife with Filters
I have a large selection of various Singh-Ray filters. Filters, to me, are about controlling light. When we think of using filters, most of us are thinking landscape photography. It just so happens that controlling light with filters is equally important when photographing wildlife. I use two filters when photographing wildlife: the Singh-Ray Polarizing Filter and the Hi-Lux Filter. Both have their value in different situations and both are necessary to optimize the image quality. There are two types of …
Thinking outside the box: photographing lightning with solid ND filters
Lightning storms capture the attention of just about everyone. Bolts catapulted through the sky are spectacular to view and dangerous to be too close to. While most prefer to view grand shows of lightning from the safety of their abodes, some of us chase the radar in pursuit of the perfect scene against the perfect storm. Though lightning contrasts dramatically against the night time sky, my preference is the appearance of lightning at dusk. The lightning becomes a part of the …
The Story Behind “Melting Giants”
I was photographing in Nova Scotia when someone told me that Newfoundland to the north had icebergs. I have always been fascinated with icebergs (I think most people are) and so I decided that my next trip would be hunting icebergs in Newfoundland. I say “hunt” because I was warned that icebergs were unpredictable and inconsistent. One year you may see many and the next year…none. You just have to go and hope that you’ll be lucky. I prepare for each …