I decided to take a hike in Pinnacles National Park, which is located about 35 miles from my home along the east-side entrance of Highway 25. My main goal was to get in a good workout. I parked at the Western Visitor’s Center parking lot and headed up towards the Pinnacles High Peaks via the Condor Peaks Trail and returned down the Condor Gulch Trail. The total distance was 5.4 miles with an elevation gain of 1,591 feet. Besides water …
Singh-Ray Landscape Filter Combo
I photograph a lot of landscapes, and many times filters will transform the shot into something special. I’ve always tried to create my work in the field, not later in post-production, camera craft is very important to me. I just returned from photographing in Sedona for a week, and filters were invaluable there. I was teaching a workshop with my wife, we had a great group, and filter use became a popular topic in the field. During class I mentioned …
The Randall J Hodges Mountain View Filter
View PostColorado Fall Color Road Trip
Fall is one of my favorite times in Colorado. The temperature cools down, fresh snow coats the mountain peaks, and yellow stands of aspens line the mountain valleys. Right now, I am in the middle of a fall roadtrip photographing some of my favorite locations in Colorado. Fall color is spectacular this year. Not only are the aspens vibrant, but the scrub oak is flaming red and orange. Whenever I head into the field, I always bring my Singh-Ray filters …
Taking the Tetons From “cool” to “Wow!”
This past June I was asked to assist in teaching a photography workshop to 5 combat-wounded veterans, most of whom had no previous experience with a digital SLR camera. This workshop was part of a series of programs for combat-wounded veterans run by Honoring Our Veterans (https://www.honorvets.org/), based out of Jackson, WY. The goal of HOV is to improve the quality of life for combat-wounded veterans by offering them activities that strengthen their physical, cognitive, emotional and social functioning. “It …
The Galapagos Islands
The Galapagos Islands, an exotic collection of mostly volcanic islands that seem to be stopped in time. They are a destination on most if not all photographers’ bucket lists, they were on mine. So, after shifting into a new phase of my career after spending almost 25 years at Sports Illustrated, when I was presented with the opportunity to travel to the Galapagos to help scout and develop a future photo expedition for Guy Harvey Outpost, I jumped at the chance. Since my …
JEFF’S CORNER
How did I make the image? Many people love hearing the back story to both my thought process and the science behind how I make some of my images, here is the backstory on the making of this image. This image was shot in late May of 2016, Lupine were plentiful. This year, there are no lupine in this same place a week later than last year. A lot of snow this year I reckon is slowing down the process. …
“From Film to Digital – Singh-Ray Filters Have Stood the Test of Time”
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 …