We booked a one-week foray to Cuba in search of palm trees, turquoise waters, great music and an endless stream of piña coladas. This was to be a family holiday, and I’m sure I am not the only photographer who has discovered they cannot diligently shoot while on vacation. As a compromise between my own impulses as a photographer and my respect for the notion that this would be a family holiday, I decided to take just one small carry-on …
Relocating my Photo Business to Nevada has Become a Moving Experience
Moving forward always gives a better view to the past. As I get set to move after a decade in one place, all the years of field photography, and especially the resulting images, now come to the forefront with different thoughts and emotions attached. The images that have special merit are the ones that have found their way into my heart and then onto my walls. They have literally stood the test of time, Now, as I move them to …
Highlighting the many creative possibilities of photographing water with filters
One of my very favorite photographic subjects — besides people — is water. We can find so many creative possibilities in water photography because it’s almost always moving, it takes on different colors, reflects light and forms so many different shapes. In water photography, it is so easy to get really unique results. All that’s required is hard work, lots of experience and the right equipment. Most of the time water is involved in something interesting like giving sand, stones, …
Putting the Singh-Ray filters to good use when capturing reflected images
We almost always get our share of great light — most often at the beginning or the end of the day — no matter what time of year or location we’re visiting. But we all realize there will also be those really challenging times when we need to work with the light we’re given. That’s often when we learn the most. The best solution I have found for the lack of ‘good light’ is stronger composition and more creative selection …
How to use long exposures to create mystical black and white images
I have always been intrigued by monoliths, first by the statues on Easter Island, then by the monolith in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey and most recently by Stonehenge in England. In each case, seeing these monoliths prompts the question; Who built them and for what purpose? I’ve always loved visiting Bandon Beach in Oregon because of the natural monoliths strewn along the coastline. Randomly placed, it is as though the earth were God’s chessboard and the monoliths the …
Recalling the origins of the Galen Rowell Graduated ND Filters
In those bygone days, BD (Before Digital), one of the biggest frustrations for landscape photographers was the limited latitude of color slide film. A four to five-stop dynamic range was all that our film could handle before the shadows blocked up or the highlights burned out. This presented a real problem especially when we were faced with a beautiful (but dark) foreground and a glorious (but very bright) background sky. At best, we would have to wait for just the …
Two-minute video demonstrates how a Graduated ND Filter balances the light
From his vast outdoor studio not far from Alberta, Canadian photographer and author Darwin Wiggett sends this unedited video showing how easy it is to balance the dynamic range between the sky and the foreground of this outdoor scene simply by using a Singh-Ray 2-stop hard-step Graduated ND Filter. “I shot the video using a Canon Rebel T2i and a Tamron 17-50 f2.8 lens. I shot the scene at 17mm. A Cokin P-Series filter holder was mounted on the lens …
The “motion” in emotional water images created by stretching exposures to the limit
I believe that long exposures and water are a natural match. Portraying water as fluid seems so much more natural to me. My Singh-Ray Vari-ND lets me easily explore exposures of varying durations by simply adjusting the density from about 2 stops up to 8 stops, or anywhere in between. My strong attraction to long exposures came about because of water. I was intrigued by the way moving water looked at different exposures; a 1-second image looked so completely different …
On the narrowest trails in the most faraway corners of the world
Believe me, my filters are important. In particular three kinds of Singh-Ray filters go with me everywhere. There’s a Hi-Lux filter on each of my lenses, and I also carry a 77mm LB Warming Polarizer and a 77mm Vari-ND filter. Each one of these filters is essential and fits neatly in my camera bag that I have to carry around all day. I keep a Hi-Lux UV filter on each lens because I want the best possible glass between my …
It’s easy to photograph the American West without straining your budget or your back
For the many photographers who live out here, it’s just about heaven. If I have any advice for photographers who don’t live out here, it would be to come visit. Just be sure to bring your camera, a good tripod and all your filters. There’s an infinite supply of dramatic beauty, natural geological wonders, and the historical remains of the recent and ancient past to be enjoyed and documented. And the best part is their easy accessibility to all of …