Category: Photo Techniques

  • The Art of Capturing Time

    I’ve heard photography described as the art of capturing light, and perhaps I’ve been guilty of describing it that way as well. Photographic tips often talk about looking for dynamic light, chasing the good light, etc. Yet photography is more than light, it is also time. Consider your camera. Leaving ISO aside, there are two…

  • Free ebook by David duChemin

    David duChemin is a wonderfully talented photographer that I follow. Though he resists being labeled, I’d call him a travel photographer – he truly has a knack for portraying a sense of place through images of people and scenes beyond the typical tourist shots. I’ve enjoyed most of his hard-copy books as well as a…

  • After Sunset? Don’t be Blue, Keep Shooting

    Western Washington has had nice summer weather most of July. Most evenings, there have been few if any clouds, which of course makes for very boring sunset shots. However, when the weather is like this, the hour after sunset brings gorgeous light. Even as it gets too dark for humans to see color well, there…

  • Experiment in Infrared

    Experiment in Infrared

    A couple of years ago I purchased an infrared filter, used it perhaps once, stuck it in the camera bag, and have been carrying it around ever since. Earlier this month, I thought it was high time I tried it out again. My subject was Riverfront Park. It seemed like a good time to try.…

  • Restoring a Masterpiece – the magic of custom white balance

    Since I always shoot in RAW, I almost always have the camera set on auto white balance (since I can change it during Lightroom processing). My Canon 50D does a fair job with the white balance, though I usually have to bump the purple a bit (the images are a bit green). I’ve just picked…

  • Tripods in New York

    Tripods in New York

    Yesterday, being our first full day in New York, I decided to carry the full camera bag and tripod around. Probably not the best move, since the camera bag bumped into several people, including Tanya (according to her, about 25 times). We hit two big sites yesterday, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Top…

  • Highlights from the NPPNW

    I had the opportunity last Saturday to attend the fall meeting of the Nature Photographers of the Pacific Northwest (NPPNW). The invited speakers were John and Barbara Gerlach, who spoke on mastering digital exposure and advanced flash techniques for nature photography. John Gerlach made a strong case for using manual exposure settings, and I may…

  • Evolution of an Image: Previsualition to Print

    Evolution of an Image: Previsualition to Print

    The image above is another from my trip to the beach last month. It is my favorite of the whole trip, and I recently made a print of it. I thought I’d tell you how this particular image went from just an idea to a final print. However, if you want to skip all the…

  • What Goes Down, Must Go Up

    [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/48755321 w=500&h=281] I previously mentioned that I am working on several personal photo projects. One of those has reached its conclusion. As a member of the Mountaineers, I decided to document the “remodel” of the Tacoma branch’s clubhouse. The remodel involved tearing down the old building, except for a portion of one wall, and…