In preparation for the upcoming spring/summer outdoor macro photography season, I recently got in some practice with HHFS (handheld focus stacked) butterfly images at the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory.
All posts by Thomas Stirr
DxO Smart Lighting
DxO Smart Lighting is an adjustment that I use with all of my RAW files, regardless of the subject matter in my photographs. I can’t comment on the use of this function with larger sensor cameras, but I can say that I’ve found this tool to be very useful with all of my images captured with smaller sensor cameras like Nikon 1 and Olympus/OM System M4/3 equipment.
Photographing Thermal Mud Pools
Photographing thermal mud pools can be challenging when attempting to capture erratic mud bursts breaking on the surface of the pool. Technology like Pro Capture can allow photographers to capture a wide selection of useable images at this type of venue with a very high confidence level.
Local Bird Photography
For many folks, doing local bird photography is their best option from both cost and time commitment perspectives. Flying to an out-of-country location to spend a week with a professional photographer/guide to photograph exotic birds can be an exciting prospect. From a practical perspective it is simply out-of-reach financially for many of us.
Alice in Bloomland HHHR
This article features some Alice in Bloomland HHHR (Handheld Hi Res) test images captured at the Royal Botanical Gardens. This exhibit ran from February 1 through to the end of March 2025.
Elbows Up Canada!
It’s time for Elbows Up Canada! The Federal election has been called for April 28th and it’s time for us to make sure we get out and vote. It’s time to support our democracy… one of the top rated in the world.
Whole Food Plant Based Lifestyle
My wife and I adopted a whole food plant based lifestyle a little over a year ago and have been very much enjoying this shift. Since I published my Playing Guitar Again article last fall, I’ve received a number of emails from readers looking for additional information on our whole food plant based lifestyle change,
Shallow Depth-of-Field
Shallow depth-of-field can be an important technique used to achieve good subject separation in a wide range of photographic genres. Wedding, portrait, nature and macro photography are some of the common areas where shallow depth-of-field is often desired from a creative standpoint.
Mid-March Birding
Mid-March birding can be a bit of a challenge in Southern Ontario since the spring bird migration is only in its earliest phase with robins and grackles starting to arrive. We are left with a limited number of species… many of which some folks do not find particularly exciting to photograph. Birds like Canada geese, gulls, fairly common ducks, swans, and small species like sparrows and chickadees.
M.Zuiko 14-150 mm f/4-5.6 II Review
The M.Zuiko 14-150 mm f/4-5.6 II zoom lens is a wonderfully flexible piece of kit that is sometimes undervalued by folks. This article provides some first hand insights on this lens. These are based on some time using this lens, observing my wife using it in the field, and working in post with files produced with it. We’ve owned this lens for over 4 years and have found it to be reliable, and a joy to use.