On Tuesday February 6, 2024 I’ll be meeting with the Latow Photographers Guild in Burlington Ontario and presenting the topic Finding Visual Expression.
Contract Manufacturing Realities
I have to roll my eyes when seeing negative comments about a branded photographic product rumored to be made by another company. Often indignation, disdain, or worse is expressed. I suppose there are still folks out there who are unaware of contract manufacturing realities.
Winter Lakeside Scenes with HDR2
Yesterday I drove along the southern shore of Lake Ontario and stopped at a few locations to capture some winter lakeside scenes with HDR2 (high dynamic range). There was a good amount of snow and ice along the shore of the lake, coupled with some very harsh sunlight. So, I decided to do some test images using my E-M1X’s HDR2 technology.
Pigeons with Lasso Tool
This article features some handheld images of pigeons taking flight which have been adjusted with the Lasso Tool in PhotoShop. Folks who enjoy photographing birds-in-flight often have opportunities where birds are perched on human-made objects. These can sometimes detract from an image.
This article discusses some considerations on how to compose these types of images, and remove the distracting elements with the Lasso Tool in PhotoShop. All of the images featured in this article were captured handheld in my backyard in less than 25 minutes.
Butterflies with 100-400
This article features some handheld test images of butterflies with the M.Zuiko 100-400 mm f/5-6.3 IS zoom. The butterflies in-flight in all of the photographs in this article were about 6.8 to 8.1 metres (~22.3 to 26.6 feet) away from my shooting position.
Investment Choices
As photographers we face a number of investment choices as we continue to build our skill level, and broaden the range of subject matter we photograph. If you’re like me these investment choices have been spread out over time. This makes having an overall game plan and some good evaluation criteria important.
Finding Visual Expression II eBook
We are pleased to announce the publication of a new 220 page eBook, Finding Visual Expression II. This eBook is a sister publication to the original Finding Visual Expression volume, and expands the number of subject areas covered to 30 in total (15 per eBook). Finding Visual Expression II is designed as a photographic resource which covers fifteen new subject areas.
A sample page from each topical area is illustrated in this article. The eBook’s Table of Contents is also featured in one of the images in this announcement article.
National Bird Day
Today is National Bird Day… and is celebrated as a way to bring awareness to the challenges that birds around the world face on a daily basis. Over the past number of years, many of us who enjoy photographing birds have noticed a decline in bird populations in our local area.
Skills Tune-Up
I can’t speak for other photographers, but I’ve found that a periodic skills tune-up can be beneficial to support a wide range of photographic competencies. This article shares a number of recent test/practice photographs. I would normally show finished images in my articles, including any cropping that needed to be done.
All of the photographs in this posting were processed in post from RAW files. The images are shown without any cropping as I felt it may be more beneficial for readers to see the full frame captures of these practice images.
Favourite Images in 2023
Year end always creates some retrospection…. the result of which is this article which showcases some of my favourite images in 2023. The photographs we capture are indelible moments in time that will never be perfectly repeated in the future. A number of the bird photographs featured in this article stem from simply being in the right place at the right time.
Each of us has our own criteria regarding what constitutes a memorable photograph. Many of my favourite images in 2023 that are featured in this article are associated with a specific photographic challenge that presented itself to me.