Catching up on some of my feeds, I see that I missed a very important article about Insuring your camera equipment at Photocritic.  This falls into the category of one of those aspects you never thought about, though I’m sure it ranks way behind retirement planning for a 25 year old.  Insuring my camera equipment?  [...]

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I have an underlying theme in a lot of what I preach:  Routine.  Routine helps you to stay consistent and to evolve through subtle tweaks in your routine.  So of all people, I should not be the one getting burned by breaking routine.  Yesterday, [...]

Technology is a force that has changed the face of the world over the past few decades; a fact this is no less apparent in the world of Photography. For better or for worse, many of the tedious tasks and calculations that a photographer was expected to do on his own have long since [...]

Back in November, I wrote an article titled What (Not) To Do When You Are Sick. I am sick again – nothing major, just a bad cold – and the topic of working while sick comes to mind yet again.  As I am a stubborn sort, I made some efforts earlier in the week to [...]

This weekend, while I tried (and failed) to produce a new portrait for myself, I had two somewhat related and equally eye opening thoughts:

Technical skill is nothing without Creative Vision.
Creative Vision is nothing without the skill to back it up.

I think this is somethign that I understood all along, something that waited in the depths [...]

Fridays, as you know, is always a day that I like to dedicate to exploring the internet.  I like to share my findings so that you can become more of a well rounded individual.  Today, I am of course going to continue that tradition – but I am going to do things a little differently.  [...]

One of digital photography’s most discussed benefits is the nearly unlimited “film”.  Especially if you came from the world of film – where you dropped a lot of money for every roll of 24 shots with developing costs – digital feels limitless.  It’s a renewable resource, a bottomless pit where you can store your photos.  [...]

Guy Tal is an inspiring landscape and nature photographer.  But who would have thought he’d be such an inspiration psychologically?  His latest post, titled The First Step Towards Personal Style, seems to be on topic with a lot of the things I’ve discussed lately:  Developing your own personal style.  It certainly is a focus of [...]

As you are all aware, I recently completed a day-long trip through Philadelphia.  Wandering about looking for shots, I had a lot of time to think to myself (one of the benefits of such a trip), and I developed a lot of criticism for how I planned my trip.  I thought it would be prudent [...]

Great photography is the result of a photographer seeing what the rest of us do not.  Many introductory courses and books will speak broadly of exposure and composition.  But understanding these two elements, though important, will not entirely help you to take great photographs.  One of the things that intrigues me about photography is that [...]

As you grow as a photographer, you will inevitably end up with a vast portfolio.  You will have your favorites, but you will not be able to remember all of the nuances of each photo.  Thanks to EXIF data and whatever additional notes you may add, you’ll be able to remind yourself about how you [...]

I was stumbling across the internet today at lunch when I stumbled upon an unusual blog entry:  A Gallery of Electrical Cabling Gone Wild (pingdom.com).  I also recently had a discussion with my step-sister (of Ora Photography) who stated that when she’s shooting for leisure, she is naturally attracted to the ugly. I realized that [...]

Humans are a bit spoiled when it comes to dynamic range. Our eyes are incredibly complex and they are able to see a much larger dynamic range than film or your camera’s sensor. In a high contrast scene, such as the low-key sunset shown here, the human eye is actually able to see [...]

We are spoiled with modern cameras and equipment.  Even the cheapest equipment is fairly dependable.  But you need to keep one fact always in your mind:  There is always a chance of failure.  Failure of your shutter, memory card failure, lens failure…nothing is more disconcerting then having to end your photo session (even if it [...]

One of the best ways to make sure your next (and every) session is a productive one is to develop some sort of pre-session routine.  This can include a series of things such as cleaning your lenses, checking your camera’s settings, checking your batteries, and so on.  Ideally, it’s best to do your pre-session routine [...]