Lenspiration Blog
Welcome! Wherever you are on your photography journey, learn to take better photos through the photography tips and stories you'll find in the following free articles. By learning from the experience of others, you can also start taking pictures that you're excited to share with others!
Behind the Shot: Stormy Mountain Majesty
Stormy Mountain Majesty Denali National Park, Alaska Downloadable as a free desktop wallpaper for Lenspiration subscribers This is what sunset looked like at 9:30pm on that beautiful, Alaskan summer evening. “Pretty late, for a sunset,” I thought. And it...
Crazy Photography Camping Trip!
Back in July, I took some relatively random video clips of my photography camping trip in California! Jonathan compiled them into this little video: Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel and watch more videos from the life of a landscape...
Interview With The Forefather of the FEW Conferences
Remember the Sharpening Character VersePic contest I mentioned in the recent blog post, A Request For Something A Little Different? Well, as it happened, the verse I submitted for their contest was chosen for their most recent VersePic…and since Andrew, the...
How Do You Deal With Temptation?
I love Sunday evenings! Especially after the time change. It gets dark so early one can sit down and enjoy a good book for what feels like “late into the night” without it actually going late into the night! Last night I was reading William Gurnall’s “The Christian...
A Request for Something a Little Different
Did you know Sharpening Character is celebrating their 100th episode? While it’s always fun to take pictures for their VersePics on STS, I thought it would be fun to participate in their special “100th Episode VersePic Contest”…instead of submitting a picture for...
Behind the Shot: Diamond Ring
Diamond Ring August 21, 2017 Total Solar Eclipse Downloadable as a free desktop wallpaper for Lenspiration subscribers The first time I heard about it was in early July. "Hey, you planning on taking any pictures of the solar eclipse next month?" a friend asked as I...
Do I Ever Delete Photos?
In this digital age, the cost of snapping a photo is insanely cheap. But does that mean I keep every single photo I take? This is a question someone asked me the other day, and an important question for those who are just starting to think about how they will set...
How Bulb Mode Works
Did you know that the longest shutter speed your camera offers is 30 seconds? Even in full Manual mode, you can’t set the shutter speed to be any longer than 30 seconds. So, what do you do if you want to open the shutter speed for longer than that? This snapshot of...
This Week’s Opportunity to Shoot to Serve
Looking for a little purpose to put into your photography practice? Why not shoot for the latest Shoot to Serve assignment? Sharpening Character is looking for a concept photo to backdrop Romans 5:7-8 for their next VersePic: "For scarcely for a righteous man will...
A Marvel Worth Musing On
It was surprisingly warm for a late-September evening as I lay there gazing up at the stars. My brother and I had dragged out our cots and sleeping bags onto the driveway, and oh! it was worth the effort just to be able to gaze up into that incredibly clear sky!...
50 Epic Photos! Which 12 Are Your Favorite?
Would you like to have a say in which pictures go into the 2018 Lenspiration calendar? I’ve narrowed it down to 50. Now I’m looking for outside input to get it down to 12! Take a few minutes to like and comment on your favorite photos in the 2018 Calendar...
Stacking My 3 Favorite Filters
Stumbling on the “perfect perspective” doesn’t happen by random chance very often. And finding a good angle to shoot Mt. Shasta reflected in Lake Siskiyou was no exception. I spent a lot of time trying to find a good spot, and it’s ironic how easily accessible the...
Someone’s Looking For Your Photos
Have any random photos of storm clouds? If you’ll take the time to submit them, there’s someone willing to use them. Last week’s Shoot to Serve photo request came from the IBLP Family Conferences. They were looking for pictures of storm clouds to use as a...
Finding Extraordinary Photos In An Ordinary Park
Remember the story from Gibson Ranch that I blogged about last week? Well, here’s a video about how I took those pictures! As you watch me find, set up and photograph the pictures I take, maybe it will give you the inspiration or new ideas you need to start taking...
Four Photographers Get Some Great Advice
Thank you, photographers, for participating in the recent Shoot to Serve photo assignment, Titus 3:5-6 VersPic Opportunity! Here’s an update from the VersePic director, Ben, on why he used the picture he used and why he didn’t use the pictures he didn’t use. This...
A Story From Gibson Ranch
Back in July, after the Sacramento Family Conference, there was a group of conference staff that needed to get to the airport early Saturday morning. Even though it meant getting up at like 3:30am to get them there (and we were all exhausted from running the...
The Photographer’s Roadmap Infographic
The last Photography Team of the year is almost here! Looking forward to heading up to Wisconsin on Monday for the Green Lake Family Conference. In preparation for it, I put together a fun little infographic that I’ll be handing out to the attending photographers....
Behind the Shot: Spot of Green
It wasn’t the best sunset in the world, that balmy evening I spent with Jonathan on top of Enchanted Rock in Texas earlier this month, but I was very grateful that the clouds broke away just enough to make a sunburst for that one, single composition I had figured...
Is This Really What I Think It Is?
What sort of a building do you suppose this is? Do you think it could be what I think it is? An old, one room school house? I saw it setting next to the road as I was driving down the Belmont Turnpike in north-western Pennsylvania near Waymart with my family the...
Ideas for Photographing Groomsmen
Some creative ideas specifically for posing the groom and groomsmen.
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New month - new photo assignment! And this one is pretty sweet. 🙂 Our goal is to take beautiful photos that reflect the truths of Psalm 119:103, “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
Get all the details at the link in bio!
Another behind the scenes shot....thanks to @real_lukas_n Though I usually use a tripod for landscape photography, there was no time in this situation where it was literally raining. When I saw the distant mountains after pulling in for only a short time at this open-to-the-public farm, I knew there was a shot somewhere. This vast field of flooded strawberry plants was the foreground I was looking for, offering perfect leading lines to the triangular peak framed by the sweeping mist.
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Family-friendly photography training: www.lenspiration.com
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#farm #landscapephotographer #shootingintherain #rainyday #behindtheshot
New blog post! The last bit of light after sunset doesn`t take long to disappear. Sparkling stars were peering through the pinyon pine boughs above us. We were in the deep shadows of dusk as we picked our way down the rock strewn trail back to the parking lot. Read more at link in bio.
#lenspiration #homeschoolphotography #homeschool #christianphotographer #photographyeducator #photoinspiration #photography #photoblogger
Behind the shot photo.... When it`s rainy, and you`re not on lights`s time table, there`s time to chat with friends while you`re out in the field! 🤩 Thanks @real_lukas_n for the second photo! --
Family-friendly photography training: www.lenspiration.com
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#outdoorphoto #lowkey #mystery #photographyfriends #explorenc
Happy Memorial Day! Let us honor their sacrifice by using our freedoms not to do as we please, but to live as we ought. #freedom #integrity #selfcontrol #memorialday #Godblessamerica
New blog post! Rain poured down in torrential waves as we made our way through the Smoky Mountains. We had gotten up insanely early—long before dawn—to make the most of our time photographing at the high-elevation overlooks before the storm. But now the rain was coming down so hard that even the most dedicated among us didn’t feel like stepping out of the car for a photo. Until we rounded a bend and saw... Read more at link in bio.
#lenspiration #homeschoolphotography #homeschool #christianphotographer #photographyeducator #photoinspiration #photography #photoblogger
Join me for some LIVE photo coaching on Tuesday, May 26 as we look at "Glowing Scenery" photos. . . Register at link in bio!
Foreground element, framing, leading lines, human element, vibrant color.... Definitely one of my favorite shots from EXPLORE Springtime in the Smokies.
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Family-friendly photography training: www.lenspiration.com
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#photographycomposition #photoworkshop #composition #landscapephotography #springtime @greatsmokynps @blueridgenps
Before/after....look at the difference! A little editing is just what it needed to make it pop (IMO). What do you think?
"For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills." Deuteronomy 8:7-9 Every time I photograph a waterfall I should thank the Lord for letting me live in such a blessed land.
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Family-friendly photography training: www.lenspiration.com
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#waterfall #verseoftheday #landscapephoto #thankful #godsblessing
New blog post! The photographer who makes decisions based on comfort won’t get out in the field, even in a place like the Smokies—and therefore won’t come home with any photos. Read more at link in bio.
#lenspiration #homeschoolphotography #homeschool #christianphotographer #photographyeducator #photoinspiration #photography #photoblogger
The photo assignment for May is live! Take beautiful, landscape photos that have a warm, glowing sense to them. Photos could include warm sunlight glowing at the end of a path, over water, over a stream, in a field, or over a mountain. Details at link in bio.
New blog post! Read more at link in bio.
#lenspiration #homeschoolphotography #homeschool #christianphotographer #photographyeducator #photoinspiration #photography #photoblogger
Someone got a photo of me taking the group photo at Family Conference last week! @familyconfs @alertacademy #familyconference #eventphotography #groupphoto #eventphotographer #adventurous
A quick stop in Paris for a selfie! 😄 #paristexas #travel #selfietime #texas
So much fun to photograph a family conference as an actual family! (Thank you Rebekah for the photo!)
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Family-friendly photography training: www.lenspiration.com
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#family #behindthescenes #together #teamwork #wvphotographer
On the lookout for puddles on a rainy first day of Conference!
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Family-friendly place to learn photography! www.lenspiration.com
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#rainyday #homeschool #conference #familylife #puddlejumping
Join me for some LIVE photo coaching on Tuesday, April 28! Register at link in bio.
