Blog Archive
One catches a first glimpse of their destination. They scramble forward to get the best view, pull out the camera and take their prizewinning shot. But is it really prizewinning? Was it the subject that made the photo great? If so, the viewer will probably be...
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...
At first glance, this shot doesn’t look like it has much potential, does it? But after working on it for a while in Lightroom, it seems to have been transformed into something much closer to how I remember it feeling like on that cold, Canadian midwinter morning....
I heard that the Jonsrud View Point was a good place to photograph Mt. Hood without having to travel very far outside of Portland. And I suppose it would be a good overlook if there weren’t any clouds to obstruct the view. But since it happened to be quite cloudy...
Ever traveled through eastern Montana? If you have, you would know that there’s not much out there. If you haven’t, then just take note that . . . there’s not much out there. However, before you just truck it through to get to your final destination, consider what...
Remember the free book I wrote, Instinctively, on the 10 basic camera settings every photographer should know? I wrote that last year in an attempt to help beginner photographers prepare for the more intense, hands-on instruction that they would receive at a...
Have you taken some time to look back through the pictures you took in 2014? Which ones were your favorite? Why? Looking back over a year of photographs is good practice at the beginning of a year. Of course it’s always fun to relive walking through the beautiful...
I’m back in Kansas, looking forward to holding the very last CAPTURE Workshop of the year! This is the second time a workshop has been held in this location so it will be neat to revisit some of the great places we went to last year. Being in the same location...
For the rest of the CAPTURE Alaska workshop, we stuck pretty close to the road for our shooting excursions. Number one, it takes a lot of time to backpack out to different locations, and for this workshop once was enough. There were many things to cover in the...
The sixth, and second-to-last day of our incredible trip through California began with a hike to Rainbow Falls. What a majestic sight! I am used to the waterfalls of the East, the bubbling cascades along forest streams hidden away in lush valleys and moss-covered...
Let me push pause on the California Loop for a sec to mention some quick announcements about some of the upcoming CAPTURE workshops. Put purpose into your summer vacation and consider the following: CAPTURE Alaska’s $100 Early Registration discount ends today....
By the 5th day of the California Loop, we were getting pretty tired, but we were experiencing more than ever the incredible diversity of California. From Death Valley, the lowest point in North America, we drove toward the towering Sierra Nevadas to see Mt....
On the second day of this week’s road trip, we drove down the California coast from Santa Cruz to Los Angeles. We took a stroll through a stand of beautiful redwood trees at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in the morning while the light was still ambient. I really...
Here are a few shots from my scouting excursion in southern Virginia. I didn’t have the privilege of hitting any of these locations during the golden hours, but that’s ok if you have a good compass so you will know where the sun will be when you can come back...
After the HEAV Convention last weekend, I stopped in Gretna, Virginia, for an evening and a morning to do some scouting for CAPTURE Virginia. One of the locations I wanted to check out was Smith Mountain Lake State Park. I was on the lookout for small beaches,...
I’ve been doing quite a bit of location research in preparation for CAPTURE California coming up here in June, from the 25th to the 28th. Whether or not you’ll be coming to the workshop, I thought I’d share the top spots I think are best for shooting in the...
After the CEF Conference, I headed south to Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, to do some scouting in preparation for the CAPTURE North Carolina workshop which will be held October 8-11 this year. I set up camp in the Black Balsam area, at the base of Sam...
Summer travels have begun! This weekend finds me in Ridgecrest, North Carolina at the CEF International Conference. Having been here a few years ago, I knew of a nice overlook on the campus that I was able to drive out to right around sunset. Hadn’t ever been there...
Where do you think my favorite state is to take pictures? Yes, the pictures below have probably already given it away, but where would you have guessed before now? Many of you will probably guess West Virginia, as my beloved home state boasts some awesome spots for...
When I went to Quebec in February, I scouted out quite a few covered bridges. Not all of them were exactly picturesque at the time of year I visited, but they all had great potential for various seasons and weather conditions. We only visited two of the five I...
