Impressive Places Archives

What To Do When “Wow” Subjects Don’t Look “Wow” In Your Photos

by James Staddon | Jan 17, 2020 | Impressive Places, Tips & Tricks

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 disappointed at how un-prizewinning their photo is when... Read More »

Is This Really What I Think It Is?

by James Staddon | Aug 30, 2017 | Impressive Places, Updates & Opportunities

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 other day. Since The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is... Read More »

Behind the Shot: Abbaye St-Benoit-Du-Lac, Quebec

by James Staddon | Jan 24, 2017 | Impressive Places, Pic of the Month

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. Abbaye St-Benoit-Du-LacAustin, Quebec, CanadaSubscribe... Read More »

How The Shot Was Taken: Timber Island

by James Staddon | May 31, 2016 | Impressive Places, Stories & Expeditions

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 on the only two opportunities I had to stop in at this... Read More »

Unnamed Badlands near Fox Lake, Montana

by James Staddon | Feb 21, 2016 | Impressive Places, Tips & Tricks

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 your photographic eye might be able to pick up along... Read More »

In Search of a Moon Rise

by James Staddon | Feb 25, 2015 | Impressive Places, Stories & Expeditions

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 CAPTURE or ACTION. It was also helpful for intermediate... Read More »

Top 25 From 2014

by James Staddon | Jan 8, 2015 | Impressive Places, Tips & Tricks

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 places you had the privilege of exploring the previous... Read More »

Capturing Kansas . . . Again!

by James Staddon | Oct 23, 2014 | Impressive Places, Updates & Opportunities

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 again makes it a lot easier to prepare for too. Here are... Read More »

5 Easily Accessible Alaskan Photo Ops

by James Staddon | Aug 26, 2014 | Impressive Places

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 classroom plus learning how to use Lightroom for... Read More »

One Picturesque Day

by James Staddon | Jul 24, 2014 | Impressive Places

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 gorges. What a wave of exotic excitement it was to see... Read More »