Posts Categorized: Tips & Tricks



Photos Without a Tripod, No Way!

07 Mar
2015
No tripod, Extreme weather conditions near the summit of Mount Washington in the White Mountains, New Hampshire.
Appalachian Trail – Mt Washington, New Hampshire
 

Photos Without a Tripod, No Way! – The title of this post is nothing more than sarcastic photography advice to get your attention. Did it work? Okay, now that I have your attention, lets talk photography for a few minutes. There is a misleading belief floating around the internet that a good, and marketable, photograph can only be created when the photographer uses a tripod. This is one belief that should be taken with a grain of salt.

To obtain the best quality image, I am a strong believer in using a tripod as much as possible, but the reality is there are many situations when I do not use one. If I were to only use my camera when it was mounted to a tripod I would miss out on hundreds of photo opportunities. The included images were all handheld (no tripod).

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March 7, 2015 | Categories: Tips & Tricks | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment »

Bothy 2 Emergency Shelter For Photographers

01 Feb
2015
Strong winds blow snow across the valley along the Old Bridle Path during the winter months in the White Mountains, New Hampshire USA. Hikers can be seen ascending the trail.
Whiteout Conditions – Old Bridle Path, New Hampshire
 

The Bothy 2 Emergency Shelter – Today I want to introduce you to the Bothy 2 emergency shelter made by Terra Nova Equipment, a company based in Derbyshire, England that specializes in outdoor gear. As the name suggests this a two man lightweight windproof emergency shelter for outdoor enthusiasts. I have found this to be a great product to carry, and use, when in the backcountry of the White Mountains, New Hampshire USA.

As a photographer, there are times when I want to get out of the adverse weather conditions (rain, snow storms & strong winds) that I'm shooting in, and I have found the Bothy 2 to be perfect for this. If I want to take a break or need to work on camera gear the Bothy allows me to do it in a dry environment. Old school photographers just imagine a huge film changing bag, only its for humans.

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February 1, 2015 | Categories: Tips & Tricks | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Human Element, Landscape Photography

11 Mar
2014
Human Element - A winter hiker ascends the Airline Trail during the winter months in extreme weather conditions in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
King Ravine – White Mountains of New Hampshire
 

Human Element, Landscape Photography – Even though I prefer a landscape free of human clutter, including a human element in the scene allows us to connect emotionally with the scene. And if done correctly, scenes that include a human element will pull the viewer into the landscape.

The above image from the alpine zone, along the Airline Trail, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire would have little impact and viewing interest without the hiker and snowshoe tracks. It is easy to understand why mountaineers from all over the world flock to the White Mountains every winter. The landscape is beautiful!

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March 11, 2014 | Categories: Tips & Tricks | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Camera Gear, Nature Photography

11 Feb
2014

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you use that link to make a purchase. This is to help support my blog.

Carter-Moriah Trail near the summit of Carter Dome in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
Carter Dome – White Mountains, New Hampshire
 

Last month, I wrote about some things to consider before pursuing a career as a full or part-time freelance nature photographer. Today, I am going to continue off that post with a list of the basic camera gear needed. Gear purchases can ruin your profit margin so it is important to consider them when forming your business.

Below is a list of camera gear that will help put you in the right direction. I have also included my thoughts on each piece of gear. Please remember this is only the basics and more specialized gear will be beneficial as you advance in photography. The next photographer may disagree with my comments. 

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February 11, 2014 | Categories: Tips & Tricks | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Freelance Nature Photography

11 Jan
2014
Mount Washington from Mount Clay in the White Mountains, New Hampshire.
Mount Washington – White Mountains of New Hampshire
 

Freelance Nature Photography – I am not big into writing about photography tips and tricks or ranting about the photography industry so this could be the only post I make this year focused on the business of nature photography.

How to start a nature photography business and be successful at it is always a hot topic of discussion among photographers. By no means am I an expert in the business of photography, but I do see the same mistakes made over and over by photographers just starting out.

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January 11, 2014 | Categories: Tips & Tricks | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Winter Camera Protection, White Mountains

21 Nov
2013

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you use that link to make a purchase. This is to help support my blog.

Appalachian Trail - Extreme weather conditions near the summit of Mount Washington during the winter months in the White Mountains, New Hampshire.
Crawford Path – White Mountains, New Hampshire
 

Winter Camera Protection, White Mountains – When photographing in adverse winter conditions, one of my concerns is protecting camera gear from the elements. I find using products that are specifically made to protect the camera in harsh conditions to be beneficial. They do take some time to get use to, but are worth the investment.

During harsh weather conditions in the New Hampshire White Mountains, I use Camera Armor*, LensSkins*, and LensCoat*. And for down in the valleys and roadside I like using the Storm Jacket Covers*. These products act as covers for the camera and do a pretty good job at keeping the elements off the camera. The Storm Jacket covers are easy to put on and work well in all seasons. I use mine all the time when it is raining. 

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November 21, 2013 | Categories: Tips & Tricks | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Sense of Scale, White Mountains

04 Nov
2013
Presidential Range - Sense of Scale, Hikers ascending the Subway Trail in King Ravine. The Subway Trail is a side trail off the King Ravine Trail, which travels through a large boulder field in King Ravine in the White Mountains, New Hampshire USA. The subway trail reconnects with the King Ravine Trail and snow can be found in the ice caves of this ravine during the summer months.
King Ravine Trail – White Mountains, New Hampshire
 

Sense of Scale, White Mountains – To create a sense of scale in my New Hampshire White Mountains landscape imagery I try to include people or any object that will help viewers in determining the size of the scene. Including any object in a scene a viewer will recognize the size of works, but using people is usually the best option.

Everyone is familiar with the size of an average person, so the hikers included in these landscape scenes act as a reference point to help gauge the size of the scene. The size and depth of these scenes would be lost if the hikers were not included. And yes, the boulders (above) in King Ravine are huge!

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November 4, 2013 | Categories: Tips & Tricks | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Image Editing, Delete It

16 Nov
2011
Hiker standing on rock in morning fog along Cedar Brook during the summer months in the Pemigewasset Wilderness of Lincoln, New Hampshire USA. This area was part of the East Branch & Lincoln Railroad, which was a logging railroad which operated from 1893 - 1948.
Hiker in brook moving arms – Deleting it
 

Image Editing, Delete It – In the photography industry, it is well known that we photographers are the worst when it comes to editing our own images. We think our images are flawless, no matter how blurry and soft they are. And no photographer likes hitting the delete button, but if an image is bad you have to. Today, I am going to give you a break from the scenic backcountry images I usually post and share with you images that are just plain terrible. I hope you enjoy this lighthearted post on image editing.

The above shot of the hiker standing in Cedar Brook in the Pemigewasset Wilderness moved his arms right when the shutter button was triggered. I like the scene and set-up, but find the arm movement distracting and it ruins the shot. I am deleting this image.

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November 16, 2011 | Categories: Tips & Tricks | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »