The individual condors in Northern Arizona/Southern Utah are not given names - they get numbers. This is supposed to help the biologists not get too attached to individual birds, lest one of their favorites dies. It doesn’t work. I’m a photographer, not a biologist, but condors are my favorite subject....
About John Sherman
Post Archive By John Sherman
Dawn Kish: Photographing Tad’s Emerging World
Imagine Yosemite without Half Dome, Zermatt without the Matterhorn, or Iceland without scores of photographers fighting for position to shoot the same waterfall posted a hundred times already on Instagram that morning. As photographers, it’s easy to take our grand landscape opportunities for granted. But in some cases, landscapes aren’t...
How to Crop in Lightroom and Why
There are two kinds of photographers. Those who admit they crop, and those who claim they don’t. The latter are glistening bastions of photographic purity whose souls glow at a constant Zone 10. They graciously lecture us heathens on the evils of cropping and try to exorcise the post-processing devils...
Nikon 16-80mm f/2.8-4E VR Review
Recently I’ve been experiencing one of those existential photo crises. Low motivation, cliché results, slumping Instagram likes. When I get bummed about my photography I do what any self-respecting unprofessional photographer would do – put on some soft jazz, pour myself a fine single malt, then pull out my favorite Zeiss lens...
Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 G2 Review
When Tamron introduced the Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 VC a few years ago it really shook things up (Model A011, but hereafter I’ll call it the G1 for simplicity). Priced just over a grand, the G1 offered people the chance to get into wildlife photography without dumping five figures into...
What’s Important in a Photograph, and What Isn’t
You know the drill. You pick up a magazine or browse a website and flip through the photos. Most you look at for less than a second, but a select few grab your attention and demand a longer look. What’s different about these select photos? What makes some photos great...
The New Nikon DL Line of Premium Compacts – Should You Be Excited?
Lost in all the recent excitement of the Nikon D5/Nikon D500/Canon 1DXMkII/Pentax K-1/Sony a6300 and Fuji X-Pro 2 announcements was Nikon announcement of their new DL "premium compact" camera line-up. The DL line-up consists of three models all sporting fixed lenses, 1.0” 20.8 megapixel sensors and the new EXPEED 6A...
Nikon 200-500mm vs Tamron 150-600mm vs Sigma 150-600mm C
At long last they’re all out, in stock and making every aspiring wildlife photographer on a budget scratch their head and wonder which one they should own? Of course I’m talking about the Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 VC, the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG Contemporary and the Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E VR. These...
Jack Dykinga Interview: From Pulitzer-Winner to Landscape Photography Legend
Jack Dykinga can punch you in the gut with a photo, like he did with his 1971 Pulitzer-winning portfolio, or he can seduce you with his understated yet thoroughly evocative landscape images. He’s one of the rare photographers who has excelled in multiple genres, has adjusted to multiple technological revolutions, and...
Read These Books and Become a Better Photographer
Better technique and appropriate gear can help you take better photos, but that will only take you so far. To reach the next level in this pursuit you need to become a student of photography. A student of photography is somebody who dives into the pool of photo history, soaks...