The “blue hour” is one of the most interesting and emotive times of day to capture photos. I’ve taken many of my favorite pictures at blue hour - even more than at sunrise or sunset. But what is blue hour, and how can you make the most of it?
Post Archive By Spencer Cox - Page 4
What Is Bulb Mode in Photography?
Photographers often feel frustrated by the 30-second shutter speed limit on many cameras. What they may not realize is that there is an easy way around this limitation - if you know how to use it. The solution is known as bulb mode.
Take Better Night Sky Photos with Image Stacking
The night sky is one of the most alluring subjects for landscape photographers. It’s also one of the most frustrating. If you’ve ever tried to do star photography, you’ve probably run into all sorts of issues: blurred stars, high ISO noise, and shallow depth of field.
Mechanical vs Electronic Shutter vs EFCS
Many cameras today, especially mirrorless cameras, let you pick between a mechanical and electronic shutter. Others - including a lot of DSLRs - have a third option called “electronic front curtain shutter” (EFCS) which is a blend between the other two types.
Best Lightroom Export Settings To Use
If you want the highest quality final photo for any purpose, you need to be familiar with your post-processing software’s output settings. For many photographers, this means using Lightroom’s “Export” dialog to get the best results. But not all of these settings are completely intuitive, and you certainly don’t want…
Landscape Photography Case Study [Video]
A couple weeks ago, I wanted to film a tutorial on photographing the Milky Way – but as you may have seen, that didn’t quite work out. Our video series took a further hiatus when I lost my voice the following week, but we’re back again! Since I still sound like…
Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S Review
The Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S was one of the most hotly anticipated Nikon Z lenses, especially given that it is the first ultra-wide for the new mirrorless system. So far, every Z lens has received near-universal praise for its image quality. However, photographers’ initial impressions of the ($1300) Nikon…
A Failed Landscape Photography Expedition
To be brutally honest – some plans are doomed to erupt in flames the moment they meet reality. That isn’t a surprise; the only twisted part is that we almost always know what’s about to happen, yet keep chugging along anyway. I found myself in that position last week while…
PL Chronicles: Nasim and Spencer
Now that we’ve started posting frequently on our YouTube channel, one overdue video is simply an introduction: who we are (Nasim Mansurov and Spencer Cox), and how we came to be running Photography Life. If you’ve ever wanted to know how we got started and who’s behind the articles you…
Your Favorite Piece of Camera Equipment
Imagine a cascading waterfall, or a sand dune in a storm. A bird hopping in the air; a person stepping into a crosswalk and out of the shade. For photographers, in moments like this, the best camera equipment is invisible. It doesn’t slow you down or require troubleshooting. After a…