It seems like it was just yesterday when Nasim called and asked me to join the Photography Life team. Here we are some two and a half years later, with this being my 100th posting. A celebration of sorts. It has been a wonderful experience being a part of the...
Essays and Inspiration Category Archive - Page 18
Return of the Cormorants
The return of the cormorants to Southern Ontario is in full swing and over the weekend I spent a couple of hours at Hamilton harbor photographing them. Sometimes I wonder why I make the trek down to the harbor since I already have captured thousands of images of these birds...
Eclectic Images from a Morning Street Walk
From time to time I like to go out for a walk with a camera and create a small challenge for myself. This morning it was walking a few blocks up one side of a city street, then down the opposite side, while capturing a few images along the way....
Photographing San Francisco’s Botanical Gardens With An Extension Tube
I am a self-proclaimed people photographer. Whenever anyone asks what I photograph, I say "anything involving people". If that's the case, you might be wondering why I'm posting about photographing flowers and plants. To be honest, I sometimes like to head out on my own and experiment with different types...
Happy Birthday John Muir!
It is April 21, a special occasion for all the lovers of nature and wilderness. Today is John Muir’s 178th birthday! His legacy is well and truly alive not only through National Parks, Sierra Club and National Audubon Society but also through all those who love being outdoors and relish...
Different Lenses for Different Landscapes
For the past couple years, I have thought of myself primarily as a “telephoto” landscape photographer. A majority of scenes that catch my attention look best with a telephoto lens, and I tend to keep a 105mm or 70-200mm on my camera most of the time. However, a recent trip...
Photographing Birds at Hendrie Valley Sanctuary
I recently spent a very enjoyable morning photographing birds at Hendrie Valley Sanctuary at the Royal Botanical Gardens in the Hamilton Ontario area. Photography Life reader Ray Miller suggested this location to me, and since I'm relatively new to bird photography I jumped at the chance to join him during...
Photographing Wildlife In Costa Rica
Better ice up a cold one. It's hot out there. But the heat is the least remarkable characteristic of Costa Rica, paling into an afterthought behind its truly exquisite flora and fauna. A natural wonderland of incredible wildlife, its inhabitants thrive in mangroves, lakes and under a lush rainforest canopy...
Shooting Film for the First Time
Even though my first camera was the digital Nikon D5100, I always have felt a sort of secondhand nostalgia for the days of film photography. The vast majority of history’s great photographs were taken on film; masters like Ansel Adams and Galen Rowell defined the medium of landscape photography in...
Walking Among the Bristlecone Pines
At this time when many of us are excited by the new camera announcements, I thought it will be intriguing to do a write up describing my first time shooting 35 mm black and white film. Last summer, I found some time to swing by the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest...