Essays and Inspiration Category Archive - Page 23

Autumn Magic in Acadia National Park

As the maximum temperatures slowly drop below 40 F (6 C), the ephemeral autumn silently gives way to a long winter in New England; but not before weaving its colorful magic yet again. This year, I was fortunate to witness this magic from up close during a weekend camping trip...

My Announcement

This long overdue announcement was something I had been unintentionally delaying for too long this year. I started this letter months ago on an airplane and I am now sitting again at an airport, waiting for my four hour flight to Denver, in hopes that I will be able to...

Confessions of a Photo Sinner

WARNING – this contains adult humor of the PG-13 variety, sassy double entendres, and a bunch of my trademark puerile humor too – read at your own risk. A couple weeks ago Nasim climbed Mount Zeiss with his D810 and returned with Photography’s 16 Commandments (Nasim’s an overachiever, duh). Before...

Why Do You Enjoy Photography?

I have a simple question for you. Why do you enjoy photography? When I first asked myself this question, I thought, "Well, it's obvious, isn't it? It's what I do for a living! I never get tired of picking up my camera and "going to work." But this doesn't really...

The Matter of Obsolescence

Let me show you what an old man can do. I’m not talking about myself, of course; rather that’s what my 8-year-old DSLR said to me before I went walking in Epping Forest yesterday. Given the rate of change of digital technology, 8 years may as well be 28 years....

Moon – Waning Gibbous

Just wanted to share this photo of the Waning Gibbous Moon with our readers, captured with the Nikon D810 and John "Verm" Sherman's amazing Nikkor 800mm f/5.6E VR monster coupled with the TC-17E II teleconverter. I have not been able to get this much detail from such long focal lengths...

Keeping The DSLR Handy

I have stated in a previous article that I probably will sell all my DSLR gear eventually, so rarely does it ever get used. Virtually all my work now is done with mirrorless m4/3 (Olympus EM-5). But I must admit to being glad that I brought my DSLR along with me to...

Let’s Share Some Photography

I am a big supporter of the "get to know your gear" opinion. I strongly believe that the more you use something, the better you learn to take full advantage of the strengths of that particular piece of equipment, and the better you learn to manage its shortcomings without even...

Which To Upgrade? Gear Or Skill?

You must forgive my ramblings on this age-old debate. And for many of us, it may seem like the chicken and egg quandary. Should I get a better camera to make me a better photographer? Or has my skill evolved to the point whether I need a better camera to...

Cobras, Cameras, Cures and Karma

The Cobra danced in front of my lens, swaying its porcelain white scales and flaring its hood. This was one of the most alluring and flat-out beautiful animals I’d ever seen. Not the least bit camera shy, the cobra flicked out its pink tongue to sniff the air then suddenly...