Without a doubt, the release of ultra-fast M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD drives has played a huge role in not only the IT world as a whole, but also in the photography community, where more and more photographers are choosing to build their own machines in order to speed up their photography workflow. Using M.2 NVMe drives for storing Lightroom catalogs, RAW files and cached data can speed up performance considerably, which is why many photographers, including myself, have been choosing…
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Low Light Photography Tips
Low light photography is not necessarily just night photography, as many people assume. There could be different amounts of light coming from various sources and whatever is less than daytime light outside, I consider low-light. Indoors photography without much ambient light (as in many of our homes) as well as the light that is barely visible to our eyes at night, is also considered to be low-light. In this article, I will provide tips on how to take pictures in…
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Behind-The-Camera Shy: Tips for the Timid Photographer
If you’re at all like me, circumspect and bashful, then taking candid portraits of strangers can be intimidating, if not something you avoid altogether. Candids of everyday people are what drew me to photography in the first place, so to get over my reticence I came up with the following strategies.
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Using Manual Focus Lenses on Nikon DSLR Cameras
One of the greatest features of single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras is the interchangeability of their lenses. From super-wide fisheye to ultra-telephoto, interchangeable lenses have given SLR cameras the versatility to tackle almost any photographic challenge, and enabled 35mm film SLRs to dominate the market for “serious” photography for decades, until the advent of digital SLRs (DSLRs) beginning around the year 2000.
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What is the Sunny 16 Rule in Photography?
One of the more common exposure tips in photography is called the sunny 16 rule. Although it dates back to the early days of photography, and some would argue that it is obsolete at this point, most photographers still hear about this rule while learning about exposure. So, what is the sunny 16 rule, and does it still matter for taking pictures today?
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Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E VR AF-P Review
In this in-depth review of the Nikon AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR lens, we will take a close look at what this full-frame lens has to offer when used on modern Nikon DSLR cameras, go over its features and compare it to its predecessor. The Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E VR AF-P was announced in July of 2017 as a major update to the existing 70-300mm lens design, optimized for high-resolution camera bodies, and armed with the latest optical technologies. Sporting…
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Getting Motivated Again After a Newborn
Having a child cannot be described, it can only be experienced. Having a child will bring you joy in ways you never anticipated, but will also test your resilience skills like never before. Having a child will change you physically, and mentally. So what’s the relation with this and Photography Life? Nasim recently posted a Guest Post Contest. As I was going through the Suggestions section, I felt none of these articles would have been useful for me 1.5 years…
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How to Photograph the Milky Way Bow
In this article, we will take a closer look at how to photograph the Milky Way bow. I wrote this guide from the point of view of a person who has largely taught himself. During the last four years, I have also had the invaluable help of a fellow night photographer. I made all the mistakes and then tried a lot of corrections while I learned and worked to inspire others to try it out, too. I will admit to…
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Automation is Coming – How Will it Affect the Developing World?
Automation? Developing world? This is supposed to be a photography blog, not The Economist! I know. I know. Have patience, dear reader, and it will come together soon. And I promise there will be photos. Let me explain: I have a fascination with photographing Pakistan’s working class. I was born and raised there and have a tremendous amount of respect for the resilience, work ethic and ingenuity of the common people. Whenever I visit, I try to capture elements of…
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Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM Review
Introduced in 1999, the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM has long been regarded as a benchmark in Canon’s lineup in terms of image sharpness and focusing performance. At the time of its introduction, the EF 300mm f/2.8L IS replaced the very successful EF 300mm f/2.8L USM which was one of Canons best lenses. With this update, Canon gave the EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM a wholly new optical formula with one fluorite element and two UD-glass elements along with…
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Recommended Camera Settings for Landscape Photography
It is crucial to set your camera properly if you want to take the highest quality landscape photos. However, with the large range of menu options and settings found in cameras today, it isn’t easy to find the optimal setup. This article covers the best camera settings to use for landscape photography, including many options that are “set it and forget it” parts of the menu that you rarely will need to adjust. Keep in mind that all of these…
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Gnarbox 2.0 SSD Announcement
Having just reviewed both WD My Passport Wireless SSD and the original Gnarbox, I came to the conclusion that both were half-baked solutions (with each having its own list of pros and cons) due to all the performance, hardware and software issues I encountered. It looks like while I was busy reviewing the Gnarbox, the team behind the product was already busy releasing the next iteration, “Gnarbox 2.0 SSD”. After looking at the details of this major release, it appears…
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Photographing the Long-Necked Padaung Ladies
Two ethical issues might obstruct your visit to Kayah State in Myanmar to visit the “long-necked ladies” of the Padaung Tribe. First, you might not wish to visit a country whose army is committing genocide against its Rohingya minority, never mind that you are at the far end of the country from that sadness. But, your tourist dollars are supporting the guides, restaurant owners and their staff, and all the other people who rely on them for their livelihood. And,…
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WD My Passport Wireless SSD Review
One of the challenges of photographers who work in the field is to make sure that their data is always fully backed up. While many photographers rely on either keeping two copies of their images on different memory cards, some prefer to manually back up their work using a laptop or a dedicated backup device. For a number of years now, Western Digital has been providing backup solutions specifically aimed at photographers and the new WD My Passport Wireless SSD-series…
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Gnarbox Review
As photographers, we heavily rely on computers to store, edit, backup and export our work. While it is nice to be able to work from home or from our offices, many of us have to count on using more portable solutions in the field. As a result, those of us who frequently travel to remote locations often end up using portable laptops. However, laptops are large, heavy, fragile and they require power to work for more than a few hours.…
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Taking Winning Shots is Never Incidental
After I had retired, and my wife and I had moved to Kelowna, BC from Montreal I became quite serious about digital photography, a luxury I could never have enjoyed while working. Exploring the beautiful Okanagan Valley while hiking with my wife, Jane and our Golden Retriever became a large part of our new outdoor life. Having been married only a short time, I can remember my wife, who knew I was a committed photographer, once asking me why I…
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Five Tips for Improving Your Landscape Photography Compositions
Whether you are exclusively a landscape photographer or simply someone who likes to capture awesome shots of just about anything, landscape photography can be an excellent way to hone your ability to put together a composition. Lots of subjects that result in excellent shots require a photographer to react quickly in order to capture a moment that will be gone in mere seconds. A landscape, on the other hand, comes with a stillness that allows that same photographer to stop,…
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What is Low-Key Monochrome Photography?
With all the amazing new cameras and lenses creating outstanding color, most of us are flooded with saturated images all over social media. But, a few decades back, most of what we saw were gray worlds. Even though current day photography can bring out millions of colors to life, the gray world is calm, peaceful and fascinating on its own. In this article, we shall see how to make interesting monochrome images and bring them to life, in a nutshell.
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What is the Rule of Thirds? A Guide for Beginners
One of the most popular ways to compose your photographs is to use the “Rule of Thirds”. Although this compositional rule is frequently used by photographers, not everyone understands exactly what it is or when it works. This article introduces the rule of thirds and explains when to use it for composition (or not). Keep in mind that this rule is a suggestion for beginners and those who struggle with properly composing their pictures, and it is far from the…
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How to Photograph the Aurora Borealis
Capturing a stunning shot of the northern lights (or southern lights) dancing across the sky surely must be on the bucket list of many photographers out there. On a recent trip into the Arctic Circle, I was lucky enough to see the aurora borealis on several nights. What follows are some tips and recommendations on how to photograph the northern lights and come back with some stunning pictures.
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