What do you do if you spend weeks planning a photography adventure, and then when the time to experience that adventure arrives, something comes up that spoils all your preparation? Maybe its the weather, maybe its a park closure, or maybe the fall colour was two weeks late. Experiences like...
Sand Dunes Photography Tips
The way I see it, sand dunes are among the most wonderful places in the world. They’re the very definition of a windswept landscape — the product of our planet’s most fundamental forces. They also exist everywhere, from coastal regions to deserts that span entire continents. Below, I’ll offer some...
The Benefits of Revisiting Older Photographs
I must confess that I very seldom go back through my older photographs unless I'm focused on a project that specifically requires me to do so. That's been the case lately as I've been working on a number of eBook projects. What I've discovered is that there certainly are benefits...
Recommended Camera Equipment for Beginners
Everyone’s favorite part of photography is camera equipment. I’m kidding, of course — although that is the impression you'll get from certain photographers. But no one can deny that some gear is necessary in order to take pictures. At the very least, you need a camera and lens, but there...
Photographing a Kickboxing Class
If you’ll excuse the pun it seemed like a good way to kick-start the New Year. When a friend invited me to her kickboxing class to indulge in some photography while she trained I accepted. Alpha Whiskey needs constant stimulation to get his juices flowing and photography is no exception....
What Are Histograms? A Photographer’s Guide
Histograms are the solution to a fundamental problem in photography: Our eyes don’t always tell the truth. Have you ever been in a dark room, turned on your phone, and felt it blind you like nobody’s business? The same thing can happen in photography. Several times, I’ve taken pictures at...
Is Fuji X-T2 and XF 100-400mm Ready for Bird Photography?
When I decided to sell my professional Nikon cameras and glass and make the switch to Fujifilm, the question I had was “will I still be able to photograph birds?” During spring migration last year, I was fortunate enough to be able to get a hold of the Fujifilm XF...
Nikon 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR Review
The Nikon 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR is a professional-grade super-telephoto zoom lens designed for sports and wildlife photographers. Its predecessor, the Nikon 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II, was a very popular lens for many years among many action photographers. When Canon released its 200-400mm f/4L IS USM with...
How to Use Light in Photography
At the end of the day, there's only one reason why people like good photos. It's a simple concept, really, but it also forms the foundation for all of photography. Emotion. For a photo to succeed, it has to resonate with your viewer. That could happen for a number of...
What is GPU Accelerated in Lightroom?
A while ago, Adobe finally added Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) Acceleration to its Lightroom post-processing software. It was exciting news, as many photographers could not wait to take advantage of their fast GPU cards in order to speed up Lightroom, which was getting painfully slower with each new release. Unfortunately,...