One of the windiest nights I’ve ever taken pictures turned into perhaps the single most rewarding — and frightening — landscape photography experience of my life. I was on the Mesquite Sand Dunes in Death Valley, a place I had visited twice in the past, though under much tamer conditions....
Why Capture One Cannot Replace Adobe Lightroom
Many photographers, including our team at PL, have been frustrated with Adobe's latest move to discontinue the standalone version of Lightroom, something Adobe said it would not do in the past. As a result, a number of us (including myself) have been looking for alternative post-processing tools that can replace...
Why I Prefer Being a Lazy Post-Processor than a Lazy Photographer
It doesn't seem that long ago when I wrote my 100th article for Photography Life, and here we are today with article number 150. I must confess that I mulled over what topic that this 'mini-milestone' article should cover. My 'little voice' told me that it needed to have a...
An Easy Way to Compose Landscape Photos at Night
When you're out taking nighttime landscape photos — Milky Way photography, or photos of the Aurora Borealis — one of the most difficult tasks is to compose your photos exactly how you want. The reason? It's simply too dark to see anything. Looking through the viewfinder on a DSLR, it can...
Nova Scotia Photography Tour Sample Images
To begin, an apology that I have not been very active here at Photography Life for the past few months. My time has been consumed with client video work, as well as working on a photography eBook project. My wife and I recently spent two weeks in Nova Scotia doing...
Depth of Field Myths: The Biggest Misconceptions
Depth of field causes more confusion among photographers — beginners and otherwise — than nearly any other topic out there. Many "common knowledge" tips about depth of field have some flaws, or are at least partially inaccurate. At a personal level, it took me far too long to separate the good suggestions...
Alternative Postcards From New York
When I say alternative I really mean images that aren’t the typical scenic images from the Big Apple, although there are a few in here that are. It’s probably just an excuse for my bad photography but I wasn’t disposed to take my postcard shots of familiar sights. These are...
Shimoda Adventure 60 Backpack Review
If you do a lot of hiking and long-distance treks as a photographer, you might have some difficulty finding a good backpack to carry your equipment. Sure, regular camera backpacks will protect your gear and allow quick access, but they might not be comfortable for long travels. The other option...
How to Avoid Crowds at Popular Destinations
We’ve all been there. You’re standing in front of an amazing landscape with the camera in your hands ready to take beautiful pictures but there’s one problem: there are hundreds of people surrounding you and obscuring the scene, making it difficult to capture a good-looking image. (more…)
Photographing Alaska
Who hasn’t dreamt of a trip to Alaska? It may not seem such a big deal for residents of west coast or NW USA, but for the rest of us it seems as far away as the moon. Even so, wherever we traveled we’d run into someone who waxed lyrical...