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...
Oben CC-2461 Tripod Kit Review
Many photographers who want to upgrade their tripod are stuck choosing between high-end aluminum tripods and low-end carbon fiber models. These two types of tripod tend to be similar in price, which makes the decision even more difficult. I have been trying out the carbon fiber Oben CC-2461 tripod over...
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...
How Was This Picture Made #08: The Answer
Last week, I had posted a landscape photograph for installment #8 of our How Was This Picture Taken? series. Judging from the comments, many of our readers took this exercise very seriously and posted deliberate and insightful remarks on how this photograph was visualized and constructed. I enjoyed both the aesthetic and...
Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 vs 500mm f/4 at Block Creek Ranch
Recently, my wife and I headed to the Texas hill country near San Antonio for a brief getaway at the Block Creek Bed and Breakfast. This trip offered me a chance to spend some time using the new Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E VR zoom and it has changed my opinion of it....
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...
Dell XPS 13 Review
After reviewing Microsoft's Surface machines, a number of our readers requested us to also review other competing products that sport enough processing power to run photo applications like Lightroom and Photoshop. Since in my past corporate life I spent quite a bit of time with Dell PCs and servers, it...