Gear How-to – Benro Polaris Astro Setup

The Benro Polaris Astro is an amazing "smart" tripod head. I am very happy with the abilities of this amazing tool. When I purchased it, I discovered that that wasn't a lot of information on the setup. The manual isn't great, not unlike any…

Gear Review – Focus on Stars Filter

Photographers always have their eye and ear out for a gadget to help make a task easier. It is often a quest not unlike the search for the Holy Grail. Photography is a combination of artistic creativity with often high technical requirements.…
Silvana Della Camera

In Search of the Pinpoint Star

This is probably the most difficult part of an astro photograph. It doesn't matter if we are talking about astrolandscapes or deep space photography, the perfectly focused pinpoint star is a challenge. It's almost an oxymoron given that…

Gear Review – Benro Polaris Astro 3-Axis Tripod Head

Someone got into my brain and designed my dream tripod head. As an astrolandscape, time-lapse, and deep-space photographer this new Benro Polaris Astro 3-Axis tripod head does all that I need and then some. This device tracks stars (with the…

How-to: Get Moving (aka ICM)

As in moving your camera. I recently held a photo walk that revolved around intentional camera movement, also known as ICM. As we practiced ICM, it occurred to me why it is sometimes difficult to get going with ICM. As photographers,…

All the Noise Noise Noise Noise…

Camera noise. It is the nature of high ISO but it's nothing you need to be afraid of. You may actually stifle your photography by avoiding its use. As an astrolandscape and infrared photographer, I can't avoid noise. Infrared is a noisy…

How to: Peaked Focus

One of my favorite features of my camera is focus peaking. It is a feature that some cameras have that helps you achieve sharp focus when using manual lenses or focusing on a scene that the camera is struggling with due to low lighting…
Dew heater

Gadgetmania (Part 2)

Photography is one of those crafts that can span the extremes when it comes to accessories. Technically all you need is a camera to create a photograph. Yes, there is the vision of the photographer that is the driving force, but we are talking…
L-bracket

Gadgetmania (Part 1)

Some women love shoes. I love gadgets. Especially photography gadgets. I'm not talking cameras - though they are in a category of mania all their own. I'm talking about all the other periphery. Sure, a camera and tripod are the basis for…
Infrared Long ExposureSilvana Della Camera

Long exposure photography – Hustle It Up

Night photography and ND filters require long exposures. Long exposure images are beautifully silky and visually rich. Clouds become soft and reveal the movement. Swaying trees become dreamy, and water becomes exquisitely glossy. However, they…
Frozen ReflectionSilvana Della Camera

Comfort. Friend or Foe?

I think comfort has a dual purpose. It serves to increase confidence in our abilities to accomplish something. It allows us to sharpen what we know how to do very well. It can also make us complacent. A double edge sword. It's human…
Veiled Full Moon

How-to: Moon Photography – Like a Big Pizza Pie

There is something magical about photographing the Moon. It's a perfect subject for a photographer. It's always there. It's always changing. For me, it never gets boring. I stalk the Moon every chance I get. The first time I photographed…
Cloud StacksSilvana Della Camera

Tripping (over) the Clouds Fantastic

Sometimes you are given lemons. Luckily I love lemonade and tend to make a lot of it. This was a night comprised of a large basket of lemons. It was supposed to be a clear night and a full moon, so I set off to shoot a time-lapse at…

Filter Fumble

Photographic filters are fantastic. They alter the light and allow for great photographic creativity. They are also a pain in the posterior. For a long time, I would do my best to avoid using them. Multi-stop ND filters in particular…

Glimpsed Actualities

Ever wonder if you are missing something when looking at a scene? I'm not talking about missing "the shot", I'm talking about the imperceptible. We humans have pretty limited eyesight. We see a slim sliver of the electromagnetic spectrum…

A (Large) Grain of Salt

I've been on my photographic journey for as long as I remember. My earliest memories revolve around holding a camera. It has stalled at various times in my life, but I have always returned to it, subsequently veering onto another path of visualization. My…
Silvana Della Camera

Dump the Color

Say what? You read that right. Dump the color. As photographers, we wallow in beautiful colors. We experience euphoria when a colorful sunrise or sunset smacks our retinas. We have a collective feeding frenzy as we feast our eyes and cameras…