I am a software junkie. Most likely driven by my software engineering background, I am always checking out software that does what I need to do, quickly and efficiently. Software that catches my interest often have these characteristics. These four rather basic needs are becoming rarer with each passing year. More software is becoming subscription-based. […]
So, you have been bitten by the starlight bug. Astrolandscapes have initiated the itch for more starlight, perhaps you’ve successfully photographed the Orion Nebula or other deep-space objects with your camera gear. Or you have been imaging deep space objects with a telescope. You successfully capture and stack these jewels in the sky and then […]
If you’ve never considered a 35mm prime lens, you are missing out on a focal length that packs a punch not only for portraits and street photography, but also for landscapes and astrolandscapes. The nifty fifty is most often the prime lens most photographers think of when talking about portraits and street photography. Getting a […]
The Bolt Hunter Lightning Trigger is quite a departure from your standard lightning triggers that exist today. Learn why this trigger has thrown a wrench into the world of photography lightning triggers. Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore. What is a Lightning Trigger? Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s a device that senses […]
Astrolandscape photography has many challenges, on the field and even in post-processing. For anyone who has photographed star trails, stacking the frames quickly reveals the multitude of plane trails and space paraphernalia that litter a sky full of stars and the subsequent tedious task of removing them. Not fun. Thanks to a fellow night photographer, […]
First, What is a Star Party? I get asked this a lot. All year round, amateur astronomers gather around the world under dark skies for star parties. People have been congregating beneath the stars with telescopes for centuries. There are even stories linking back to King George III in the 18th-19th centuries, using lanterns in […]
I am a confessed glass hound. Lenses in my kit range from a vintage 1981 Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 AIS to funky and fantastic, off brand lenses, like the Helios 44-2 58 mm f/2 Russian lens. To wit, this new one in my bag, the AstrHori 6mm f/2.8 fisheye lens. This full-frame lens has a whopping […]
Here is the third installment of using the Alpaca Benro Polaris V2.0 (ABP). A mini PC offers portability and powerful applications anywhere you go, but unlike a laptop, which has a built-in battery, a source of portable power is required. This post specifically addresses setting up a mini PC to control the Benro Polaris in […]
Here is a step-by-step installation of the Alpaca Benro Polaris V2.0 (ABP). Since its release, I have installed it along with N.I.N.A, Stellarium, ASCOM 7.1 on a desktop computer, a laptop, and a mini PC. I am not a Mac user, but I expect the process is similar. This post addresses ABP installation on Windows-based […]
Overview of the Alpaca Benro Polaris V2.0 A new version of Alpaca Benro Polaris (ABP) was released this month, and it is impressive! It is easier to set up than V1.0; it has streamlined many steps, and the Benro Connect app is no longer required for the initial connection to the PC (or Mac). The […]
Here we are, looking ahead to the celestial events of the upcoming year. As I always do, I load up my calendar with the happenings that are coming up. These include planet events, lunar and solar eclipses, meteor showers, expected comets, Moon phases, and Milky Way core visibility. Interspersed with these events, there are delightful […]
The Screw Plate Struggle: Why It’s Holding You Back Picture this: You’re hiking to that epic sunset spot, tripod in tow, only to fumble with a tiny screw knob for agonizing minutes while golden hour slips away. Sound familiar? That’s the silent killer of outdoor photography: the stock screw plate on your ball head. How […]
As a night shooter, I am always on the lookout for filters that can fight the ever-invasive light pollution. My first light pollution filter was the Benro True Night filter, and to date, it remains a favorite. I have since tried others on the market. This is a review of the Kase Neutral Night filter, […]
I recently received a complimentary 82mm Kase Bright Star Focus Focusing Tool to evaluate and review. A little background first: I am an astrolandscape photographer. I teach night photography, and I evaluate photographic gear with a special interest in the gear that assists with night photography. I own various Kase filters and find them to […]
Photographing an astrolandscape is becoming increasingly popular. People are discovering that their digital cameras see very well in the dark and can capture the splendor of the starry skies. Infrared Milky Way photography ramps up the ability to see more detail of the magnificence of a star-filled landscape. Using digital infrared converted cameras expands their […]
What do you struggle with in your photography? Is it difficult to pick up your camera and dedicate time to explore and push your capabilities forward? Or are you in the other camp, photographing constantly but hitting the doldrums in your art? Like anything else we do, investing time is required to become proficient and with this, boredom can set in. If you are proficient in using your camera and it’s not in your hands as often as it once was, it is time to reassess your photographic vision. Likewise, if you aren’t proficient with your camera yet it is time to tackle the barriers.
Ooolala, Milky Way! The Milky Way’s galactic core is now visible in the Northern Hemisphere and rises in the early hours before dawn. Tis the season of galactic splendor in which my psyche oscillates between euphoria and frustration. Perfect “seeing” conditions are rare in New England. Correct forecasts are even rarer. Those of you who […]
Intentional camera movement, or ICM, is a technique that creates unique, painterly images. These are often a single photograph but can also be created utilizing in-camera multiple exposures or combining images in post. As photographers, we most often use our cameras to capture a moment in the literal sense, documenting it in a photojournalistic way. […]
At the beginning of the year, I load up my calendar with the celestial happenings that are coming up. These include planet events, lunar and solar eclipses, meteor showers, expected comets, Moon phases, and Milky Way core visibility. Interspersed with these events there are delightful surprises, like a juicy CME gracing our skies with aurora […]
Time. A simple word that has speed that ever increases. I feel like I just posted A Look Back at 2023 and here I am again, now looking back at 2024. Yikes! We don’t often ponder all the moments we experience in a year until we look back at the photos accumulated during the 365/6 […]
Winter offers spectacular, delicate beauty to be photographed. The challenge for photographing winter is not the cold temperatures but the fleeting window to acquire a successful capture. Snowfall can quickly become a salt inundated mess (a notorious scene here in New England) so time is of the essence to photograph it. Wind can quickly strip […]
One of the things that you often hear is that you can create art with any camera that you have, even your phone. Yes, this is true. However, there is another perspective to consider. Often people feel that it’s their abilities that hold them back from producing an image that they are satisfied with. The […]
The developers of PlanIt! have added a great feature to the Pro version of the app. You can now previsualize a shot with an aurora. Say what? How can you plan an aurora shot when the aurora is such an elusive event? It’s called planning forward while looking back. As we are into solar maximum, […]
Who? Viltrox is a relatively new player in the realm of third-party (relatively) low-cost lenses. They’ve been around since 2009 and their visibility is increasing thanks to the quality, especially their glass for Astro landscape photography. Viltrox manufactures lenses for Nikon, Fuji, Sony, and Canon. Check their website for your particular camera. This is the […]
The Comparison This review is for the Nikon mirrorless Z mount specifically, however it applies to all the various camera mounts Rokinon offers. I have owned the F Mount version of the Rokinon 14mm lens for almost 10 years. This lens is incredibly sharp edge to edge and has minimal coma aberration and next to […]
The Discovery I recently went on a photography trip to Oregon. I accumulated over four thousand images, including several time-lapse sequences shot over a week. When I returned, I copied the raw files from my two cameras to an external drive. I began editing a few images and also a time-lapse sequence. After working on […]
As a photographer, my world revolves around the capture of a moment. A frozen sliver of time. For me, this quote, by the master Dorothea Lange sums it up: “Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” This is the magic that a photograph possesses and never loses. It is […]
We are entering a wonderful time to experience the aurora close to home. Learn how to plan and photograph this most beautiful and elusive event. Our Sun is currently increasing its activity, which is evident from the appearance of numerous sunspots on its surface, flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). These phenomena have a significant […]
As the title may suggest, I am a fan of Bond films (an acute understatement). I’ve viewed every single Bond film, numerous times over. Each time I revisit one, I see something I have missed before, even though I am completely engrossed from the opening to the closing credits. I will suggest applying this well-known […]
I was waiting for this eclipse for ages. I’ve taken photos of many partial eclipses, but I’ve never had the chance to see totality. There were other total eclipses in North America, but they never happened when I was free. Luckily, this one was special, as it was close to my home. Seeing this phenomenon was unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced. It was truly magnificent in action.
Another blink, another year gone. It seems like each year increases its speed exponentially thus increasing my panic of not jamming enough into the allotted 365 days. Time is infinite, my existence is not. 2023 had many moments of extremes, pure joy and of deep sadness and high frustration. I got to visit Death Valley […]
December. The month of the year blazes with colorful lights as the length of daylight approaches its shortest duration. A perfect time to experiment with camera settings and get creative with your photography! You can take advantage of colorful lights close to home, visit the light displays in the city, visit places like La Salette […]
Think I am nuts? Maybe, but take a moment and ponder it. The Magic of Transforming Digital Images into Prints Film vs. Digital: A Quick History Back in the day of film, once you processed your roll, you ended up with something physical. Whether it was prints or slides, you always had the physical product […]
We have an annular eclipse coming up as well as the “North American” eclipse in April 2024. The following how-to applies to any solar eclipse, not just the ones noted. It also applies to any time you wish to photograph the Sun. The Sun is a wonderful object to photograph, eclipse or not. Safety. Safety. […]
I have been playing with a variable infrared filter of late. I came across it on Amazon and it intrigued me. At first, I thought it was one of the many mislabeled items on Amazon, but I clicked on the item to see what it all about. This is a circular glass filter, with an […]
Infrared gives us X-ray vision. Well sort of. It allows us to see past our own narrow (pathetic) bandwidth. It is perfect for night photography. You may think this is an oxymoron. Infrared is normally viewed as photography under a blazing sun, perhaps peppered with some puffy clouds. A type of photography generally shot within […]
A couple of years ago, I had a table at a Christmas fair selling photographs printed on a variety of media including fine art prints. I overheard someone commenting on the price of the prints. She remarked to her friend that she didn’t understand the price of a photo. “After all, it’s not like a […]
How does AI Impact Photographers? AI. Artificial Intelligence. It’s everywhere these days. AI is defined as the simulation of human intelligence by software-coded heuristics. Heuristics are the strategies derived from previous experiences with similar problems. Boxed in is another way of looking at it. Human thought is, or rather should be, limitless. There are three schools […]
When was the last time you went to a carnival? You know, the traveling show you looked forward to as a kid that marked the start of summer. Yes, they are noisy, loud, and crowded but prime fodder for photographing a variety of whirling multi-colored lights. Every carnival is a bit different, albeit with similar […]
Night Filters. What are they? What do they do? Do they really work? There are different perspectives on these filters. Some feel that they don’t really function, but simply cast a blue cast on an image. Others feel they do perform a function, in this case, to balance the numerous white balance issues created with […]
Images with star trails are captivating. They are also easy to accomplish and can be created most anywhere, even in a light-polluted city or your own backyard. Creating a star trail image is a great way to get started in astrolandscape photography. It’s a type of night photography that never gets old. Read on to […]
Night photography is a challenge in many ways. Our night vision is quite pathetic so we need to lean (heavily) on our cameras to tell us how much light is actually available. Luckily, digital cameras see really well in the dark so this becomes a simple exercise in understanding the histogram. These steps are for […]
When we think about photo processing software, Photoshop and Lightroom immediately come to mind. These are great tools and I have been using Photoshop and Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) for many years. Usually, they are part of my main workflow. Having said that, I do use other software as there are many other excellent tools […]
If you live in areas where cold temperatures, snow, and ice are the components, the very word may invoke distaste, dread, or delight. Like other mammals, some humans hibernate, while others continue foraging through the winter season. Which camp are you in? Foragers keep digging for nuggets. These take the form of learning new camera […]
An image of a full Moon is enchanting. However, a moonrise timelapse leaves enchanting behind and gives the viewer a visceral kick in the head. A moonrise can be a challenge to photograph, especially when the Moon is full and rises after astronomical twilight and you’ve set your sights on a foreground object that is […]
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 other manual I’ve encountered. After many false starts and utter failures […]
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. A fusion of left brain/right brain as it were. Some types of photography […]
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 stars are so enormous. But I digress. I have been photographing stars for a long time. My […]
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 Astro module), is a panning head for time-lapse, and much more including multi-row panoramas. I […]
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, our quest is to produce sharp, clear images. We exercise proper form by holding […]
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 medium even at low ISO. Astrolandscapes require fairly short exposures to avoid star […]
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 conditions or perhaps not having a clear area of contrast to […]
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 about hardware only here. However, there is an abundance of gadgets […]
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 beautiful photography but there are a plethora of tools (okay, gadgets) that help […]
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 require experimenting with settings in order to get the exposure right. Sometimes it takes a good chunk of time to […]
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 nature to seek comfort. It’s what we pursue in life in pretty […]
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 it with a big lens I gasped at the clarity of detail. Seeing the craters, […]
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 my favorite lighthouse. As you may […]
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 were avoided since focusing would need to occur before placing the filter on the lens. […]
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 called the visible spectrum. We don’t see well in the dark and our colorful daytime vision […]
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 journey encompasses decades of learning techniques and a multitude of dos […]
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 on the evolving hues of the sky. Our quest for images is often driven […]
