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. Digital cameras […]
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 time-lapse 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 […]