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 […]
