Many entry-level or mid-level digital single lens reflex (DLSR) cameras have a dial on top of the camera called the exposure mode dial. It directly controls how the camera and the user interface to expose the imaging sensor to light. Sometimes the dial resides in the spot that in years past housed the film rewind…
Continue reading →My wife Abby and I have just returned from our annual anniversary vacation, our seventh. We usually head west, often to Moab, Utah, where we married. This year, however, we decided to try something different and sample the photographic fruits offered by Las Vegas, Nevada. Neither Abby nor I gamble, but we both love to…
Continue reading →Photographers who shoot outdoors a lot try to take advantage of what has become known as the “Golden Hour” or “Golden Moment.” In reality, this period of time during the first or last light of day can vary depending on what you are shooting and how you want to use the light. Essentially, this moment…
Continue reading →One thing I try to stress in my class, which is sometimes ignored, is the value of what we call in the biz “fast glass,” meaning lenses that feature big apertures. In general, the gold standard in my line of work is f/2.8. It represents the point at which most camera/lighting/lens combinations can get the…
Continue reading →For lots of years during the film era, I shot with manual cameras, usually the Nikon FM2. With no automation, I learned a lot of subtle tricks through trial and error, including one that has since been aided by the addition of a feature called slow-sync flash. I can still remember coming back from a…
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