I teach night photography workshops in Alaska. After covering the fundamentals of focusing techniques and how to get proper exposure, I then turn to a discussion on depth of field and composition. I tell participants not to abandon the principles…
Long Exposure Photography
We usually equate long exposure photography with astrophotography, where long shutter speeds are needed to properly expose for stars and moon, the Milky Way, auroras and other nighttime phenomena. However, long exposures (known as dragging the shutter) are also used…
Oh My, Aurora!
Late last month, two coronal mass ejections (a fancy term for ionized gases that erupt from the surface of the sun) in succession hurled towards the earth. When they arrived on February 26-27, they produced a G3 solar storm that…
Tangle Lakes Sunrise
The Denali Highway is a 135-mile gravel road (Alaskan for “highway”) that connects Paxson on the east with Cantwell on the west. Prior to completion of the paved Parks Highway in 1971, it was the only route for people living…
Dream World of Orton Imagery
As artists, a proverb we often hear is “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” Oscar Wilde expounded on that original quote by Charles Caleb Colton by adding “…that mediocrity can pay to greatness.” Cynicism aside, the irony of Mr.…
Astrophotography Noise Reduction
Astrophotography presents unique challenges to a photographer: manually focusing in the dark, manual exposure, and in Alaska, coping with the cold while waiting for the aurora to come out. As much as thoughts of post-processing our images nestled in a…
Long Exposure Math Simplified
Long exposure photography involves shutter speeds anywhere from one second to minutes or even hours. These long shutter speeds record the passage of time on a still medium. With moving objects a sense of motion is conveyed. What makes this…
Autofocus Micro-adjustment
Are you old enough to remember the days when the only way to focus a lens was manually (prior to the early 80s)? Can you imagine tracking a bird in flight with manual focus while simultaneously striving for a proper…
Teachable Photos
Teachable moments are defined as unplanned opportunities that arise in teaching situations to facilitate learning for students. Whether it is a concept, an event, or insight, teachable moments serve to solidify the learning process in a memorable way that rote…