I recently received a few questions from a student on controlling exposures and using ND filters. Here are his questions and my responses – keep in mind these are very general answers and books have been written on these topics. I highly recommend “Understanding Exposure” by Bryan Peterson for anyone who wants to dive into this head to toe. Now for the questions…
"Heron Marsh Trail" Canon 1Ds Mk III, 1/4 sec @f/14, ISO 400, 17mm (EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II) CREATIVE NOTES "Heron Marsh": This image was pretty straight forward from a technical standpoint, and a good example where any mode except manual fails miserably to make a proper exposure. A careful balance between shadows and highlights is crucial in terms of conveying…
Ansel Adams once said "the negative is the score, and the print is the performance", and for me, the print is what drives my motivation and all of my creative efforts as a landscape photographer. I love this quote because it really captures my thinking process, especially coming from a music background where everything I did was focused on producing…
Over the years I've had my fair (or as I see it unfair) share of failures, whether working in the music industry or photography. There probably isn't a day that goes by when I'm in the field where I don't fail at some point or another, often repeatedly. This is most evident in the editing stage when I return from…
Light is the basis of all great landscape photography, and it influences me and my work more than any other single element. I've often tried to describe how light can create strong emotional responses in a viewer, yet it is so difficult to put into words at times. I recently discovered Art:21, a great PBS television series that focuses exclusively on…