Submitted by David Cardinal on Tue, 08/22/2017 - 12:37
I love using my Think Tank when shooting from a vehicle, like a safari truck in Africa, or a boat in Alaska, or even from a blind in Texas. With room for both my photo gear and my 15-inch laptop, it is one of the most-versatile photo backpacks on the market. But lugging it through airports, especially on the super-long walks we often face on international connections, is painful. So I was quite excited when Think Tank released a Roller version. I used a as my backpack in Alaska, and it did everything I wanted.
Submitted by David Cardinal on Wed, 08/17/2016 - 08:33
If you’ve been considering giving up on DSLRs and shifting to a smaller, possibly-lower-cost mirrorless camera, Nikon wants to make you think again. The new builds on the image quality of Nikon’s DSLRs and adds some intriguing usability features – like SnapBridge which should make image sharing with your mobile device much easier. At 5 fps, it should have enough performance for most. And you can get it in a kit with Nikon’s new 18-55mm VR lens for $650 when it ships in September.
Submitted by David Cardinal on Mon, 06/20/2016 - 07:53
No one like carrying a lot of camera gear, or changing lenses. But for many of us it is a necessary evil to get the shots we want. But the question I get asked most is "I want a camera that does it all, but I don't want to carry several lenses or a big backpack or tripod, what should I buy?" The new is an excellent answer. With a 1-inch-format 20MP sensor, and a 24-600mm super-zoom lens from Zeiss, it takes remarkably good images for an all-in-one camera, and it does it across a massive focal length range. The big upgrade from the Mark II is an increase in zoom range from 200mm to 600mm at the long end (resulting in a slightly larger, and more-expensive, camera).
Submitted by David Cardinal on Wed, 06/08/2016 - 08:01
I’m just back from an East Coast swing including some fun bird photography on the Eastern Shore (hands-on with the coming soon!). The highlight, though, was definitely B&H’s OPTIC 2016 conference & tradeshow. Now in its second year, OPTIC was bigger and better this year, with more sponsors and more speakers. The tradeshow floor featured a wide-variety of cameras, lenses, accessories, and photographic service offerings. My thanks both to B&H (David Brommer, Deborah Gilbert, and the rest of the team) for hosting, and especially to DataColor for sponsoring my talk on Photographing the Bears of Alaska (based on the 17 years I’ve been capturing them on film and digital, and 15 years of ). Here are some of the highlights of the show for me...
Submitted by David Cardinal on Thu, 11/12/2015 - 08:52
Nothing is more frustrating to a photographer than getting back from a trip and having your photos not do your experience justice. I’ll be hosting a Free webinar on November 23rd, hosted by Datacolor and co-sponsored by DxO to help you with setting up a color-managed workflow, and then going beyond managing color to mastering color in your travel and vacation photography. It’s free but . The Webinar will start at 11am Pacific (2pm Eastern) and last about an hour (including time for questions).
Submitted by David Cardinal on Mon, 08/24/2015 - 08:21
Whether you take your travel photography seriously enough to go on specialized trips, or simply want to do a better job capturing memories from your vacation, there are plenty of useful tips and techniques in the talk I gave at B&H this Spring. The good news is, even if you missed it in person, it is now online and Free to watch, courtesy of the team at the B&H events center. Topics covered range from selecting gear, preparing for your trip, how to schedule your shooting day, best tactics for great photos, the ethics of travel photography, and how to correctly process and show off your images. Special thanks to our sponsor, Datacolor, and to Photodex for the slideshow software illustrated. If this video gets you itching for some great travel photography, we hope you can join us for our .
Submitted by David Cardinal on Mon, 08/24/2015 - 07:46
On our recent trip from California to eastern Texas, we hugged the border much of the way across Texas. Some of it was fenced, but much of it is still amazingly wild, rugged, and beautiful. I was fortunate enough to have the new Sony RX100 Mark IV with me, which has an amazingly good Panorama mode, and able to quickly and easily capture these wide-format images that help convey the scope and grandeur of the region…
Submitted by David Cardinal on Sat, 05/23/2015 - 12:54
Before you go on a trip – whether it is a family vacation, adventure travel, or one focused on photography – it is important to know how to use your camera before you go. While reading the manual is always helpful – if you can make it through the hundreds of pages – it doesn’t let you focus on the key features you’re likely to need most. We’ve picked out ten of the most important sets of skills you should try to learn before you go. Some may not apply to you, so feel free to pick and choose, but the list will at least give you a starting point:
Submitted by David Cardinal on Wed, 04/01/2015 - 16:35
As a photographer that travels a lot and relies on my smartphone for directions, music, email, and photo-related applications, it is important for me to be able to securely mount my phone in cars and trucks – both mine and rental vehicles. Just as important, it needs to charge effectively on long trips. Ideally, the charging would be wireless, which really helps with convenience and cable management. I’ve tried quite a number of car mounts – both wired and wireless – without finding one that met all my needs. Until I tried the new TYLT Vu Car (wireless)…
Submitted by David Cardinal on Mon, 03/16/2015 - 08:47
Sony brought the premium compact camera segment back to life with its 1-inch sensor RX100, but its rivals haven't left it have free run of the market. Panasonic's Lumix LX100 has become a worthy competitor, although its larger size and greater weight make it a less attractive alternative than Sony's latest version, the RX100 III. Now Canon has come out with a model that combines the popular interface from its "S-series" point and shoots with a few more manual controls and a 1-inch, 20MP sensor, to create the Canon G7 X. It has the best overall image quality ratings of any camera in its class, so we got one to put through its paces…
We’re getting down to the wire for holiday gifts, and if you’re like me, there are always a couple people that are hard to shop for. So I wanted to pass along my top travel accessories, in case one of them would help fill the bill:
Submitted by David Cardinal on Tue, 07/08/2014 - 13:08
I’m often asked what lenses I recommend for various photo subjects – typically right before a reader or client is about to head off on a trip. What often goes without saying is what lenses I don’t travel with. In many cases, these were my “go-to” lenses for many years, but a combination of industry trends has helped me lighten up my traveling kit substantially. The changes aren’t for everyone, but they are worth considering for anyone who has begun to dread traveling with all their gear. Before I plunge in, please remember that I’m not saying these lenses aren’t still some of my favorites, or that you shouldn’t rely on them anywhere and everywhere, just that it is always worth thinking about what you are traveling with and why…
Without question, traveling with photo gear only gets harder. Airlines continue to winnow down the amount of carry-on they allow, and checked bags are subject to loss and breakage. As many of my readers (and safari participants) know, I’m a big fan of my Scottevest, that allows me to stash a tablet, phone, headphones, hat, glasses, lunch, and maybe a rainshell conveniently. But it doesn’t really help with the bulk storage of laptop, camera, lenses, flashes, and chargers. Photo vests are an alternative used by many of us, but now a new set of products pushes the limit even further…
Submitted by David Cardinal on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 09:58
There is a lot of discussion about the ethics of altering images in Photoshop. But even more important is how we as photographers act in the field. There are many ethical issues which arise whether you're doing travel, nature or wildlife photography.
These are items that we either rely on personally in my travels or have been picked out for our clients by the experienced travel pros at Edward’s Luggage, a local family owned chain of four travel and luggage stores here in the Bay Area. It is by no means complete but I’ll be adding to it and expanding it as new products come to my attention:
Luggage
