August 2015

Becoming a better travel and vacation photographer (VIDEO)

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 .

US-Mexico border in West Texas: Panoramas shot with the Sony RX100 IV

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…

Sonora Desert Museum: Truly a museum turned inside-out

It has been many years since we last visited the Sonora Desert Museum, and it has only gotten better over time. Not only is it just about the best, and most fun, way to learn about the desert (specifically the Sonoran Desert, but also deserts in general), but the exhibits are remarkably photographer-friendly (while still being very respectful of the animals, like this young Mountain Lion). One thing that always strikes me when I visit is how little real contact we have with most of the creatures that inhabit our continent. For example, I have many thousands of photos of African Leopards in the wild, and essentially zero of their North American equivalent, the Mountain Lion, in the wild…

Sony RX100 Mark IV field tested: More camera for more money

Sony Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV Digital CameraFor those have followed the ground-breaking Sony RX100 since it became one of the first and best cameras to fit a 1-inch sensor into a compact form factor, each new version is eagerly anticipated. The good news is that Sony has steadily improved the camera's features with each updated model.

Think Tank Trifecta photo day pack Field Tested: A winner for those who want an accessible field bag

Regular readers will know that I’m a fan of Think Tank’s now-discontinued Sling-O-Matic easy-access field pack. I love the way I can get at my camera and lenses in any situation without putting the bag down. That’s critical in many nature photography situations, including when in marshes or even in crowded public places. Fortunately, Think Tank has come up with a new bag that gives me much of this same freedom, while adding the versatility of being a true backpack – The and . I field-tested a Trifecta 10 on my Alaska bear photo safaris this year, and was quite pleased…