The Lensbaby Velvet 28

A couple of weeks ago, Lensbaby introduced their latest art lens, The Velvet28.  Having tested and loved the other two Velvet Lenses, the Velvet56 and Velvet85, I was excited to hear of this lens.  For those of you that aren’t familiar with Lensbaby, they produce high-quality lenses that fit into the category of Art Lenses.  […]

ThinkTank RETROSPECTIVE BACKPACK 15

Back a long time, one month ago, I took a trip to Moab, Utah for my workshop at Arches National Park.  On this journey, I brought my new ThinkTank Photo backpack, the Retrospective Backpack 15 for a trial run.   If you’re familiar with ThinkTank, you know they have had the Retrospective series for years.  They […]

10 Things to do While in “Self-Isolation”

We are living through a moment in history we wish was done and over, but is not.  As we undertake the necessary steps of Self-isolation there is one aspect that is hard to ignore … boredom.    We know that self-isolation is the correct way to deal with the issue of Covid 19, but as […]

2020 Missouri Botanical Garden Orchid Show

Every year at this time, the Missouri Botanical Gardens host what is considered to be one of the premier orchid shows in the United States.  It has been my pleasure for the past 5 years to photograph the show before it opens to showcase the beautiful orchids.    Each year, Pat Scace and her team […]

The irix Blackstone 15mm f2.4 Lens

If you like taking landscape images, a good wide-angle lens is your friend.  Often when you get to the Ultra-wide category you have two choices; expensive or poorer quality.     Recently, I heard about a Lens company, Irix a Swiss designed lens being manufactured in Korea.  Irix began offering a 15mm wide-angle lens a few […]

Canon RF 24-240mm Super Zoom – Hands On Part2

This is the follow up to my initial review of the new Canon RF24-240 Super Zoom Lens.  If you haven’t read the first part, you may want to click here first. After completing a few shoots with the new Canon RF 24-240, my opinion did not change about this lens.  It is a solid, well-built […]

New Firmware for Canon EOS-R & EOS-RP

This is exciting news if you are a Canon EOS-R or EOS-RP shooter.  Canon has been hinting for a while that they are working to improve the speed of the autofocus on their two Full frame mirrorless cameras. Up until now, Sony has been without a challenger for the fastest autofocus on a mirrorless camera.  […]

It’s that Time of Year Again

In case you haven’t noticed, things are changing.  By “things”, I mean for most of us, the season.  There are little details; it’s not as warm in the morning and not as blistering hot as it was two, three weeks ago.  And then there’s the undeniable sign, the one that makes my blood curdle every […]

Canon RF 24-240mm Super Zoom – Hands On Part1

The New Canon RF 24-240mm f4-6.3 Super Zoom lens is due to be released on 09/05/19, but due to a bit of luck, I managed to get my hands on one 6 days early.  This is another of the new Lenses Canon is bringing out for its new mirrorless “R” series cameras.  Allot of attention […]

Isla Mujeres – A Bucket List destination

Every photographer should have a bucket list; a list of places that they want to visit and shoot at some point in their life.  As you visit a place you can then mark it off your list.  The island of Isla Mujeres is a place I put on my bucket list, and after visiting there […]

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence, (AI) in one way shape or form seems to be most everywhere nowadays.  We no longer have to turn on lights, look things up, or adjust the thermostat.  We talk to our little AIs and they do it for us.  It’s either an exciting new time for us or the start of the […]

Don’t Believe Everything You Read

I know, what a great way to start a piece, “Don’t believe everything you read”  and you’re reading this.  Let me clarify.  There is a great deal of information on the internet about Infrared and Infrared photography, buuuuuuut, a good deal of that information is just plain wrong.   As an instructor, I see many situations […]

The Kenya Photo Safari 2019

Jambo, On May 31st, I left with a group of 10 photographers for a 10-day Photo  Safari to Kenya, Africa.  During our time in Kenya, we went to all the major Game reserves, Amboseli,  Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Masi Mara.  In total, we traveled over 1,200 kilometers.  The goal was to see as much […]

StreetWalker V2.0 by ThinkTank Photo (Part One)

Tomorrow, I am taking an adventurous group of photographers to Kenya for an amazing 10 Day African Safari.  This Safari offers the opportunity to capture the images of a lifetime.  What it doesn’t offer though is a large amount of space for a Camera bag.  So, I had to whittle what I wanted to bring […]

The Adobe Apocalypse

Last week, the interwebs lost its mind.  Why? No, Kylie didn’t get a new tattoo, this was even more serious!  Adobe was raising their pricing for Photoshop CC!!!!   Adobe Photoshop CC has been $9.99 a month for ……umm, …… a really long time.  Who do they think they are?  A company that has the right […]

The (new?!?) Aerochrome Look

Aww, the Look of Aerchrome Infrared.  Isn’t it so cool?   That Blue Sky and the cool Red foliage. It really has such a cool look. I love the Aerochrome Infrared look, even with people.   I’ve been emulating the look of Aerochrome IR for years.  In fact, if you’ve had a camera converted in the past […]

Long Exposures – EOS-R

Recently, there has been discussion and concerns regarding the Canon EOS-R and Long Exposures.  The way the story (wrongly) goes is that the EOS-R has an internal IR light that will fog any long exposures or exposures at a high ISO.  This is not the case.  I have been shooting with the Canon EOS-R now […]

The 2019 Missouri Botanical Gardens Orchid Show

Every year at this time, the Missouri Botanical Gardens puts together what is said to be the best Orchid Show in the United States.  For the past 5 years, I have had the privilege and honor of photographing this show right before it opens.  The minute you walk thru the exhibit doors, you are immediately transported […]

Real Street Photography on the road to Nairobi

I like the idea of street photography.  Capturing the real day to day activities of a locale.  During my trip to Kenya this year, I wanted to capture some “real life ” images, but whenever I got my camera out everything changed . . . . .  because I was there, and everyone knew I was photographing them.  I […]

My Perfect Conversion

I got into Digital Infrared very early; over tens years ago.  I still remember wandering onto this amazing looking image online and going “Whoa, . . . .what is that?”  I’ve always loved the look of digital IR and the way it can make almost anything look more interesting.  Up until a year ago, if […]