These little tidbits will save a lot of headaches if you travel with your camera
In October 2010, I made the decision to pursue my photography career full-time. Since then, travel has become an important component of my business. As you might imagine, traveling with your camera gear adds a layer of complexity to any plans you may have. Whether its dealing with airport security or just figuring out how to pack everything so it is safe, there are lots of little things that can make your travel experience easier. Here are some of my favorite travel tips.
Which filters should you use in digital photography?
Photographic filters modify the light coming into your camera, thereby creating effects during image capture. Filters are used to increase contrast, change color balance, and compress the dynamic range of a scene. In traditional film photography,the use of filters was commonplace, as film offered limited color choices and modest dynamic range. If you were shooting slide film (transparencies), what you captured on the film was pretty much what you’d get. Even the masters of black and white photography often used filters to improve contrast in a scene.
Ring-mount filters screw into the front of your lens. Clockwise, from top: Polarizer, UV/haze filter, solid neutral density filter.
Photographic filters can be made of glass or resin, and are attached to the front of your camera lens either by a screw-in (ring) mount, or via a filter holder (square/rectangular filters). No matter what kind of filter you use, when you put a filter in front of your lens, you’re adding another glass/air interface for light to pass through. Low-quality filters can potentially degrade image quality by reducing sharpness, creating unwanted color casts, or introducing reflections or other artifacts into your photos. Your camera lens is designed to precise optical specifications; don’t ruin an image by using a cheap filter!
Filters have long been a major photographic accessory, and one question I’m frequently asked is, “what filter should I buy?” A lot has changed in the last 20 years, and digital cameras are much more forgiving than their film ancestors. When you couple the extreme dynamic range of modern digital cameras with the ability to post-process RAW images, a lot of “go-to filters” are no longer needed for most digital photography. Let’s take a quick look at the primary kinds of filters you can get, and whether they should take up space in your bag.
A HDR image I captured on my first photo safari in South Dakota in 2011.
The first time I experienced South Dakota was on a photo tour with Nikonians in 2005. I had just gotten the new Nikon D2x DSLR, and that was my first serious photo trip shooting digital. I’ll never forget the awe I experienced seeing the otherworldly rock formations there for the first time.
What to expect and what to bring for the photographic experience of a lifetime
Blue-footed boobie, Galápagos. Yes, they really do have blue feet!
I just returned from what I can only describe as the most immersive wildlife photography experience ever; a 7-night tour of the Galápagos archipelago by chartered yacht. The one thing I discovered when researching this trip is that everyone seems to have a different opinion of what to expect and what to bring. Here’s my thoughts from a photographer’s point of view as to what to bring and what to expect.
