MUSEUMS & CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS
In Part 1 I discussed events and things to do outdoors while in ABQ. Today it is museums and cultural attractions. In the final installment Ill cover restaurants (God, there are some great ones in ABQ!) and hotels.
One statistic has it that Albuquerque has more museums per capita than any other city its size. You could spend two weeks just touring its wonderful cultural treasures. Here’s a sampling from my recent trip:
Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum: What a terrific little museum! Whether or not you’re into ballooning, …

Mention Albuquerque, New Mexico and what immediately comes to mind is their famous International Balloon Fiesta, held every October. Drawing thousands of balloonists and tens of thousands of tourists from around the world, the festival is a New Mexico icon. It’s a fun, colorful, high-energy, week-long celebration pairing ballooning with myriad venues and activities generated by local entrepreneurs.
But, I’m here to tell you that there is more to Albuquerque than ballooning. Far more. I’ve been to Albuquerque before, but I recently spent 8 days there, intensely exploring its hotels and …

As photographers we hear about and discuss ‘noise’ quite a bit. For you photography newbies, digital noise is equivalent to what we used to call ‘grain’ in film days.
By now my readers know that I’m not one to waste a lot of space on highly technical explanations. If you want to understand noise or grain at a technical level, there are some fine resources out there. Just start by Googling the terms “film grain” and “digital camera noise” or “digital sensor noise” and you’ll soon be an expert (or intolerably …

Just got back from a wonderful fiction writer’s conference in San Diego (more on that in a later blog). Getting there and back necessitated 4 flights segments, so I had to listen to the “fasten your seatbelt” instruction 4 times.

The thought occurs to me: Is there a moron anywhere in the world who doesn’t know how to buckle a seatbelt?? Do we really still need flight attendants worldwide instructing us on how to fasten a seat belt? Does anyone have any idea of how much time is wasted every day …

Having a daughter who lives in northern Vermont is a good thing, especially if you’re a photographer. When I visit, and she’s out shopping or working, I can take the time to grab my camera gear and just poke around, exploring Vermont’s back roads.
Speaking of Vermont’s roads, the Northern Kingdom (what locals call the far northern part of the state) must have one of the highest percentages of unpaved to paved roads in the country, forcing me to slow down and soak in the myriad small farms, forest lots and …

Pssst! Here’s one of the best-kept secrets in America. It’s called the America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands – Senior Pass.

The Senior Pass is available to any citizen (or permanent resident) over age 62 and can only be obtained in person at any National Park, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service and many Department of Agriculture offices. I got mine while in New Mexico photographing at a BLM site. If you are a senior photographer, this has got to be the best deal …

As a travel writer and photographer, I’m often asked about tipping. Do you tip? How much in France? How much in Africa? For what services? Professionally, I divide tipping into two categories; photography and everything else.
Photography
Let’s start with photography. At my photo workshops I often instruct people not to tip to allow you to take a person’s photograph. I’m not saying this like I have the moral high ground. I know this is a difficult issue and why short-change a few shekels to someone who is making $25 a month, …

If you are a reader of this blog, you probably already know that one of my goals is to learn large format (LF) photography this year. By ‘learn’ I don’t mean to become expert in its use. I’d be a fool to say that, given that some incredible photographers have spent a lifetime mastering this art form.
What I’m trying to do is determine whether a view camera has a role in producing the kind of prints that my clients are increasingly demanding; really huge prints that are crisp and clear …

My travel feature on my trip last summer to Vancouver-Jasper-Banff-Prince Rupert-Port Hardy-Nanaimo-Vancouver appeared in yesterday’s Baltimore Sun.

If you are interested in reading it, here is the link:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/travel/bs-tr-vancouver-loop-20110602,0,684101.story
Generally, I’m happy with the article, but I have two complaints. First, I had to shorten it by 1,000 words to fit their format. Second, and most embarrassing, due to a computer glitch on their part while I was out of communication while hiking and photographing in New Mexico, they were not able to access my images. Instead, they purchased some stock images proving, …

If I had to distill what I teach in a photo workshop to one lesson, it would be this: What exactly are you trying to say through that image? If you can tell me in 10 or 25 words exactly what the point of the image is, then we’re most probably looking at a good, maybe even a great image.
I know that sounds simplistic- any one ‘magic’ rule is- but the lack of a clear concept is what keeps a so-so image from being a wow! image. I see this …