Folks:
I’m excited about the newest PR image I managed to snag while in Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada last month. What do you think?
Les
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I promised you a field report on my new Hasselblad H4D-50 system after I returned from a trip to Zion National Park where I used it exclusively and extensively. Here it is. One small caution, though; all the scenic images here I shot with my Hassy. However, they have been compressed to ridiculous small sizes in order to accommodate WordPress’ requirements (see file size descriptions, below). So don’t expect to see marked differences between the Hassy images and my Nikon images in this venue. Enlarged for wall displays, the differences …

I’ve been a bit spotty blogging lately, but lots has been happening on my side of the screen. Perhaps even too much. Managing a photography business isn’t easy in today’s world, especially with the high degree of travel that landscape/nature/travel photography entails. While I’m away things tend to pile up.
I guess the biggest thing to report is that due to the addition of a Hasselblad system, in addition to my Nikon system, I have had to make major changes to my workflow. The biggest news is that I am in …

Let’s admit it, we’re now in one of photography’s seasonal doldrums. Fall foliage is over, the trees are bare and snow has not hit much of the area, at least not in the mid-Atlantic, USA, region. This is the perfect time for checking out new equipment, innovative techniques, even changes in attitude toward whatever area of photography you have up to now avoided. In my sporadic “Homework” series (use the search box to find others), I’d like to add the perfect assignment for that rainy Saturday morning.
Depth of Field
Manipulating depth …

First the good news. My thumb surgery appears as if it is heading for success. My cast came off, my Physical Therapy in Sue’s capable hands is going well. While in Zion National Park I was able to use my left hand to support my heavy Hasselblad camera-zoom lens combinations with just a little soreness by day’s end. So, there’s much to be grateful for in that arena.
The bad news is that I ran into some viral bug on Monday and by Tuesday it had me laid low. Apparently this …

I’m sitting on the deck of my motel room in Zion National Park. Thankfully, I was able to recover from my back spasm within 48 hours and so rebooked my flight and arrived two days late, just grateful to be here. After a day of photographing the gorgeous scenery, I fell ill to altitude sickness and dehydration, two maladies to which I have always been susceptible. Headache, vertigo, yuckiness. So my morning was spent in bed, trying to make believe that there is an alternative reality somewhere in space and …

What a bummer! Instead of leaving for Zion National Park for a glorious week of photography, I’m on the couch, alternating between a heating pad and ice packs, along with doses of muscle relaxants and pain killers. Yesterday evening I pulled my back out, but thought it was minor. When I woke up, ready to go to the airport, I couldn’t even walk. My back had spasmed and I was in pretty extreme pain.
Tonight I feel considerably better, so I’m in hopes that I’ll just be delayed a couple of …

I leave tomorrow for a week photographing in Zion National Park, a location I have long been wanting to visit. No, I’ve never been before. So many choices, so little time.
I’ll be traveling with my friend and colleague Daniel Stainer, a very advanced amateur (I consider him a pro and have featured him before in my blog: http://blog.lesterpickerphoto.com/2011/04/25/through-the-eyes-of-daniel-stainer/).
What makes this trip different for me, aside from the location, is that I will be carrying only my new Hasselblad equipment with me. For the first time since 1969 I am using …

If you wonder what the state of photography is and where it is headed, PhotoPlus was the place to be last week. The annual show was held at the Jacob Javits convention center in New York City. It was not just huge, it was mammoth. Vendors of every major camera brand had large, walk-through display booths. Accessory makers had tables or even, in some cases, display booths themselves. Thousands of people streamed through the show.

There were several developments that impressed me. Of course, digital photography will continue to evolve, much …