Histograms! Sounds like a medical procedure or, worse yet, mathematics.
Well, if you’re a photographer, histograms are your friends. Don’t be intimidated by them. Learn how to use a histogram and your images will dramatically improve.
What Is a Histogram?
In digital photography a histogram is an electronic display of all the pixels, light-to-dark, recorded on the sensor when you press the shutter release. It appears as a graph on the rear LCD screen in DSLR cameras and even on many point-and-shoots, such as the Canon G12.
There is really no such thing as …

In Search Of the perfect ISO for your photographic efforts? So many amateur photographers I meet are confused about what the ISO means and how to best tune it to their imaging needs. I thought I’d give a brief primer here on the topic.
Just What Is ISO?
ISO is equivalent to what we called ASA during film days. ISO is a measure of how sensitive a sensor is to light. The higher the ISO, the better its ability to record light, but the ‘grainier’ the image looks. There’s always a trade-off, …

We’re ready to leave and I’ve already given instructions to our house sitter… multiple times (I’m beginning to envy his carefree life over the course of our trip).
It’s T-minus-2 days. The Australia and Fiji segments are wrapped up, leaving just a few loose ends on our New Zealand adventure. I’m determined to allow that part of the trip to stay loose, in order to take advantage of the photo ops that present themselves.
Right now I’m doing my photo organizing and cleaning. I like to start a trip with clean equipment, …

Every so often someone sneaks a photo of me. As with many photographers, I’m terribly non-photogenic, so I kinda like it when someone candidly catches me at work in the field. Here I am at exquisite Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada, in a position I often find myself, contorted over a must-have image. In this case the pickings were slim, as it was a cold, rainy, overcast day. I wasn’t even going to bother with a picture. I don’t particularly like Lake Louise for the huge crowds it draws in …

Okay, all arrangements have been made and we’re ready to leave on our Canadian Rockies and coastal British Columbia adventure. Right now I’m going through my usual pre-trip crazies deciding what to bring. Actually, the big problem is deciding what not to bring!
You’d think that after 30+ years I’d have this down to a science, and I probably would if the damned field didn’t keep changing every 6 months! New cameras that include functions of 2 other devices (think multiple exposure meters and GPS devices), macro rails, a new 5mm-1,000 …

One of the thorniest challenges for professional and advanced amateur photographers alike is packing for a trip. Every year the situation seems to worsen. Airlines are not only more restrictive than ever, they are also arbitrary and capricious. One time I’ll be let through and on a different leg of the same trip I’ll be stopped and told I cannot take my bag onto the plane. Or I’ll be in a remote location where a bush pilot will severely limit my carry-on bag.
One not-so-humorous incident (at the time) happened on …