Outdoor Photography How To

In these days of HDR, Lightroom, and Photoshop, is there still any point in carrying around Graduated Neutral Density (GND) filters? Often at photographic overlooks I hear photographers banging away with their cameras, shooting multiple exposures for future HDR images, while I nail the same scene in a single shot. More than once I have had one of these photographers scoff at me for using my “old school” GND filter, asking, “Ever heard of HDR?” While I am a firm believer in using all the tools available to me, including HDR, I feel that HDR is either unnecessary or won’t work in situations where multiple images are not possible, such as an action shot.

Summer is a good time to get outdoors and shoot macro photographs of insects, flowers and other tiny critters. And best yet, you rarely have to venture beyond your backyard to find a variety of interesting subjects.

One reason tutorials from photographer Vincent Ledvina are so fascinating, is that he uses his animation skills to make camera settings and shooting techniques understandable—usually in two minutes or less. In his new video below, the Minnesota-based photo instructor explains how to make enchanting photographs of the moon.

Photographers are known for chasing the latest and greatest gear, despite the adage that, “It’s the photographer—not the camera—that creates the image.” I’ll admit to owning a couple “state-of-the art” digital cameras myself. But my photo cabinet also includes a few “obsolete” models dating back to 2009.

The handheld light meter is an extremely powerful accessory that was far more popular in the days of 35mm photography. But this versatile and precise tool is just as valuable when shooting with modern digital cameras, and this tutorial explains why, when, and how.

Award-winning travel and drone photographer Chase Guttman has a long list of accomplishments, especially for someone who was born when Bill Clinton was President of the U.S. Guttman honed his drone photography skills while travelling across the U.S. to capture breathtaking images of all 50 states from the air.