Announcing a Fall Yellowstone Workshop

We are now taking reservations for our Fall Yellowstone landscape/wildlife workshop done in conjunction with Perfect Light camera store in Idaho Falls. We are excited for this 6 day workshop during one of the most beautiful times of the year in Yellowstone Park. We may even make a jaunt down to Grand Teton National Park during this time of peak fall color.


Click here to view a full screen slide show.

Dates: September 24th through 29th.
Location: Threebear Lodge, West Yellowstone, Montana.
Cost: $1649 per person including Workshop, instruction, lodging, and ground transportation.
Photographers/Guides: James Neeley and Christopher Balmer


You may register by calling (208) 523-6789 or go to Perfect Light Camera and Supply.

You're Gonna want to shoot that again, Sorry!

I've shot this scene many times before but today I had new equipment and as the D800 ad says,"SORRY BUT YOU'RE GOING TO WANT TO RESHOOT EVERYTHING YOU'VE EVER SHOT." I'm sure this applies to any new camera, lens, or technique.

One of the fun and challenging aspects of photography is progression, doing something new or better, learning a new skill or method. Jay Masiel said that while art is thousands of years old, photography is a little over a hundred years old. We have barely scratched the surface of what can be done! So...shoot it again, make it better, make it unique, make it new again and relish every step of this journey that has no end.

Mistaken Identity

Several people have commented that they thought this image taken with the Nikon D800 was an HDR image when in fact it is taken from a single shot without HDR processing.



Much has been spoken about the size of the 36.3 megapixel sensor in the D800. But in addition to the high resolution, the sensor has amazing color depth and dynamic range (the highest rated sensor ever tested by Dxomark) and I think this is what gives the images a film-like or HDR look. A pretty amazing landmark camera IMHO.

Getting to Know the D800

I'm just getting to know the D800 a little better and I wanted to see what she could do. I had several questions to answer with this image. First of all can I shoot the D800 handheld ? I know I can with the D3s but the D800 is no speed demon and I was worried about noise with HDR at ISO 400. Second, can I do handheld HDR as I have been doing with the D3s more frequently now that the alignment routine in Photomatix has been greatly improved? And thirdly, how does the sharpness hold up at f16?

This is my unscientific test, a handheld, 5 exposure HDR of Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park, ISO 400, aligned and processed in Photomatix.



My conclusions from this little test?

1. Not much noise at ISO400 even with a 5xp hdr which can by the nature of the processing accentuate any noise present in the image. I will not be afraid to boost the ISO when needed.

2. Photomatix does a great job aligning the 36.3 megapixel images. I can use the D800 for handheld HDR.

3. Near to far sharpness is well maintained at f16 even with the 36.3 megapixel sensor. While there probably is some refraction and I didn't test more wide open aperture, I was pleased with the result and DOF achieved.

Natural Affinities

Celebrating two extraordinary American artists, Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams who met in Taos, New Mexico in 1929 forming a lifelong friendship. Both loved the Southwest and produced work that highlights the exceptional and unique beauty of the area. Adams was strongly influenced by the art of O'Keeffe and also the photography of Alfred Stieglitz, O'Keeffe's husband and the country's first advocate of modern art.




Their work; O'Keeffe's Paintings, and Adam's, Photography forever alter our perception of this area and the natural world.


Click here to view a full screen slide show.
Click here to view the Project on Flickr.