Picture: Annual lighting of the original fresnel lens at Pigeon Point Lighthouse, San Mateo County coast, California This week I’m delighted to announce I’m the special guest judge for friend and fellow photographer Guy Tal, who’s been running a series of weekly photo contests on his web site. I was allowed to choose the theme, [...]

Picture: Outdoor fireplace in courtyard at the Hotel Cheval, Paso Robles, California Many people think that being a travel photographer on assignment must be a dream job. Certainly it is in some ways, getting paid to travel to fun places and take pictures. Over this last week I had the opportunity to photograph parts of [...]

Picture: Rainbow over Polynesian motif wood carving, Paradise Cove, Ko Olina, Oahu, Hawaii I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. In fact, I say it just about every time I’m teaching somebody or some group about photography, or giving one of my workshop presentations. A boring subject in great light will usually make [...]

Picture: Shelter on Mount Whitney’s summit, Sierra Nevada, California; Photo by Justin Johnsen I know it must sound crazy at first; why would a professional photographer be happy about other photographers giving away their work for free? Given the dire warnings about how microstock was driving the stock photography industry in a race to the [...]

Picture: Interior of the Iron Door Saloon, est. 1852; the oldest continuously operating saloon in the state, Groveland, California I admit my frustration level has been met and exceeded. For nearly a decade working with Galen Rowell, running his stock department, I dealt with clients of every level, including editors at just about every major [...]

Picture: Bidwell Mansion, Chico, California I tended to include “No HDR” with many of my landscape images posted online. I heard too many people say, “great use of HDR” at a time when I never used any automated HDR process on my images. Not long ago, I finally experimented with a few HDR shots. The [...]

Picture(s): Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil skeleton in front foyer of the California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California Over the Thanksgiving Holiday week, I got my first chance, along with my family, to see the new home of the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Golden Gate Park. I had been to the [...]

Picture: Historic San Ramon Chapel (est. 1875) along Foxen Canyon Road, Santa Barbara County, California I announced in my recent Summer 2009 Newsletter that I have posted several new image galleries on my web site featuring Santa Barbara, California. I split the coverage into two galleries; One for the Santa Barbara Coast, including Stearn Wharf, [...]

Picture: Sunlit church steeple at sunrise, Ferndale, Humboldt County, California One of the things that makes for a good dramatic photo is contrast. Lights against darks, and warm colors against cool colors. Here, the church was lit by sunrise light that came through a hole in a thick blanket of coastal fog that had settled [...]

Photo: Evening light at Baytowne Wharf Village, Sandestin Resort, Destin, Florida I got back home late Sunday evening from my whirlwind week in Destin, Florida where I’d been for the 2008 NANPA Annual Conference. I knew from my experience that the schedule during the conference wouldn’t allow for much photography. This was the thought that [...]