Gary Crabbe / Enlightened Images

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 for a [...]

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 bottom [...]

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 old [...]

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, and [...]

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 in [...]

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 stayed [...]

Picture: View from the window at Le Gras, France

It ain’t much, but look how far we’ve come. This is a reproduction of the first ‘official’ photo, taken by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826. As the caption states, this was the view out of his window. The world was not ‘blown away’ by this new media [...]

Picture: Golden Gate Bridge and grey fog sky, from San Francisco Bay, California
This has been one of those work travel catch-up repeat periods over the last six weeks. Recently, I got to take a cruise on SF Bay. As the boat got close to the Gate, a dilemma that confronts most amateur photographers confronted me [...]