This is why I do it. I go out in my little boat, Snoopy, in the summer months and sometimes I come home with a bad back as a result. I drag my camera gear out there and usually come home with some photos of splashes or maybe nothing at all. But sometimes ... I have the best day of my life. One of those days when, in the middle of the action, I realize it is a day I will … [Read more...]
Creating Unique Photo Effects with Topaz
When it comes to post-processing, my goal is usually to enhance a photo’s best qualities while maintaining a natural look. After all, nature is stunning just as it is! But sometimes I want to take my images a bit further; I want to go beyond the natural look, maybe add a painterly effect, some texture or colour grading. That’s when I turn to the plugins from Topaz Labs in my … [Read more...]
Top 10 Wildlife Photos of 2018
I admit it. I have a split personality! While I’m mostly known for my landscape photography, my true love is really wildlife photography. The problem is, there is not always wildlife around. I’ll take it when I can get it, and if not I do landscapes. During the summer months when I am in British Columbia, not a day goes by when then are not wildlife opportunities. Eagles, … [Read more...]
Top 10 Landscape Photos of 2018
Happy New Year everyone! Are you looking forward to the new year? Or saying good riddance to the last one? It’s that time of year when I like to look back over the previous year and remember all the good times, all the fun times, all the beautiful skies and pleasant surprises. That’s why I do this after all. Photography not only helps me notice the beautiful and good things … [Read more...]
Black Bears Matter Too – My Experience in the Great Bear Rainforest
Photography is a waiting game. A physically demanding waiting game too. Standing in one place, essentially sitting on a scene, waiting for magic light, or waiting for an animal to appear, makes your body stiffen up and leaves plenty of room for your mind to create doubt. In the Great Bear Rainforest, on the coast of British Columbia, I stood at the edge of a river in the … [Read more...]
Photo Editing Case Study: Shanghai
I'm not big on cities. But photographing cityscapes makes it all worthwhile! And Shanghai must have one of the prettiest skylines I have ever seen. When I visited China a couple of years ago, I had an extra day to explore Shanghai and get used to the time change. It was hot, muggy and raining. So when I processed this photo I decided to make an abstract impressionist version … [Read more...]
Black Friday Deals for Photographers 2018
My Practical Lightroom Video Courses 40% OffOver at Visual Wilderness, my 3 Practical Lightroom Video Courses are on sale for 40% off. These video courses contain case studies showing how I evaluate an image to decide what adjustments I want to make, and then exactly how I go about processing my images in Lightroom. Note that Volume 1 contains my entire Launch Into Lightroom … [Read more...]
The Fairy Glen, Isle of Skye, Scotland
One of my last photo locations on the Isle of Skye was the Fairy Glen near Uig. It's a smaller and softer version of the Quiraing with rounded grassy knolls topped with it's own castle -- a rock known as Castle Ewen. I spent a delightful afternoon exploring the miniature landscape. At least it seemed miniature compared to some of the more dramatic landscapes on Skye, but … [Read more...]