It was evening on the Chobe River in Botswana, Africa. The day had been a good one, bursting at the seams with all manner of wildlife. We were in the final, golden hour of it, had our game faces on, and our cameras at the ready.
As our flat-bottom boat glided through the water, all eyes were glued to the shoreline with keen interest, seeking our next photographic victim.
Our …
As you know, I’m a bit of a tripod / monopod junkie. So, I’m excited to share my review of the new Wimberley MonoGimbal head.
This new lightweight head allows you to balance your rig just like a regular gimbal head – point up or down and everything stays in place, no need to tighten the locking knob. However, this compact unit is only a fraction of the size of …
I know what you’re thinking, “What the heck – is Steve trying to peddle some kind of ‘photo insurance’ now”?
Not so much, but I didn’t really know how else to describe what I’m about to explain 🙂
So, let’s dive in – what do I mean by ISO Insurance?
Probably the easiest way to explain it is to grab a crayon and draw an analogy.
You know how when …
One of the most common problems I observe while in the field – and during my workshops – is when someone can’t find the subject in their viewfinder while using a telephoto lens. Nothing’s quite as cringeworthy as watching a photographer flail around with their glass in a desperate attempt to capture an image before the opportunity disappears (oh, and it usually does).
Of course, it doesn’t have to be …
Have you ever faced a low light or low contrast subject and discovered that, despite the viewfinder showing a confirmed AF lock, the camera actually missed critical focus?
If you answered yes, then you’re certainly not alone. You fell victim to the “false positive” AF lock – and it can be a heart breaker.
When I run across that scenario myself, I use the technique outlined in the video below …
This time around I thought we’d take an in-depth look at teleconverters. Not just what they do – but how they work, how to get the best results, how they affect AF speed and accuracy, the best way to use them and more. Even if you think you know all about teleconverters, there’s probably something new for you in this video.
Plus, as a bonus, towards the end I even …
Psst…Wanna know the secret to getting consistently sharp eyeballs and better compositions with your wildlife photos? Use your AF points in conjunction with your composition.
One photographic faux pas I see regularly – even from more experienced pixel pushers – is improper AF positioning technique.
What the heck am I talking about? I think this discussion is best illustrated with an example using the regrettable photo below. I think we’ve …
This probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows me, but as it turns out, I tend to have a lot of “random” little thoughts creep into my mind when I’m out doing wildlife photography. Some of these are actually pretty handy, others are just bizarre, and some are simply not appropriate material for an article (but they are freakin’ hilarious).
Let’s talk about the handy ones for …
OK, I’ll admit it, this is a weird post for me. The thing is, I realize I’m covering a topic that pretty much every photographer already knows:
If you want better wildlife photos, get to eye level or even lower.
In fact, getting eye-to-eye with my subject(s) is something I’ve been doing for a couple of decades now and is one of three techniques I would classify as having a …
Auto ISO is a frequent source of confusion but it doesn’t have to be that way! In this comprehensive video, we’ll cover how Auto ISO works in Nikon cameras (although it’s likely very similar for all brands). We’ll start with what it does, why / when you should use it, how to set it up, and how it interacts with your various exposure modes. After this video, Auto ISO will …
