I am thrilled to announce that I was awarded a Bronze in the Architecture category in the annual Bill Muster Photography Awards, just announced by the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW). The awards are named for Bill Muster, a celebrated photographer who generously established a foundation to support this annual competition. The awards were announced at the organization’s convention this week in Haywood County, North Carolina. The image was taken in May of this year at Musée d’Orsay in Paris, France. I knew I wanted an image with the enormous clock faces on the museum, but capturing it wasn’t easy. We were there immediately after the museum opened, but apparently…
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When I first heard the expression, the “Holy Trinity” of lenses, it was in reference to three Canon L prime lenses, the 35mm f/1.4, the 85mm f/1.2, and the 135mm f/2. After Googling the phrase, I see that everyone’s “Holy Trinity” is different. Some use the term to describe a series of zoom lenses, and some use it to refer to three different prime lenses. So I guess everyone has their own spin, but for me, it’s the Canon 35mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.2, and 135mm f/2, and I’ve found it to be perfect for travel. Move from the “Nifty Fifty” to L Lenses What makes this the perfect threesome for…
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Enjoy our “Best Nine” of 2017 based upon “Likes” on Instagram! Top Row Left: The beautiful jewelry of Dune Jewelry, created from the sand of your favorite beaches! This piece is filled with sand from Pink Sand Beach, Harbour Island, Bahamas. These pieces make beautiful gifts. For more information on Dune: http://bit.ly/2B9oRbt Center: Our free iBook, Taking Better Travel Photos was released in January of 2017! Get your copy here: http://bit.ly/2hXNFhJ Right: This photo is our favorite image from our June 2017 trip to the island of Nevis! Read more about this amazing island here: http://bit.ly/2tElrJT Middle Row Left: Dine amidst the palms, high above the Hamilton Estate, at Bananas Restaurant, Nevis.…
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Note: Links in this post include affiliate links, and I receive a commission on purchases. Thanks! An important part of traveling for me is not only relaxing in some of the most beautiful places in the world, but also taking time for my primary hobby, photography. But I was stuck in a rut. I found myself shooting the same thing over and over again. My Canon 24-70mm/f 2.8 lens was on the front of my camera most of the time, and I found myself seeing and shooting the same compositions on nearly every trip. I needed to break out. When we last traveled to Nevis in 2011, 1745 of the…
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Four years ago, I wrote “Taking Better Travel Photos” to provide helpful tips to improve your travel photography no matter what gear you use. I am excited to announce that I recently updated the book, including information on rules of composition, and providing additional information on “hot spots” for great photographs throughout the Caribbean. Some people say the rules are meant to be broken, but the rules are rules for a reason. They can help you find a shot when you can’t decide how to compose it. Knowing the rules will help you frame up better shots, and if you decide to break the rules for a particular effect, go…
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Over the years, I have posted “What’s in My Bag?” about various trips. On the last two trips, I have traveled with both digital and film cameras, and I wanted to do a separate post on traveling for hybrid shooters. As you might expect, it’s easier to travel with digital. Memory cards are small, and you don’t have to worry about the effect of x-ray machines at security checkpoints. I also feel more comfortable experimenting with digital. You can try new techniques, and the only loss is your time. However, I find that there are times when I prefer film over digital, and it’s worth the extra effort. There are…
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Lately, I’ve been back to shooting film, shooting both digital and film cameras on our recent trips to Anguilla, Antigua, and Barbuda. Along for the journey were several film cameras, including the Canon EOS 1v. The 1v was Canon’s last professional 35mm SLR camera, with a magnesium alloy body and weather sealing throughout. At 10 frames per second, it was a favorite of sports shooters for years. It is a solidly built camera, and fits perfectly in my hand like the later DSLRs that Canon produced. I have the HS version, which includes a detachable power booster, however given the bulk, I leave that behind. The beauty of traveling with…
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Knowing that we were traveling to Barbuda, where I expected a beautiful night sky, I planned to try to shoot the Milky Way. I had never done it before, but why not? So I did a bit of research and here’s how I planned for shooting the Milky Way and the results. Step 1: Get away from the city! Light pollution of big cities will obscure your view of the night sky, so it’s important to distance yourself as much as possible. Barbuda was pretty far away, so I didn’t expect any difficulty here. What I would find out when setting up was that there was still a significant…
