A photographer in Minneapolis
In the spring Great Blue Herons gather in large groups to raise their young. Known as colonies, rookeries, or heronries, the groups increase the birds’ security by ensuring that predators can’t approach undetected. They’re often on islands and the nests are 50 feet up or more.
I like to do photos downtown, in the public spaces of big buildings, looking out at the glass and steel towers and the skylights way above. And I know it’s only a matter of time before I’m accosted by a security guard who will inform me of The Policy Against Photography.
I recently spent time in Hawaii and went whale watching. Here’s what it was like, in case you’re wondering.
I like to sell a photo now and then, mainly through a POD. This has gotten harder in recent years.
Continue reading “Not Taken By A Phone”Most photographers know about the Rule of Thirds. But recently this post on Fstoppers.com showed me that it’s just a simplification of something more complicated called an “armature”.
Continue reading “Rule of Thirds, and the “Armature””Recently I found out about a camera feature that’s making a big difference for me: “Monochrome Picture Control”. I’m probably not the only one who didn’t know about it.
Nicollet Mall, in the heart of downtown Minneapolis, is now over 50, and has had its share of ups and downs. Right now it’s sort of ‘between jobs’.
Recently, I almost talked myself into buying a new camera; I’d been wanting to switch my travel setup from Sony APS-C over to Nikon and the new Z50. But then I thought about all the used gear I’d have to sell to rationalize this move, and my enthusiasm fizzled out.
I once came across a post in a forum about wildlife photography: “After 4 years of tramping through woods, I gave up. The bird was always just 2 trees ahead.”
Continue reading “Birds’ Eyes”On a sunny winter day there can be so much dynamic range in a scene that you may decide to use HDR techniques to reduce it. Even then you may end up with a lot of washed out white and noisy shadows. And the heavy contrast of brilliant snow and dark shadows may be just a big distraction from the real subject.
Continue reading “Winter photos on overcast days”In earlier posts (starting here) I explained how I changed my domain structure and used Google Search Console to try getting my photos indexed. And in a recent post I said I thought I was seeing progress. Well, no surprise here – but things aren’t that simple.
Continue reading “Google toys with me”
Sometimes getting a photo involves standing in a spot where you’re not really supposed to be.
Continue reading “Minneapolis Panoramic”
The Foshay Tower, in Minneapolis Minnesota, officially opened in September of 1929, with a blowout party that included Hollywood stars and national political figures, each of whom reportedly received a gold watch just for showing up. John Philip Sousa had been commissioned to write a march; his fee was $20,000.
Continue reading “Foshay Tower”
Smartphones have crushed the camera market like a bundle of dry twigs.
Continue reading “Lenses are the real deal”
I did this a couple of years ago – it’s the elevated platform of the Lake Street light rail station here in Minneapolis. I’d done a photo here long before, and had returned to get a different viewpoint, looking north towards downtown. It’s geometry and tinted glass; a strangely cool piece of urban design, standing over a couple of desolate city blocks where you don’t hang around after dark.
Continue reading “I don’t know this guy.”In a previous post I explained how Google wasn’t indexing my photos at SmugMug, and in another post I detailed how attacked that problem by creating a blog site and putting my SmugMug site on a subdomain.
I think I might be seeing some payoff. But only maybe.
Continue reading “Google is now indexing my photos! Well maybe.”Some of the seemingly minor advantages of mirrorless cameras really made a difference for me…
Continue reading “Mirrorless: It’s The Little Things”
