If you're a digital photographer, you've probably got lots of batteries. And hopefully, you're using rechargeables. The problem then becomes one of keeping track of them, and figuring out which ones are good and which aren't. No sense in charging all the batteries after every shoot simply because one or two might be done.

Continue reading "Batteries R Me" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 08:21 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

This past weekend I taught a workshop in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and thought I'd have some free time to go out and shoot. With that in mind, I brought my infrared camera along to play.

Continue reading "IR in FL" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 09:54 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Over the last few months I've gotten numerous phone calls and emails from friends asking if they should upgrade from their Nikon D200 to the new D300. Just got two more, which made me think it would be a good blog entry.

Continue reading "Decisions, Decisions..." »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 09:16 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Back in the old days (you know, when we were all shooting film) there was a time when I started doing fashion shoots for the newspaper I worked at. We were too cheap to hire models, so it always came down to the writer finding a friend to "model" for us. I remember how hard it was to get good photos..

Continue reading "In Praise of Models" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 08:05 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

By now everyone's heard about Nikon's two new cameras, the D3 and D300. And you've probably heard they handle high-ISO noise better than in the past. That's an understatement.

Continue reading "A Whole New Wonderful World" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 10:57 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

For any photographer who loves to travel, going on an African photo safari must be near the top of their wish list. I've been lucky enough to do that twice now, leading trips to Tanzania in 2006 and the other one a few weeks ago. Each was great in its own way.

Continue reading "African Photo Safari" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 10:13 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Sometimes you get amazingly lucky, and then sometimes you don't. Kevin Gilbert and I just finished leading a photo trek of Greece for American Photo. We had a lot of fun with a great group of people, and everyone headed home with some new photos and new ideas for their photography. We started the trip in Athens, with an afternoon tour of the town and the Acropolis, who's most famous feature is the Parthenon, visible from much of Athens.

Continue reading "Parthenon at Night" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 09:08 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I spend a lot of time teaching workshops, and that lets me see how people handle all the new digital photography tools and technology. This past weekend I helped a few friends with a couple days of shooting and editing, and was reminded again how far we've come in this business.

Continue reading "Up to Speed FAST" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 10:02 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I got into photography at 14 as a freshman in high school. That meant that all of the gear I bought I got used, and some of it was quite beat up, as that fit the price range I could afford. I still love finding a good used deal, and luckily, I can pay a bit more now than I could then.

Continue reading "Adding to the Collection" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 09:27 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Last week I was teaching a workshop in Colorado Springs, Colorado. One morning a few of us went to Garden of the Gods, a spectacular place to shoot photos. While walking around the rock formations, a woman came up and asked for some help. I thought her question would make a great blog entry.

Continue reading "Is your Viewfinder in Focus?" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 09:36 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Last week Nick Didlick and I were teaching a workshop in southern California. We took the group out for a couple of shoots, going to San Juan Capistrano (the famous old Mission) and Huntington Beach. At the first location the focus was on architecture and plants, at the beach it was people. And once again I marveled at how easy it is to use reflectors to light people.

Continue reading "The Joy of Reflectors" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 11:56 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Over the years I've always had a camera or two I could take places where it might get beat up. Mountain climbing, whitewater rafting, winter camping and biking aren't exactly camera-friendly. Once I moved to digital, though, that became a tougher spot to fill. After all, digital cameras are anything but inexpensive, and not exactly rugged. Recently, though, I've had my hands on a little digital point-and-shoot that's almost indestructible.

Continue reading "One Tough Little Camera" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 05:27 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

A few years ago I spent some time in Singapore teaching digital photography to a group of newspaper photographers. On my final night there, they took me out to a dinner of "spare parts." Trust me, you don't want to know what it was. If you've been doing photography for very long, you've probably collected various spare parts over the years, and sometime they come in handy for building new tools.

Continue reading "Spare Parts" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I spend a lot of time these days teaching photography. And at almost every workshop I teach, at least one person comes up to me and asks, "How can I turn photography into a career?" I always give them some suggestions, but I also ask them to think long and hard about whether they truly want to do that. They may find that photography's more rewarding as a hobby.

Continue reading "Photography for Fun" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 09:46 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Every now and then I try out a new gizmo that so surprises or impresses me that I've just GOT to write about it. This time it's the Nikon TC-20 E II teleconverter, which I'd played with a few years ago and promptly forgot about..

Continue reading "New Toy -Teleconverter" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 03:01 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Ever since I first read about infrared photography, many decades ago in high school, I've been intrigued by the idea. The images produced by it are otherworldly and I wanted to try my hand at it. Unfortunately, my attempts back then always ended in failure, not in small part due to the difficulty of using and processing infrared film. Thankfully, times have changed, and digital's taken film out of the equation.

Continue reading "Digital Infrared" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 06:40 PM | Permalink

Recently I received an email from someone who was part of a workshop I taught, and thought it might make a good blog entry: "I attended your two workshops in Berkeley last week, and didn't get a chance to ask my specific question. I'm leaving for an Antarctic peninsula cruise this coming week, and any suggestions for specific settings (e.g. White Balance) to try under those unusual lighting conditions?"

Continue reading "Arctic Suggestions" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

After traveling to 53 countries as a professional photographer, I decided to really live like the everyday traveler and head off on a trip to Morocco with just a Nikon D40, an 18-200 mm lens, and a 2 gig Lexar SD card..

Continue reading "Traveling Light" »

Posted by Kevin T. Gilbert at 06:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I was working in my studio last week (translation - the basement) photographing some products I was going to use in a presentation. Two keys to any good photo are light and background. I often use a black backdrop as it highlights the product. And I learned long ago that with lighting, KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) was a good rule for me to follow. Good light doesn't necessarily mean lots of lights. This time, though, I needed just a bit more.

Continue reading "Reflectors" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm just back from leading a photo trek to Maui for American Photo (www.mentorseries.com). I do about four trips a year like this, and we had just over thirty people joining us. The second day we spent driving and shooting along the road to Hana, and after dinner that night most of us headed to the beach for a little light painting.

Continue reading "Light Painting" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last year while shooting winter photos in Yosemite National Park, Nick Didlick (a friend and Blue Pixel Associate) came up with a unique (and low-cost) way of shooting time exposures. I was reminded of that recently when I needed to do the same thing, and didn't have a cable release.

Continue reading "Pebble Release" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 08:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When it comes to photography, people always want to talk cameras and lenses. Yes, they're important (and I like to talk about them too), but one tool that doesn't get enough chat time is tripods.

Continue reading "Tool Time - Tripods" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 06:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A couple of weeks ago I covered a NASCAR race here in Kansas City, at Kansas Speedway. Whether I'm shooting NASCAR, NFL or the family vacation, some planning ahead of time makes the job much easier.

Continue reading "Planning Makes the Job Easier" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 03:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Danny Moloshok has been covering Rock Star: Supernova the entire season. He and Jeff Bottari covered the finale this week and wrote about their experience.

Continue reading "Rock Star: Supernova" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I came to a sudden realization last weekend. I've turned into a light snob. I' won't settle for light that's just "okay" when shooting pictures.

Continue reading "I'm a Light Snob" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 08:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I just returned from a raft trip to Alaska. We had a great time, but one of the big surprises for me was what camera I chose to shoot many of the photos with.

Continue reading "Right Camera for the Right Job" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 05:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sometimes you'll find a picture that's just about perfect, but the light's not quite what you want. If you're lucky, you'll be able add that little bit of light yourself.

Continue reading "Add a Little Light" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Twenty years ago this Memorial Day weekend, my wife and I were married. To celebrate, we made reservations to spend a little time at Big Cedar Lodge in the Ozarks, one of the premier resorts in the area. As an anniversary trip, I swore to leave computer, computer books, Photoshop books and all things digital (except a camera, of course!) at home.

Continue reading "Fireworks Fun" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 01:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, we made it back from Africa, safe and sound. We had a great trip, and aside from a few bumps along the way, I think we’d all be eager to go again.

The trip was 11 days, but with travel we really had 9 days in Tanzania. Most of that time was spent on what’s called a safari drive (driving through Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater areas), with a couple of days for seeing some of the towns and local culture.

Here’s what we learned...

Continue reading "We made it back from Africa" »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 07:43 PM | Permalink

Okay, I admit that getting to travel around the world leading photo workshops is pretty cool. I really enjoy spending a weekend or more helping a bunch of nice people learn to shoot better pictures, and quite honestly, they help me find good pictures too.

The downside to doing all this is the packing and travel. Over the years I’ve learned some tricks to make that easier, and I’m still learning them.

Continue reading "A Lesson In Packing " »

Posted by Reed Hoffmann at 07:39 AM | Permalink