St. Olaf’s Kirke, also known as the Old Rock Church in Cranfils Gap, Texas was built in 1886 by Norwegian settlers in the area. Since those days it has become known as one of the most haunted places in the Lone Star State. This reputation however has not kept it from becoming a well known and often visited astrophotography location by area night sky photographers who contact the care takers for permission to shoot on its grounds after dark. As was the case when a friend and fellow photographer friend …
Show and Tell: Trails on the Prairie
Seeing as one of my most popular articles here in the Learning Center is my ‘Stacking Star Trails in Photoshop CC’ – decided to share this non-stacked single frame star trail to show what can be done with a single exposure – as well as the challenges in capturing them. Where most star trails are shot at around 30-60 seconds per shot and then stacked with either Photoshop of another specialized application such as StarStax, this photo was taken in a single 2100 second exposure… doing the math, that’s 35 …
Show and Tell: Possum Kingdom Invasion
“If there’s one thing I know, it’s never to mess with mother nature, mother in-laws and, mother freaking Ukrainians.” – Skinny Pete Storm Chasing – it has become extremely popular in recent years, however it’s also very dangerous, not only to you, but others on the roads as well. Mother Nature is not to be taken lightly when she’s full of anger and fury. For this single reason, I choose not to chase on my own, but instead have formed friendships with a couple of experienced chasers whom I trust. …
Show and Tell – Dallas Arts in the Rain
What do most people do when it’s a cold and wet night a few days before Christmas? Well, if they have finished their Christmas shopping, and they have any sense at all, they’re home by the fire. What do Photographers do? Well they drive downtown looking for reflections to shoot. And that’s exactly how I found myself with another photographer friend outside the Windspear Opera House in the Dallas Arts District in late 2017. We got chased under cover a couple times by stronger downpours of rain, but in between, …
The Adventure Truck
I started in photography in early 2012, by 2013 I was taking out of town and out of state photography trips on a fairly regular basis. As my camera kit grew, and I rediscovered my interest in camping as well, it soon became obvious that my current truck just wasn’t fitting my needs any longer. The 2003 GMC Sierra was a great truck, but a regular cab truck and camera gear just didn’t mix well. I was piling up my passenger seat with the camera bags, making taking another person …
Show and Tell – Railcar Milky Way
When a good friend on Instagram messaged me about a group planning a trip to Galveston for an all-out blitz of a weekend with little sleep, little in the way of plans other than astrophotography and the beach, I wasn’t about to pass up the invite. What I didn’t plan on was hitting north Houston traffic at 5pm on a Friday afternoon. Needless to say, by the time I crossed over the bridge onto Galveston Island, I needed a beer more than I needed to shoot a marginally interesting sunset. …
Show & Tell: Downpour
Leaving Dallas on a Sunday evening, pointing my truck to the western sky I headed out to Montague for what was planned to be an astrophotography shoot. Â The skies were clear, the winds were light, nearly ideal weather for shooting the night sky. Â However once I passed through Denton and left the DFW metroplex a light gray shadow appeared on the horizon. By the time I was approaching Montague the gray shadow was now an ominous monster of a storm. The original plan was to meet up with a few …
Landscapes 101 – Beyond the pretty snapshot
Every photography site out there seems to have one, the “How to improve your Landscape Photography” article.  Usually they have 5, or 10, or even 12 bullet points that cover the same general set of tips to taking better landscape photos.  And this is mine.  Why should you read it?  Well, for starters, you’re already here, so you might as well.  Additionally,  I’m not so far removed from ‘before I knew these tips’ that I’ll assume you already know why they are important.  I’m going to take the time to say …
Show & Tell: Creative Canoe
Early this year, at Tyler State Park, I finally found one of those ‘wish list’ locations and opportunities that had lived in the back of my mind for a good long while. A nice stacked line of canoes in the early morning light. Making use of the amazing 70-200’s compression, I took a sequence of photos down the row of canoe bows. Shadows in hues of blue, the morning light in hues of gold. What more could you ask for? How about a little creative editing? Golden light, shallow depth …
Astrophotography – Seeing the Light in the Darkest Places
I remember vividly the wonder, and the frustration, in trying to capture my first astrophotography photographs. Â I was standing on the edge of the road in the middle of Yellowstone National Park, taking in the arch of the milky way as it reached overhead. Â It was one of the first times in my adult life, or ever that I could recall, that I was able to see the band of stars that make up our galaxy from the general star field stretching across the sky. Â The problem was, I knew …
Show & Tell: Texas Star Bluebonnet
One of my resolutions for 2016 is to visit at least one State Park (of any State) each month, and thus, it’s been a great resolution to plan and peruse. As luck and timing would have it, I was able to get my April visit checked off on the very first day of the month with a last minute impromptu run to Eisenhower State Park on Lake Texoma. The sunset forecast on SunsetWX.com said the colors were supposed to be spectacular close to the border vs closer to home in …
- Page 1 of 2
- 1
- 2