"Year in Review"

Image #2 Fall Foliage ... When I wrote the May 2008 article about taking a series of images and merging them into one PANORAMIC picture I thought I might be preaching to an already savvy choir, but after receiving a flood of emails praising my in-depth explanation of the technique, I learned that "how to do it well" was still a mystery to many landscape/nature photographers. This article was one of several that I have written over the past few years that teaches something other than sports photography. No doubt it is evident to those who have been reading the Workshop at the Ranch articles over the past 6 years that my business has been evolving. I photograph many more subjects in addition to sports these days and from the emails I have received many of you who come on a regular basis are from a variety of photographic subjects including Landscape , Nature , and Portraiture. I'm thrilled that many of you "Learned Something New" from the May Workshop at the Ranch and I plan on continuing with a variety of teachings and techniques. Nikon COOLPIX P80, ISO200, Aperture Priority, PANORAMA Mode, WB Cloudy, Lexar 2G SD Card.

Image #3 South Beach Sunrise ... From time to time I like to share some unusual tricks, techniques, and equipment items that I find useful to my photography. The June 2008 edition of Workshop at the Ranch explained seven techniques I used during the week of horseracing at Churchill Downs leading up to and including the Kentucky Derby. I love to learn and one of the best ways I know how to improve my photography is to experiment. So, here's another item to add to your camera bag. Most landscape photographers make use of a piece of equipment called a Graduated Neutral Density Filter (GNDF for short.) I never used one when shooting sports and thus had no experience, but I saw the advantages while attending a presentation given by good friend and great adventure photographer Keith Ladzinski. Keith's combination of his early photography roots in landscape imagery revealed his extensive use of GNDFs and how he applies the their use to his current subject of adventure sports really struck a cord with me. So, early this November I had some Lifestyle work to do in south Florida. I made myself shoot several images each day using a two stop Graduated Neutral Density Filter including this sunrise image where the two stop "gradated" darkening of the sky from the top of the frame to the horizon line helped preserve it's rich colors yet allow detail in the shadowed areas. I like it and will use a GNDF more often. Nikon D700, ISO500, 1/200 at f7.1, Nikon 24-70mm lens, 2stop Graduated Neutral Density Filter, WB 7100K, Lexar 8G Flash Card.