Photo Tips and Stories

The Canon EOS R5 and RF 400mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens combination was the perfect choice for the white-tailed deer I was photographing in the Shenandoah National Park woods.

The 400mm focal length permitted close enough working distances to avoid obstructions, and that focal length combined with the f/2.8 aperture blurred the abundant foreground and background distractions.

Then, this barred owl showed up. Obviously, owls are much smaller than deer, and suddenly, significantly more focal length was needed.

Fortunately, the friend I was shooting with solved that problem via a pair of extenders in his pocket. He opted to use the 1.4x on his lens, kindly loaning me the 2x.

The capability to go too 800mm was indispensable in this case.

After getting sharp insurance shots at faster shutter speeds, the exposure time was increased, decreasing the ISO setting for less noise. The keeper rate dropped, but only 1 sharp image was necessary, and the results surpassed that requirement.

A larger version of this image is available here.

A great subject in great light aligned with a great background and captured by a high-performing camera and lens combination is a sure recipe for an image I like. In this case, and often the case, the hard work was getting to the right location at the right time. The photo was easy to capture.

As I said in the last Dall Sheep Ram photo I shared, the Canon EOS R5 and RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens were the first choice for this adventure. The R5 was selected for its high resolution, AF performance, and ease of use, and the RF 100-500 was selected for the optimal focal length range, including 100mm for environmental portraits and 500mm for tighter framing or distant subjects, and outstanding sharpness over the range, backed up by a high-performing image stabilization system. The relatively compact size of this combination proved ideal for the climb.

My go-to wildlife camera settings were in place for this image. The eye must be sharp, and the subject (and I) were moving, so servo (continuous) AF with eye detection was selected. The aperture was set to the widest available at all focal lengths (initially f/4.5 at 100mm), and the shutter speed was frequently and rapidly adjusted to the comfortably lowest needed (or lower after initial safety/insurance shots were captured). Auto ISO ensured that the exposure instantly changed for the shutter speed selected (and light changes), with exposure compensation applied as needed.

While the ram was moving, it wasn't moving fast. Thus, I opted for the 1st-curtain electronic shutter to retain the full 14-bit image quality with still fast "H" continuous shooting mode providing good viewfinder coverage (low blackout).

A larger version of this image is available here.

Do you have go-to locations to use when you must bring home high-quality images?

Three new cameras (Sony Alpha 7C R, Alpha 7C II, and Alpha 6700), two new lenses (Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM II Lens and Sigma 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN Contemporary Lens), and some new accessories needed a workout. When many good images are needed, that go-to location is called upon, and it the success rate at Ricketts Glen State Park in the fall is high.

The optimal (cloudy) weather forecast selected the day choice, and the above gear (plus some additional gear and food) went into a MindShift Gear BackLight 26L for a big day in the field.

I have many favorite photo locations in this park and often revisit them as it seems new angles that create different, often better, results can often be found. In this case, Triangle Falls was the revisited subject, and I wanted a slightly lower-angle image than the last one from here.

As I said when posting that image, sometimes the picture does not tell the full story. While this image appears to be a simple capture, you don't see that the rock I'm standing on is slippery and the RRS TVC-24L Mk2 Tripod is in the fast-flowing water. Learned was that the tripod flowing downstream during exposures creates interesting motion blurs.

Fast-flowing water meeting a stationary object causes splashing, and in addition to forcing recomposition, the fast-flowing water also splashed onto the camera and lens from the tripod legs positioned forward of the camera. The mentioned lower angle perspective positioned the lens close to the water, and the splashing water was hitting the circular polarizer filter (responsible for this image's deep saturated colors). Thus, wiping the filter with a microfiber cloth between every shot was part of the process, with hope that the next exposure would finish before the water drops reappeared or the tripod washed downstream again. The cameras' weather sealing was appreciated in this scenario.

Fortunately, patience and repetition prevailed, and there were sufficient good images to select from.

The a7C R and FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM II got the call for this image. This full-featured compact camera delivers incredibly detailed images, and this lens has the optical quality to support that extreme resolution. This combination is an outstanding choice for landscape and travel photography.

Two weeks of guiding elk photography in Rocky Mountain National Park resulted in a rather overwhelming number of images. Selecting the keepers is a huge project, and deciding which image to share first was daunting. It seems that everyone loves breath shots, so I'll start with that option.

This bull walked in so close to us that it didn't fit in the 600mm frame when its head was turned. While I liked the tight image that crops the back of the antlers, I knew that having the entire elk and its breath in the frame might be an option I later wanted.

To avail that option, additional images containing the cropped content on the left and right were captured immediately after the primary image, and the three images were manually stitched in Photoshop as a panorama.

This image utilized a camera position near the ground, just high enough to create a blur that transitions into the animal's legs, and elk legs are one of my favorite leading line sources, especially when they are equally spaced apart. The relatively close proximity of the elk combined with the distant background creates a strong background blur that makes this bull stand out.

Getting obvious breath in an image requires cold temperatures and a supporting background. While I could see the breath in many other images by the changes apparent when browsing one after the other, light-colored and detailed backgrounds often hide the breath in single images. A dark background and backlighting create an ideal scenario for making the breath element obvious.

A larger version of this image is available here.

The minimum goal was seemingly simple. Capture one great (to my eyes) photo of a dall sheep ram in Alaska, and I allocated eight days to accomplish that goal.

Dall sheep are usually found high in mountains, where accessibility becomes a challenge. This challenge was furthered by the weather, and primarily rain and snow prevented climbing into sheep altitudes for five of those eight days.

Fortunately, the success enjoyed on those three good days ranged from good on the first ascent to outstanding on the last. Ironically, weather, snow specifically, was part of the reason for the incredible photo opportunities on that last ascent. In this case, a snowstorm creates a clean background, while brighter clouds behind the camera created a strong, yet soft, light.

This huge dall sheep ram surveyed its environment as it walked over the alpine ridge, with continuous shooting providing a full range of head positions, including this direct glance.

The Canon EOS R5 and RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens got the call for this outing. The R5 was chosen for its high resolution, AF performance, and ease of use, and the RF 100-500 was selected for the optimal focal length range, including 100mm for environmental portraits and 500mm for tighter framing or distant subjects, and outstanding sharpness over the range, backed up by an optimal image stabilization system. The relatively compact size of this combination proved ideal for the climb.

I expected the sheep eyes on white hair to be an easy eye detection target for the R5, but the camera sometimes preferred the round black nostrils over the eyes when the sheep was facing the camera. Still, the eyes are sharp in an extremely high percentage of the sheep images, impressive performance.

A larger version of this image is available here.

Cliff swallows flying around their community nesting sites appear to be in chaotic synchronization. While birds are flying everywhere, each seems to accomplish its task, arriving at and leaving their mud nests.

Today's question answered is, do cliff swallows ever collide? Until now, I would have answered "No." However, I was wrong, and this image makes the question rhetorical.

Photographing the cliff swallow chaos in Badlands National Park was a huge challenge, and the keeper rate was low. Aligning the lens into the area where hundreds of birds were approaching and hitting the shutter release as soon as one entered the frame was the technique deployed for this capture. The Canon EOS R5's impressive subject detection and tracking capabilities were relied on for focusing.

Capturing a pair of cliff swallows large in the frame during a mid-air collision with a supporting juxtaposition of blurred birds was a gift.

A larger version of this image is available here.

It was adventure day. Some new gear was in house, two of the girls were home and anxious to go somewhere, and a plan was quickly formulated.

Gear prep included mounting a Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM Lens to the Sony Alpha 6700 and the Sony FE 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS II Lens to a Sony Alpha 1. For fast access, both kits were put into Lowepro Photo Active TLZ AW Top-Loader Camera Bags, the 45 and 50 respectively. A CPL filter for each lens was stowed in the case's front pocket.

We picked up sandwiches and drove close to 2 hours to the boulder field at Hickory Run State Park. After hiking out onto the rocks beyond the other visitors, the a6700 was pulled out for the requisite rock and cloud photos. That's when I discovered that the Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II Lens was mounted instead of the 16-35. The lenses are similar in appearance, and both were on my desk for evaluating the a6700.

While the FE 24-70 II is an outstanding lens, the angle of view was not as wide as I wanted for an APS-C camera body at this location. Still, the 24-70mm APS-C angle of view range worked fine for the primary need, field use with the a6700.

Our next location involved a close to 2-mile hike to a river gorge vista. Again the 16-35 would have been ideal, but good use for the 24-70mm range was availed. When photographing a still subject while focal length limited on the wide end, a panorama technique is a great option, and I made that happen.

As we explored the relatively small rock outcropping, my middle daughter shouted "Copperhead!", referring to one of the three venomous snakes found in Pennsylvania. All of us watched parts of the snake move through the mountain laurel and rocks that prevented a view clear enough for a photo.

Soon, the snake went under a rock, and we went back out onto the rocks. A few minutes later, the same daughter and I simultaneously spotted a timber rattlesnake hiding in the shade of rock layers included in the landscape pictures already captured. The dark-phased snake was highly camouflaged by the shadow it was in. Within seconds, we had the rest of the area scanned, with the realization that we were hanging out with 8 copperheads and two timber rattlers, one of which was quite large.

With a heightened sense of awareness, we began observing this location's newly availed photo subjects. While the 70-200 still in the car would have been the ideal lens, it didn't make this hike's light packing list. However, the inadvertently included 24-70 got the job done much better than the 16-35 would have.

Snakes under light-colored rocks on a sunny day create a dynamic range challenge. To overcome that obstacle, a well-positioned daughter created shade.

Numerous compositions were captured, but none of them show the awkwardness of photographing these snakes in rock cracks. To get low enough to see the snake and get the desired eye-level view, the back of my hand was on the rock, supporting (and protecting) the camera along with some upper body weight. While the a6700's LCD rotates, the angle reflected the sun, making the display unusable, and looking through the viewfinder at this height added to the challenge. Scars heal, but memories aided by digital images last a lifetime.

The elevation angle was easy to discern, but the side-to-side position decision was not as easy. In this example, the shallow f/2.8 plane of sharp focus was aligned to include the visible eyes of both snakes.

To those who fear snakes and are feeling creeped out by this image, understand that we were not in danger. While they are venomous, copperheads and timber rattlesnakes are generally docile if not attacked. Fleeing is their first choice vs. biting, and these snakes didn't care that we were there.

We said goodbye to the vipers and moved on to the next stop on the adventure.

Processing this image involved a minor complication. Despite the daughter shade, the snakes under the rock were darker than the rock above and in front of it. A manually processed single-image HDR strategy evened the lighting.

A larger version of this image is available here.

To an observer unfamiliar with elk behavior, this bull's antler flossing may not make sense. However, it is all about the scents.

Pine trees smell great to me, and apparently, this elk would agree. Or, at least pine trees are a good place to get and leave scents.

A larger version of this image is available here.

As I mentioned recently, the ultra-high-performance of the Canon RF 100-300mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens means still excellent image quality with extenders mounted, including the Canon RF 2x Extender. The 2x addition results in a 200-600mm f/5.6 IS lens, and ideal choice for wildlife photography.

So, this combination and I headed out for some birding.

A great blue heron was standing on a small, mostly-submerged log — for a long time. I was having the oft-repeated stay-or-go argument with myself when the bird started looking intently into the water, clarifying that staying won the argument. The bird plunged its head and entire body into the water and came up with a speared sunfish.

I know, these birds do this every day — it is how they survive. However, what the bird did was incredible.

Duckweed covers the entire surface of the water (except where the plunge just occurred), making underwater visibility from above water, even for a bird, seemingly impossible, but this heron performed a perfect strike at the extent of its reach under these circumstances. Upon shaking the duckweed from its feathers, the heron turned slightly toward the camera for an "I'm so cool" hero pose.

Significant foreground obstructions mean limited openings for shooting in this location, and I couldn't move any further away from this great blue heron. The Canon RF 600mm F4 L IS USM Lens is my usual choice for the selected location. While that lens has a 1-stop aperture advantage, it lacks the other focal lengths. The RF 100-300 with the 2x in place provides the 600mm angle of view while enabling zooming out to 339mm from this GBH vantage point for a full-body image.

A larger version of this image is available here.

The Canon RF 100-300mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens and I hung out with these fawns for a couple of hours this week.

White-tailed deer fawns are at the top of my most adorable animal list, and white-tailed deer fawn bokeh also works well.

A larger version of this image is available here.

Briefly, the Badlands National Park skies produced a nice show this evening, complete with the clouds seeming to match the ground texture. While I like the photo, the experience was even better.

See the sheep standing on the leftmost peak? We were in location for the sunset photo when this bighorn sheep ewe showed up on the ridge immediately to our right.

Then, it ran down the side of the cliff and ran up the one it is shown on. The sheep's ability to navigate the steep, slippery terrain at speed is incredible.

Experiences like these happen when you spend time in the right places. A second sheep is bedded on the tall peak close to the center of the image, and two more are walking between the two. Also impressive is that all four sheep stood still for a one-second exposure.

The optically impressive Sony FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM Lens got the call for this sunset. With clouds covering most of the sky, the odds of good sunset color were low. However, that scenario meant the entire sky could light up brilliantly, and I wanted ultra-wide angles of view ready to capture as much color as possible.

A small opening in the clouds created a light show that made 12mm a highly welcomed option. The Sony Alpha 1's ultra-high resolution makes the distant sheep easily recognized when the image is viewed large.

A larger version of this image is available here.

Last fall, my oldest and her husband were blessed with a son, Elliott. Right, that makes me a grandfather, and no other word has made me feel older. If you have followed this site from the beginning (celebrating 20 years this fall), it might make you feel old too.

It was time for another round of Elliott pictures. Timing baby pictures, even for babies as adorable as Elliott (I admit bias in that regard), revolves around the short durations between eating, sleeping, and being fussy.

It was nearly noon when I got the "We're ready!" call. Outdoor pics were requested, and the available lighting was from a bright overhead sun. The good location option under this bright spotlighting condition is facing outward from just inside a shade, yielding a large, but directional, soft light. A patio was the choice for this example.

These pics were all about Elliott, and a sense of place was not important. The Canon RF 135mm F1.8 L IS USM Lens was my easy first choice. Especially with the close subject distance required to fill the frame with a baby, this lens easily turned the background into a strong blur.

The shallow depth of field produced by the 135mm and f/1.8 combination at close distances challenges a camera's AF system. With a DSLR, a significant percentage of always-moving baby pics with such a lens would be at least slightly out of focus, and getting a perfectly focused image combined with the perfect baby pose is difficult.

With the latest round of mirrorless cameras, the challenge has become selecting the favorite image to share (and having the fortitude to delete cute baby pictures to avoid overload). The Canon EOS R5 in servo mode with people eye detection AF enabled allowed me to focus on framing and shutter release timing. The camera's results were nearly perfect. Image selection was almost exclusively based on Elliott and I coordinating on the timing and framing.

Post processing primarily involved use of the drool and mulch removal tools. Check out how sharp this eye is:

Most results looked like this. Drool inspiring.

Hopefully you picked up a photo tip and felt the joy of this little boy.

A larger version of this image is available here.

While you may or may not think this image is "great", the bird is undoubtedly a "great egret", and this beautiful bird is a great subject, especially at Gatorland, where they are acclimated to people.

Combine the permitted close proximity with the greatness of the Canon EOS R7 and RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens combination, providing an ultra-high-resolution APS-C imaging sensor and a tight angle of view at 500mm, and creative bird headshots become easy.

In this example, another egret behind the subject provided an all-white background, making the colorful bill and eye stand out artistically.

A larger version of this image is available here.

Do you ever dream of the perfect shot playing out before you? For example, a huge bull moose emerging from hemlocks into a clearing while walking over a bed of bright red huckleberries? This cooperative bull meant I didn't have to wake up from that dream.

As I said before, when many miles are on the wildlife photography hiking plan, the Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens is probably on my camera, the Canon EOS R5 in this case.

A larger version of this image is available here.

I know, my daughter graduated from college a couple of years ago, but my image processing backlog is ... eh, maybe I'll share that number later. It's high. Anyway, I want to talk about portraits today, so I selected this graduation portrait to final process and share.

When capturing a portrait image, the goal is usually to emphasize the subject. Competing for that attention is everything else in the frame. While those additional elements are often not removable, they can be blurred to reduce the sharp lines of contrast that catch and pull the viewer's eye.

An outstanding way to accomplish the blurred background goal is to use an ultra-wide aperture, creating a shallow depth of field that leaves the background strongly out of focus.

Sometimes, a sense of place is desired for the portrait. The 50mm angle of view is wide enough to incorporate those identifying elements without magnifying them into obscurity.

The Canon RF 50mm F1.2 L USM Lens or Sony's alternative, the FE 50mm F1.2 GM Lens, is a superb choice for this goal.

Here, the subject's head is aligned between the two buildings to further reduce background distractions.

Also check out The Graduation Exit and Athletic Graduation Portrait After Sunset images.

A larger version of this image is available here.

Let's talk about getting the right shutter speed for airshow photography. This discussion is largely seeking or avoiding motion blur.

Seeking opposites for the same event may seem strange, but moving parts on an airborne aircraft should be blurred to illustrate movement, to avoid the parked-in-the-sky-appearance. Primarily, helicopter and airplane rotor and propeller blades appear best when blurred, while non-moving parts look best sharp.

Blur is created when subject details move across pixels on the imaging sensor during the exposure. The movement can be from the subject, the camera, or both, and the movement relationship between the two is what determines the amount of blur.

Higher-density imaging sensors essentially magnify blur, but the final output size equalizes this difference.

Motion rendered large in the frame, close or magnified with a longer focal length, will be stronger than that of the same motion rendered small in the frame. So, subject distance and focal length play into the decision.

When there are multiple movements in the frame, blur differences occur. Turning the zoom ring affects change in all directions, and focal length zooming during the exposure can create a blur that panning cannot mitigate.

With so many factors coming into play, and with those factors changing constantly, airshow shutter speed rules are imperfect. Still, especially for those not regularly photographing airshows (or not having the ability or interest to change shutter speeds constantly during a pass), rules are helpful.

Let's start with capturing the motion blur. Try starting with 1/400 or 1/500 second exposures to blur airplane and helicopter props and rotors. While this speed is a good starting point for motion blur, unfortunately, it is not easy to keep fast aircraft sharp at these exposure durations, and you can expect a high blurry aircraft ratio in the results.

Jets do not show moving parts on the exterior, and they typically move faster. Thus, there is no need to blur any portion of the subject (though a blurred ground background may be desired), and fast shutter speeds are the best choice to stop the motion. Figure 1/1600 or faster.

When jets are flying in multiple directions, as illustrated in this image, the speed and direction of all aircraft in relation to the camera's panning direction must be accounted for, and stopping all the action requires a faster shutter speed than when panning with a single jet or with a formation of jets flying in the same direction. Freezing both planes in the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds opposing pass routines requires an extremely fast shutter speed, considerably faster than the 1/2500 exposure used for this image.

Obtaining fast shutter speeds means higher ISO settings for adequately bright results. As mentioned in the last Blue Angels image I shared, aircraft are not super detailed and the sky lacks detail. This means that noise reduction can be applied without much loss of detail, smoothing the high ISO noise.

Use the rules for insurance level settings and check the results between passes. If you are getting consistently sharp prop aircraft at 1/400, try longer exposures for greater blur (and perhaps pan-blur the ground-based background when such avails itself). If all your jets are sharp at 1/1600, consider trying a longer exposure.

While I'm talking about airshow photography here, the concepts are transferable to other photographic pursuits.

A larger version of this image is available here.

Any lake earning the name Picture must be worth stopping by, and this lake, in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, just west of North Cascades National Park, deserves that name.

A great scene is made better when duplicated by a reflection, and this still evening enabled full advantage of this lake's reflecting surface.

The Canon RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM Lens was this day's walkabout lens choice. In addition to covering the ideal angles of view, this relatively compact and lightweight lens consistently delivered sharp images, as always.

A larger version of this image is available here.

On a trip targeting the Bisti / De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area in New Mexico, I ended up in Bears Ears National Monument, Utah — twice.

Why? Two reasons.

First, 3 days of sand and dust storms (even stones were in the air) provided an unfavorable New Mexico greeting. Second, Bears Ears National Monument has some great photo subjects.

I told you that before. This image is of Falling Rood Ruin Cliff Dwelling in Cedar Mesa, and this image capture shares the same circumstances and concepts as House on Fire.

Late in the morning, the sun reaches the warm-toned rock below this ancient Puebloan granary, creating a warm-toned light that reflects up into the massive rock overhang.

The name suggests the unique feature of this subject — the chunks of roof that appear to have fallen. While walking under this overhang, one can't help but wonder when the next chunk of roof will let go.

This image was processed using the cloudy white balance setting, cooler than the shade option technically right for the scenario (6500k vs. 7500k), with a bit of vibrance (+30) to bring out the richness in the colors.

While the Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II Lens was in the BackLight 26L, a cliff immediately behind this tripod position ensured there was no backing up. The Sony FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM Lens covered all the angles I needed at this location. This corner-to-corner sharp image is a single shot.

The 12mm angle of view captures a vast portion of the scene, including the lines in the rock under the structure.

A larger version of this image is available here.

At the beginning of each year, I browse the US Air Force Thunderbirds and US Navy Blue Angels airshow schedules, adding the most-local events to my calendar. More often than not, the timing and distance prevent my attendance. Those two factors aligned optimally this year, and I was privileged to photograph the recent Pocono Raceway Airshow.

The same awesome factors of the auto racing typically featured at this venue, including speed and precision, align nicely with those of the airshow events, and the Blue Angels performing on this day never disappoint. Though lacking a runway, Pocono Raceway's massive grandstand, combined with clear air space and the sun positioned behind the show, is an ideal setup.

What is the best airshow lens? I opted for the Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens for this event.

I also had a Canon RF 600mm F4 L IS USM Lens with me for the single jet performances. This lens provided more reach, and the f/4 aperture enabled lower ISO settings.

The size and weight of the 600 made handheld tracking of the fast planes challenging and tiring. Thus, the RF 100-500 got primary use.

While the 100-500 required a higher ISO setting with the f/7.1 aperture in use, the bright day kept the f/7.1 ISO settings reasonable. In addition, planes are not super detailed (and the sky lacks detail), allowing noise reduction to be applied without much loss of detail.

With the light levels staying rather consistent this afternoon, a fully manual exposure was selected. The exposure consistency of images captured on each pass (or many passes) made mass brightness adjustments, if needed, easy.

While there were many times when 500mm was not long enough in front of a full-frame Canon EOS R5, there were times when the formation was too close for even 100mm, as illustrated here (well, 118mm to be specific).

Bighorn sheep are common in Badlands National Park, but I don't see rams this big so frequently.

The key to capturing this image was observing that the ram was eating the yellow flowers. While eating, the ram's head was primarily down, not my favorite position. Positioning to capture the ram leaving one harvested patch on its way to another yielded a selection of head-up poses.

Getting the 600mm and f/4 combination down low on the flat grasslands creates a strongly blurred background.

Heatwave distortion was a problem during this capture, but shooting many images at a fast frame rate provided an adequate number of sharp results.

A larger version of this image is available here.

King of Wings is a crazy hoodoo rock formation west of Nageezi, New Mexico, near the Bisti Badlands, De-Na-Zin Wilderness, Valley of Dreams, and Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness areas. Photographing this unique feature rose to the top of the to-do list, and the planning started.

The first King of Wings photography challenge occurs during online research. "King of Wings" search results are primarily related to a chicken part covered in BBQ sauce. Adding location-related keywords easily resolved that problem, and considerably more challenging obstacles remained. Getting there was one of them.

The King of Wings trailhead (a generous term) is another long-drive-from-everywhere New Mexico location. The last roads (about 17 miles of them) are rutted, and the final drive is a rough two-track. This long slab of rock hanging about 10' (3m) beyond the pillar holding it is another GPS-guided two-mile hike across a non-descript trailless desert.

For energy conservation reasons, I opted to take one camera and one lens. My choice? The Canon EOS R5 and the RF 15-35mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens.

Based on scouting, this lens's focal length range had the optimal angles of view. This lens delivers superb optical quality, and the R5 is my go-to camera for nearly everything.

King of Wings is unique enough to be photogenic at any time of the day, but the timing goal for this shoot was such that the setting sun would cast a warm light tone practically upward as it set.

With only a few minutes of the ideal light color, it was imperative that clouds not be present. However, clouds in the background would be welcomed. The weather forecast indicating a clearing sky at sunset seemed optimal, and it was go time.

The long hike back to the SUV in the dark and subsequent drive to the airport were better with the knowledge that another goal shot was on the memory card.

A larger version of this image is available here.

Photographing Alien Throne in the Valley of Dreams, near Bisti Badlands, De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area and Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Area was on my to-do list, and obviously, I made that trip happen.

You've heard it said that a photo should tell a story. I agree that telling a story is a good aspect of a photo, but storytelling is not always important, and oftentimes, the capture of an image creates a story. This image falls into that latter category.

Some images are complicated to capture, some images are complicated to edit, and some images are both. Again, this one landed solidly in the latter category.

Even beyond any travel required to get to New Mexico, getting to Valley of Dreams requires a long drive (for everyone) that ends on high-clearance two-track "roads" (and a popular mapping app does not currently provide the correct directions). Once driving capabilities are exhausted, the hike to Alien Throne is nearly two miles with, at least for the newcomers, GPS guidance over the trailless desert.

The Valley of Dreams is a dark sky location, optimal for photographing the Milky Way. Add darkness to the hike, and even most Valley of Dreams-experienced hikers need constant GPS navigation assistance as your vehicle becomes a needle in a haystack on the return hike.

Choosing to photograph the Milky Way in April means a middle-of-the-night shooting time (with, likely, no other photographers competing for your location). After photographing a sunrise, napping, scouting, and photographing sunset at Alien Throne, and resting back in the SUV for a couple of hours, we started the second hike to Alien Throne in the darkness at 1:00 AM.

Once in position, establishing the composition was the first goal, and darkness greatly increases this challenge. I brought low-level lighting for this scene, but we opted to go with natural lighting due to the myriad of hard shadows present here.

With the composition established, the Milky Way became the focus. The lens was manually focused on the stars, and the mental note for a quick return to optimal infinity focus was that this setting was immediately after the camera's distance meter changed from a number to the ∞ symbol.

I was uncertain where the Milky Way would be compositionally ideal as it rotated through the image, and there were clouds that could shut down visibility later. Thus, images were continuously captured until the Milky Way was clearly rotated beyond the optimal position.

Next, without moving the camera, the foreground was focused on. The 24mm focal length at f/1.4 does not provide adequate depth of field for this entire scene, making focus bracketing important for that goal.

The ground subjects would not be obscured by clouds, and they were not moving in relation to the camera. Thus, they could be photographed at leisure, and longer exposures created a brighter image without concern for star trails. For this image's foreground, three 30-second images were captured at three focus distances, with the duplicate images enabling some of the noise to be averaged out.

After the blending, the three foreground images were focus-stacked into a single image. Focus stacking is easy in Photoshop (& Lightroom). Open as layers in Photoshop, select all layers, select Edit > Auto-Align Layers [select Auto], choose Edit > Auto-Blend Layers [select Stack Images]. Then, the Milky Way sky image was focus-stacked into the final image.

Further processing primarily consisted of adding contrast, cooling the color tone, and darkening the foreground significantly.

It was after 4:00 AM when we packed up to start the GPS-guided route back to the car, and the sun was up by the time we arrived at the hotel. Hotel breakfast was the end of the story behind this image.

Was the reward worth the effort? Definitely. With photography, it usually is.

A larger version of this image is available here.

The Cracked Eggs (or Alien Egg Hatchery) rock formations about 2 miles into Bisti Badlands, De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area are an intriguing subject.

This scene called for the classic use of a wide-angle focal length. Move in close to render the foremost egg large while keeping nearly the entire hatchery and a significant amount of interesting background in the frame. This lens can go significantly wider, but 22mm seemed the right choice for the background details inclusion.

Selecting the camera height is typically a necessary consideration for landscape photography. In this case, a high position provided separation of the foreground cracked egg and the one behind it. This position also showed the number of cracked eggs vs. having foreground eggs obscuring them.

Scouting showed that this scene would look great at sunset, and that timing was the photographic plan implemented. As is often the case, the light was best immediately before the scene went into shadows, the optimal (warmest) light only lasted for a few minutes, and the images shot before the best light are seldom seen by anyone else.

Immediately before the eggs went into shadows, I flipped the camera to vertical orientation (Cracked Eggs at Sunset) (an L-bracket makes this change fast and holds the same alignment) to capture a variation. When the eggs went into shadows (Cracked Eggs in Sunset Shade, they were evenly illuminated, and the glowing canyon walls in the background remained attractive.

Larger versions of these images are available here.

The pink Huguenot Church is one of my favorite subjects in Charleston, SC, and this entrance is especially eye-catching.

From a distance, the depth of this doorway is deemphasized, but moving in close with an ultra-wide-angle lens reveals that attribute. This lens's angle of view also permits a foreground fence to be omitted while keeping most of the doorway in the frame.

The RF 16 was not my first choice for street photography while walking around Charleston with the Canon EOS R8 this afternoon. However, this little lens was easy to take along for just-in-case needs, and it proved worth having along.

The Canon RF 16mm F2.8 STM Lens provides outstanding utility (and fun) for its size, weight, and especially, price. As I share this sample image, the RF 16 in refurbished condition is on sale for only $179.00.

A larger version of this image is available here.

On a trip targeting the Bisti / De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area in New Mexico, I ended up in Bears Ears National Monument, Utah.

Why? Two reasons.

First, 3 days of sand and dust storms (even stones were in the air) provided an unfavorable New Mexico greeting. Second, Bears Ears National Monument has some great photo subjects.

This image is of House on Fire in Mule Canyon, Cedar Mesa. Late in the morning, the sun reaches the red rock below this ancient Puebloan granary, creating a warm-toned light that reflects up into the massive rock overhang. That warm light color combines with lines in the rock to create the look of a raging fire over the ancient building.

Photographers chose a wide range of editing choices for this subject, some including red color tone emphasis and wild saturation. The chosen concept is typically to make the flames appear intense, and personal preference or audience preference rules (unless processing for a client).

I opted to process this image using the cloudy white balance setting, cooler than the shade option technically right for the scenario (6500k vs. 7500k), with a bit of vibrance (+30) to bring out the richness in the colors.

House on Fire affords a wide variety of compositions. To fully cover the focal length range potentially desired, I carried two awesome zoom lenses, the Sony FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM Lens and the Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II Lens.

Primarily, the 12-24mm lens met the needs, delivering this corner-to-corner sharp image in a single shot.

A larger version of this image is available here.

This much graffiti on the walls corresponds to a sketchy environment, right? Not here.

Street legal graffiti is the draw to Graffiti Alley in Baltimore, and Graffiti Alley is a sure thing graffiti photography location (though non-family-friendly content is sometimes created).

Filling the frame with unique color is not a challenge here, but figuring out what compositions are appealing amongst the chaos is. While I was challenged, the Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G Lens provided the full range of desired focal lengths.

A larger version of this image is available here.

The grand George Peabody Library in Baltimore screams for an ultra-wide-angle lens. While many Sony wide-angle lenses would easily handle this job, the Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G Lens is the only Sony full-frame standard zoom lens that takes in angles of view this wide.

The other requirement for photographing this architectural marvel is working around the no tripod requirement. The interior is dark, so obtaining the highest image quality requires support.

When is a tripod not a tripod? On this day, the Really Right Stuff TFA-01 Ultra Pocket Pod with a BPC-16 Microball with Panning was no-tripod acceptable.

When photographing a symmetrical scene, find center. Use a perfectly centered and horizontally level camera. Or, don't. Make the composition uncentered enough to make it the uncenteredness and crookedness appear to be a clear decision, artistic instead of sloppy.

A larger version of this image is available here.

Sometimes, 24mm is not wide enough. With a bus parked immediately behind me, the 20mm focal length was the key to this Mt. Vernon Place United Methodist Church composition.

Most full-frame general-purpose lenses start at 24mm, but the Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G Lens is a game-changer in that regard.

With the 20mm focal length affording the angle of view needed to comfortably frame the three doorways (love the red doors), positioning the camera perfectly leveled and centered in the middle door was the next task. This vertical angle was selected to split the height of the bottom visible step and comfortably contain the doorway roof peaks.

A larger version of this image is available here.

I recently shared Rock Cut in the last light. I didn't go home after the sun set, and instead tolerated high winds and very cold temperatures for a couple more hours. It seemed that the rock formations here would make a good foreground for a Milky Way photo.

Getting the rock formations to rise above the other landscape meant climbing down to the edge of the cliff, and low-level lighting was used to bring out the rock color. The foreground lighting in this Rocky Mountain National Park Milky Way image is from a pair of Simorr Vibe P96L RGB Video LED Lights on Manfrotto Befree Advanced Travel Tripods.

Once the lights and camera were set up, waiting (did I mention that it was really cold?) for the Milky Way to rotate into the desired position was the remaining task.

The Sigma 20mm F1.4 DG DN Art Lens is an outstanding Milky Way lens. The difference that f/1.4 makes in Milky Way image quality over an f/2.8 lens is dramatic.

Join me in RMNP this September. I have an opening or two for the Elk Rut in Rocky Mountain National Park Instructional Photo Tour.

A larger version of this image is available here.

When the sky is clear, focusing on what the last light of the day is hitting is often the optimal plan. Last light typically falls on high-elevation features, and Rock Cut in Rocky Mountain National Park has that qualification.

A Colorado 14er, Longs Peak, also captures the day's last light. Framing this mountain between the Rock Cut features results in what you see here.

The Sony Alpha 1 and Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II Lens are an outstanding combination. Three manually focus bracketed images were combined for this image.

Join me in RMNP this September. I have an opening or two for the Elk Rut in Rocky Mountain National Park Instructional Photo Tour.

A larger version of this image is available here.

Adding close focusing capabilities to an otherwise useful focal length and max aperture combination adds versatility — and fun. The Canon RF 24mm F1.8 Macro IS STM Lens is one such lens.

Here, the RF 28 gets close to a honeybee, with a bright cloudy sky creating a high key background.

From a composition perspective, besides getting close, an overall balance was the goal for this (and most) images. The sunflower was itself worthy of being photographed, but the honeybee added another point of interest to the composition.

Bees will often work their way around the flower. Figure out their plan and make yours accordingly. While the bee was farther back on the flower, I positioned the lens for what seemed the optimal composition and timed the shot when the bee arrived.

This bull was protecting a herd of cows during the rut in Rocky Mountain National Park. While he appears to be looking directly at me, he didn't care that I was there. The shot was timed as he was watching distance competitors.

One of the reasons I prefer high-resolution cameras is that their images can be cropped significantly and still have sufficient resolution for many uses. In this case, a vertical crop was created from a horizontally oriented Canon EOS R5 image. Despite that heavy cropping, the image is still 17 MP.

Join me in RMNP this September. I have a couple of openings for the Elk Rut in Rocky Mountain National Park Instructional Photo Tour.

A larger version of this image is available here.

This big bull, prancing and showing off his antlers, was heading back to his herd of cows after fending off an adversary.

Where is the best place to be in mid to late September? Rocky Mountain National Park is high on my list of answers. Elk are one of my favorite animals, and the rut behavior makes this time of year optimal for photographing them.

So, why don't you join me in RMNP this September? I have a couple of openings for the Elk Rut in Rocky Mountain National Park Instructional Photo Tour.

A larger version of this image is available here.

Always look for new camera locations while working a scene. That process at The Charleston Place's zero edge pool determined that the camera practically in the water produced my favorite image.

Seldom do water reflections let us down, and in this case, they add intrigue. The Canon EOS R5's vari-angle LCD made the precise alignment of this handheld composition possible.

General purpose focal lengths in a compact, lightweight package make the Canon RF 24-50mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens a great option for travel and other portable needs. This lens's low price is a highly attractive feature, and initial image quality impressions are good.

A larger version of this image is available here.

When I learned that the shooting opportunities were models in an old house, I grabbed three lenses.

The first two, the Canon RF 85mm F2 Macro IS STM Lens and RF 135mm F1.8 L IS USM Lens, are frequently associated with portrait photography and obvious choices.

My third chosen lens may not seem like an optimal indoor portrait lens, but the Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM Lens was selected to take in the old house in addition to the people — environmental portraits. The models were still, and the in-lens optical image stabilization made up for the not-so-wide f/4 aperture (and f/4 provided a nice depth of field).

All handheld images from this scene were sharp, but there was a bigger challenge.

When composing an image with straight lines running along all frame borders, a perfectly centered and leveled camera is often the best choice. Gaining that perfect alignment for this picture was a challenge.

A larger version of this image is available here.

Put the Canon RF 85mm F2 Macro IS STM Lens on the EOS R50, and you have an impressive portrait kit in your hands. The images produced by that combination belie the cost, as the R50 and RF 85 F2 are priced at the bottom of their class.

Support columns often provide a great portrait background. Their subtle toning and (usually) white color do not compete for attention. In this case, the model's head was framed within one column, with two additional columns completing the backdrop.

Add a background-matching white coat and the 85 F2's background blur to make the model's hair and face grab the viewer's attention.

A larger version of this image is available here.

The Canon RF 135mm F1.8 L IS USM Lens delivers jaw-dropping imagery, and with portraiture on the schedule, this lens was my first choice for testing the Canon EOS R8.

The location was the Magnolia Plantation near Charleston, SC., where the Spanish moss and its reflection provide a beautiful, non-distracting foreground and background that emphasize the bridge and model. Even at a relatively long distance, the 135mm focal length and f/1.8 aperture combination on a full-frame camera creates nice background separation, especially making the subject pop.

The R8 brings Canon's outstanding AF system and full-frame image quality to an affordable price.

A larger version of this image is available here.

You can try searching, but there are no marmot photography workshops available. At least, I didn't find one.

Certainly, you could talk someone into providing a custom marmot photo tour, but there is a reason (or multiple reasons) why such tours are not readily available. I'll start the list. We don't value marmots and marmot photos enough to spend our time and funds chasing them.

However, these small animals are fun to hang out with, and they are easily cute enough to be photo-worthy.

I photographed these creatures in three national parks last year. This marmot was a Rocky Mountain National Park resident. However, a couple of coyotes were attempting to end that residency. Thus, survival was at the top of this wary marmot's priority list, and the high rock perch advantaged the marmot in this competition.

Marmots, and animals in general, vary on their minimum people distance. In relation to close shooting distance, experience, observation, and acclimation are the photographer's keys to getting the best wildlife images. Marmots in people-frequented areas of national parks tend to be quite tolerant of people.

However, getting too close is not good for photos or the critter being photographed — the subject departs.

When an interesting subject is discovered, photograph it for the insurance shots. Then, if the situation warrants, slowly move a bit closer, perhaps not directly toward the subject. Repeat until, or better yet, just before, the animal shows the least discomfort with your presence.

This image represents what I felt was near this marmot's minimum people distance. It is alert and wary, but his concern is not me.

The marmot presented a variety of poses, but most were looking toward the sides. Composition involves many factors, but the simple one in this scenario was that the critter should be looking into the frame. Placing it high in the frame helps convey the lookout role.

Sorry, I'm not opening a marmot-specific photography tour this year. But, I may have a couple of openings in my elk rut instructional photo tour in September.

A larger version of this image is available here.

The Yellow Mounds make all the Badlands National Park top photography locations lists. They are beautiful, intriguing, and worthy of their position on those lists.

However, creating great images that include these mounds is not easy. Of course, lighting changes everything, and dramatically reducing the image quality challenge on this day was natural spotlighting that, incredibly, illuminated the feature highlights of this scene.

As is often the case, the Canon EOS R5 and RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM Lens combination was outstanding for this landscape photograph. The RF 24-105 is relatively compact, has an excellent general-purpose focal length range, consistently produces impressively sharp images, and was my primary lens for over two weeks in this park last year.

A larger version of this image is available here.

I took a little time out to finish off another moose photo waiting in the to-process queue.

The Canon EOS R5 and RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens are a fantastic wildlife combination and take credit for this picture.

A larger version of this image is available here.

During last year's Rocky Mountain National Park instructional photo tour, we spotted this bull elk from about a mile away. The size of the antlers was an easy reason to go after this animal, but there was another good reason.

While a great subject is paramount for a great image, a primary wildlife or portrait subject often fills a relatively small percentage of the frame. Elk are large animals, and this one fills the composition enough to leave just-comfortable breathing room at the top and bottom. Still, most of the frame is background.

The full Sony Alpha 1 image measures 8,640 x 5,760 pixels, yielding 49,766,400 total pixels. Cropping the image to fit only the elk results in 3,499 x 4,729 pixels and 16,546,771 total pixels. Dividing the smaller total pixels number by the larger one indicates that the elk consumes only 33% of the frame.

Therefore, the background is a vital part of the image. Blurring the background is a great option for emphasizing the subject and removing distractions. While a 600mm f/4 lens can blur the background stronger than most others, the size of the elk pushes the focus distance long enough that the background details remain discernable. Thus, the background still needs to be supportive.

A reason for pursuing this opportunity was the evenly vegetated meadow background. The meadow provides a complementary color and a sense of the location without competing for attention.

A bull elk standing in bright sunlight is an easy scenario to produce a sharp image in, and a fast framerate is unnecessary, right? Not so fast.

That bright sunlight creates heatwaves, and telephoto-focal-length-magnified heatwaves blur the image. The background is already blurred, but the eye must be sharp. Heatwaves move fast, and high-speed continuous shooting often results in some eye-sharp images among the blurred ones.

A larger version of this image is available here.

Their day job primarily involves harassing the herd bulls, but the satellite bulls will also fight each other. These two young Rocky Mountain National Park bulls seemed to be sparing vs. having an all-out battle.

To keep the eyes of both bulls in the sharp plane of focus, a side-on position was taken. A low shooting position gives the elk a larger apparent stature and increases the background distance, letting it go strongly blurred.

This fight took place early in the day. With limited light, an all-action-stopping shutter speed required a very high ISO setting. I opted to shoot with a slow shutter speed to avoid the high noise levels. This decision reduced the keeper rate, but often a small number of great images is better than many mediocre ones, and I had a nice quantity of sharp images from the fight.

That said, the ISO 4000 setting yields a noticeable amount of noise. Subject detail, such as hair, hides noise better than evenly colored areas, such as the smoothly blurred background. Strong noise reduction destroys details, but it is especially helpful for removing noise from a blurred background.

So, this image was processed once with weak noise reduction and once with strong noise reduction. The two images were loaded into photoshop layers, with the subject-selected mask hiding the strong noise reduction layer. The subjects retain details (and noise) and the background appears similar to a low ISO setting. A similar tactic can be used in Lightroom.

A larger version of this image is available here.

A wind storm hit Death Valley National Park the previous day, leaving Mesquite Flat Dunes filled with untracked ripples. It was the kid-in-the-candy-store scenario.

The Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens on a Canon EOS R5 was an optimal choice for the dunes. While focal lengths outside this range had compositional opportunities, the 24-70mm angles of view enabled emphasis on the close subjects while keeping the background details relatively large in the frame.

Of course, the 52mm focal length selected for this composition is not optimal for keeping near-to-far details in focus. The R5's focus bracketing feature was the solution to that problem.

With focus bracketing enabled, the smallest increment specified, and the number of shots set far above what was needed (the camera automatically stops at infinity), the R5 proved itself foolproof, automatically delivering the complete required range of sharp focus bracketed images at nearly a 100% rate (except when I impatiently picked up the tripod before the stack was finished to hurry on to the next composition).

With that strategy implemented, my task was easy. Walk up to a scene, select the composition, position the focus point on the closest subject (the closest sand), and press the shutter release with the 2-second self-timer enabled.

My first focus stacking pass for this image was in Photoshop. This process is easy. Here is how to focus stack using Photoshop:

1. Open the set of images with sharp details covering the entire depth of field as layers in Photoshop. To do this using Bridge, select the images (click on the first image, and shift-click on the last image), then menu > Tools > Photoshop > Load file into Photoshop layers.
2. Select all layers in the Layers panel (click on the top layer, and shift-click on the bottom layer).
3. Menu > Edit > Auto-Align Layers, select Auto in the dialog, then click OK.
4. Menu > Edit > Auto-Blend Layers, select Stack Images in the dialog, then click OK.
5. If the result looks good, select all layers in the Layers panel, and press control-E to consolidate the result into a single layer.

That mindless process usually works great. However, I wasn't satisfied with the result in this case, so I manually stacked the images using layers masks.

A larger version of this image is available here.

My family and I wish you a very Merry Christmas! As always, we hope that your Christmas season is filled with great meaning, great memories, and of course, great images.

The Christmas tree is a core of our family's traditions, and it seems that our Christmas tree adventure always has a story.

After putting the tree up, I always vowel to get a smaller tree the next year. By the next year, the tall tree issues are forgotten, but the space available for the tree is remember, and the girls pressure to go big. After getting away from carrying the tree behind the SUV, moving it to the roof, hitting things alongside of the road are no longer an issue.

However, hitting the garage door when returning home is a concern. That risk didn't materialize, but making the tree stay upright was a real concern.

This year, the girls picked a tree with about 4 or 5' of the bottom branches trimmed off (likely sold for greens, such as for wreaths). That meant I couldn't clearly discern the tree's height above the bare trunk. And, it seemed to grow a couple of feet on the ground.

When trees get that tall, the trunk becomes thick, which equates with heavy. With help, I managed to get the tree upright and moved into position.

Hours later, my daughter said "Oh!" "Oh!!!" OOOh!!!!! The extra exclamation points reference the decibel level of her exclamations.

Yep, the tree fell over. Fortunately, no decorations were yet attached. Unfortunately, about 2 gallons of water dumped onto the floor. Fortunately, a large piece of plastic caught a lot of that water.

The tree you see here is tied to the wall with fishing line. It is 20lb test line for those of you who are fishermen. It is also about 20 years old, probably the same age as the tree.

Our Christmas tree represents a huge amount of work (mostly for my girls), and the results of their effort deserve preservation in a high-quality image. After photographing the annual Christmas tree in the same location for over 25 years (I unsuccessfully lobbied for a new location this year), I have a few go-to shots dialed in.

An ultra-wide-angle focal length usually gets the selection. In addition to fitting the tree and surrounding space in the frame, this angle of view makes the room appear big, creating a more dramatic look.

There seems to be an outstanding ultra-wide-angle lens choice introduced each year, and I seldom capture the tree photo with a lens previously used for that task. The Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM Lens got the call in 2021. Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM Lens captured the Christmas 2020 tree, the Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens captured the 2019 tree, and, going a bit narrower for a different look, the Canon RF 28-70mm F2L USM Lens took in the 2018 tree.

I didn't look at my lens choice from prior years before choosing this year's lens, had the new Sony Alpha 7R V to work with, and the Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM Lens was the perfect match for this year's job.

At this time of the year, I know that I need to take pictures between 5:15 and 5:25 PM to have a touch of dark blue sky color showing through the windows with the exposure balanced for the Christmas lights inside. No, I can't remember this time from year to year, but a calendar item reminds me (and EXIF information from the prior year's photos can be referenced).

F/16 images from any current digital camera, and especially from cameras with ultra-high pixel density, show a slight softness due to diffraction. However, I like the starburst effect that narrow apertures, such as f/16, create from point light sources, such as the candles in the windows. Because the a7R V pixel density is so high, I opted to open up to f/11 this year. The FE 14 still creates nice diffraction spikes from the point light sources at this aperture, and the a7R V produces noticeably sharper details at f/11 than at f/16.

With only the tree and other decorative lights on, the exposure needs to be long — 25 seconds at f/11 and ISO 100. The exposure duration means that only a few images can be captured during the perfect deep blue sky time.

Long exposures also mean that the tree ornaments must be still to avoid motion blur, and the floor vibrates when walked on, making the ornaments swing. One person walking across the room at the wrong time could eliminate one or two exposures from that short period. Thus, the photo day is (usually) selected for when I am home alone at the right time.

The vertical lines in the windows (or sometimes a wall unit) on the right side of the frame look best when running parallel to the edge of the frame. Thus, a camera position leveled for both tilt and roll is usually selected. In this case, the Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM Lens especially impresses with its lack of geometric distortion (no correction was applied to this image), rendering the vertical lines straight.

I am fortunate to have a range of tripods to work with, and holding the Sony Alpha 7R V and FE 14mm f/1.8 GM Lens combination steady indoors is not a support challenge. However, when shooting on carpet, I prefer a tripod with some weight (or spikes) to press into the carpet fibers, decreasing movement. The Really Right Stuff TVC-34L Mk2 Tripod and BH-55 Ball Head handled this job nicely.

With that, another Christmas tree photo is in the archives.

A larger version of this image is available here.

Let me introduce you to your new favorite event, portrait, and indoor sports lens, the Canon RF 135mm F1.8 L IS USM Lens.

There are several reasons for this prediction.

The first is the focal length. The 135mm angle of view is narrow enough to encourage subject distances that create pleasing portrait perspectives, even for full-frame headshots. This angle of view also keeps the lens out of their personal space, staying distant enough for subjects to remain comfortable.

The ultra-wide aperture is another reason for this lens to be a favorite. The F1.8 aperture combined with high-performing image stabilization keeps shutter speeds up and ISO settings down for sharp, low-noise results. F1.8 combined with the medium telephoto focal length can create a strong background blur that makes the subject stand out from an otherwise distracting background.

If those two reasons are not sufficient for you, the image quality delivered by this lens will be. Even the preproduction lens produced outstanding image quality.

This mariachi band member performing at a low light event was a perfect subject for this lens and the Canon EOS R6 Mark II behind it.

Sharing a favorite image from my late summer and early fall elk photography here. The colors in this image are right out of the camera using Lightroom's default settings — I didn't create this 7x7 bull's unique orange antler color during post-processing.

The great lighting (and water drop streaks) is curtesy of a rainy day. When photographing wildlife, I always keep a LensCoat rain cover on my camera and lens. With a quality rain shell on me, moderate rain does not hinder the pursuit, and it often enhances the photos.

A larger version of this image is available here.

Usually, heavy cropping of a full-frame image is required to fill the frame with the moon. Not so when using the Canon RF 1200mm F8 L IS USM Lens with an RF 2x Extender behind it.

At the magnification provided by 2400mm, keeping the moon in the frame (without a tracking mount) is problematic. The moon must be led by the right amount to be centered in the frame after the vibrations settle out.

Fortunately, it is easy to precisely center the moon during post-processing – as long no edges are clipped. The black border is easy to extend on any side.

Is this full-sized image sharp? Not especially so. The wide-open f/16 aperture has some diffraction impact, 2x extenders magnify aberrations, and worse is the atmospheric distortion.

Would I buy a $20,000 lens to photograph the moon? While the 2400mm focal length is difficult to obtain otherwise, no, I'm not that serious about photographing the moon. But if you have the lens, the moon makes a fun subject.

A larger version of this image is available here.

I've probably purchased a Canon 24-105 F4 L IS Lens a dozen times. This series of lenses, including the Canon RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM Lens, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM Lens, and Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens, are professional-grade, high-performing, relatively compact and lightweight, and affordable. That combination, along with the versatile 24-105mm focal length range, make these lenses ideal for many uses, including family, travel, and hiking.

So, why do I keep rebuying them, aside from the new models becoming available? Well, I try to keep the kit trimmed to the gear that is most important to me. I sometimes shoot moving subjects in low light, such as at indoor events, and in these scenarios, an aperture wider than f/4 is desired. Thus, there is always a 24-70mm F2.8 L lens in the kit.

With a significant general-purpose focal length range covered, it seems that 24-70mm lens should be adequate for all needs. When there is some time space since the last 24-105 F4 need, the 24-105 gets sold to finance seemingly more important needs.

Then, a need arises that reminds me that I really do need that lens, usually for its size, weight, and focal length range, and I re-buy it. And, the story repeats – more often than it should.

The second Canon RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM Lens arrived in my kit earlier this year. With some long hikes on the schedule, the need for this lens again became apparent. I bought it to keep this time (unless I forget the reasons again), and it performed impressively.

One location that the RF 24-105 was perfect for was Badlands National Park.

Few elements make a prairie more photogenic than a good storm with a rainbow, and the first thing I grab when a rainbow shows up is a Breakthrough Photography circular polarizer filter.

A larger version of this image is available here.

I added a new turkey image to the collection this year. While exploring Badlands National Park with a workshop group, we found a Merriam's gobbler strutting in a tree.

The unusual behaving turkey cooperated long enough for everyone to shoot him.

For that small thing, I give thanks, and today is the day that those of us residing in the USA are celebrating our "Thanksgiving" holiday. As you probably guessed from the name, we set aside this day to give thanks for our abundant blessings (and eat lots of food, often including turkey). While thankfulness should be a perpetual state of mind, this day can give that spirit a significant boost.

Always near the top of my thankful list is you. The support you have provided over the years has made developing this site possible and for that, I'm very grateful.

My family and I wish you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving!

A larger version of this image is available here.

The big super-telephoto lenses deliver the ultimate wildlife image quality. The Canon RF 600mm F4 L IS USM Lens and Sony FE 600mm F4 GM OSS Lens are my favorite wildlife lenses, and they are my easy first choices for photographing elk.

However, there are times when wider would be helpful — a wider focal length and a wider aperture. In those cases, the Canon RF 400mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens and Sony FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS Lens become my first choices. Unfortunately, flying with and managing two big lenses in the field is challenging.

This year, I opted to take on that challenge, taking a lens from each class to Rocky Mountain National Park.

The Pelican 1615 Air Wheeled Hard Case was the primary solution to the mentioned challenge. When flying, the camera bodies were unmounted, the big lens hoods were reversed, pads were added, and additional lenses were included in the case — up to the airline-checked bag weight limit. The case was locked and checked.

In the field, the configuration shown below worked great. With the Robus monopods removed, the Pelican case closed, enabling easy and safe transport to and from my room.

As pictured, both lenses in their LensCoat covers were immediately available for roadside opportunities or for the long stalk.

This bull elk, fresh out of the wallow, was proud of his muddy (and smelly) coat and looking for cows. When photographing wildlife, predicting behavior correctly delivers the ultimate shots, and I guessed this one right.

Seeing the relatively short working distance available for the potential water crossing, the Canon RF 400mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens got the call. This lens's angle of view was just wide enough to fit the elk in the frame, and the f/2.8 aperture strongly blurred the background, which is not easy to do while fitting a large elk in the frame.

A larger version of this image is available here.