I went on a cruise at the end of February and one of our stops was Costa Maya in Mexico. What was supposed to be a day of snorkeling and lounging on a beach turned into a lame “Tequila and Chocolate tour” followed by a walk through a tropical bird aviary. While I think my …
My New RAID
Tell me if you’ve heard this story before: I’ve done some casual research on a new product I want to get at some point in time, a Black Friday sale pops up, and boom I buy it at a discount. Well here’s one more. Remember my posts about my multi-tier backup strategy, starting with my …
Sunflowers
I've previously described my love for Tulips with their easy-to-photograph profiles and interesting depth from above. I found a way to photograph lilies in a pleasing way and used focus stacking to create naturally unachievable depth of field this spring. Now I'm adding sunflowers to my list. My favorite part of flowers is seeing their …
The General Sullivan Bridge in 10 Images
I visited the General Sullivan Bridge at the end of August to try to catch the Blue Supermoon. My intent was to show the scale of the huge moon next to our big 1930-era rotting bridge for a sense of scale. Those images didn't work out, but I enjoyed the last few minutes of the …
Z8 Initial Impressions
I’ve had my Z8 for nearly three months now and I’ve taken more time than usual to start posting reviews about it. The Z8 takes the place of all of my cameras so I need to test it in many different scenarios. In many ways the Z8 is just like my other cameras, but in …
A Trip to NYC
We went to New York City with friends recently and I brought my camera along for some photos. We had a busy agenda, but I was able to get some shots that I really like and spend some more time with my new Z8. First, let's talk about our accommodations - they were very NYC. …
Neural Engine Redux
Remember how I performance tested my fancy new MacBook Pro in February and it was slower at AI-based noise reduction in DXO PureRAW than my previous-generation fewer-cored M1 MacBook Air? Remember how I discovered that it wasn't actually engaging the Neural Engine of my Ferrari of a computer and I reported it as a bug …
The Tall Ships
The tall ships came to Portsmouth a couple of weeks ago. There were five in all – two of which moored at Pierce Island for tours. They were a replica of Magellan’s Trinidad and a restored 17th century schooner called Ernestina-Morrissey. I took two trips to photograph them on the same day: once for a …
A Doe, A Deer
We went on a cruise during the last week of April. The day before we left, I spotted a single deer wandering in the corner of our yard. I had recently cut some tree limbs that were ruined over the winter. I was too lazy to drag them away and she thought they made delicious …
Behind the Photo: Jack
Crop sensor cameras get a bad rap. Lenses with an f/4 minimum aperture get a bad rap. Neither provide the buttery-smoother blurred background and intense subject isolation that an f/1.2 lens on a full frame camera can. But that doesn't mean they can't produce nice images, even in combination. The image above was taken of …
Relatively Ambitious 