Author Archives: Jim
Monsoon Wedding
Last month I had the privilege of photographing Matt and Carly Frey’s big day. Other than the certainty that it will be hot, the Tucson weather in early July is unpredictable. As it happened on July 8, the weather ranged from sweltering before the ceremony (when the formal photographs were taken) to downpours, lightning, and […]
Summer Drive over Redington Pass
Earlier this year I purchased a Chevy Colorado ZR2. It’s an off-road beast, but I am a novice at that sort of thing. So I have been driving some dirt roads just to get a feel for it. This morning I drove over Redington Pass between the Santa Catalina and Rincon Mountains, something that I […]
Photo Adventure—Ragged Top in Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona
A number of years ago, while driving east on I-10 towards Tucson, Arizona, I noticed a very interesting mountain off to the south and had no idea what it was or how to get there, but I thought it would make a nice photography subject. After a little research, I discovered that it was called […]
Fireworks…and a Fire!
My wife and I set out for Tumamoc Hill to watch the annual fireworks show over Sentinel Peak, locally known as “A” Mountain, near our home in Tucson, Arizona. I had envisioned something like the picture below, plus fireworks: But Tumamoc Hill was closed for the show. I was somewhat despondent and without a backup […]
Stars are Better than Hearts and Flags for Ranking Photos
Adobe Lightroom allows you to ‘Pick’ photos by flagging them. You can interpret ‘flagging’ or ‘picking’ a photo any way you want, but treating it as a way to mark your favorites (like using the heart on your phone) is pretty common. Lightroom also allows you to ‘Reject’ them, which is a handy way to mark them […]
Isolation with the Lensbaby Sweet 50
The Lensbaby Sweet 50 is a manually-focused 50mm f/2.5 lens with the interesting ability to restrict the sharpness in an image to a localized portion of the frame. Most lenses are designed to have good sharpness from the center out to the edges and corners of the frame; those that don’t tend to get punished in online […]
DIY #1—Double-Ended Rear Lens Cap
A double-ended rear lens cap allows you to safely stack two lenses together in a bag, end-to-end, while allowing easy one-handed access to both. It solves a common problem and you can make it yourself with no tools, no skill, and almost no money.
Nikon Firmware Fantasy #1—Separate Mirror-Up Exposure Delay Mode
This week I want to start a series that I call Firmware Fantasies. They are basically an assortment of firmware updates that I wish Nikon would make for my D800, or at least include in new cameras going forward. Most of these should be pretty easy to implement, so here we go with the first one!
Nikon 300mm f/4E PF Conquers the Desert Sun
If you want to isolate a cactus next to a large setting sun, you need a reasonably long telephoto. With the sun in the frame, you also need that telephoto to resist flare. The compact and wonderful Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR is up to the task.