Leaving Bamako: August 15-16 After a week in Mopti sleeping on rooftops under mosquito nets, in dry, hot, and dusty conditions, checking into a business class hotel in Bamako leads to a great night’s sleep. A/C, a bug-free room, and a flush toilet will do that. Alas, it’s only a short reprieve as today [...]
Archive for January 2009
Mali, Part 1
January 30, 2009Lightroom book
January 29, 2009If you’re excited about the possibilities at your disposal in Lightroom, and you should be, and want an in-depth guide to all of its features, I highly recommend Martin Evening’s Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book. Martin is a professional photographer and longtime writer of Photoshop books whose writing style and real world experience with the software makes [...]
Winter In NYC
January 28, 2009As a child, a big part of the excitement of waking up to snowfall was the chance of school being closed. I still miss that. But for any urban photographer, the soft fluffy stuff is a signal to get out early and head to the parks. Above is a shot in Prospect Park, from [...]
Digital Black and White
January 28, 2009If you’ve left the darkroom, but not your love of black and white photography, the good news is that tools and techniques to produce prints that rival the traditional analog processes are plentiful. The bad news is that relevant information for black and white photographers is usually scattered in bits and pieces, both in print and [...]
Japan Photo Tour 2009
January 27, 2009Update: For complete tour information and details, go here. The details are still being finalized, but I’m happy to announce that in Fall 2009 I’ll be leading a 10 day photo tour of Japan. We’ll be concentrating our time between Tokyo and Kyoto, with stops in seaside rural villages along the way. We’ll be [...]
Shoppers Guide: Cameras
January 27, 2009When shopping for a new camera you have a staggering away of choices. Here’s a short video with some general tips and advice when trying to decide among the latest and greatest. We’re not talking here about $8k pro models but if Aunt Millie is asking you about megapixels and the differences between a compact [...]
Winter Photo Op: The Cloisters
January 26, 2009The Cloisters Museum in upper Manhattan’s Fort Tryon Park, offers numerous opportunities to create great photographs, and is unique among nearly all indoor locations in the city in that you can use a tripod. Just stop by the information desk and request a tripod pass. Winter is actually my favorite time to visit. Crowds [...]
Photoshop’s Auto-Align Tool
January 25, 2009We all know how difficult it can be to get a shot where everyone’s looking at the camera and with their eyes open. In this short Photoshop tutorial learn how to use layers and the Align tool to combine the best elements of two or more exposures into one seamless image. Plus, in viewer mail, [...]
Chinese New Year
January 23, 2009Monday, January 26 is the start of the Chinese New Year. If you’re in New York City, this day marks the beginning of a number of photo-worthy events. On the 26th you can observe the traditional firecracker ceremony at Chatham Square. Why firecrackers? According to tradition, they’re used to drive away evil spirits. Not a bad way to start [...]
Learn Lighting and More
January 23, 2009If you’re ready to move beyond the pop-up flash on your camera, there’s no better place to spend your time than at Strobist. Pro shooter David Hobby has provided incredibly useful and well-written information to get you up to speed on lighting like the pros. Oh, and a backlog of content going back three years, [...]
