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One interesting aspect of the natural world that can wreak havoc with our ability to capture a sharp image is the phenomenon of atmospheric distortion. Atmospheric distortion is particularly troublesome for photographers using longer lenses or telescopes. Temperature variations in the air, whether at ground level or in the upper reaches of our atmosphere, will refract light creating a blurred appearance to our eye. W

By definition the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge rising above the fog is as iconic a photo as you can take.  Most of these  types of photos are taken looking Southeast from the Marin Headlands at a distance of 1 – 1 1/4 miles. The photo below was captured from a distance of 4 miles, looking North towards the Marin Headlands. This extreme telephoto perspective via the Canon 800mm f/5.6 lens breathes a bit of l

The 34th episode of EXIF and Beyond has been released (duration 16:54 min.) This episode of EXIF and Beyond features interviews of Russell Brown, John Knoll and Kevin Connor (Adobe Senior Director of Product Management) from the Adobe Photoshop 20th Anniversary Celebration held in San Francisco on February 18th, 2010. Discussed are topics ranging from recollections of Photoshops earliest beginnings, the impact of its

Finding art in nature is always a highlight to any moment I spend behind my camera. So often we get caught up in our day to day lives that the brief and special moments we observe are fleeting. A subject I cannot photograph enough is the moon.  The moon like few other subjects consistently captures my imagination. This weekend I had the pleasure of using a Canon 800mm f/5.6 lens and made full use of it in capturing F

Yesterday the professional free skier C.R. Johnson died in an accident on the slopes of Squaw Valley, California. My heart goes out to his family and friends. I first crossed paths with C.R. while shooting the 2005 Icer Air event in San Francisco. In 2005 Icer Air caught the attention of millions of people who were witness (in person or on TV) to the odd juxtaposition of extreme skiing and snowboarding against the ba

Fitting a huge eye-catching scene into a 35mm frame can often be a daunting task. I routinely see photographers attempting to do this and missing the mark. Experiencing a grand scene and capturing it effectively for others to experience often eludes photographers. One trick of the trade is to leverage a component of your scene for scale. In many instances the object included for scale is the element of focus and othe

Fresh off the heels of my Practical Review of the Canon 17mm TS-E f/4 lens I thought I’d post one of my many favorite photos taken with the lens. The areas surrounding the Golden Gate Bridge forever call me when I’m testing or learning new gear. In particular I love exploring between Baker Beach and the Golden Gate Bridge. It never hurts photographing this area when Mother Nature serves up an amazing suns

Click to Enlarge I’ve been itching to test out the Canon 17mm f/4 tilt-shift lens for a long time and thanks to BorrowLenses as a courtesy this lens was made available to me for testing. I am far from being a camera gear tech-head, so if you want to get MTF chart info and other technical minutia I have provided links below to other reviews of this lens that I think are great & include greater tech info. The