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This year I’ve found myself using a variety of products and solutions aimed at photographers and photography fans that are worth passing on as great gift ideas. Here’s the short list. If you like what you see be sure to share it with your friends and family. Under $50 PhotoPills mobile app that lets you plan, in seconds, that powerful outdoor shot you have thoughtfully designed, for any location on earth…

This is a still from a motion control time-lapse sequence taken during the Fall of this year. While ancient Bristlecone Pine trees are old they look young compared to the stars up above. I was particularly fond of the juxtaposition of the two subjects and I’m eager to see how my lengthy time-lapse sequence comes out. If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years how man would marvel and stare. &

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It’s late afternoon and I’m headed to a location that should have interesting subject material to photograph. Did I leave enough time to get there? Is the weather going to cooperate? Is the light going to be right? Will I even make it in time to set up before the light hits? More importantly and most unnerving in the back of my mind the biggest question hits, “Will I even be able to find something w

One of the big disadvantages of taking long exposures with DSLR cameras is the introduction of noise especially when higher ISO settings are used. Camera manufacturers have addressed this by using Dark-Frame Subtraction, but taking advantage of Dark-Frame Subtraction (DFS) isn’t always possible.  If you’re shooting a sequence of images either for a night time-lapse or startrail photo DFS will introduce un

  Digital SLRs offer a function called Dark-Frame Subtraction usually called “Long Exposure Noise Reduction” or “High ISO Noise Reduction” in your camera’s settings menu. Dark-Frame Subtraction exposes a camera’s digital sensor less any external light for a matching duration of a photo taken to detect digital noise and electroluminescence. When the Dark-Frame Subtraction feature is active hot pixels, amp glow an

Atop the White Mountains, along the eastern border of California, lies the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. This area is known as the home of the worlds oldest trees including the oldest tree, Methuselah, whose age is 4,750 years.  The last time I took the time to visit this remote area I was a dedicated film shooter. On a recent visit I took advantage of the latest DSLR technology to photograph astro-landscapes whil

Last weekend I took my son to the top of Twin Peaks in San Francisco, California to watch the rising Hunter’s Moon. Being 3 years old I expected him to be excited about seeing the moon after all he was wearing NASA boots, but his enthusiasm for taking pictures quickly took over. To warm up before the moonrise we took photos together of the western span of the Bay Bridge. After that we huddled to keep warm and w