Welcome to my photography website LIGHT AND LANDSCAPES. Taking pictures has been a hobby for me since high school when my parents bought me my first camera, an all-manual film-based Pentax K1000. I have always loved photography, however, the advent of digital cameras was the catalyst that encouraged me to improve my technical skills and understanding of photography as an art. My focus is primarily on landscapes, and my goal is to capture them in the most dramatic lighting possible. I love to travel to new locations and capture scenes off the beaten path, and I have a huge affinity for our National Parks. I also enjoy macro photography, infrared photography, and landscape photography that features the Milky Way. During the Covid pandemic, when it became risky to do air travel, I started spending a lot of time working on nature photography at local wildlife parks and refuges.
My Shooting Philosophy
I enjoy researching and planning for photo shoots, and have been using The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE) for a number of years now. I highly recommend this tool to anyone who wants to prepare before heading out to shoot. For Milky Way photography, I find the Photopills App for your smartphone or tablet to be invaluable.
While advance preparation is key to any successful landscape photography session, my real love comes from immersing myself into a location. “Dialing yourself in” is just as important as the technical aspects of capturing an image. I always watch to see how the light is changing, and for compositions that show off the best of what a location has to offer.
I prefer to spend more time outdoors taking images, and less time indoors at the computer. However, the digital darkroom is a necessary part of making your images. I make all of my adjustments in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop. I usually use filters to get an image as close as possible to what I am looking for “in camera”, but when this is not possible, I will take multiple exposures of a scene and blend them using layers and masks in order to capture the full range of light in a scene. I find this technique allows you to perfect an image like an artist creating a beautiful painting. In that respect, I do enjoy processing.
I believe another important element to photography is to learn from the experiences and knowledge of others. While you can learn a lot from books and online resources, you can also immeasurably improve your photographic skills and opportunities by personally connecting with other photographers. I have been a member of the Manassas Warrenton Camera Club for many years now, and that experience, especially the friendships that I have made, have been priceless.
Photo Gear
Artistic vision, preparation, patience and technique are more important than the type of camera and lenses that you use; however, I still believe you should use the best quality gear—that provides you with the levels of capability you need—that your budget will allow. My gear has evolved over time as my experience and skill as a photographer has improved.
I started out in the days of film using an all manual Pentax K1000, which was a good camera for learning about photography. Once it was affordable to switch to digital SLRs, I bought a Canon 10D (the LCD on the back is the size of a small postage stamp!). You can’t beat instant feedback on the back of the camera after you take a shot though, no matter how small. When they added “Live View” to the LCDs on the back of DSLRs, I upgraded to the Canon 50D. The ability to compose, simulate exposure, and focus peep all on the back of your camera’s LCD before you take the shot is pure gold to a landscape photographer. Once full-frame sensor cameras became affordable, I upgraded to a Canon 5D Mark III, which was my workhorse for many years. Full frame sensors provide increased capabilities to take image in low light. I added the Canon 5DSR to my bag in order to take advantage of its higher pixel resolution. My next jump came when Canon released their full frame mirrorless R5. This camera allows you to have exposure simulation right there in the viewfinder for all your shooting, as well as advanced subject tracking for moving subjects. I now use the R5 as my primary camera, with an R6 MkII as a backup full frame mirrorless camera that I take on photography trips. I also added an R7 mirrorless camera, which has an APS-C crop sensor, to give me extra magnification of the subject when I need it (bird photography).
For many years I used primarily Canon EF mount “L” lenses, in particular, the Canon EF 16-35 mm f4.0, Canon EF 24-105 mm f 4.0 ISM USM, Canon EF 70-200 mm f 2.8 ISM USM II, and the Canon EF 100-400 mm f5.6 ISM USM II. During the pandemic, when I spent a lot more time shooting nature at local wildlife refuges, I added a used Canon EF 500 mm MkII. This lens is great for wildlife if you can use a tripod, but its really too heavy for handheld shots over an extended period of time. The mirrorless cameras mentioned above have an “RF” mount. I used my EF lenses for several years with these cameras with great results, through the use of an adapter. I recently started using Canon mirrorless lenses, in particular the RF 15-35 mm f2.8 L, RF 24-70 mm f2.8 L, and RF 70-200 mm f4 L. I also have added two used tilt-shift lenses to my camera bag, a Canon EF TS-E 17mm f4 L and a EF TS-E 24 mm f3.5 L MkII. These lenses have the ability to shift the focus plane, or do perspective correction, internally within the lens. These lenses are useful for shooting wide angle interior scenes in places like cathedrals.
I have used screw-on circular polarizers for many years going back to the years of shooting with film cameras. I now use a Cokin Z-pro filter holder and sprocket type warming circular polarizer, 4X6 graduated neutral density filters, 4X6 reverse graduated neutral density filters, and 4X4 neutral density filters from Singh-ray and Lee.
For infrared photography, I have used a series of Canon cameras converted by Life Pixel to making dedicated IR images. I started out with an entry-level Canon Rebel T1i with an installed “Super Blue” IR filter. I then converted a used Canon 7D with a “Super Color” filter. My most recent addition is a mirrorless Canon R6 with a Super Color filter.
For macro, I use a Canon EF 100 mm f 2.8 L ISM Macro, MP-E 65 mm f 2.8 1-5x Macro, a Canon MT-24EX macro flash, and two extension tubes (EF 12mm II and the EF 25mm II). The Canon 100mm and the macro flash have been my “go-to” gear for most macro images.
For Milky Way landscape photography, I have been using two manual Rokinon prime lenses, a 20 mm f 2.0 and a 24 mm f 1.4. These Rokinon manual lenses can be used with the Canon mirrorless cameras and an adaptor, but you must enable the camera to “release the shutter without a lens” in the custom menu settings. Otherwise, the camera will not allow you to fire the shutter with these lenses attached (it has to do with the lack of electronic connection points on the Rokinon lens mounts).
When I am hiking to a location, I use a Manfrotto 190CXPRO4 carbon fiber tripod with an Really Right Stuff (RSS) BH-40 ballhead. For all other photography, I use my RSS tripod with a RSS BH-55 ballhead (landscapes), or a Movo gimball head (wildlife). The RRS tripod weighs a bit more, but offers much greater stability. I use RRS L plates on all my cameras and also use their quick release lever clamps on all my tripod heads.