I was honored to be asked to have the Natural Light Class appear in a promotional video for the Regenstein School of the Chicago Botanic Garden. Of course I agreed so on a very recent Wednesday morning, we were joined by a videographer who had one of the most sophisticated 4-axis cameras with LIDAR to assist with focusing. This action shot is on a morning with full sun so all worked out well both … [Read more...]

Hidden Gems Class begins at 9. Here's proof. It's time to explore places that are not often seen by the casual CBG visitor/photographer. We'll be exploring a different location each week by meeting in a class or conference room, then proceeding to an area that's often unexplored. Several places in the class are still available, so why not join us? This class is always great fun! As always, … [Read more...]

This just in: A student has just informed me that his trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden's Heritage and Bulb Gardens found the waterlilies to be in full bloom. He added that there is quite a selection of them to photograph. My advice would be to bring a tripod, use a low ISO setting and begin with every photographer's best friend f8. Use exposure compensation to hold down the light in one-third … [Read more...]

Each of these lens types comes with its own set of challenges so it you have one (or both if you've hosted several bake sales) spend more time than you otherwise would getting to know it. For me, the wide ones require the most time to use well although you might not think so. While yes, anything below 20mm gets the entire scene into the frame, all subjects are reduced in scale, and the subject is … [Read more...]

  It's been some time since I was able to fire up old MAC to update my site with new pictures and info, but today will hold enough time for me to do just that. The Telephoto Class is having a fine time as you can see from the shot I grabbed on Wednesday when we were on a bit of walkway that extends into Lake Michigan. Yes, if you really look closely, you will see the Chicago skyline in … [Read more...]