outdoor photography

Trees at Lake Jesup Park Canon Powershot S100, Joby Gorillapod It's well known that Central Florida is so flat that it's hard to find picturesque landscapes to photograph.  There are some genuine hills along the central spine of the state, but that's about it.  It's not too much of an exaggeration to say that, within an hour's drive of my house, the tallest things that stick out of the ground are trees and landfills.  Last year, I decided to try to take more landscape and nature photos that do not include wildlife (basically that means photographing trees).  I rarely did that, though, largely because I didn't want to change lenses all the time or carry two cameras.  My solution this year is to use the Canon PowerShot S100.  So far, the solution has worked pretty well, as I'm taking many more landscapes than I did last year. Canon Powershot S100, Joby Gorillapod This is how I set up to take the first image above But there is a challenge I'm st...

Aya Sofya, Istanbul, Turkey A remote shutter release is simply a device that allows you to trip the shutter of your camera without touching the camera itself.  Mine attaches to the camera with a cable; others operate wirelessly.  These are the kinds of devices that many photographers consider too much of a hassle to bother with, but once you get into the habit of using them, they actually make your life as a photographer much easier.  There are two types of situations when using a remote shutter release can be extremely helpful to you. Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey When you need your camera absolutely still.  Even when your camera is attached to a good tripod , pressing the shutter can move the camera ever so slightly, and at slower shutter speeds , this can be a problem.  I'm in the habit now of using a remote shutter release whenever I use my tripod.  I have the release in my hand, and when I have the exposure and composition I want, ...