Keep your landscapes razor sharp in lower light with wider apertures. Watch this tutorial to see how I capture a low-light Patagonian landscape image in multiple frames at varying focus settings and then RAW process, composite blend, and finish edit the scene into a single, tack-sharp image. This video tutorial is aimed at the intermediate to advanced landscape photographer.
Watch it at 1080p HD for the best experience.
At Lago Torre, Argentina.
I am often asked what camera gear I carry on my adventures. The answer really depends on where I'm going and what I'm looking to accomplish. If I'm shooting candid travel scenes in a crowded urban area, I'm going to take a different setup than I'd pack for an expedition or a commercial location shoot. Here is a description of what I regularly carry for travel photography and why.
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What filters should I be using? It's one of the most frequent questions I hear from new photographers and students. For today's modern digital photographer I've got great news. You don't need nearly as many as we did in the age of film.
When I shot film I carried an array of filters: polarizers, UV protective, neutral density, graduated neutral density, warming and cooling. Now with the amazing dynamic-range and color flexibility of RAW digital files I only carry the first three. Let's look at each type of filter I currently carry: polarizers, UV filters, and neutral density.
The first filter I ever purchased was a circular polarizer and I haven't been without one since. They allow me to...
Read MoreViewbug asked me to create this short travel photography photo tips video for their website and I used some of my images from Europe to talk a bit about how I approach visual storytelling. I hope you enjoy.
I used Lightroom 6 to blend 3 exposures of this Image of Italy's Amalfi Coast.
I’m enjoying Lightroom 6 on this Europe trip. It’s dehaze filter has surprised me, and I’ve found the new panoramic photo-merge engine works well for many simple panoramics (stay tuned for more on that in my forthcoming panoramic merger book).
The new feature I like best is Lightroom 6’s built in merge to HDR. Finally an automated HDR solution for me. In the past I have avoided automated HDR software because the results were invariably too otherworldly for my style. I’ve been hand blending multiple exposures since the days of film, but I’m always seeking a subtle extension of shadow and highlight detail. A way to get the camera closer to my visual perception of the scene. Modern digital sensors are amazing, but they still can’t capture the dynamic range possible with our own eyes.
Now with Lightroom 6 you can blend bracketed RAW images like these three -- taken 2 stops above the meter, on the meter and 2 stops below the meter (I used my tripod to keep them all perfectly aligned) -- to create a single RAW image with dramatically increased shadow and highlight detail. It doesn't add any neon looking effect, halos or otherworldly colors. It simply opens the shadows and preserves highlights.
Three D810 RAW files 2-stops over, on meter, and 2-stops under.
To try this yourself, select some bracketed RAW images in Lightroom 6. Control-click (or right-click) on them. Choose "Photo Merge -> HDR." If you've used a tripod, you only need to Auto Tone, not Auto Allign. The Deghost controls are for objects moving within the scene between frames like a wave or people.
The result is a new RAW image to edit with insane dynamic range. Not only is this fun, it's changing the way I approach high contrast scenes.
-Hudson
Bill Mackie and Laura Lovell at Applied Physics Technologies
It is so wonderful to see happy clients enjoying my prints. Applied Physics Technologies, a producer of hi-tech electron emitters just installed this metal print of Mount Hood and the Moon in their newly remodeled boardroom. It was a blast to swing by yesterday to meet them, sign the print and share the story of how I captured it. One of my favorite parts of this job is the fun connections with great people like this.
-Hudson
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This new video is the second of onOne's new onLocation videos. Andy Adkins of Distill Productions and I created it last summer on the southern coast of Olympic National Park. I hope you enjoy it.
In this installment I share some tips for photographing the night sky from location scouting and traveling in wild places to exposure settings that will avoid blurring the stars at different focal lengths.
If you're curious about how I used Adobe Lightrooom 5 and onOne's Perfect Photo Suite 9 together to edit the RAW files I captured into the final images below, please check out this longer Perfect Inspiration Video Episode where I go into detail about how I edited them.
Olympic National Park: Nikon D810, Nikon 14-24, F2.8 for 20 seconds at 3200 ISO
Olympic National Park: Nikon D810, Nikon 14-24, F2.8 for 30 seconds at 2500 ISO
Thanks so much to onOne and Distill Productions for making these onLocation videos possible.
-Hudson
I've been a big fan of onOne's for years. Fortunately the feeling is mutual. Their new Perfect Photo Suite 9 is out and it is more powerful and intuitive than ever.
Andy and I created this footage and images for onOne during our recent backcountry trip on the Olympic Coast. What a crazy, fun adventure.
