Reed Hoffmann’s Photography Blog

Antarctica Photography Part 2 – The Peninsula
While the Falklands and South Georgia Island are fantastic places for photography (see the previous post), most people going that far south will want to see Antarctica too. Which would mean a fairly long trip. For instance, the first trip I worked for One Ocean Expeditions in January was 18 days, to visit all three […]

Antarctica Photography Trip – Falklands and South Georgia Island
In December a message popped up on my phone that resulted in me spending January in the Antarctic. One Ocean Expeditions runs trips to the Antarctic in winter (it’s summer down there) and the Arctic in summer, and I’d taught photography on one of their ships in the Arctic back in 2015. Now they wanted […]

Managing Exposure in Poor Light
As a photographer, when I’m presented with poor light, I know I’ll have to be more careful in how I use my exposure controls: ISO, shutter speed and aperture. Which ones and how depends on what I’m trying to shoot. If there’s action, I’ll open the aperture and raise the ISO to get the shutter […]

Low Level Lighting in Photography
I’ve been a big fan of light painting since I first learned about it nearly twenty years ago. But last summer I was introduced to a new style that I’ve come to love: low level lighting. Here’s why… Light painting is when you use an artificial light source, at night or in a darkened room, […]

Depth of Field, Diffraction and Focus Stacking
Personally, I’m a fan of shallow depth of field because it helps keep the viewer’s attention where I want it. There are times, though, where I’d like as much sharpness throughout the entire image as possible. And that’s more challenging because greater depth of field can actually decrease sharpness. Depth of field (DoF) determines how […]

Why you should go to Bhutan with me
If you’re looking for a very unique trip to a place few people have visited, then join me in Bhutan next fall. I’ve still got a few openings left for this fantastic photography workshop, which includes a day in Bangkok. You can view the whole itinerary here: https://reedhoffmann.com/2019Bhutan.pdf. And if you’d like to see the […]

Nikon Z7 for Action Photography
(updated February 6, 2019) Recently I wrote about my experiences with the new Nikon Z7 after teaching a landscape workshop in the Southwest. This time I’ll talk about how it handled action for me, having just returned from a week of shooting skiing in Colorado. For nearly ten years now I’ve been volunteering my photography […]

Better Holiday Family Photos
I admit, more often than not I don’t shoot pictures at family get-togethers. I’d like to blame that on the fact that since I do photography as a job, I like to leave it behind for family times. More likely, I’m just lazy. But with our daughter coming home for Thanksgiving, I knew this time […]

Hands on with the Nikon Z7
I’ve had a Nikon Z7 for a few weeks now, and will start off by saying I’m really impressed with it. Aside from the Coolpix line, Nikon had only dabbled in mirrorless cameras with the V and J-series a few years ago. As a long-time Nikon School instructor, I can’t tell you the number of […]
Moab Photography Workshop
The American southwest is one of my all-time favorite places. Sweeping vistas, canyons, desert and mind-boggling rock formations make for natural subjects. No wonder it’s such a popular destination for people from around the world. That’s why I’ve just finished teaching my second photography workshop in Moab, Utah, which is perfectly located close to both […]