Reed Hoffmann’s Photography Blog

Galapagos Photography Workshop
It’s hard to beat the wildlife in the Galapagos islands, but that’s not the only reason I love taking groups down there. Ecuador itself is a fascinating country, with welcoming people and beautiful countryside. To make the most of the trip, we spend some time at the beginning and the end in and around Quito, […]

Getting The Most Out Of Fall Color
There are few things more beautiful in the fall than the changing color. So if you live in a part of the world where that happens, now’s the time to start planning where and how to make those pictures. I was leading a workshop up in Quebec last week, so got a head start. My […]

Improvisation in Photography
One of the challenges in photography is figuring out what to do when plans don’t work out. To me, those challenges really show what kind of photographer you are, whether you can improvise. That’s why I rarely plan a shoot with just one photo in mind. I try to think through what might happen, both […]

Nine days, 3224 miles, 4240 frames
This August I helped move my son from Kansas City to UCLA. A mere 1416 miles. Since it was less expensive to rent a car for two weeks and return it to KC instead of a one week rental and drop it in LA, I chose the cheaper option. Which meant I’d have a long […]

Iceland Photography Workshop
Iceland has gotten a reputation as a “must go” place for photographers, for good reason. Glaciers, geysers, waterfalls, icebergs, mountains, ocean, horses, whales and puffins, it’s truly a visual paradise. We had a great itinerary for the first Iceland photography workshop I led there in 2016, so I only made minor changes for this July’s […]

Secrets of Autofocus – Part 1, Understanding the Options

2018 African Safari Photography Workshop
In late June I led my seventh trip to the Serengeti in east Africa to photograph wildlife. People ask me, “Don’t you get bored returning to the same place again and again?” And of course, my answer is “No.” While we go to the same areas, the animals, and their behavior, are always different. Every […]

Flash for Swimming Photography
Swimming is a challenging sport to shoot. It’s usually indoors in poor light, faces are hidden much of the time, color can be challenging and just getting a good action shot is difficult. My answer? Light it with flash. In early June I drove to Edmond, Oklahoma to shoot the Endeavor Games for Disabled Sports […]

Shooting People (the good way)
I’m fortunate to lead photo trips to all kinds of interesting places. And I’ve learned that even if we’re going somewhere especially for the scenery, or the wildlife, taking time to photograph the people can be equally rewarding. I was reminded of that during my trips to the Peru this spring. People want to go […]

New Life for Old Film
I used film for 25 years before converting to digital in the late 90s. Which means more than half of my life in photography is on film. Now I’m bringing new life back to those old images, I’m digitizing old photos. I’ve always been a proponent of using digital cameras to digitize old prints. It’s […]