Reed Hoffmann’s Photography Blog
Autofocus Adjustments
One of the first things I look to when picking up a new camera is the menus. Body styles and button placements don’t change all that much, so there are few “WOW” moments on the outside of new models. Inside though, in the settings and menus, is where the manufacturers can really do some exciting […]
Monitors Changing for the Better
One of the challenges of color management the past few years has been the brightness of LCD monitors. Most people like them bright and contrasty, and the manufacturers have heard their wishes and complied. For those of us serious about color management, that’s created a problem. There are two key parts to color management when […]
Pixels are Cheap
I’ve always been one to shoot a lot of pictures. Maybe I’m insecure, or just love hearing that click. Lately I’ve been shooting more than ever, and that’s changing my workflow. My rule has always been, “shoot enough to make sure you’ve got the picture.” Whether that’s two frames or two-hundred, the priority is to […]
Grab your Polarizer, it’s Fall
If you live in a place where the seasons change, then odds are the trees are giving you a colorful show right now. If that’s the case, be sure and take your polarizer when you head out to shoot pictures. I was reminded of this last weekend while in St. Paul to teach a workshop. […]
Learning to Accept Failure
Over the course of the last few weeks I’ve taught a couple of workshops, and found myself reminding my students of the limitations of photography. And the bottom line is that one thing we have to learn as photographers is how to live with failure 🙂 When trying to capture what we see, cameras are […]
Perfect Portable Laptop
We’re lucky to live in a time when we have lots of choices. Of course that makes for lots of decisions, which can get complicated. I need different computers for different uses, and have spent the last few years working through some of those options. I already wrote about the tiny, inexpensive netbook I bought […]
To the Roof of Africa
This past week I had the opportunity to climb Africa’s Mt. Kilimanjaro with an amazing group of people. Three disabled U.S. Army veterans who’ve lost legs in combat. It was an experience I’ll never forget. For the last nine months I’ve been helping Disabled Sports USA build an image bank of photos and stories they […]
Keeping it Simple
Most of what I do in photography these days involves using the “latest and greatest,” both in camera gear and technology. There are times, though, when it’s nice to go light and easy. Last week my wife and I took a short vacation out to Colorado. We visited some friends and camped a few nights […]
Inspirational
Last fall I began photographing the Wounded Warriors Disabled Sports project for Disabled Sports USA (DSUSA). I’ve done a couple now, and each one’s been an uplifting experience. Last weekend I was in New York City for another, and this may have been the best. On Thursday of last week close to forty servicemen and […]
HDR or the HDR “Look”
As I’ve written before, I’ve been playing with some of the HDR (High Dynamic Range) software for the last year or so, and enjoying it. More and more, though I’m preferring finished photos that don’t look like HDR images. I’ll explain. HDR is a process where you shoot the same scene (preferably on a tripod) […]