Reed Hoffmann’s Photography Blog
Montana Photo Trip (plus Yellowstone!)
Over nearly twenty years of leading photo trips for Popular Photography’s Mentor Series, I had the pleasure of going to Montana many times. In partnership with the state’s department of tourism, the magazine would run a photo trip there almost every year, and either...
Why go to Sedona in August?
That’s the question I hear the most when people find out I’m leading a photography trip there in late summer. After all, Arizona is HOT, right? So Sedona in August must be broiling, right? Well, the answer to that is the answer that works for most photo questions, “it...
Behind the scenes on a Serengeti photo safari
Lions, leopards, elephants, zebras, giraffes, hippos, cheetahs and more, much more. That’s what you can expect as far as wildlife on a photo safari in the Serengeti. But what’s it like getting there, getting around, where do you stay, what do you eat, what do you do...
One lens + Two teleconverters = One amazing safari
Quick question: what’s the best lens for photographing wildlife at different distances? A telephoto zoom, of course, because then you can zoom for the focal length and framing you want. But if that's true, then why did I take a fixed telephoto with me on the safari I...
Infrared with a Magnetic Twist
For me, photography is all about change, trying new things. That’s why I had a camera converted to infrared over 15 years ago and kept having conversions done as I upgraded to newer camera bodies. That’s also why, for my most recent conversion, I went the...
Nikon’s NX Mobile Air a Great Solution
I recently had an assignment where I’d need to transfer photos quickly from my camera to my phone to a client. And that needed to happen fast. But this wasn’t just any client, it was my wife. Which meant I needed to up my game, which in turn led me to Nikon’s NX...
Palouse Photo Trip
I led two photo trips in May, the first to the California coast and the second to an area unknown to most people – the Palouse. If you’re not a photographer, you’re probably saying, “the Palouse?” Straddling southeast Washington and northwest Idaho, this beautiful,...
California Coast Photo Trip
One of the first photo trips I ran on my own was along the California coast, back in 2016. Having taught Nikon Schools in the Bay area for over ten years, I’d had opportunities to explore the coast south of there with a friend who lives nearby, and found it offered...
Nikon Z 8 Menus Jump Start
During sixteen years teaching photography classes around the country for Nikon, I used to joke to my students that they were paying me to read the manual and tell them what they really needed to know. Now, my friends buying the new Nikon Z 8, are asking me to do the...
Why I Bought a Nikon Z 8
The answer is simple. Size, weight and use. When the Nikon Z 9 was announced, I was disappointed that size-wise, it followed in the footsteps of Nikon’s flagship DSLR cameras – big body with large grip and battery. I had hoped they’d make it more the size of the Z 6/7...