by Reed Hoffmann | Nov 29, 2025 | Action, Camera Gear, Travel, Wildlife, Workshops
Did we really need to spend four days in tundra buggies, photographing polar bears outside Churchill, Manitoba, with temperatures in the 20s and windchills below zero? Well, as I often say: It depends. In November, when I helped Mark Comon lead a Creative Photo...
by Reed Hoffmann | Sep 2, 2025 | Action, Camera Gear, Exposure, Travel, Wildlife, Workshops
This is one accessory I can’t live without while doing wildlife photography: my 1.4x teleconverter. It takes my already impressively long 180-600mm lens and gives me an extra 240mm of focal length. I can now shoot at 840mm! In wildlife photography, you can’t always...
by Reed Hoffmann | Jun 1, 2025 | Camera Gear, Lenses, Travel
Over decades as a professional photographer, I’ve developed all kinds of neck, shoulder and back pain from carrying pro gear. And while I’ve found ways to cut back on how much I carry, taking that kind of kit with me on vacation doesn’t sound like vacation. On...
by Reed Hoffmann | Mar 12, 2025 | Advanced, Camera Gear, Composition, Intermediate, Night Photography, Travel, Weather, Workshops
For most people, say “Let’s go to Iceland in the winter,” and they’ll think you’re nuts. Photographers, of course, aren’t most people. For them, the possibility of rain, wind and clouds is outweighed by the opportunity for some incredible photos. So when my group of...
by Reed Hoffmann | Dec 5, 2024 | Beginner, Camera Gear, Intermediate, Lenses, Travel, Wildlife
(Updated for action photography, Dec. 27,2024) In the 1990s I was doing a fair bit of backpacking in the Adirondack mountains of Upstate New York, and spent a year trying to find a compact camera that would give me the quality I wanted. I never did, and ended up...
by Reed Hoffmann | Aug 11, 2024 | Beginner, Camera Gear, Flash, Intermediate, Light, People, Technology
When was the last time you had a portrait made? If it’s been more than a few years, it’s time for a new one. Plus, you probably already own the gear to do that. But what if you don’t have anyone to shoot it? That was the challenge for me, so I figured out an easy way...