Nature Photography Blog

Review of Oben CT-2491 Carbon Fiber Tripod Legs

When B&H asked me to review an Oben tripod I was skeptical to say the least, who’s even heard of this brand and how could it possibly compare to my trusty Gitzo’s? I decided to give it a try, and let me tell you, I was pleasantly surprised.

Focusing at Night

Over the years I’ve dabbled with many different techniques to achieve proper focus at night

Hyperfocal

This has become my go-to method that is quick, easy and accurate for prime lenses, which is all I shoot with at night now. On prime lenses you’ll find markings that coincide with your aperture. To set hyperfocal simply set the infinity mark to align with your selected aperture. Below is an example of the Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 set to the hyperfocal distance for f/4. There are no markings below f/4 so you have to eyeball it between f/4 and the center white line.

Flashlight to Retain Night Vision

Maintaining your night vision is an important factor for night photography. If you want to fully take in the natural scene before you and be able to identify faint stars and the milky way, you will want to maintain your low light capability. The cones in your eyes quickly adapt for basic night vision, fully adapted in as little as 5 minutes. The rods on the other hand can take up to 45 minutes to fully adapt, and these are the key to seeing faint detail in the night sky.

Ten Steps to Photograph the Milky Way

A camera body with high ISO capabilities, preferably a full frame sensor. I have a review of Nikon full frame cameras for more info. While it

Nikon Night Photography Shootout

Ever since Nikon released their new camera bodies last year I have been debating which body to upgrade to. I am an avid night photographer

Fog Filter Effect for Stars in Photoshop

Advances in digital photography allow us to capture incredibly detailed photos of the night sky. In fact, what the camera can capture goes beyond what

Lens Profile for Rokinon Samyang 14mm 2.8

I’ve been recommending the Rokinon 14mm 2.8 (a.k.a. Samyang, Bower) lens for night photography where it excels as one of the best lenses out there. If

Night Photography Gear for any Budget

I’ve had a lot of inquiries about selecting camera gear to do the type night photography I do. This is a very hard question to answer,