I have recently served as a judge for a few different photo club competitions (in addition to being a judge for five award seasons with international photo competitions) and continue to see the same issues pop up. Some of the issues are really basic, like dust spots and tilted horizons, while others are far more subjective. With these experiences in mind, I share some advice to consider when you prepare your next competition entry (or magazine submission, gallery show entry, portfolio, or even your next social media post). This article represents the perspective of exactly one judge—me—so don’t consider it a checklist but instead a single point of view on a complex topic.
Read MoreTo start our fall nature photography season this year, we went to Alaska at the end of August and ended up spending a lot of time photographing wildlife and birds. Although I always enjoy watching wild animals, I have never spent much time photographing them for a variety of reasons. Yet, with so many animals and birds around us, it seemed like I should at least give it a decent try and I ended up really enjoying the experience. It felt exciting to try something new, stretch my skills, and add a different kind of photography to my portfolio. The process of watching these animals and birds also deepened my understanding of these ecosystems and left me feeling more connected to the landscape. Below, I share a few favorite experiences, things I learned as a landscape photographer trying to photograph wildlife, and a few new photos. You can see the full gallery of photos here.
Read MoreOver the last few months, I have recorded six free webinars for nature photographers in partnership with photography friends (David Kingham, Jennifer Renwick, John Barlcay, Cole Thompson, Alister Benn, Alex Noriega, and TJ Thorne). This post collects all of these recordings in a single place for easy access and viewing. You can access the recordings through the links to our YouTube channel or find the embedded videos below.
Offering these webinars has been a highlight during a difficult time and it was so nice to connect with photographers across the globe through these sessions. After taking a break from offering webinars to finish my 11 Composition Lessons ebook, I will be starting these sessions up again soon in some to-be-determined format. If you have a topic in mind that you would like to see covered in a future webinar, please let me know.
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