 Lightbulb Water Lighthouse
Hey Everyone! Hope you're doing well. While on the way to work the other day (I always have a long commute and time to think), I was thinking about all the photographers and all of the photos that we've taken and what are we doing with them? Well, I've got a few suggestions and things that I do that will take advantage of that big cash of photos that you have hanging out on your hard drive doing nothing but taking up space. If you're like me, you're not doing photography for profit, but just doing it for fun. Sometimes I think that the act of taking the photos and the experiences that I had while taking the photos is what I love the best, and the end result doesn't matter that much for me. I delete a lot of photos, but after 20 years of digital photography, I still have over 40,000. Now a lot of them are of family and friends, and some are of places I've been. So here's some suggestions on what to do with them.
One thing to do is reprocess some of your favorites from the past. Post processing has changed and you have grown as a editor, and you might be
 The MetroCommuters waiting for the Metro in Washington DC.
surprised on how good some of these photos will turn out after you put your years of experience of processing on to older photos. Editing programs have come and gone, and maybe you were processing with a different program than you use now. Maybe that program doesn't even exist now. While finding these photos to edit, your memories will start to remember the where and how you took these photos. Maybe a trip you took or a place you visited will start to be fresh in your mind again. Isn't that what photos are supposed to do, stir up memories from the past? After you have them reprocessed, now what?
Print them! I think printing is the one thing that will let your photographs, your art, live for decades. When you're long and gone, your printed photos will still be here and can be passed down to other generations to keep your memory and your art alive. Who knows what can happen to a hard drive or if even the format that we use now will be able to be seen on a screen in decades of the future? But a print in someone's hand will always be able to
be seen. Now you can print them yourself, a whole new art, or you can send them off to get printed. Either way you will have prints. And what to do with the prints? I've created a love-me wall at the house where I have maybe 10 5x7 prints that I change out every so often. You can have larger prints made, frame them, and use them for wall art around your house and, of course, for gifts to family and friends for art in their houses. It's kind of neat to go to someone else's house and see your art on their walls. You can have canvases made for pretty cheap, and they look nice also. So what else can you do with the photos that you've brought new life into?
Well, this is the controversial idea. Share them. There are many ways to share
your photos, and when I say share I mean put them out for the world to see. There are many outlets that you can use. Flickr and 500PX are a couple of photo sharing sites, and you can have people from all over the world look at your work. Facebook and Instagram are others. I used to post my photos on Facebook, but I have quit and now try to post to Instagram once a day. So I have a folder on my desktop that I fill with photos that I want to put on Instagram. When I have new photos from a photo trip or outing, I use them. But when I run out of recent stuff, I'll go to the folder on my desktop and use one. I like Instagram because I can tell a little about the photograph and I get likes and comments from all over the world which is pretty neat. I use low resolution photos, and I'm not too worried about someone taking my photo and using it for something else. I'm just happy that someone is seeing the photos that have been hiding on my hard drive. It's a part of my daily routine. I get up, get some coffee, and post to Instagram. For those who know me, I get up real early. So when I post, most people in the US aren't up yet. So if I get a like real quick, I know it's someone from another country which is cool.
One benefit from going back in time and playing with these old photos is that it stirs up your creative juices and gets you into that artsy groove. And that's just a great place to be. Follow me on Instagram at maxstansellphotography. So keep shooting and get outside!
Hey Everyone! Today I want to talk about something that is near and dear to my heart and that's taking a hike. Taking a hike has many benefits. You get outside and breath in the fresh air. You get to see great and different scenery. You get to travel at a walking pace, not a jump in your car and see how fast you can get to work or to the store or to wherever everyone is in so much of a hurry to get to these days. As photographers, we have the unique opportunity to take great photos of these places and bring them home to share with our friends and loved ones. These walks or hikes do not need to be long-drawn-out 10 mile hikes. They can be short and sweet by a lake or by a river. Here I will try to give some hints on day hiking for photographers.
First is where to go? Well, the list is endless. Many towns and cities have greenways that were built for hikers, joggers, and bicycles to travel on and can go through parks and wooded areas. There are many city and state parks that have all kinds of trail systems at all levels of physical ability. And there are national parks with all kinds of trail systems. My advice to begin with is to look at Google maps or any kind of map and make a circle, say and hour or hour and a half from where you live, and start looking for places. Let Google be your friend and help you find places. You will be surprised at how many there are and how close they are to you. Some places like state parks will have guided hikes on different occasions. One of my goals this year is to visit and hike in every state park in North Carolina. There are 34 of them.
What should I bring? I'm going to break this up and start with photography gear. Don't bring everything you own. Remember, if you are hiking you're going to carry your hiking gear, so less photography gear is better. I would first ask myself, what will I be shooting and what kind of trail am I going to be on? Is it a wooded trail with trees surrounding me? If so a long telephoto lens will not be needed. But a wide angel might come in handy or a medium range zoom. Will I need a tripod? Think about this in the same way. What am I shooting? Waterfalls, then I would need one. Low light, then I would need one. But if it's a sunny day then maybe not. You have to assess what you will need to take and less is better. I commute to different towns for my job, and at lunch when I get a chance I go into the town for a photowalk or a park for a small hike. My camera of choice for this is a point and shoot. It's a nice one, but a point and shoot just the same, and I can get some really nice photos without lugging a whole bunch of camera gear with me. So that is an option for a day hike also.
What else should I bring? Common sense should be the rule here. If you're making a day of it, I would suggest a little food and a lot of water. If you're in the summer sun, remember you will be sweating and you need to replace that fluid, so hydrate! But always have some water with you. One thing I always bring is some sort of rain protection. I always have one of those $5 emergency rain ponchos. They are made out of real thin plastic and are good for one use but they are a life saver. The reason I do this is because I went on a hike once and was about 5 miles in when I got caught in a downpour. Luckily I had a large trash bag with me, and that became my raincoat and protector of my camera gear. But from that day on, I always carry that little emergency rain poncho. Don't forget your smart phone. If you're taking a longer hike and one where you could get turned around, they come in handy for the GPS. Even if you lose signal they can help get you in the right direction. And they are a backup camera also. Don't forget about sun protection, a hat, sunscreen, or a long-sleeved shirt to protect you from the sun. There are lots of new materials that are lightweight and cool but will still protect you from the sun. Sunglasses are also a must if you are going to be in exposed areas where there's a lot of sun and no shade to protect your eyes. Also a must in the snow! Bug protection can be a must, especially if you're in mosquito-infested areas. There are sprays and creams you can use, but the bugs will drive you crazy if you are not using them.
What about clothing? For summer I would say lightweight, non-cotton clothing. Cotton is not what you want to wear hiking because it will absorb the water or sweat from you and stay wet, which could make you cold or just weigh you down. So no blue jeans or 100% cotton T-shirts. Wear blends and polyester-type clothing. It will wick the moisture away from you and dry quickly. In the winter dress in layers. A good base layer (long johns), shirts, coats, etc. With lots of layers, when you're hiking and getting hot, you can take some off. And when you stop for a while and get cold, you can put more on. What about shoes? Shoes must be comfortable and supportive. Walking, hiking, trail, and running shoes will work. I would stay away from boots unless you have really broken them in well. They can give you blisters very quickly if you're not used to walking a lot in them.
What do I carry all of this in? A small bag or backpack that is lightweight and comfortable. You probably already have some sort of backpack or bag you can use. It doesn't have to be fancy, just something that can carry all of your stuff if need be. Remember to always take all of your trash with you when you leave. As photographers we should only take photographs and leave footprints. So take care of our parks and trails and keep them clean.
Now that you have somewhere to go and you know what to wear and are dressed for comfort and safety, go out and enjoy nature. Take a hike and really enjoy the world. There is always something new to see and investigate, and I usually don't have to go very far for a nature adventure. Me I love to go out with my hiking buddy Forrest (my canine friend) and explore different places. I get exercise, I get outside, and I get photos that are not like everyone else's because they stay at home. So get out and shoot! And take a hike!
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What does it mean to find the sweet spot of a lens? All lenses are not the same. And even at different apertures on the same lens, you can see a difference of sharpness. Lenses tend to lose sharpness because of diffraction. This is a very technical term that means the light tends to split-up at either end of the aperture range. Lenses tend to be sharper in the middle of the aperture range. Say f 8 or so. But that's just a rule of thumb. How do you know exactly what the sweet spot is on your lens? I know some people will say that my lens is sharp all the time in all apertures, but after the sweet spot test you'll see that it isn't. All lenses are not the same even if th
ey are the same brand and make. If you have a Kit lens, this is a great way to figure out how to get the sharpest image out of it. Here is an easy way to test your lens and find out what the sweet spot is on your lens. First, you'll need a few things. A tripod, a wall that has a lot of texture in it so you can see if it's sharp or not (like a brick wall or a wall that has lots of details in it), and some sort of photo editing software like Lightroom. Set your tripod up and get your lens focused on the wall. Put your ISO on say 100 or your native ISO for your camera and put your camera on aperture priority shooting mode. Open up to your widest aperture, say f2.8 or whatever your widest aperture is, and take a shot. Then go through all of your apertures to the most closed down ones. After you've taken all of your photos, put them into Lightroom or some other software and start to compare the sharpness of the different shots. Then before long you'll come up with a clear winner, or at least a couple that are almost identical in sharpness. I'm not a big supporter of pixel peeking, but in this case it's what you want to do. Make sure you look in the corners and all across the frame. When you have your winner, you'll know what your sweet spot is. You can do this to all of your lenses, and the sweet spot will be different on those lenses. You can record the results or just remember them for future reference. Now why is all of this important? Knowing what aperture your lens is the sharpest can come in handy. For me, when I know what the sharpest is, I tend to leave that lens at that point for general photography like just walking around. And when sharpness really matters I know where to put my lens. Knowing your gear and how it works, from your camera to your lenses, will save you money in the long run.
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You won't have to spend that extra money to buy the more expensive lens because it's supposed to be sharper. You can stick with your old lens because you know how to make it sharp. The same can be said with our camera bodies. We probably only use 10% of our camera's potential just exploring the menus and reading the manual can help you become a better photographer and utilize the camera that you have, not the one that you lust over. And I am as guilty of this as anyone else. Always wanting the next best thing. So save yourself some money and find the sweet spot of your lenses for sharp photos. And as always keep shooting!
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Hey Everybody! The first of the year is a busy one for me, planning the upcoming year and setting goals, both photography and personal goals. This year has been no exception. I believe setting goals is one of the most important things you can do. First of all, it puts a plan in motion. Gets you looking forward or to something. It gets the gears spinning in your head on what you want to do. This year one of my goals, or maybe you could say a personal project, is going to visit all of the state parks in North Carolina where I live. There are 34 official parks and 7 recreational areas. I'm sticking with the parks for now. Since most of my shooting is on the weekend, there are just so many weekends in a year. But this project will do a few things. It will get me out of the house both for photography and camping, which I love to do. I have visited all of the parks before, but not in one year. I even have an end-of-the-year photo in mind. A collage of all the welcome signs of all the parks I have visited. So that is my personal project for the year.
 Live Oak Pond
Another goal of mine is to do more printing. To be honest that is always a goal of mine that always gets put aside. I hope this year is an exception and I can print more and become a better printer. I think that printing will keep your legacy alive long after you're gone. If you're like me, you have thousands of images on your hard drive and probably less than half a percent of them printed. After you're gone, those images on your hard drive will disappear, but printed images last a long time. I just recently got all of my mother's photos from the past, and I have some from the 1800's that will be handed down to my children and theirs I hope. So print more photos.
Another goal this year for me is not to buy so much camera gear. I have a pretty good kit now and am happy with my gear. We, and I mean me, always buy too much gear and are focused on gear more than we need to be. If we spend less time thinking about the next best thing in gear and spend more time thinking about using the gear we have to the fullest, we will take better photos and concentrate more on what's in front of us instead of what's in our hands. I've just done a blog of my camera gear for 2020 that you can check out.
 X Marks the Spot
What I am going to concentrate on gear wise is my computers. I currently have a 2015 iMac that I do most of my editing on and a 2017 MacBook Air that is my travel watch TV computer. I have in the last week just updated both to the latest operating system Catalina and have upgraded both of the hard drives. On the MacBook that already had a Solid State Drive (SSD) in it I upgraded it to a faster and larger drive, from a 128gb drive to a 1TB drive. This made the computer more snappy and works well in Lightroom CC and Luminar. I also just upgraded my iMac from a 1TB hard drive (spinning drive) to a 1TB SSD drive which doubled the speed for this computer which is my main computer. I did all the upgrades myself, and it has saved me from buying new machines. My backup main computer is a 2011 MacBook Pro that I have kept pretty much up to date and snappy and which will run Lightroom Classic and full Photoshop with no problems if need be.
The next goal is to stay active in my local camera club. I think being able to share and learn from others is a great way to advance you art as a photographer. I believe that I have grown and have definitely gone to and seen places with my photography club that I wouldn't have done by myself. Being able to try out new types of photography and see things from others' points of view has broadened my horizons and made me a better photographer. So please, if you haven't already, join a photography club or go to a meet up and intermingle with others who have the same passion that you have about photography.
 Wormsloe Trees
Finally, one of my personal goals is to eat healthy and exercise more. I started this last year and lost 30 pounds but have slipped lately and need to get back on the wagon. The healthier you are the more places you can go and see. Being healthy will make you a better photographer and a long-living one as well. I'm not going to preach on this subject too much because I'm not the best example, but if you're like me, over 50, you've got to quit eating like you're 20. Your body can't handle it.
So those are my goals for the year. What are yours? If you don't have some, sit down and make some. Keep Shooting!
 Carolina Beach 2020
Hey Everyone! Everybody loves gear talk, and I thought I would do a what's in my bag blog to tell you what I'm toting around this year. I don't plan on making any changes to my gear this year. My kit is pretty solid. I'm trying to tame my gear down so I can concentrate on the photo and not the gear this year, although it might not seem like it in this blog because of all of the gear. My gear is pretty much the same as last year except for a few items, so let's get started. The bag that I'm using this year for my backpack camera bag is new. It's a Shimodo Action X 30 liter. I am super excited about this bag. I was using for a backpack a regular backpack with an insert in it, and it worked but wasn't designed for photographers. This bag is designed for photographers and action photographers, those who are climbing mountains, biking, hiking, and even skiing. Although I'm just a landscape/travel photographer, this bag fits me like a glove and is just the right size for all of my needs. I got it through a Kickstarter program, and I could be a spokesman for the company and this bag. For my just walking around and in town city stuff, I'm still using my
Mountainsmith Daylight Lumbar pack with a Peak Design strap for the shoulder strap. I have an insert for it, and it's fantastic for carrying around what I need for street photography.
Camera Bodies. I'm still using the Sony A6500 for my main body and a Sony A6300 for my backup camera. I still love these cameras. I know updated versions of these cameras have come out, but for what I shoot I couldn't justify upgrading to a newer camera when mine works great. Maybe in the future they will come out with something that I must have, but right now they haven't. For my everyday camera that I take with me when I go to work for the OH LOOK AT THAT photo, I carry a Cannon G7xMII point and shoot. It's a great little camera, and I also use it for video and time lapse. I have an older Lumix point and shoot that was converted to infra red that I can now carry because of the new bag for those shots that gives a different look. Something that everyone else isn't doing. It's not a great camera by today's standards but still gives good photos. The only other camera bodies that I have are film and a GoPro Session 4 that I use for video when I'm hiking.
Lenses. The lenses that I carry in my backpack for typical landscape or travel photography are a Sony 10-18 f4 lens for wide angle. I almost got rid of this lens and then fell in love with it again It was my favorite for some of the shots of my fall trip this year. My work horse lens is the Sony/Zeiss 16-70 f4 lens. It is on my camera 90 percent of the time and covers a full frame range of 24-105. This is a super sharp lens, and I love the focal range. The next lens that's in my backpack is the Cannon 70-200 L f4 lens. This is a great lens, kind of old and slow (like me), but this is my least used focal length and it works great for me. I use the Metabones adapter for it and any other Canon EF lenses that I may acquire. Would love to get like a Canon 50L f1.4 but haven't come across one yet, but I'm still on the lookout. My prime lens is a Rokinon 12mm f2.0 and is what I use for astro photography. It is a super sharp manual focus lens. My next lens is a Rokinon 23mm f2.8 which gives me that
35mm full frame range and is good for street. Not real fast but sharp. My next one is a Sony 35mm f1.8, and this is my favorite prime lens. It gives you that classic 50mm full frame range, and it it great. Fast and sharp! I also have a Sony 50mm f1.8 and it's okay. I use it for portraits. It's not a very fast focus, but it is sharp when in focus. The prime lenses go in and out of my camera bags when needed and usually only one at a time.
Tripods. My main tripod is the ProMaster XC-M 525C carbon fiber tripod. It's a small tripod and can support 17lbs, which with my small camera kit works just great. I got it last year from my favorite camera shop, ASAP Photography in Greenville, NC. I did buy a short extension tube for it so it will get lower down to the ground. I have Peak Design camera buttons on it so I can use a camera strap to haul it if I'm going light with just camera and tripod. I can throw the strap across my shoulders and go. I just got a platapod tripod plate mainly to use when I'm in an urban environment. It's small and sturdy, but I haven't used it much. I'll let you know if I like it or not. And then a Jobe tripod for smaller cameras and GoPros.
Filters. This year will be the first year that I go completely to small screw on filters. The filters that I'm using are the Breakthrough Photography filters. I have the circular polarizor and neutral density 3stop, 6stop, and 10stop filters. They are all at 72mm, and I use step-up rings to fit different lenses. I have a Lee filter system, but it's just overkill for the small cameras and lenses that I use now and is too bulky to carry. I do have separate circular polarizers that I use in my "Purse," the Mountainsmith cary bag, that fit different sized lenses that I carry. I usually don't need neutral density filters when I'm using that bag to shoot in the city.
Accessories. I carry an assortment of things with me when I go to shoot. Remote shutter releases - I have two one cabled from Sony and another Radio from SMDV, a Korean company. I had one on my Nikon when I shot which was fantastic, so I got one for my Sony. A small hand-held blower to clean lenses and blow out stuff. Lens clothes - You can't have enough. I have them in every compartment and pouch. I stick them everywhere so I always have one handy. A lens pen with a soft brush to clean lenses. Desiccant
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Pouches - Whenever I buy something that has these little pouches inside, I take them and throw them in my bag. You can get rechargeable ones that I've been thinking about getting, and you can put them in your microwave to dry them out. I also make little personal packs that have sunscreen, insect repellent, glass cleaner (for my glasses), tooth picks, antacid, hand warmers. I get all the contents in little one-use pouches and they all fit into a little ziplock that I keep in my bag. I always carry an emergency poncho that you can get from Walmart for just a few bucks. I got caught in the rain one time and had a trash bag that I used, but from then on I have that emergency poncho. I also have a rain cover for my camera that I made, but you can get these cheap also. I have a little battery and tool pouch that I made from one of my dad's blood testing machines that I use to hold spare batteries, small tools, and small quick-release plates used on the Peak Design quick clip that I have on my camera bag. A ProMaster SD card case that is hard, water proof, small, and only has place for a couple of cards. This was a promotional that one of my photo buddies gave me years ago, and it goes with me everywhere. I have a Think Tank wallet that I always keep in a separate bag when I travel.
Well, that's pretty much what's in my bag or bags. If I'm traveling overnight, I usually take a 13-inch MacBook Air that I got just for travel. It's lightweight and lets me back up my cards cull and look at my photos and process a couple. I have Lightroom CC on it with photos synced from my main Lightroom catalog at home. I also have Luminar 3 on it if I have to do something a little special. I usually don't edit on my laptop, only on my iMac at home. If you have any questions about any of the gear listed, please contact me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Keep shooting!
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