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photo mindset

A collection of 12 posts

Finding Fuji-san

Finding Fuji-san

We visited Japan in September 2018, and we were greeted with typical September in Japan weather—overcast and often rainy. Kind of what you might expect when you visit in the latter part of the typhoon season. One of our goals was to take in some of the spectacular views

Malta's Blue Arch

Malta's Blue Arch

The Blue Arch in Malta is a spectacular location for wonderful seascape images. There are multiple compositions here so it pays you to get the iconic images, and then move around and find something that helps to tell your story. For me, the ‘Blue’ story in this location is that

Stonehenge

Back in 2015 I visited the U.K. (among a number of other countries), and visited Stonehenge. This place is set up for tourists, with a major visitors centre and car park a couple of kilometres from the actual site, with constant people carriers ferrying visitors back and forth. Or

Lookout

This image was made in the same general area as my Wanaka Wandering image, and apart from demonstrating the value of getting to some unique, off-the-beaten-path locations, it also demonstrates another value of a photo tour. In this case the tour guide not only volunteered to be a model, but

Wanaka Wandering & the value of photo tours

Wanaka Wandering & the value of photo tours

Wanaka Wandering A photo tour in Wanaka, NZ, took us onto private property in the hills high above Lake Wanaka. It was a magical location, off the beaten track, that provided for some unique images that showed the scale of the lake and surrounding mountains and valleys. This image was

Pre-setting your camera for likely images

Pre-setting your camera for likely images

My photographic origins in the underwater world have taught me the importance of thinking through the photographic objectives for a shoot (dive), and pre-setting your camera. In underwater photography one key mantra is to get close – minimising the amount of water between subject and your camera1. For this reason, and

A lesson re-learned

A lesson re-learned

I sometimes wonder how often we have to re-learn a lesson we’ve previously learned. It can be an especially intriguing conundrum when we make a mistake that not only have we previously learned, but one for which measures have been put in place to minimise associated risks. Recently I

Do You Make or Take Your Photos

Do You Make or Take Your Photos

The following article was originally published on my website BlueBeyond.com.au. I’ve decided to move it over here for reference. Recently I read a great book called The Inner Game of Outdoor Photography by Galen Rowell , a renowned outdoor photographer from the US. This book is one of

The PLACEBO Principle for UW Photography

The PLACEBO Principle for UW Photography

One of the leading shore dives in Australia is known as Halifax Park, in Nelson Bay just north of Sydney. A spectacular dive renowned for nudibranchs and other small marine life, Halifax Park is a macro photographers dream. During one memorable dive there, I was using my trusty Nikonos V,

The Underwater Photographer by Martin Edge (4th Edition)

The Underwater Photographer by Martin Edge (4th Edition)

Somehow I missed the fact that the fourth edition of my favourite book on UW photography has been released. The Underwater Photographer, Fourth Edition by Martin Edge is an amazing update of what was already an incredibly good book. Completely revised to completely focus on the digital age, this book

Book Review Inner Game Outdoor Photography

Book Review Inner Game Outdoor Photography

The following review was originally published on my website BlueBeyond.com.au. I’ve decided to move it over here for reference. Galen Rowell’s Inner Game of Outdoor Photography is a book that I have been meaning to review for some time, but with the recent, tragic death of

Make or Take

Recently I read a great book called The Inner Game of Outdoor Photography by Galen Rowell1 , a renowned outdoor photographer from the US. This book is one of the best photography books I have read, even though it hardly even touches on technical aspects – there are no explanations of apertures