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Photographing Wildflowers -Tips for Creating Natural Looking Light with Flash

Photographing Wildflowers -Tips for Creating Natural Looking Light with Flash

While observing the Shelter in Place restrictions I thought that I might do a little “Photography in Place”. Here is my tutorial on how to create a flower portrait. After 8 days under SIP I finally had a reprieve from rescheduling workshops and catching up on the honey-do list. With wildflower season upon us I […]

13 Moons Petroglyphs and Star Trails

13 Moons Petroglyphs and Star Trails

  “Navajo believe the laws of the land are written in the sky and the stars. [They are] written in the sky for everyone to see.”  Tara Chee, Navajo 13 Moons Petroglyphs and Star Trails The Volcanic Tablelands surrounding Bishop California are home to many Native American petroglyphs. On my way home from the September […]

Black Point Fissures and Milky Way: Self-Assignment

Black Point Fissures and Milky Way: Self-Assignment

“Is there not A tongue in every star that talks with man, And wooes him to be wise? nor wooes in vain; This dead of midnight is the noon of thought, And wisdom mounts her zenith with the stars.”  ― Anna Laetitia Barbauld   Every now and then it is a good idea to challenge yourself […]


Alabama Hills Photography Workshop October 19-22, 2017 Trip Report

Alabama Hills Photography Workshop October 19-22, 2017 Trip Report

Alabama Hills Photography Workshop October 19-22, 2017 Scroll down to the end to see the Student Galleries.   This October I had the privilege of leading a group of talented and enthusiastic photographers on a Landscape and Night Photography Workshop in the Alabama Hills.  We had great weather and a couple of clear nights on […]

USS Potomac Photo Cruise

USS Potomac Photo Cruise

On Sunday May 22nd, San Jose Camera and Video sponsored a San Francisco Bay Photography Cruise on board the USS Potomac.  About 60 Photographers attended and were treated to some great views of the Bay as well as the opportunity to spend time on and photograph the historic USS Potomac.  The weather alternated between cloudy […]

April Bay Area Photo Adventure - Waterfalls and Wildflowers

April Bay Area Photo Adventure – Waterfalls and Wildflowers

April Photo Adventure  – Waterfalls and Wildflowers Looking for a fun April photo adventure in the Bay Area?  The welcome rains of the El Nino have brought with them flowing waterfalls along with an abundance of wildflowers in the Bay Area hills. Try heading out to Uvas Canyon County Park to photograph the waterfalls and […]


How to Photograph the October 23rd Solar Eclipse

How to Photograph the October 23rd Solar Eclipse

On Thursday October 23rd there will be an opportunity to view a partial solar eclipse in the northern hemisphere. If you have never photographed a solar eclipse this is an opportunity get some awesome photographs as well as to prepare for the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. (See tips for photographing a solar […]

Another Unforgettable Sky

Another Unforgettable Sky

I was going through my images from the first 6 months of this year and came across this sunset photograph of lenticular clouds taken at Red Rock Canyon State Park. My brother and I were returning from teaching a 3 day landscape photography workshop in Death Valley when we spotted some unusual cloud formations at […]

An Unforgettable Sky - Death Valley National Park

An Unforgettable Sky – Death Valley National Park

Anticrepuscular rays at sunrise as viewed from Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park. (©2013 Paul Dileanis) An Unforgettable Sky – Death Valley National Park November 2002 While photographing Death Valley in November 2002 I was treated to an unusual celestial display. As I waited at Zabriskie Point for the sun to illuminate Manly Beacon […]


Photographing into the Sun

Photographing into the Sun

The Flight of Icarus – Photographing into the sun The title of this photograph and article does not represent the danger to the pelican in flying too close to the sun, but represents the challenges a novice photographer faces when photographing into the sun. To create dynamic images it is often necessary to photograph in […]

How to Photograph the Moon

How to Photograph the Moon

  The moon has captivated man’s attention since the dawn of time. The brightest object in the night sky, it inspires wonder and imagination. It is no surprise that most photographers are drawn to capture the moon’s spectacle at some time in their life. While there is merit and a challenge in photographing the moon […]

Lunar Eclipse December 10, 2011

Lunar Eclipse December 10, 2011

Eine Kleine Nachtfoto oder Die Fotografen müssen verrückt seine A Little Night Photography or The Photographers must be crazy December 10, 2011 at 0300 hours I roll out of bed and dress in the cold darkness. Gathering the pile of photo gear by the front door I load the dusty green Montero and start the […]


Punta de los Lobos Marinos

Punta de los Lobos Marinos

Point Lobos State Reserve –  Octber 26, 2010 Sea Lions were known to the Spanish explorers of early California as Sea Wolves.  Point Lobos derived its name from the Spanish Punta de los Lobos Marinos. Today, the rocky point south of Carmel is still home to a large colony of California Sea Lions, Zalophus californianus, […]

Learning to See

Part 1 – Photographic vision, gorilla suits and traffic studies We have all been told that in order to take better photographs we need to learn to see as the camera sees. We are taught that our eyes see selectively while the camera records in exact detail what is in front of it. On an […]