Photographing fireworks in winter weather

As Thursday night becomes Friday morning this week, we’ll go from New Years Eve to New Years Day. Across much of the country that means fireworks.

Photographing fireworks takes planning and knowledge at anytime, but January 1^st in much of North America also means it will be cold. Cold weather offers additional challenges for fireworks photography.

Here are my tips for photographing fireworks in cold weather.

Photography Exhibition: The Art Institute of Chicago - Chicago Cabinet: C. D. Arnold Photographs of the World's Columbian Exposition

The Art Institute of Chicago, regularly has extraordinary photographic exhibitions. This exhibition, Chicago Cabinet: C. D. Arnold Photographs of the World's Columbian Exposition is a great example of a wonderful photographer of the late 19^th century and shows an important time in the history of the United States.

This exhibition will run through February 28, 2010

My Tripod is Verboten! What do I do?

It’s happening more and more to travelers across the world. Regardless of the reason, use of tripods in some locations is forbidden.

You can’t use a tripod on top of the Arc de Triomphe, on the third level observation deck of the Eiffel Tower, or the observation deck of the Empire State Building.

At the Chichen Itza archaeological site in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, I’m hearing reports tripods are now banned.

Many cities don’t permit tripod use on busy sidewalks.

Photography Exhibition: The Getty Museum - In Focus: The Worker

The Getty Museum in Los Angeles has one of the great photographic collections in the world. This exhibition of 40 prints of men, women, and children working include a range of photographic processes from daguerreotypes to gelatin silver prints.This exhibition, In Focus: The Worker, is one of the Getty’s most interesting.

This exhibition will run through March 21, 2010

NSL's Annual Holiday Photography Gift Suggestions

It's the holiday time of the year, time to think about gifts for friends and family who include photographers; beginners, through serious amateurs.

Purchasing photography gifts can be difficult, especially for serious amateurs, as many prefer to carefully choose each component of their "kit" themselves, but I think there are some possibilities that almost any photographer would say, "Thanks very much!"

I'd stay away from choosing cameras, lenses, tripods, most bags, and software, unless you know of a specific item they want, but have held off for some reason. Instead, look for items which could augment already existing equipment or other items which might help.

I have a few choices below that I think most would find very welcome in a wide price range ($18–$300 or more, if you want to go there).

Photography Exhibition: Florida Museum of Photographic Arts - Andrea Modica: Flights of the Soul

The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts holds some of the best photographic exhibitions in the southern United States. Their current exhibition, Andrea Modica: Flights of the Soul looks like an amazing exhibition of Ms. Modica’s work. While I haven’t seen it yet, having seen her photographic work at the Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago, I’m certain this exhibition at the FMPA will be an exciting example of a terrific contemporary US artist.

Ms. Modica has been the recipient of both a Guggenheim Arts Fellowship and a Fulbright-Hays Research Grant. Her work has been on exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the George Eastman House in Rochester, and The National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C.

The exhibition runs through January 10, 2010

For more than ten years, Andrea Modica has been photographing a group of children in rural upstate New York. It is here, through a young girl named Barbara and her extended family, that Modica has created an amazing body of her work. Transforming reality into fantasy, Modica creates narratives that seem to have no beginning or end, yet present endless scenarios.

Editorial: FTC blogger review honesty regulations are disingenuous at best!

I remember the big “Payola” scandals in the record industry of the 60’s. You may have lived through them yourself, or read about them in school. Record companies gave “promotional” payments to radio disc jockeys to play specific songs and give them ample air time in order to popularize them.

Alan Freed, the number one New York City disc jockey and early supporter of rock and roll, had his career shattered by a payola scandal.

It seems as though the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is concerned about possible blogger payola from manufacturers, distributors and service providers in exchange for positive online reviews of their products. They’ve attempted to codify a new set of rules to prevent this potential problem; FTC 16 CFR Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

There are so many problems with the new regulations, I hardly no where to begin, so I’ll start with what I do in my Blog, and in my other reviews, published on the Internet or in print.

Photography Exhibition: Royal Ontario Museum - Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008

The Royal Ontario Museum continually shows some of the best photographic exhibitions in North America. The Museum includes The Institute for Contemporary Culture. The Museum’s diverse collections of world cultures and natural history with almost 6 million objects make it one of the largest museums in North America. The Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008 is one of the most interesting photographic exhibition shown on the North American continent this year.

This exhibition will run through January 3, 2010

Photographing from boats and ships

I don't know about you, but I like cruising. I've been on large ships and small. I also enjoy canoeing and rafting. Taking photographs from any of these craft can be a real challenge.

Viewpoints can be highly limited. On a ship you may be far above the water's surface. In a zodiac or raft, you're right at the water. Water can change light conditions, and its movement can affect the photographer's ability to capture the image desired.

The photographer's ability to transmit the scale of the image is often impared in water shots as the frame of reference relevant to the photograph's viewer is missing or unfamiliar. In addition, the environment of being in a boat or on a ship can be hostile to your photographic equipment, and taking photographs.