With Summer over and Fall weather just around the corner, I sit and think “where did summer go?”
We traveled here and there, we found new friends and fellowship.
We explored new places and found new destinations.
Summer didn’t go anywhere, we went everywhere.
With Fall in the air, we are looking forward to new destinations, new friends and new adventures.
Summer didn’t go, Fall just started.
So where do I start?
How about a little about myself, I have been a professional photographer full time for over 25 years. I live and work out of my hometown of Ann Arbor Michigan. My passion is teaching Landscape and Travel Photography to new and advanced photographers. Traveling to new locations and meeting new like-minded people is a true blessing.
About a year ago I was shopping for a wide angle lens to use for Astro Photography. As we all do that suffer from G.A.S. (gear acquisition syndrome) I went on the interweb and started doing my “research”. After hours and hours and countless cups of coffee, I found this company called Irix lenses based out of Switzerland. Well being the good Swiss that I am I had to take a closer look. I looked at reviews, I Googled pics of the lenses, because you know they have to look cool and have great specs and I liked what I saw, so I decided to contact Irix for more info. Well to my delight Irix contacted me within a couple days and asked if I would like to “try out” one of their lenses, of course, it took me all of two seconds to say YES! And that was it.
Living in Michigan we have a lot of great places to shoot and teach Astrophotography. One of my favorite locations is Little Sable Lighthouse on the shores of Lake Michigan. Its soft sandy beaches and sand dunes make for a wonderful and relaxing shooting location, oh and having a Lighthouse right on the beach is a huge plus.
Drone image of Little Sable Point Lighthouse and Dunes
This July I took a group of photographers both new and advanced to my favorite shooting spot to teach Astro and let them play with the 15mm Blackstone. Most of my clients were not familiar with the Irix name so this was a great chance to show this gem off. Needless to say, they liked how the lens felt, the quality of the construction and especially the infinity indent and focus locking ring. That was all it took for my clients to be hooked.
So after a few hours of waiting for the “right” conditions, and some great conversation this is what we ended up with and I have to say I am pleased with the results. The ultra-wide angle of the 15mm on a Full Frame DSLR and its fast aperture of f2.4 is a PERFECT combination for capturing images like this.
This image was captured with a Nikon D700 at f2.4 / 30 seconds, ISO 3200 edited in Lightroom and Skylum software. I have to say not to bad for a 10 year old camera.
To finish up I want to thank Irix for doing an amazing job at producing amazing glass in this ever-changing world of digital photography.
I will have more post to follow using the 15mm Blackstone, you may not know but it also works amazingly well for landscape photography as well.
That’s it, for now, be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram.
PEACE
Thomas Nighswander
Director of Photography
National Photography Workshops
I was Taught GOOD:
GOOD means:
I was raised a Boy Scout
I was Taught Truth
I Was Taught MY WORD is MY WORD
A Hand Shake is a Bond
My Stories are True
TRUST IS TRUE TRUE
BELIEVE IN SELF, TRUST IN OTHERS
AND ALL WILL BE BE GREAT AGAIN!
There’s a Monster in the closet and I’m all a scare.
Why I say do I dare, don’t you see there’s a monster over there?
Were over there?
In the closet don’t, you see?
No, I don’t see him he must have gone away.
He’s there he’s there I see him I say!
No, he’s not there he went away.
No, he’s here I say he’s here to stay.
Trust me he went away, he went far far away.
Ok! Ok! I shout in doubt, I swear he’s still her in and out.
The monster is inside wanting to jump out.
He feeds on my fears and fills me with doubt.
He can leave you if you wish, all you have to do is do just this:
He’s not in the closet or under the bed.
Try to breathe and have faith instead.
The monster isn’t real he’s just in your head.
Have faith my friend trust instead.
Recently after returning from a weekend workshop, we stopped in the lazy lakeside town of Harbor Springs Michigan. As I strolled along the pier on that warm fall day, I found myself drawn to the re…
Recently after returning from a weekend workshop, we stopped in the lazy lakeside town of Harbor Springs Michigan.
As I strolled along the pier on that warm fall day, I found myself drawn to the reflections on the water.
The more I stopped and studied, the more patterns I saw in the water below.
I started to feel a rhythm in the water and wind, and magically patterns appeared again and again.
The rhythm I felt in the reflections below would come and go as the west winds blow.
I look forward to returning to this charming town, to see what other treasures are to be found.
Thanks for reading
Tom
With fall color and flowing water shooting season upon us, this is a good time to talk about using ND filters.
Mighty Mac image captured midday with a 5 stop Breakthrough Photography ND filter.
What are ND or Neutral Density Filters?
ND filters reduce the amount of light reaching the camera’s sensor. Kind of like a welder wearing a welders mask.
By reducing the light reaching the sensor, it will allow you to shoot at lower shutter speeds allowing for longer or slower exposures.
This image was captured in late afternoon sun on my Vanguard tripod at 15 seconds with a 10 stop ND filter.
By shooting for 15 seconds, it allowed me to achieve the silky or milky flowing effect.
They make many different types of ND filters with different strengths or “stops” ranging from 3, 5, 10, and variable.
I will go over the different filter options and types of filters in my next blog.
Thank you for reading
Tom
I recently attended one of my photographer friends first photography exhibit and opening reception.
The show focused on her travel and street photography.
After the opening reception she held a short slide show and talked about why she loves photography and how she has grown as a photographer.
Lynn (the artist) showed her very first image and how she has progressed to the level she is at today. She talked about making mistakes and how every image doesn’t have to be perfect, thats part of the creative process.
As I sat there reflecting back on my first days with a camera, it reminded me of all the mistakes and “bad” images I have captured in my career and where I am today.
(one of my favorite images, that is actually a mistake)
I still make mistakes and produce “unworthy” images, and to be honest…I’m Ok with that.
In making mistakes we learn from them and how we can better ourselves to grow into the artist and ultimately the creative person we want to be.
“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”- Henri Cartier-Bresson
Thank you for reading
Tom
We all have that moment when we say “man I don’t want to go to work today”.
For years I would do the daily grind hating every moment and really having nothing to show for it.
Over 20 years ago I decided it was time to make a change to dedicate my life and time to photography. Was I scared you bet, but I haven’t looked back since.
Sure there are times I miss the steady paycheck, but nothing I repeat nothing beats the peace and purpose I receive from truly doing what I love.
Thanx for reading.
Tom
Last week we packed up the car and drove west to Rocky Mountain National Park for a week of photography and taking in the majesty of the west.
(shooting at 12.050′ atop Rock Cut on Trail Ridge Rd)
We wound up in Estes Park Colorado the gateway to The Rocky Mountains and RMNP.
The unfortunate Forrest fires to the North made for Spectacular Sunsets.
The more time we spent in RMNP, I found myself falling in love with the high mountain vistas, clean mountain air and abundant wildlife.
(loan Elk at sunset near The Alpine Visitors Center 12.250′)
As I write this sitting in my apartment back in Ann Arbor, I cant wait to return to this place of magnificent rugged beauty and wonder.
thank you for reading
Tom
National Photography Workshops 