4 Tasks to Prepare Camera Gear for a Photography Trip

Are you getting ready for a photography trip coming up soon? I’m just getting started with my 2022 travels and thought I would share the 4 things I do to prepare my gear before I travel so I’m prepared when I get out in the field. 

1) There is one thing that I do before almost every trip I take and I cannot recommend it highly enough. I clean my camera sensor. If you have gone on a trip and come home to upload your images only to find that you have tons of little sensor dust spots, then you know how truly annoying it can be. It is a tedious and thankless job to have to clone out all those spots.

I know that cleaning my sensor a week or two before a trip is one small thing I can do to start out with my gear in the best shape. And clean gear is one factor that plays a part in creating high quality images.

If you have a camera store near you, you should be able to get your sensor cleaned there. (Note: Take it in with a fully charged battery!) You can also get sensor cleaning kits that allow you to clean your sensor yourself. There are a lot of tutorials out there to show you how to do this for your specific camera. 

In addition to cleaning my sensor, as I get ready to travel, there are a few more things I do as I get ready to travel or prepare for a day of shooting. 

2) As I gather and organize my lenses and filters to pack in my bag, I spend a little time cleaning them and checking them for smudges and spots. Just like camera sensor spots, dirty filters and lenses can also ruin image quality. 

3) I charge up my batteries and make sure I start with a full battery in my main camera, my back up camera and an extra one for each. Then I put my charger right into my bag or suitcase so I don’t forget it!

4) Since I want to start out with an empty memory card with lots of space for my new images, I check to be sure all the images are uploaded and backed up in two places. Then I format my card so it’s ready for more exploring! While it is my typical workflow to upload and back up upon return from a shoot, it’s always a good idea to double check before formatting a card. 

These steps set me up for success with clean gear ready to start off my next photography outing in the best possible way. I hope they serve as a helpful reminder to you for your next trip!

Kristen Ryan is an award winning and published landscape photographer and educator residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images are available for purchase in the Fine Art Store or by request. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Glacier NP, Hilton Head,  Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring . New online educational materials are coming soon!

Make Your Tripod Work For You

As landscape photographers, our closets and bags are filled with gear and gadgets to help us photograph the beauty of the world around us. Among these, a tripod is one of the most useful tools we use, but one of the most cumbersome as well. We often have a love/hate relationship with our tripod. It adds weight to carry and can be annoying to set up, adjust, and pack back up! But it helps us to stabilize the camera and create sharper images especially when we are photographing with slow shutter speeds or shooting focus stacked or bracketed exposures. 

In many cases, the tripod is crucial for the success of creating our visions. But it can also get in our way and hold us back in some ways if we don’t use it right. And I don’t mean whether we tighten the legs properly or adjust the ballhead right. 

When we walk up to a location, it can be really easy to take out the tripod and set it up at the first thing we see. Then proceed to put the camera on the tripod and get stuck right there in that spot, at that height, and then forget to move around and change our perspective. Because it can be cumbersome at times to adjust the tripod, sometimes we get stuck in that one position we set it up in the first place. No doubt when I started out in landscape photography, I made this mistake, only to kick myself later as I reviewed my images.

As I learned to explore my locations more thoroughly before setting down my tripod, I have also learned to make my tripod work FOR me rather than against me. Using all my senses and my camera (handheld), I look around and find the perspective, height and composition that satisfies my vision. Then if my vision requires the use of the tripod, I set it up to put my camera in the position that I found through my exploration. 

Additionally, after exploring a particular area or composition for a bit, make sure to pick up your tripod and go explore other compositions, once again using your tripod as a tool to photograph what calls to you.

So next time you head out, don’t work in the constraints of the tripod, make sure your tripod is one of the tools helping you photograph the composition that speaks to you! While you’re at it, there are MANY tripods out there - if the one you use makes you want to throw it in a lake, find a camera store and play with some until you find one that you’ll be happy to take along on your next hike or photo outing!

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Kristen Ryan is an award winning and published landscape photographer and educator residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images are available for purchase in the Fine Art Store or by request. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Glacier NP, Hilton Head,  Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring . New online educational materials are coming soon!

Night Photography Part 1: Preparation

Night photography is one of my very favorite genres to shoot whenever I get the chance. And when I say Night Photography, I mean both Astrophotography and general night photography, such as night cityscapes, light trails, and other night scenes. Today’s tips for preparation apply to all areas of night photography. If you are looking for Astrophotography tips in particular you can visit my past blog posts: 9 Tips for Astrophotography Part 1 and 9 More Tips for Astrophotography Part 2. In this series, later posts will be focused on town & city scenes, light trails and star trails. 

8 minute exposure of the stars over Mt. Rundle at Vermilion Lakes

I believe that preparation is key to enjoyable and successful night photography. Being prepared with the proper gear, knowing that gear and your location is the best first step toward creating amazing night imagery. 

1 -Invest in a quality tripod - If you already shoot nightscapes even occasionally, you know that a tripod is critical to sharp night photography. The longer exposures you are shooting, the more important that the tripod is strong and sturdy so it won’t move if the conditions are windy. In addition to this, it is important to choose a tripod that is intuitive to you in its use. Being able to easily put the camera on the head and shift its position, especially in the dark is so important. If your tripod doesn’t feel easy for you to adjust, find one that is. It will take so much frustration out of working in the dark. 

2) Pack Your Cable Release/Remote - When photographing long exposures, whether just 1-2 seconds or longer, a cable release will help eliminate any camera shake from pressing the shutter. Get to know your remote and how it works if you will be programming it for a time lapse or long exposure in bulb mode. 

3) Bring a Headlamp and/or Flashlight - Depending on where you will be shooting, be sure to have a headlamp or flashlight to light your way and to help you work with your gear if you get stuck working in the dark. If you are shooting with other photographers, you’ll want to all get set up and try to avoid turning on any lights once you get shooting. Even a little light shining into the foreground can ruin a fellow photographer’s exposure.

4) Know Your Gear Well - Being able to work with your gear in the dark is so important for an enjoyable night shooting experience. If you can adjust your camera on your tripod and access the buttons you need on your camera without fumbling around, you’ll save yourself so much frustration. Know how to change your settings, playback and zoom in to check focus without having to turn on a flashlight. Spending a little time mindfully noticing where all these buttons are can make a world of difference.

Harbour Town on Hilton Head Island as Blue Hour transitions to night.

5) Scout your location - Spend time during the day scouting out your location. Being able to see where you will be walking and setting up will help you when it is dark. Additionally, it can help to envision the composition you want to shoot in the daytime. Taking this time will create familiarity with the scene, minimize unexpected obstacles, and aid success in finding an intriguing composition. 

6) Lower Your Screen Brightness & Turn on your Highlight Blinkies - One of the most frequent difficulties with night photography is underexposed images. It is easy to look at your LCD screen on playback and think your image is well exposed when in reality is it underexposed. Lowering the screen brightness is helpful in preventing this mistake. Checking the histogram for proper exposure is the second important step. Using the highlight blinkies on your LCD is another helpful tool to use to ensure the brightest areas of your night scene (e.g. stars, city lights, etc) are not blown out. Check your camera manual to learn how to turn down the brightness and enable the highlight warnings. 

7) Prepare for the Elements - Depending on where you are shooting you may run into various weather conditions. In the summer months, some areas could get buggy at night so you may want to have bug spray on hand. In cooler months, and even in some climates, such as the mountains, the night temperatures get far cooler than the days. Be prepared with layers to keep yourself warm. If you will be in wet areas, waterproof shoes might be helpful, or hiking boots for slippery and uneven terrain. 

8) Be safe - In the city or the wilderness, night time has its dangers. In both cases, it is important to be safe by being aware of your surroundings and it is always best to have a friend for shooting partner with you. 

Chicago River at Night

Night Photography Part 2 coming next week!

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Kristen Ryan is an award winning and published landscape and fine art photographer and educator residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images are available for purchase in the Fine Art Store or by request. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring and teaches an online landscape photography workshop, The World Around You. The next run of The World Around You begins August 17!

6 Tips for Capturing Winter's Beauty Part 2

Last week I shared some tips for preparing your camera gear and clothing to survive the cold while shooting in the winter landscape. If you don’t prepare well enough, the shooting adventures are likely to be cut short due to cold and discomfort!

Now that you are well equipped to manage the cold and snow, I have some tips for photographing the winter beauty! There is the most magical feeling that comes with fresh fallen snow or beautiful hoar frost covering the trees and grasses. Winter landscapes are some of my most favorite scenes to photograph.

Falling snow in Grand Teton National Park

1 - Exposure - As always, I recommend watching your histogram to make sure not to blow out the highlights of the scene to keep texture and detail in the snow. I always look to expose snowy scenes a little bit brighter than my camera tells me to. Exposing at zero, your camera will make the snow look more gray instead of white. I always look to expose snow about +1 to +1 2/3 stops. You can do this manually or by using exposure compensation if you shoot in aperture mode. One easy way to ensure a great exposure is to bracket three exposures at 0, +1, and -1. Again, keep an eye on your histogram to expose to the right without letting it climb the right wall.

2- White Balance - While snow is white, it won’t always appear pure white in a photograph or in real life. Snow reflects the colors and light of a scene. In very low light, the shadows will be quite cool and the snow will have a bluish hue to it. However, in warm sunrise, sunset or golden hour light, the snow may reflect golden, orange, or pink tones. You may want to choose a white balance that enhances these colors or you may want to choose a white balance that neutralizes them somewhat. You’ll likely want to choose a white balance that is representative of the scene and helps to enhance the mood and atmosphere of that moment you clicked the shutter. Unless you are shooting a warm sunrise or sunset, a cooler white balance will typically bring out the cool mood of a winter scene. Using live view when adjusting your white balance can help you see whether you are capturing accurate colors and achieving the mood you envision.

Winter Suburban Sunset

3 - Take Advantage of Falling Snow - Even better than fresh fallen snow is snow that is FALLING!! There is something incredibly magical about a landscape captured with snowflakes falling all around. So grab all your protective gear to keep your camera weather proofed and head out to capture the atmosphere.

4- Get Out When the Snow is Fresh - Whenever possible, head out to capture a fresh fallen snow as early as possible. The earlier you get out, the fluffier the new snow and the less car tracks or footprints will have been made in the snow. Additionally, when you consider your composition, avoid walking around aimlessly as you may end up wanting a composition that includes all the tracks YOU just made!

5 - Avoid Condensation & Moisture in Your Gear - Whenever you can, try to avoid changing your lens out in the cold and wet weather. This will minimize any moisture or condensation getting inside the camera. If you have more than one camera body, you could consider choosing a wide angle lens for one body and a telephoto lens for the second. Additionally, while I have never had trouble with my camera having condensation coming in from the cold, placing it in a sealed ziplock bag as it comes to warmer temperatures is recommended.

6 - Pack a Towel - It’s a great idea to keep a towel in your camera bag in case any of your gear does get wet. Choose something soft like a microfiber towel to dry off your gear.

Hope these are helpful tips to add to your winter shooting! Part 3 coming next week! Do you have a favorite winter shooting tip? Tell me in the comments.

Happy Shooting!

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Kristen Ryan is an award winning and published landscape and fine art photographer and educator residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images are available for purchase in the Fine Art Store or by request. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring and teaches an online landscape photography workshop, The World Around You.

7 Tips for a Great Sunburst

One of my very favorite techniques for adding drama and impact to landscape images is creating a sunburst when the sun is in the frame. Sunbursts introduce added interest to any frame and are especially fun to add in when you have a completely clear sky.

A starburst of the sun happens as a result of diffraction. Light goes into the small opening of a narrow aperture of our camera and is then bent around the edges of the blades. This disperses the light rays into a starburst.

Here are some tips and thoughts to think about as you capture sunbursts in your shooting!

1) Choose A Wide Angle Lens - Wider focal lengths will produce more rays in the starburst so your best bet will be a focal length in the 14-35mm range. This is not to say you cannot capture a sunburst with a longer lens, but the wider angles are ideal. Keep in mind that regardless of focal length, different lenses create different looking sunbursts. For example, my Nikon 14-24mm lens produces a bit of a circular flare starburst at 14mm (image below) which is different from my Nikon 16-35mm lens at 16mm. (image above) Experiment with your lenses and focal lengths to see which one produces your favorite burst!

2) Close Down Your Aperture - Closing down the aperture will produce more distinctive rays in the sunburst. It is possible to get a sunburst with an aperture wider than f/16 but f/16 or f/18 are my top choices for a great sunburst.

3) Sky Matters - The best conditions for a good sunburst will be a patch of clear sky for a bright and sharp sunburst! Trying to create a starburst through a thin layer of hazy clouds is like banging your head against a wall. When the sky has some thicker clouds amongst clear sky, when the sun hits the clouds, this can create nice potential for a burst of rays into the sky and over the clouds.

4) Consider the Position of the Sun - When the sun is in the middle of a clear blue sky, a nice sunburst can be achieved. Other times, the best sunbursts are created as the sun hits another object, such as a mountain top, horizon, building, tree, etc. This helps the rays to disperse over the object the sun is hitting. This can require patience waiting for the sun to rise or set to the position desired. And sometimes it can require a little movement on your part to line things up.

When shooting sunbursts through trees, even slight shifts in position can help create a better or more distinct sunburst.

5) Expose for the Highlights - One of the keys to getting a great sunburst with distinct rays is to be sure that the highlights are well contained. Ideally, it is best to avoid blowing any of the sun highlights except for the circle of the sun. Exposing for the bright sun does mean that the overall image is somewhat underexposed and the shadows will be quite dark.

6) Bracket Exposures - Following #5’s tip for exposing for the highlights to get a great sunburst, consider bracketing your exposures and also taking an image exposed for the shadows and one for the midtones. Then combine them in post processing so you have detail in the full tonal range of the scene. You can bracket manually or program the camera to automatically take several images at different exposures.

7) Consider Your Position - As mentioned in tip #4, both the position of the sun and your position matter for creating a strong sunburst. Another thing that is impacted by your position is additional flare. Shooting into the sun can bring creative and desirable flare but it can also create unwanted and distracting flare. Look for this unwanted flare as you shoot and in your test shots and consider shifting your position. Sometimes minor adjustments in your position can remove unwanted flare or position it better in the frame where it is less distracting or more easily cloned out. A lens hood can also be a useful tool to avoid unwanted flare. Though sometimes nothing avoids it completely.

Kristen Ryan is a landscape and fine art photographer residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images can be purchased in the Fine Art Store. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring and teaches an online landscape photography workshop twice a year.