This morning, my "Trees in Fog" picture won Imaging Resource's "Photo of the Day".

This photograph was captured back in July, 2012 in Grand Teton National Park. I hiked to the top of the Lunch Tree Hill trail behind the Jackson Lake Lodge before sunrise hoping to get a good panoramic photograph of the mountain range. Instead, the entire valley was filled with thick fog. I waited nearly two hours for the fog to lift. The fog never lifted enough for the mountain range to become visible, but the foggy trees consolation image saved the day!

This marks the 19th time in the last 20 months that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day".

Last summer, I stopped in Yellowstone National Park for a couple of days while on my way to Pacific Coast from Chicago. Much of my photography took place just after sunrise. I enjoyed capturing images of foggy landscapes. Foggy conditions were common in areas where the hot springs met the cool morning air.

The Mud Geyser area is particularly foggy and is located just south of Hayden Valley. Boardwalks make it easy to navigate around the geysers. Early one morning, I captured the following image of the fog (more likely it's steam) from one of the boardwalks:

A few minutes later, I was startled to see a massive bison standing too short of a distance behind me. I think he was attracted to the warm temperature of the Mud Geyser area. It was scary to be standing there alone with nothing between me and a large wild animal. Fortunately, the bison was content to continue grazing and paid little attention to me. I slowly backed my way out of the area.

In Yellowstone National Park, you must always watch your back. I recently viewed photographs of grizzly bears walking along the boardwalks just a few hundred yards away from the Old Faithful Inn!

Most landscape photographers consider a circular polarizer to be an indispensable tool for darkening skies, removing reflections from water, removing glare from foliage and enhancing the saturation of colors. I always carry a circular polarizer with me and use if quite often when shooting landscapes.

Recently, I participated in a macro photography workshop in the Adirondack Mountains with Steve Gettle. One of the things that I learned is how useful a circular polarizer can be when capturing macro images of foliage. The polarizer helps to remove the sheen from the leaves which deepens the contrast and color.

Nearly all of my lenses have a 77mm filter thread. Given the expense of a circular polarizer, I keep just one in my bag and transfer it from one lens to another as needed. The problem that I faced during the workshop is that my 105VR macro lens has a 62mm filter thread. So, for the time being I had to manually hold the filter over the lens--which is far from ideal.

I was faced with two choices to solve the problem. I could purchase a circular polarizer with a 62mm filter thread for my macro lens at a cost exceeding $100. Or, I could buy a 62-77mm step up ring to enable me to use my 77mm filter with my 105VR lens. I opted to go with the step up ring, but ordered it through eBay for less than $5.

Here's one of the images that I captured from the workshop using the 105VR with a circular polarizer. Next time, I'll have to remember to keep the photograph without the filter--as the difference in contrast and color is quite significant.

Fern on bark

There are some "free fly" exhibits within the Brookfield Zoo. These exhibits offer excellent opportunities to photograph birds. Obviously, the birds are much easier to locate than in the wild. Yet, nothing separates the birds from the photographer and the birds assume many natural behaviors. Following are a few of the "free fly" exhibits that I have visited at the zoo:

The Living Coast

Inca Tern

Chirping Gull

Humboldt Penguin

Habitat Africa! The Savannah

Taveta Golden Weaver

Reptiles and Birds House

Green Winged Macaw

Bali Mynah

White-Crested Laughing Thrush

Black Curassow

Indian Lake

White Trumpeter Swan

Formal Pool

American White Pelican

General Grounds

Peacock

My Nikon 200 f4 Micro lens got a workout during my visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden earlier this week! I captured several macro images while walking around the grounds for a couple of hours. To view nine of the photographs from that session, please click here.

One of the pictures that appealed to me was of the inside of a tulip. I faced several challenges in attempting to capture the picture.

• First, it was very windy, so the tulip was moving around quite a bit. So, I treated the situation somewhat like I would a sporting event. I boosted the ISO to 1600 to give me the opportunity to shorten the shutter speed (1/160th of a second). Also, I attached a clamp to the stem to minimize the movement of the flower.
• Next, it was nearly impossible to achieve enough depth of field given how close I was positioned to the tulip. I selected a narrow aperture (f/16), but that wasn't even enough to get the entire tulip into sharp focus. Bracketing photographs wasn't an option because of the movement. Of course, it goes without saying that using a tripod is key for photographs such as this one.

​After addressing some of those challenges, I wasn't pleased with the image as viewed from the screen on the back of my camera. The colors were rather dull. So, I grabbed a flash unit out of my camera bag and set the unit to trigger remotely. I handheld the flash unit behind the flower so that the petals could be backlit. By adding some light through the petals, the colors began to pop!

Inside a TulipCloseup of the inside of a tulip at the Chicago Botanic Garden at 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe, Illinois on May 20, 2014 I really need to start saving the "bad" images rather than immediately deleting them from my storage card. That way, viewers can see the dramatic difference between the photographs taken with an without the flash.

When capturing portraits of animals, I focus on the eyes. Viewers tend to lock in on the eyes first, so it's important that the eyes are in sharp focus. Then, I usually strive to select an aperture that will provide enough depth of field so that the nose is sharp as well. However, it's a balancing act with the aperture selection. Although I usually want the nose to be in focus, I also tend to prefer a soft background.

Last week, I visited the kangaroo exhibit at the Brookfield Zoo. While capturing this closeup portrait, I selected the widest aperture on my 300mm lens (f/2.8). This kangaroo is a small animal (no more than 4 feet tall) and he was positioned about 30 feet from me. So, I figured that the depth of field would certainly be wide enough to get both the eyes and the nose in focus.

I was wrong!

KangarooWestern Gray Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus) at the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois on May 15, 2014. The eyes are razor sharp, but the nose is not in focus. This crop might help make this easier to see:

I checked the display on the back of my camera immediately after capturing this image and noticed the problem. I narrowed my aperture to f/5.6 and then to f/7.1. That solved my depth of field problem, but the kangaroo never made eye contact with me again!

I found it hard to believe that the depth of field wasn't adequate to get both the eyes and nose of this kangaroo in focus. He's such a small animal and he was positioned a good distance from the lens. But, I failed to account for two factors:

• This kangaroo has a very long nose! That can be seen better in profile.
• The depth of field is surprisingly narrow given the lens and aperture that I chose.

To check the depth of field, I referred to an online depth of field calculator. I also have a DOF calculator on my phone. I should have used it! After entering in the various factors (i.e., camera, lens, aperture, distance), the calculator does in fact confirm the very narrow depth of field for acceptable focus--0.25 feet, or only 3 inches of depth!

But, it's always good to keep shooting. The more I shoot, the more issues like this come to light and stay top of mind. So, the next time I shoot in a similar situation, perhaps a family pet, I don't plan on making the same mistake again.

Last week, my "Adobe Mission" picture won Imaging Resource's "Photo of the Day".

This photograph was captured back in December, 2012. This photo is somewhat unique in that it was taken from the back of the San Francisco de Asis Mission Church in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. It's no wonder that the back of the church faces the street!

This marks the 18th time in the last 19 months that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day".

As I approached the main entrance to the Saint James Cathedral (located just off the Magnificent Mile in Chicago), I noticed a sign that indicated the interior of the church could be accessed through the Visitor Center at the back of the church. That sounded promising, so I worked my way around the building.

I asked if it would be OK for me to enter the church. I was told that I could photograph the interior of the church for no longer than five minutes! Given how quickly I can set things up, I figured that should be enough time to capture a couple of decent images of the building. However, I didn't count on having five people standing in front of my camera while discussing the logistics of an upcoming wedding.

Fortunately, the scene cleared within about three minutes. I was able to capture a couple of photographs after the two minute warning!

Saint James CathedralInterior of the Cathedral of Saint James at 65 E Huron Street in Chicago, Illinois on November 19, 2013. This photograph consists of five exposures blended together to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. I think the ceiling is one of the more interesting features of the Saint James Cathedral:

Saint James CathedralInterior of the Cathedral of Saint James at 65 E Huron Street in Chicago, Illinois on November 19, 2013. This photograph consists of five exposures blended together to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image.

I'm not sure why I wasn't permitted more time in the church--especially considering that I was the only one in the building once the five others left. But, I was appreciative to get five (or rather two) minutes rather than nothing!