During the last weekend

Last weekend was a foggy one. Some people think foggy days are bad for photography, but on the contrary, I think foggy and cloudy days are special because the light is evenly distributed, and you don’t get harsh shadows in your photos. Some may complain about fog adding an extra layer of grain to their portraits, but I do love that layer. 

On foggy mornings, the light is more consistent than on cloudy days, when it can vary depending on the clouds. For someone who uses Auto ISO, like I do, this isn’t a big concern. For photographers who shoot fully manual, however, it means constantly adjusting settings, and that may be the reason why they don’t like these kinds of days.

There are 2 pictures that I love from this last weekend. 

These were somewhat difficult shots because the bird, a Carolina Wren, was perched in a very dense bush, making focusing challenging. The branches in the foreground added an extra 3D feeling to these pictures, which I love.

AI and Photography

 I recently created and posted this AI created image in Instagram and Facebook. 

 The original picture used to create this one is this:

The way this works is simple. You upload a high quality image to the AI application you choose and create what they call a prompt, where you describe the image you want the AI to generate. The more specific and detailed the prompt, the better the results you’ll get from the tool. That’s the secret. Up to a point, creating these descriptions is an art. It’s a fantasy that starts in your head.

The reaction to this post was mostly positive. My grandson Liam, this is his picture, complained that he was missing his freckles.

There was one rude comment that I deleted because it was not just against AI, it became personal. I do not allow people to call me names simply because they do not like what I post. If you do not like it, just keep scrolling. I am happy to debate any topic as long as we keep it civilized. When name calling starts, the conversation enters the territory of stupidity, and those who provoke it usually win because they have plenty of experience there.

That comment made me think about the fact that some photographers feel attacked by AI. That person probably felt that way and was expressing his frustration in my post. If I depended on photography to pay my bills, I would probably be worried too, and I would feel the same way.

The fact is that AI is here, and like anything that represents progress, you need to adapt and start using it to your advantage. If you cannot take your model to a beautiful location like that river, and you do not have the gear to light the scene the way it was done in that image, then master AI and get the results you want using this new tool. Do not go around blaming others for your inability to adapt.

Are images produced using AI still photography?  

That’s a good question, and it’s one the photography world is still arguing about.

In my view, images produced using AI are not photography in the traditional sense. Photography has always been about capturing light from the real world through a camera at a specific moment in time. AI generated images do not capture light or reality. They create a visual interpretation based on data, prompts, and algorithms.

That said, AI imagery is still a visual art form. It shares goals with photography such as storytelling, emotion, composition, and aesthetics, but the process is fundamentally different. It is closer to illustration or digital art than to photography.

Where things get interesting is when AI is used as a tool within photography. Noise reduction, sharpening, subject selection, sky replacement, or even guided edits still start with a real photograph. In those cases, the foundation remains photography, even if AI plays a major role in the final result.

So for me, the line is this: If there is no camera, no light, and no moment captured, then it is not photography. It is something new. And that is not a bad thing.

Progress does not erase photography. It expands the creative toolbox.

 

 

 

Spontaneity

I know I’ve talked about this a lot, but sometimes it still feels like it’s not enough to truly convey why it matters so much to me.

As a photographer, you’re always searching for the best way to illustrate a moment. You tell the story in a way that draws your audience in, letting your images speak for themselves.

Here is an example. If I’m asked what I like about a competition, my best answer would probably be this:

 

 Or this:

I like seeing how much they enjoy it. I love realizing later at home, while editing, that I was able to capture moments that clearly show how happy these boys were with their performance.  I could not answer with words the question in a better way than these images. 

Spontaneous moments are priceless. When you are out there photographing a sports event, or any event at all, do not limit yourself to documenting what is happening. Look for images that show what makes that moment meaningful to you and to the people living it.

What Changed Last Year?

Last year I was invited to document my grandson’s karate completions. You know, in the role of the family photographer.

 I have been documenting their lives since all three of them were born. They have played baseball, football, and soccer, but never at the level they are now with karate. Besides that, these other sports demand a different type of photography: they are outdoor sports, and I relied more on zoom lenses. Karate is an indoor sport, and a 70–200mm lens works very well in this scenario. All of this was new to me, and I was not expecting to shoot more than 5,000 pictures at these events.

For somebody shooting mostly widlife, this is a huge change, believe me. In one hand you have the silence of nature and in the other hand you have the endless noise that you find in sport events. In one hand you have wildlife and in the other hand you have people moving fast and constantly. So I had to adjust to the new circunstances. 

Karate gave me the chance to shoot amazing pictures, especially portraits of the athletes during their process before and after the competition.

 Each of them is a different universe. They meditate a lot before competing. I have seen their smiles and their tears. I have seen their transformation from peace to fury.

Karate has given me the chance to explore the human mind, and even though I do not have access to their thoughts in those intriguing moments, I enjoy imagining what they might have been thinking.

 You don’t find this kind of joy by asking someone to pose for the camera. It comes from stealing the moment as it quietly reveals itself.

 

Cave Photography

Pardon my title; I do not know if there is such a type of photography. I’m talking about photographing caverns. Most people think that caverns are cold places, but the fact is that they are not. Normally, caverns stay warmer than the temperature on the surface, and that is what happened during our visit to Florida Caverns. It was about 40°F on the surface, but when we went inside the cavern, the temperature was around 60°F and the humidity was very high. This sudden change caused my camera lens to fog up to the point that I could not use the camera for most of our time in the cavern.

While I knew about this temperature change, I completely forgot about the humidity, so I was very disappointed when I realized that I could not use my camera. Fortunately, this change did not affect our phones, which run warmer. I was able to take pictures like the one you see above. 

Thinking about this issue, the only solution would have been to warm the lens somehow before entering the cave, something that could have been done while we were driving from our accommodation to the cave, using one of those USB-powered devices. If you are planning to do this type of photography, learn from my experience.

By the end of the tour, I was able to take few pictures using the camera.  

Overall, I was happy with how the pictures taken with the iPhone 16 came out. As people say, better than nothing. You can find more pictures here. For other recommended gear, visit this page. 

A cave without proper lighting may not be very attractive to some people, but certain spots, when illuminated with colored lights as in this case, become a spectacle worth seeing.

 

After two weeks.. I'm back!

After two weeks of posting nothing on this blog, I'm back.

We took a few days to visit the Florida Panhandle. Unfortunately, there was a cold front passing through, and there were not many photo opportunities during that time. Except…

The amazing opportunity of taking pictures of a couple of Bald Eagles playing around while flying. 

 It's always an immense pleasure photographing these birds.  

We took our grandsons to visit the Florida Caverns, located in the small town of Marianna.  

 A very colorful place that I recommend anyone staying in that area of Florida. 

After coming back from this short vacation, and now in 2026, I visited my favorite spot for wildlife spotting and photographing: Crews Lake Wilderness Park. I never leave that place empty-handed.

During the last two weeks of 2025, I found a family of spoonbills there, and they were still present during the last weekend.

 Flamingos are not seen that often in Central Florida, but Spoonbills can be found around, specially during the winter migration. 

In about two weeks, the 2026 USA Sport Karate Season starts, and I have been checking my Canon 5D Mark III to use it more often in my photoshoots. I received as a Christmas Gift from my daughter a Double Shoulder Camera Strap Harness, and I'm planning to put it to work in this new season. The Canon R6 will be armed with the 70-200 f2.8 and the 5D Mark III with the 28-80 L lens. In this way I'll have a huge range from 28 to 200 mm. More than enough for this kind of event. 

As you can see, the planing starts long before the season begins.  

You can check pictures of the past season in this Instagram reel.  

 

 

 

Pictures from last weekend

Last weekend was a good one from the point of view of birds and photos. I managed to capture a nice picture of a red-winged blackbird. 

From far, this bird looks black, but when you look at their pictures, you can see little brown and red lines. The bird behind the male in the front is a female of the same species. 

The above you can see the details of the female. 

I also took some pictures of swallows flying. I do not have to say that you need a lot of skills and patience to get them sharp.