China is saving the digital camera market

 According to this report from The Photographer. 

...the digital market has seen positive changes thanks to Chinese youth. This comes from the generation’s dissatisfaction with smartphone cameras and their preference for better quality images and videos, which one can only capture with a proper camera. This trend has been more pronounced in China, where large shipments of digital cameras saw an increase of 1.9 million units in 2024, which is about 25%. China now accounts for 28% of the total global shipment value, up 13 percentage points since 2019.

I was expecting an article about how cheap, low-quality Chinese cameras are flooding sites like Amazon, but it turned out to be good news. Even the best smartphones can't match the image quality of a dedicated digital camera. Just invest in a good one and avoid wasting money on poorly made, unbranded models.

Collaborative Spirit

Dani Connor recently published a video answering questions, and she mentioned a few points that caught my attention.

The first is the lack of a collaborative spirit within the wildlife photography community. This is something that has affected me personally—both when I started wildlife photography in South Florida and now after moving to a new place in Central Florida. It’s difficult to find people willing to share information about where to see and photograph certain animals and birds. While I understand the need to protect wildlife, I wish there were more trust within the community. After all, not everyone is out there with a heavy camera and a zoom lens.

The second point is how difficult it is to make money—or even a living—solely from wildlife photography. Many people assume that if you have a camera, you must be making money from your photography, but that’s far from reality. Of all the photography genres, wildlife photography is probably one of the hardest and least profitable.

 

Wildlife Photography vs Environmental Photography

 

Wildlife Photography and Environmental Photography overlap in some ways but have distinct focuses:

Wildlife Photography

• Focuses on animals in their natural habitat.
• The subject is the animal itself—its behavior, movements, and interactions.
• Photographers often use telephoto lenses to capture distant or elusive subjects.
• Examples: A close-up of a bird in flight, a lion hunting, or a macro shot of an insect.

Environmental Photography

• Broader category that includes nature, landscapes, and human impact on the environment.
• May feature wildlife, but the emphasis is often on the ecosystem, conservation, or the relationship between nature and human influence.
• Can include landscapes, pollution, deforestation, and climate change documentation.
• Examples: A photo of a forest recovering from a wildfire, a polluted river, or a wide-angle shot of animals within their changing habitat.

If you’re shooting a Carolina Wren perched on a branch, that’s wildlife photography. If you frame the wren against a deforested background to highlight habitat loss, that’s environmental photography.

Where the past meets the present

 This family came to an event dressed as the late 1800s and made me smile. Can you guess why?

Photos from last weekend

Last Saturday, I participated in an event celebrating the 182nd anniversary of Hernando County. Many attendees wore historical costumes, making it a great opportunity for photography.

 

I took to the event the Tamron 28-300 EF, It’s a very convenient lens because it covers a wide focal range. However, that comes at a price—photos aren’t as sharp as those taken with my Canon L lenses. Still, as you can see, the images have enough detail to satisfy any photographer. At one point, I had to remove the battery from my Canon R6 because the camera became unresponsive—something that occasionally happens when using this lens. Keep that in mind. You can enjoy the rest of the pictures from this event at Flickr. 

On Sunday, I returned to wildlife photography and captured this beautiful shot of a Carolina Wren. It perched nearby, delighting me with its lovely song. 

Taken using a Canon R6 and EF100-400 Mk2 with 1.4ext.

 

 

 

Is photography an Art?

That’s the subject of a recent article published by The Photographer.

Conquering the top of the world!

 According to Google AI: "Art is a creative expression that can be a physical object, experience, or skill. It can be beautiful, thought-provoking, or emotional. Art can be created through a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, music, dance, and photography."

Google AI goes deeper by saying that photography is an art because:

It's a creative endeavor that uses skill and imagination

It can evoke feelings and memories

It can be used to express thoughts and emotions

It can be used to research the world and our place in it

Do I think that photography is an art?

Putting modesty aside, yes, I do. What do you think?

Birds portrait photography

I'm fascinated by bird portrait photography. While capturing the entire bird showcases the vivid colors of its feathers, shooting portraits highlights the beauty of its eyes. Birds' eyes come in a stunning variety of colors. Click on the image to zoom in and appreciate the details.

 

Human contamination

Human contamination of nature is a serious problem. If you don’t understand its impact, just look at this picture of a seagull trying to eat a red plastic floater.

 

 

Sleeping Squirrels

In this video, wildlife photographer Dani Connor explains how she captured photos and videos of sleeping squirrels—a project that took her two years to complete.

 

From Last Weekend

Last weekend was a long weekend with a lot of activity, I shot more than 1200 pictures starting with a Karate Event last Saturday. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the event. 

 

A funny moment!

You can see the rest of the HD pictures of this event here. There photographs were taken using the EF70-200 L f2.8, my favorite lens for this type of events. 

During Sunday and Monday I resumed my normal activities doing some wildlife photography.

These pictures were taking using the EF100-400 L, with a 1.4x. 

 

 

Clients be aware

Wedding photography can be a lucrative business, with some photographers charging thousands of dollars for a single day’s session. Believe it or not, many clients are willing to pay that amount to capture one of the most important moments of their lives. Unfortunately, scammers exploit this, preying on emotions and stealing money from those who choose the wrong "photographer." This news highlights how difficult it can be to recover your money once you've fallen victim to one of these impostors.

In a twist to this scam, the so-called photographer actually hired a real photographer to do the job. The photographer completed the work but was never paid. As a result, she is holding onto the wedding pictures until she receives her payment, leaving the bride stuck in limbo.

Rock star sued for posting photos

 Photographers have rights. 

U.S. copyright law plainly states that the person who “authored” a work (or took the picture) is the copyright owner.

And this news is about that. 

If you plan to share or post a photograph taken by someone else, it is essential to obtain permission from the original photographer before doing so. This ensures you respect their rights as the creator of the image. Photography, like any other form of creative work, is protected by copyright laws, meaning the photographer holds exclusive rights to their images unless they have explicitly given permission for others to use them.

Requesting permission can be as simple as reaching out to the photographer through a direct message, email, or a comment on their post. Some photographers may have specific usage guidelines, such as requiring credit, limiting how the image can be used, or even requesting a fee for commercial use. If you are granted permission, always follow any conditions they set and give proper credit by including their name or social media handle when posting the image.

Failure to ask for permission can lead to copyright infringement issues, and in some cases, legal consequences. Beyond legality, respecting a photographer's work helps foster a community where creativity is valued and ethical sharing is encouraged.

Are you an opportunistic shooter?

 In photography, an opportunistic shooter refers to a photographer who captures images spontaneously rather than planning shots in advance. They take advantage of unexpected moments, interesting lighting conditions, or fleeting subjects as they arise.

This approach is common in wildlife, street, and documentary photography, where conditions change rapidly, and the best shots often come from being observant and ready rather than staging or anticipating specific scenes.

For example, in bird photography, an opportunistic shooter might capture a hawk diving for prey simply because they were prepared with their camera at the right time, even if they originally set out to photograph songbirds.

Am I an opportunistic shooter? Yes I'm!

Another example of the use of Panoramas

I've already mentioned how I use panoramas to photograph close objects that don't fit within my angle of view due to using a zoom lens.

Today I'll show you another picture I took last weekend using this technique. 

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Believe it or not, the above picture is composed by 5 pictures. I was too close to this plant and with my zoom lens it was impossible to end with this composition. Below you can see one of the pictures used to create this one. 

The best from this last weekend

These are some pictures I really liked from last weekend.

 

All pictures taken using a Canon R6 with an EF100-400 L MkII w/1.4x.

Sony vs Canon

 At one point, I was a Sony shooter, but I eventually switched to Canon. Why? Seven years ago, Sony mirrorless cameras were packed with features that Canon simply didn’t offer. So why did I switch to Canon? The answer is simple: Canon's mirrorless cameras now come with features that would have cost me a fortune to get in a Sony setup. But there’s more to the story—this video is about a similar journey.

Crop mode, should you use it?

I've often seen YouTube influencers advise against using crop mode, but I completely disagree. As long as you understand a few key points—crop mode does not increase your lens's focal length, it reduces the resolution of your photos, and you might end anyway cropping the image when editing on your computer—there's no reason to avoid it. It does not make any difference in the image quality if you crop in your camera or in your computer. 

Here is a nice video talking about this. 

All about camera modes

If you're just starting your photography journey, you might believe that reaching a professional level means mastering Manual Mode. After all, it offers full control over your camera settings and unlocks creative possibilities.

While this is partly true, it's important to consider whether Manual Mode is actually the best fit for your photography style. In many cases, other modes may be easier to use and can help you achieve better results more efficiently.

This video can help you in the process of understanding the camera modes and to pick which one is the best configuration for you. 

 

New camera for Bird Watchers

Nikon will be releasing by the end of February a new camera specially designed for bird watchers: the Coolpix P1100. According to news posted at PetaPixel: 'Nikon announced the Coolpix P1100, the latest member of its series of super-zoom bridge cameras. It features a massive 125x optical zoom lens that the company describes as the “gold standard” of its class.'

This camera offers an impressive 3000mm equivalent optical zoom and up to 12,000mm digital zoom. For those unfamiliar with the difference, optical zoom is achieved through the physical movement of the lens elements, while digital zoom is created by processing or cropping the image within the camera.

Naturally, the image quality at 12,000mm will be significantly degraded due to the limitations of digital zoom. Photos captured using optical zoom will be sharper, but even then, don't expect miracles. Once you exceed 1000mm, additional factors such as atmospheric haze can further impact image quality.

The camera is priced at $1,099.95.

For birders who prefer a convenient, all-in-one setup without the hassle of changing lenses and aren't concerned with top-tier image quality, this camera is a viable option. However, for photographers who are passionate about capturing high-quality bird images, this may not be the right choice.

Florida Sandhill Cranes matting

This was a rare and extraordinary event that few have ever witnessed. I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time, capturing a moment that many may never see in their lifetime.

Using panoramas or photo stacking to achieve more details

 When you mention a panorama photo most of us imagine a large landscape picture no thinking that you can use panoramas for other reasons. For example, to achieve a bigger level of details or sharpness or to fit a large object in your picture when you are using a zoom lens instead of a wide angle lens. The below picture is an example of these two techniques using LightRoom Classic to create the panorama.  

If your goal is to achieve the highest level of detail in a panorama, it's important to take multiple shots while adjusting the focus as you change the portion of the image you're capturing. Imagine your final picture divided into smaller quadrants. Focus your camera for each quadrant and capture the shot.

Next, repeat the process, but this time shift your quadrants so they overlap differently from the previous set, focusing on each one again. This technique ensures that the entire panorama remains sharp when stitched together. I find that this works better if you are shooting a landscape in portrait/vertical orientation.

The example below illustrates a panorama created with an insufficient number of quadrants. As a result, some areas are out of focus where they should have been sharp.

Keep in mind that Lightroom may refuse to create a panorama if your photos are not aligned along the vertical or horizontal axis. In such cases, you'll need to use Photoshop's stacking option instead.

Here is a very useful article describing the use of photo stacking for this purpose.

American Robin in Florida

 

American Robins are found in Florida, particularly during the winter months. Here's a bit more detail:

Seasonal Presence:

• Winter Migration: American Robins migrate south to Florida from northern states in the fall and are commonly seen throughout the state during winter (typically from October to March).
• Breeding Season: They are less common in Florida during the summer, as they generally breed farther north.

Habitat:

• They can be found in a variety of habitats, including parks, gardens, suburban areas, and open woodlands. In Florida, they are often seen feasting on berries and foraging on lawns for insects.

Diet:

• During their time in Florida, they rely heavily on fruit from native plants like holly, cedar, and cherry trees, in addition to worms and insects.

During my weekend visit to a local park, I managed to photograph one. Here are some of the pictures I captured.

  

Pictures were taken using a Canon R6 Mark I, EF100-400L Mark II and 1.4X Mark III Extender.