Jon Sienkiewicz Blog

The moon was full last week, and two lunatic things happened to friends of mine. One got a bad case of ransomware on her Mac (yes, that’s Mac as in MacBook Air). The other had a microSD card self-destruct in his Android cell phone. Bad things happen in threes and, oh yes, I hit a curb and blew out a tire.

The difference was this: I had a spare in my trunk. I didn’t wait until the curb bit me to prepare for the disaster. My two friends? Well…

You need a tripod. If you shoot video, panoramas, fireworks, time exposures, selfies or macro work in addition to general picture taking, you may even need two tripods. Selecting a tripod that matches the way you work is important, and not at all difficult if you approach it in the right way.

What’s normal? Not asking about your weird uncle Walter who puts mayonnaise on his French fries—and his spaghetti. When photography went digital, understanding focal lengths became much more difficult. Let’s unravel a few of the mysteries so that we can make better educated decisions about lenses.

Photographers feast on early morning and early evening illumination. Summer brings us more hours of daylight and consequently more shooting time. But exactly when does the sun come up in your town? And how can you determine what time the sun sets in a city you are about to visit? 

Welcome back! Last week we covered lenses that are well suited for five of the most popular camera activities, including kids’ sports, travel and online auctions. If you missed that piece, you’ll find it here. This week—as promised—five more lenses for five more activities. These are sometimes thought of as being in the realm of more advanced hobbyists, but that ain’t necessarily so. Read on…

An aperture set at f/2 is twice as big as one set at f/2.8 and four times larger than f/4. What’s Pi got to do with f/stops, and why do we use such a seemingly arbitrary numbering system? Continue reading to learn the answers to these and a few more arcane aperture facts. 

Like you, I’m looking for sensible indoor activities during this temporary quarantine. I’ve tried a few. Juggling was fun but there are still stains on the ceiling and glass particles in the carpet. So I told my family that instead of throwing things up in the air and dropping them I’d buy a ukulele and learn to play it. They said they’d support my musical inclinations, but of course, they’d miss having me around, too. Ultimately I turned to my very most favorite pastime. And after that short nap, I thought about photography.