Jon Sienkiewicz Blog

I’ve been taking pictures for so long that when I began, practically all cameras were made in Japan or Germany, ISO was spelled ASA and image files were paper folders where sleeves of negatives were stored.

Despite my ample experience, there are mistakes that I make over and over again—not every time I go out, thankfully, and not even every week—but often enough. Do you do these too?

If you are using the shoulder strap that came with your mirrorless or DSLR camera, you’re wearing a billboard for the manufacturer. At best it attracts unneeded attention. At worst it alerts snatch artists and other miscreants. Time to switch!

If you never use a tripod, there are a few photographic techniques you’re not using. Why miss big chunks of the fun?

Here are seven things you didn’t know you need to take on your photo vacation, plus some photo travel tips from an experienced road warrior.

It’s spring! And after many, many weeks of trudging through a gray and lifeless winter, Nature has opened her bodice of modesty and presented us with all of the colors the snow had denied. It’s time to photograph flowers. No matter what level of flower photography you pursue, here are some tips that will deliver a few more blossoms. 

I get ’em. You probably get ’em too. Those feelings of photographic futility when the sky and the ground and your car and your imagination are all the same dim shade of dirty, dingy gray, and there’s really no point to stepping outside to take photographs. How do you beat the bad weather doldrums? Here are a few ideas. 

Winter Storm Jonas is bearing down on our nation’s capitol and threatening to bury DC, Philly and maybe even New York City in snow this weekend. In fact, if you live anywhere east of Oklahoma, you’re probably charging batteries, restocking the liquor cabinet and laying in a good supply of unhealthy snacks that you can justify eating only during a weather emergency. But how do you plan to protect your camera when you venture out to capture the storm? Here are a few options.