Photographer’s block or just bad luck?

Have you ever gone out to take pictures and you just don’t make any? It’s happened to me a few times. Yesterday the afternoon looked nice and I went on the road to nearby Irazu volcano to photograph nice clouds and the landscape below. I don’t know if I was just too focused in this particular type of image or the weather did not help  but I spent the first two hours wandering around without seeing any images. Continue reading Photographer’s block or just bad luck?

A thousand words worth a picture?

Being a photographer slowly changes our way of watching the world until we are always seeing and making pictures in our minds. It is both a blessing and a curse as we become aware of the many images we miss when we don’t have our camera with us, or when the photograph simply doesn’t happen. Continue reading A thousand words worth a picture?

Will our photos stand out in the crowd?

Double exposure photo of the Empire State Building and the One World Trade Center.
Trying to show your vision among the crowd could mean experimenting. Here I tried double exposures. Click to enlarge.

I am at Top of the Rock in Rockefeller Center and every single person crowding the rooftop seems to be clicking away the breathtaking view with a camera or a smartphone. Gigabytes of pictures will soon be uploaded and posted in Social Media. Will I get one better picture, or at least a different one?

We are not a million monkeys typing on a million typewriters: We all have smart typewriters thanks to modern camera engineers. There will be many nice photos taken today. If not new, at least the pictures I take will be my own! Continue reading Will our photos stand out in the crowd?

How to get the image quality of the Nikon D810 in other camera’s photos

Many reviewers have commented on the superb image quality of the Nikon D810, even when compared with excellent cameras like the D800E. After taking many images with the D810 I have to say that indeed you get really good photos, even as out-of-camera jpegs. The surprising thing to me was that I could get comparable image quality from earlier and cheaper cameras just by doing a simple adjustment in Lightroom. Continue reading How to get the image quality of the Nikon D810 in other camera’s photos

Hello Instagram, I am in!

Screenshot of Eduardo Libby's Instagram photos.
I started using Instagram during a trip to New York. Now I am posting Costa Rican photos. Click the photo to see my Instagram Feed on the web.

What does a photographer that has lived through the film and the digital camera eras do with a smartphone?

Enjoys living in the smartphone camera era.

Simple as that.

I take different photos with different cameras. It is not them controlling me. It is me taking advantage of what they do best.
 Instagram’s concept is simple: See, capture, share and move on. Keep it mobile. It is the one place where being followed is not scary. Continue reading Hello Instagram, I am in!

Getting the Most Out of a Travel Lens

Night photo of the High Line in Manhattan
A city that never stops moving and growing: Moonrise over New York’s High Line Linear Park and future apartment buildings.

We all photographers have been through this before: Going on a trip and deciding what equipment to carry. We all want quality and flexibility but to carry the least weight. All the gear accumulated through the years makes our decision even harder.

When planning a two week’s vacation in New York City I finally decided taking along only my Nikon D810 and 24-120 f/4 VR lens. Forget about an external flash and do not even think of the tripod. Pack an extra battery, memory cards and cleaning kit and close my bag… My only other gear was my iPhone, which I used it for shooting everything I did not (or could not) shoot with the big camera… and for all the good things smartphones do for us. Continue reading Getting the Most Out of a Travel Lens

Writings about the art and technique of photography. Mostly with Nikon and Olympus equipment.