I too use both filter systems: circular screw-in for ND and circular polarizer, and slot in for my GND filters.

My screw-in filters are all mounted using Zume magnetic mounts. Each of my lens has a magnetic mount which I leave on permanently. Very convenient for easy and quick on and off (just remember to take a bit of care so as not to knock them off the lens accidentally. I carry a 3, 6, and 8 ⅔ stop filters.

For GND filters I use the Lee slot in holder recommended to you. All of my lens are Canon 72mm size, so I have the 100mm size holder and filters. They are generally sufficient for avoiding vignetting on all but my widest wife angle (16mm). The Lee holder is a good one. I found that I seldom used it with more than a single filter. The Lee holder allows you to take off and shorten the stack of filter slots if you want too. I shortened mine to a single slot. This eliminates even more of the vignetting possibilities. I also have the folder fitted with the Zume magnetic mount for convenience. I carry a 1, 2, and 3 stop GND filter.

Lee brand filters are very good, although I have both HiTech and a Cokin filter whose performance I have been satisfied with.

This setup has been quite adequate for nearly all situations where I need GND or ND filters.

🍿 anyone else want some?

🍿 anyone else want some?

This has always been a bit of a contentious point with me. Some of my images are pretty minimally processed; others are “cooked” to what many might consider extreme. Viewer are free to take or leave, like or detest, buy or not buy the images I create. But, I truly believe that as the creator of the image I have no obligation whatsoever to label, reveal, or explain the process used to make the image as a condition for offering it for viewing. (I might choose to have that conversation with persons who are interested, and would never be dishonest about the extent to which I have manipulated an image, but I don’t feel any necessity to make that info explicit unsolicited).

Go to My Profile. Scroll down to General Account Information. Enter the info you want in Signature box. Click Update Signature.

I sign in the white margin below my print with a pen with archival ink. When I make the print, the title and copyright info are also printed in that margin where it will be hidden by matting. Matted and framed pieces also get signed on the mat in the traditional spot just below the right corner of the image.

For what it’s worth, when I was first starting out I had some pieces accepted into a gallery. One early print I brought had my computer generated signature in the bottom corner. The gallery owner said that I should not do that on future pieces. “We sell art here, not posters”. A bit harsh maybe, but an attitude I found echoed in most other galleries and better shows. If you sign your work (which better places actually expect) sign by hand.

Around Sedona (south of town) it’s a bit of a cliche shot, but shooting Cathedral Rock from Red Rock Crossing is one of those shots many photographers have on their bucket list. You can get a good shoot from the Crescent Moon Picnic Area, but it’s much more fun to wade out into the nearby creek and set up you tripod on one of the slick rock bars in the middle of the creek. You’ll be shooting east so best time of day will be late afternoon just about sundown. Watch your timing so you can get back to your car and exit before they lock the gates to the park.

Sorry, double post

For grad ND filters I use the larger Cokin Pro Z size in Lee filter holder. The filters themselves are Cokin and HiTech brands. For solid ND filters, I have a set of round, higher end Hoya filters.

All of my round filters and the Lee square filter holder are fitted with Xume magnetic mounts. This allows me to quickly mount or I mount filters without having to screw anything on, making the process very easy.

Sorry, double post.

You’re correct in that the tripod can be level but the camera on top of the ballhead may not be. Using a level in the hot shoe can be an effective way to get the best edges requiring the least amount of cropping once stitched. Most are pretty inexpensive. For a few bucks ($6-8 on Amazon) they can be helpful.

The OP is asking about L brackets, not flash brackets.

I have an RRS L bracket on each of my camera bodies. I keep them mounted all of the time, as I shoot off of a tripod nearly 99% of the time. I find them invaluable. They allow me to switch back and forth between landscape and portrait orientation effortlessly, and without the risk of throwing my tripod dangerously off balance because I have the camera cocked over to one side rather than centered over the ball-head. I’ll never own a camera body without an L bracket.

The RRS brackets are a bit expensive, but their quality justifies their cost. Made to fit specific camera bodies, all ports, card slots, battery doors, are easily accessible without having to remove the bracket.

A great many of my images are manipulated to have the look and feeling of an oil, watercolor, or illustration. Some have been amongst my best sellers. I understand not everyone may like my images, but my question is the same as I posed a few pages back. What justification is there for telling another photographer that the shouldn’t make images of this style.

Just to be clear, I have painted. Did so all through high school, college, and a good part of my life when I was without toddlers (four year olds and tubes of paint mix way too well). Many of those skills carry over to the editing/creating work I do on my Wacom tablet.

Truth of the matter is that despite having experience painting, I could not paint with the detail, textures, etc. that I am able to produce through processing and manipulation of a camera image. What is the justification for saying I should go do something else (paint) instead? I understand that different people have differing preferences for what images they enjoy looking at the most. However, for as long as I have been doing this, I have yet to have anyone provide a single VALID REASON for why I should limit my creative approach.

Ten Dead Soldiers


Along the Backroads

The sand dunes just south of Florence Oregon (half way between Newport and Coos Bay offers some interesting landscape photography. Good access at Jesse Honeyman Memorial State Park.