Terra Galleria Photography

Archive for the ‘Gear’ Category

My Quest for the Ultimate Tripod

My tripod survey mentioned that the quest for the ultimate tripod was still ongoing. I convinced myself that my next general-purpose tripod could be, finally, the last one I bought. With that in mind, I removed the budget as a consideration and set up to look for the perfect tripod. Read on to see which […]

Sony A7R5 vs A7R4: technical review from a landscape photographer’s perspective

When Sony announced the fifth iteration of its high-resolution camera, the A7R5 (or A7R V) its AI-based autofocus got the most attention. Action photographers also benefit from faster data handling and a much larger buffer. Video saw several improvements, including UHD 8K with 10-bit capture. However, the sensor and stills resolution are unchanged from its […]

Georeferenced PDF maps

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that stewards most of the lands in Our National Monuments doesn’t have a reputation for being visitor-oriented like the National Park Service (NPS). With a few exceptions, there are no visitor centers within their national monuments, and often not any at all. The website blm.gov is not designed for […]

Tripod Tales – (almost) all the tripods I have used and what I’ve learned about them

When I photographed in the Alps in the early 1990s, I didn’t even own a tripod. My camera support of choice was a clamp that could attach to the adze of an ice-ax. Upon arriving in America in 1993, one of my first purchases was a tripod. Many photographers have wasted money by starting with […]

Inside my General Purpose Camera bag: What I carry, Why, and How

Vision is better, but it can be an elusive topic to discuss or teach. On the other hand, talking shop is sure fun, and without gear, there are no photographs. In this post, I’m going to show you the gear inside my camera bag, why I selected it, and how it is organized. This is […]

Road tripping off pavement with the Prius Prime

My car wrecked last September was a Impreza, the most fuel-efficient Subaru. I replaced it with a Toyota Prius Prime. Read about the reasoning behind my choice, and how it worked for an adventurous road trip in the West during which I camped in the car, spent much time driving backcountry unpaved roads and had […]

Polarizing Filters and Vignetting on a Sony FE 24-105 f/4: Filter Comparison

The polarizing filter is such an essential tool because it allows you to control reflections, darken skies, cutting haze, and increase color saturation. Although using 24mm had become second nature for me to use, with a polarizer on the Sony FE 24-105 f/4, I found myself zooming in a bit until the dark corners (as […]

How to Charge Digital Cameras in the Field

Modern digital cameras can go through batteries quickly. One can just carry enough camera batteries to last for an entire short trip – I own more than a dozen. If you stay under a roof at least every other night, plugging into AC power to recharge your batteries is easy. Otherwise, another way to charge […]

New LED Lights for Stationary Light Night Photography

In the past few years, progress in LED lighting has resulted in devices that offer significant advances for night photography. Find out why you should photograph at night with stationary lights rather than light painting, and read my review of my new preferred lights for that purpose. Cannonball concretions, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, 2013. Canon […]

Sony FE 24-105mm f4 G OSS Lens: Detailed Comparative Review

Summary: The possibly first in-depth review of the new Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS lens comparing it for reference to the Sony FE 24-70mm f/4 and Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L lenses using precise and reliable measurements. A much anticipated lens When I started to photograph with the Sony A7R2 in the summer of 2015, […]