The Photo Classroom - Digital Photography Classes & Expeditions

09/09/2026

Multiple Exposure Concert Photography

I have been experimenting lately with multiple exposures in-camera and learning a lot. The Nikon Zfc not only has the capability to do this but also has various modes (lighten, darken, addition, etc.) that I am exploring different applications for. All with one of the two Z lenses that I still own. I used the Nikon 18-140mm Z lens this time.

At a recent 80z Nation concert (shooting for them again this weekend), I used multiple exposures (2 frames) and zoomed the lens in between the two shots. I love the effect without the time of combining them in post-processing.

Let me know if there is a specific image you like the most, and wait for some of the other posts I will be making with multiple exposures.

09/08/2026

File Management Class - This Thursday, Sept. 10th at 7pm online

Regardless of your experience level in photography or editing, or even what software you use for your post-processing, at a foundational level, if you cannot find your best images and know without a doubt that they are backed up (so you do not lose them), the rest is pretty irrelevant.

This class includes some of the best information on this topic that I have ever seen online, and this is what I hear from my team members and students as well. We have a complete system of tools and organization that, when applied correctly, makes your images easy to find and ensures that you can never lose them to hard drive failures, etc. We have just added a section as well about hard drive and memory card suggestions and how to avoid fake items that are prevalent out there.
Also, for those working on your Level 1 Certification, this is one of the required classes.

The cost is $60, and registration can be done at https://book.peek.com/s/0c1dcd96-f3fa-4c3f-ab72-00efdfc59470/04Dz

Free repeats are always welcome.

09/08/2026

Our main destination this weekend was Emerald Village in Little Switzerland, NC, which includes what used to be 12 mines in operation up to 100 years ago. It was interesting to learn about the minerals (mainly Feldspar but also Mica, etc.) that were mined here. In fact, this was the single largest Feldspar mine in the entire world. One of the mines produced the Feldspar that was used in the Bon Ami cleanser. It was a great learning experience and interesting to understand mining and its role in our state's history. In fact, nearby, the Crabtree Emerald mine was one of only two places in the US (both in NC) where Emeralds have been found.

Here are some images of the area, and the gift shop had some unique items we came home with as well.


Emerald Village, Inc.

09/07/2026

Final shots of the day.

We covered lots of miles between Morganton, Waynesville, and even Burnsville again today, but staying in Morganton has provided some great opportunities for photographing the Historic Burke County Courthouse.

Here are two photos taken in the last of the blue hour. PRO Tip: start shooting a subject during blue hour with the sun setting behind you, then move to the other side (if applicable) to finish facing toward where the sun went down. This will give you the most time to still get some detail and color in the sky, working from the darkest part to the brightest.

This weekend has also been a fun chance to give the new Laowa 17mm T/S Lens a workout before taking it overseas to Scotland.

09/06/2026

09/05/2026

Creativity at the Cannon Ballers

It was fun to shoot baseball the other night at the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers game. While I did capture some "standard" action shots, my primary goal was to play with a variety of creative techniques, including a sunburst shot, multiple exposures (on my Nikon Zfc camera), slow shutter speeds for intentional blur, and a tilt lens with very limited depth of field (by tilting away from the subject plane). Not only am I posting these creative examples, but I have labeled which technique was used, and the pertinent camera settings were applied to each.

Put in the comments if one of the types of images is something you really like or might even want to try yourself.





Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

09/04/2026

We always have hawks in the woods behind our house, but rarely are they in an easy-to-photograph place. Well, today, while sitting on the back porch, I saw this hawk come in and land on a tree limb. I got a few photos and quickly changed my settings to bird detection and electronic shutter (so I could use pre-capture). As soon as the lens was back on the bird, he took off, and pre-capture and the AF system helped to get this and a couple of other frames. Pretty cool to see some of this mirrorless technology in action (more on all of this in our Mastering Mirrorless class).

This was shot with the Sony A7V camera and a Sony 100-400mm lens. I was in manual mode at F6.3 and 1/1000th shutter speed at ISO 2000. White balance was set at Cloudy to help add some warmth to the scene.

09/03/2026

Get my POV both stopping the action and intentionally blurring it at a Kannapolis Cannon Ballers recent baseball game. (In the final photo you can even see the steak of the ball which is pretty cool due to the longer shutter speed).

09/02/2026

This is similar to the mountain stream videos I have posted in the past but this time, on the back deck of my home in Charlotte, NC

I am memorized by how one petal at the top is attached to the main stem with a spiders web string and then another petal tangles from the first one.