Shooting Super Images On Your Next Flight-Part 2
By Arthur H. Bleich— You’re in your hard-won window seat and have finished cleaning the window. This would be a good time to turn off the Autofocus feature on your camera. As I mentioned previously, Autofocus frequently will not do what you want it to and is not necessary for window seat pictures. You are, after all, shooting distant object so just set the focus to infinity. When you manually rotate the focus ring to infinity, it may...
Shooting Super Images On Your Next Flight–Part 1
By Arthur H. Bleich— Let’s face it. It’s no fun to fly today. With airlines currently plagued with staff shortages and passengers having to jump through security hoops after arriving three hours early for check-in, only to find their flights cancelled or if lucky enough to get aboard, having to keep a wary eye open for altercations in the cabin and then finding they can’t even order a drink to calm down, it’s time to start making...
Pricey Cameras Don’t Make Better Photos
By Albert Chi— Some years ago while getting a routine checkup at my dentist’s office, he turned to me and said: “I want to learn photography. How important is the equipment you buy?” He knew I was a professional photographer but was not expecting the answer I gave him, which was, “Not that important.” “That’s not what I hear,” he huffed. “All my friends have spent thousands on photo gear and they tell me that without making a...
Movie Backdrop Art Will Blow Your Mind!
By Arthur H. Bleich— They worked in shifts, round-the-clock, painting gigantic images to be draped behind the actors featured in the movies of their day. Each artist was given a section of the backdrop to paint as time was of the essence. When lighted and integrated with the action, you’d swear you were in whatever location they depicted. Which, of course, was the whole idea. After the movie was “in the can,” the canvasses (called...
Favorite Photo Places: The Black Hills of South Dakota
By Will Keener and Ron Wolfe— There are some great faces in Western South Dakota – the likes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, Abe Lincoln and Sioux warrior Crazy Horse. In addition to these chiseled-in-granite monuments, there are many great places to photograph in this Black Hills region. Consider Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, and Spearfish Canyon, for example. Finally, there are some...
Levison Wood: Photo Encounters With Strangers
by Levison Wood— I have spent the majority of the last ten years in the wild and on the road, travelling in more than a hundred countries. It has been a time of great and rapid global change, and I have been lucky enough to witness many of these changes at first hand and document them in images that preserve these moments in time. For me, every single picture conjures a memory of an individual, a family or a whole community,...
Our National Parks Odyssey: Renaissance, Part Two
by Andrew Slaton— Part Two of Two. 02/18/22. Our National Parks odyssey has shifted into a different kind of journey. Nearly six years ago we set off on an adventure to travel the country and see/ document all the national parks. Since then, three new parks have been created, two presidential changes, a two-year (and still counting, in some states, at least), raging pandemic. Yet in the midst of all this, we found a new direction. We...
Our National Parks Odyssey: Renaissance, Part One
by Andrew Slaton— Part One of Two. 01/19/22. The light filters through palms and dances seductively along the prickly- looking edges of the Spanish moss. It hangs in a pattern of almost perfect randomness on the ancient oaks above my camp. Florida feels like home. Hell, who am I kidding? So many places feel like home these days, it’s hard to decipher what “home” really means anymore. This June will mark six full years of living as...
Back to Basics: Photographing Events
By Albert Chi— Winter has officially ended, opening the door for for a plethora of of events that are going to take place this spring, summer and fall— all of which have the potential for great images. Holiday parades, musical performances, sports events, rodeos and, of course, graduations, birthday parties and weddings just to name a few. Events provide great photographic opportunities, but because they usually move at their own...
Success on Paper: Story #1 – Red River Paper Brings History to Life
Welcome to Success on Paper, our series highlighting businesses from around the country with at least one thing in common: Red River Paper. From architectural firms to printing retailers, companies that depend on impeccable paper quality and creative customer service are relying on RRP to help them present their work in beautiful, compelling ways. First up in the series: The Historic Map Company of Lafayette, Louisiana. A Bright...
Isaac Wright: Stunning Cityscapes From On High
By Arthur H. Bleich— Early 2017 was the start of a tough time for U. S. Army Sgt. Isaac Wright, a paratrooper stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC. An pending divorce and a serious reassessment of his life’s goals prompted him to buy a Nikon D3400 and begin to shoot photographs to get his mind off his problems Wright had enlisted in the Army in 2014 when he was 18, right out of high school and, though things had been going well for two and half...
Make Spectacular Reflection-Free Framed Prints
By Al Warfield– After you’ve gone to the effort of taking the perfect shot, making the perfect print, and choosing the perfect frame, why spoil your image by framing it under glass where a myriad of reflections will wreck its beauty? It’s easy to eliminate reflections on framed prints made with Red River Matte and Fine Art Matte papers; you’ll also have the added advantage of displaying an image as large as the frame size instead of a...
Favorite Photo Locations: The Oregon Coast
FLASHBACK – Originally posted 2/18 By Laurie Excell Some of the most beautiful coastline in all America is just a short, ninety-minute drive from Portland, Oregon and stretches 363 miles from the Columbia River to the California border. [See “Resources” below for map.] It’s hard to know where to point your camera first when confronted with 80 state park and recreation areas, nine-plus light houses, numerous quaint...
Print Greeting and Note Cards for Profit. Part 2
by Christine Pentecost— Receiving a card in the mail will always eclipse one sent electronically—not only because it shows the recipient you really spent some time picking it out just for them, but also that you wanted to write a personal note of your own and not rely on some clever or flowery language that was written to cover all bases. Your thoughts really do count. Now let’s go into what customers like to buy when it comes to...
Print Greeting and Note Cards for Profit. Part 1
By Christine Pentecost— The greeting and note card business is booming despite the ease of sending digital cards. Hallmark’s slogan sums up the difference between the two. An emailed card is a half-hearted gesture, but “when you care to send the very best” only a paper card will do. It shows you’ve taken the time to give your recipient a warm and personal feeling when they open the envelope. About 12 years ago, I decided to...
Posts You May Have Missed This Past Year
To Our Red River Paper Blog Visitors This past year has been a tumultuous one with big news stories breaking almost daily and folks scrambling to re-arrange their schedules each time new Covid guidelines were announced. We’ve picked some great posts for your reading pleasure in case you missed them the first time around. All of us at Red River Paper wish you… A Happy, Prosperous and Healthy New Year! Nikola...
New Photo Project Book Really Delivers!
By Albert Chi— Despite its quirky title, this new photo book by Chris Gatcum will introduce you to a plethora of projects, allowing you to achieve creative mastery of the digital photography medium…stuff you’ve always wanted to do but never quite figured out how. The subtitle of the book is “52 weekly projects to make you a better photographer” but don’t mistake this for the usual run-of-the-mill book of its kind; it’s way better. The...
Favorite Photo Places: The Great Smoky Mountains
By Ron Wolfe and Will Keener— To be sure, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a place for all seasons, but autumn is especially spectacular! The park’s allure is particularly strong in the fall, as Mother Nature uncovers yet another set of delights. There’s a reason that photo workshops, pros, and enthusiasts all head for these mountains in the late days of October and early November. It’s also a time when the park sets...
Kodak’s Coloramas Still Resonate 30 Years Later
By Arthur H. Bleich— Back in the 1950s I used to take the subway from Brooklyn (where I lived) into Manhattan (“The City”) to go to concerts, museums and other attractions and also made frequent trips for art and music lessons and nighttime fun. Parts of my borough were still semi-rural; just a decade earlier, cows grazed nearby my home. As I grew up all the excitement, except for the Brooklyn Dodgers, was across the river. It took...
Back To Basics: Quick ‘n Easy Print Framing!
By Peter E. Randall— Based on nearly sixty years of experience, I believe there are two major elements to photography. The first part is the making of an image, whether on film, digital or smartphone. The other aspect is what to do with it. Today, internet programs such as Instagram or Facebook appear to be the prime destinations for digital images. This may be momentarily satisfying, but it does nothing for the long-term appreciation...
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