Using a natural frame can dramatically improve your compositions, and it's a technique that I use quite often in my photography. While 'working a scene' I will try a variety of compositional techniques. I don't usually start by using a natural frame, but there are many cases where adding that frame improves the overall look that I'm trying to capture. Here is a case in point;
It was a beautiful June morning with a bit of mist hanging in the air. I took the short drive from my home to a meadow with an old barn in it, thinking this would be the perfect location. It certainly had potential. For my first shot I created a simple composition - grasses in the foreground, the barn in the distance and the early morning sun illuminating the mist hanging over the field.
​Click!  

Now this image I liked!  ​And it’s in large part due to the natural frame.

Disclosure: I am an Olympus Visionary and as such, receive compensation from Olympus America. However, no compensation was paid for this review. I endorse their products because I truly believe in the quality of their gear. ​

As a person who loves photographing wildlife, one of the most important tools in my bag is my super-telephoto lens - the M.Zuiko 300mm f/4 PRO. This gives me an equivalent focal length of 600mm when compared to full frame. For many situations that can be ample reach. But there are certainly times where you want to extend that reach and really pull in your subject. That's when a good teleconverter can come in handy. Until recently there was only one option from Olympus, the MC-14, a 1.4x converter that would bring the focal length to 420mm. Over the past couple of years I have used that teleconverter countless times to extend my reach and have been very happy with it. But even with that, there are times when I want my "go go gadget arm" to reach even farther. Enter the new MC-20 2x teleconverter. 

Every photographer looks at a new camera release and asks, "Does this new model come with significant improvements from what I currently own, and does it suit my style and budget?" With the announcement of Olympus' new flagship model, the E-M1X, I was curious as to how well it fit my style as a nature photographer who primarily shoots landscapes and wildlife. Although designed to meet the needs of almost any style of photographer I wanted to provide "a natural perspective". 
Before I get into any details, I must provide an important qualifier. This is not a technical review. It is a 'first impressions' write-up with some supporting details and a lot of comparison to the E-M1 Mark II.

I have a love-hate relationship with winter. I won't get into why I hate winter (too cold, short days, high heating bills, driving sucks... okay, so I got into it a bit). For photography however, I love winter. Once the autumn leaves hit the ground and everything looks dull and grey, I find myself dreaming of winter. There's nothing like a fresh blanket of snow to brighten up a landscape scene. And that same landscape can look quite different from day to day considering how variable the weather and lighting can be during the winter. 

Is winter photography really any different from that of other seasons? Yes, and no. The basics of landscape photograph apply regardless of the season, but my approach and preparedness can be different in the winter. Here are some tips that might help you improve your winter compositions;

One of the most common questions that I get as a photographer is how to properly shoot the moon. That question seems to pop up quite regularly - once per month in fact, when the moon is full. People love photographing the full moon, but once the event is over there seems to be far less interest in capturing our closest neighbour. I certainly understand this thinking. The full moon, especially when it is rising, can be an impressive (and somewhat challenging) subject to photograph. 

As a landscape photographer I am always looking for interesting ways to present a scene. And like most, I work primarily during the two bookends of the day - the golden hours. But, as someone who also enjoys astrophotography, I have discovered that I can extend my landscape opportunities by shooting under the light of the moon.
​The following tips might help with your own 'after-hours' landscape photography.

 The Story Behind the Photo
In the back corner of my photographic brain there's a room called the Idea Factory. It's right beside the CEO's office, where ideas are accepted or rejected, and down the hall from Shipping and Receiving, where ideas wait to be executed (that's executed as in 'carried out', not 'shot in front of a firing squad'). The idea for this photograph was born three years ago and just sat on the shelf. The Logistics and Design division needed to fully develop the idea, but the real delay came from the brain cells in the Motivation Department. They sat around working on easier concepts. Lazy bums! 
About a year before this idea was created I became interested in astrophotography, something that I had no previous experience with. It didn't take long before I developed a real love and comfort level with it. Most people spend very little time looking at the night sky or, because of the urban environment in which they live, can't see much of it anyway. Living in a dark sky region of the country, I have always been fascinated by the night sky. I wanted to create a concept photograph that showed my comfort level, and how much our modern society is oblivious to the natural beauty of the night sky. 

An Amazing Photo Walk
As an Olympus Visionary I regularly have the opportunity of meeting like-minded photographers in order to explore new areas as part of a photo walk. Usually the walks last for a couple of hours and are relatively close to the store that is hosting the event. On July 8th I had the pleasure of being part of an incredible event in Banff National Park in Alberta. 
Sponsored by The Camera Store and Olympus America we departed Calgary at 1 p.m. and visited numerous scenic locations with the 14 participants. Later in the day we also had an amazing meal in the heart of Banff. 

Photo walks can be a great way to explore an area, socialize with other photographers and engage in some two-way learning. On June 22 and 23, I had the opportunity to lead two photo walks sponsored by Olympus and Henry's Cameras. The first was through the historic Distillery District in Downtown Toronto, while the second was at beautiful Riverwood Park in Mississauga. They each had about a dozen photographers in attendance, and one person decided to attend both. 

Olympus recently provided a major firmware update to the E-M1 Mark II, their flagship camera. As part of that update they have included built-in fisheye compensation for the m.Zuiko 8mm f/1.8 PRO. I'm a real fan of this lens, using it quite regularly for landscape and astrophotography. Whenever I pick it up I recognize that I am going to have to deal with the obvious distortion that comes with a fisheye lens. Well, now I don't have to. 
The new compensation feature helps turn the 8mm lens from a typical fisheye lens into a rectilinear one. When engaged, the fisheye compensation generates a full resolution jpeg image that emulates a rectilinear lens. As such, two images are recorded, the corrected jpeg, and the original, uncorrected RAW file. 

The m.Zuiko 12-100mm f/4 PRO

Disclosure: I am an Olympus Visionary and as such, receive compensation from Olympus America. However, no compensation was paid for this review. I endorse their products because I truly believe in the quality of their gear. ​

No matter how many lenses you own, chances are that you have one or two that you end up reaching for more than the others in your bag. As a long time Olympus shooter I own most of the micro 4/3 lenses on the market today, and I use many of them quite regularly depending on the situation. That being said, I am finding that the new m.Zuiko 12-100mm f/4 PRO is spending a lot more time attached to my camera than any other lens. It has become my workhorse lens, for a number of important reasons.

Overview
The 12-100mm is a constant aperture f/4 lens that measures 116.5mm long by 77.5mm in diameter with a 72mm filter thread. Like all Olympus PRO lenses it has a programmable lens function button, a manual focus clutch and is weather-sealed, meaning it is splash proof, dust proof, and freeze proof.  It has 17 elements in 11 groups with high quality construction and the Z nano coating to reduce glare. Perhaps most impressive is the 5-axis Sync image stabilization that works in tandem with the in-body image stabilization of the OM-D E-M1 Mark II to produce up to 6.5 stops of IS.