Hello my friend,

Spring always seems to arrive quietly. One day the light feels the same as it did all winter, and then suddenly the days stretch a little longer and everything outside begins hinting at the season ahead. With the time change now behind us, that extra hour of evening light is finally back, which for photographers is one of the best signals that shooting season is ramping up again.

In this edition of The Morning Blaze, I’m also sharing a look at a new set of NiSi filters I’ve been testing along with the video I just released breaking down how they perform in the field. More on that below.

As always, thanks for being here. - Mark

📺 MY NEW VIDEOS

Finally! Wide Angle Filters Done Right

Ultra wide angle lenses create some of the most dramatic perspectives in landscape photography, but using filters on a bulb front element has traditionally meant oversized holders, extra adapters, and limited stacking options. It works, but it’s rarely simple. In this video, I take a closer look at a new magnetic filter kit designed specifically for ultra wide lenses, including popular Nikon and Sony 14mm options, to see if this is finally a cleaner, more practical solution.

The Focus Mistake Many Photographers Make

Most landscape photographers have heard this advice: stop down to f/11 or f/16 and focus about one third of the way into the scene to get everything sharp. Sometimes that works. But focusing one third into the frame is not the same thing as focusing one third into the scene, and that subtle difference is why so many landscape photos look sharp at first glance, yet fall apart when you zoom in. In this video, I break down how to choose the correct focus point in landscape photography without guessing.

🔓 VAULT FAVORITES

AUTO White Balance is Ruining Your Colors (Here's the Fix)

Auto White Balance might seem convenient, but it's killing your colors without you even realizing it. In this video, I’ll break down why auto white balance often fails and show you the best settings to achieve accurate, natural tones straight out of camera. In the second half, I’ll walk you through how to fix white balance in post-processing, sharing my go-to method for achieving perfect color accuracy with minimal effort. I hope you find this video helpful and as always thanks for watching.​​

📖 GOOD READS The Controversial World of Deleting Photos: Choosing the Best Method Deleting photos from your SD card may seem like a straightforward task, but in reality, it's a topic rife with controversy and varied opinions. The “potential” damage to your camera and SD card, coupled with the multitude of ways to perform this task, can be overwhelming. In this article, we'll delve into the different methods of deleting photos from your SD card, weighing the pros & cons to identify the easiest, safest, and most efficient approach. 1. Deleting Individually In-Camera: The first method involves deleting each photo individually in-camera, using the dedicated button most cameras offer for this purpose. While this may have been a common practice in the past, it is neither efficient nor advisable due to the risk of deleting valuable shots based solely on the camera's LCD screen. Plus, it would flat out take forever! 2. Transferring & Deleting with Your Computer: This method involves taking the SD card out of the camera, transferring the media to a computer, and then either using the camera's delete-all function to clear the card or manually dragging the files from the SD card to the computer's recycle bin. While these methods offer more control, they come with their drawbacks, such as accidental file dumps. >> Read More​