"Lilac Breasted Roller"
Canon 1Ds MKIII with 400mm DO lens wide open
Introduction
One of the questions I get asked the most is : Why are my pictures not sharp?
Sometimes, the question is asked by budding photographers that have bad habits, like using flimsy tripods and no mirror up mode in their SLR's. Other times, however, the question comes from experienced photographers that have excellent technique and very good equipment.
Most photographers assume that the manual focus and the autofocus systems in their cameras, as well as the lenses, work to perfection, so the problem should lie somewhere else.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. It turns out that many camera systems can be out of focus at the sensor with the concurrent deterioration in image sharpness.
I was recently contacted by Michael Tapes of Michael Tapes Design. He kindly invited me to test and do a review of his latest design, the LensAlign Mk II. This new device sells for $79.95, and unlike the LensAlign Pro ($179....
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Mark Dubovoy is a well-known photographer, educator, writer and businessman.
His images are a unique combination of impeccable aesthetics, a deep love for nature and flawless technique.
His unique background, starting in the darkroom as a child, combined with a long-term career in science and technology, are clearly evident in his work. He is a master printer in many traditional and digital methods and considers printing an integral part of the creative process.
Mark’s love of the technical aspects of photography is only exceeded by his passion to reveal and document the natural landscape, the hidden beauty in objects and the personalities of wild animals. While his main area of focus is landscape photography, he has also completed a number of projects photographing the animals of Africa, rare automobiles and images of flowers.
His photographs are included in a number of private collections, as well as the permanent collections of major Museums, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Monterey Art Museum, the Berkeley Art Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in Nanao Japan and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Mexico City. His images have also been published in a number of magazines and books, including the Best of Photography Annual, International Edition.
Mark is a highly regarded technical expert in many aspects of photography. As such, he has been and continues to be an advisor, consultant and early tester for a number of manufacturers of high quality photographic products.
Mark has also been a major contributor to a number of print and online publications. He has been an instructor and a leader of photographic expeditions and workshops around the world, including places like Antarctica, Iceland, Africa, Mexico and others.
Prior to founding Photo Aesthetics, Mark was a regular contributor to PHOTO Technique magazine and Editor-at-Large of The Luminous Landscape.
Mark holds a BS degree in Physics from the National University of Mexico, and MA and Ph.D degrees in Physics from the University of California at Berkeley.
In addition to his involvement in photography, he has had a long and successful career in science, technology and early stage companies in Silicon Valley
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