The Photo Focus

Focus Illustrated, January 2025

Focus Illustrated, January 2025

View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Editor’s Note: After Priscilla Wenger’s lesson came out in March 2011, Ezra Morley used her lesson as a springboard. This is a reprint of his story from...

Frosty Bubbles

Frosty Bubbles

View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Cross-polarization was used to creatively illuminate this frosty bubble. Photo © Don Komarechka. The clear globe with frost patterns caught my eye. I had...

Chasing Auroras

Chasing Auroras

View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Aurora and Milky Way above Route 574, Ohio. Photo © Steven Russell Smith. I could feel the rhythm of my heart intensify to allegro as I fired a test shot...

Shooting Star Trails to Capture Auroras

Shooting Star Trails to Capture Auroras

View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Here in Virginia, my exposure to northern lights has been rare—very few and far between. The first time we saw them, there was a huge red glow in the...

Favorite Focus, October 2024

Favorite Focus, October 2024

View the full issue in the Magazine Archive A few days ago I saw a clearwing hummingbird moth on our butterfly bush. I took a bunch of photos. This is my favorite one. Photo © Joshua Lloyd. As I...

Fall Foliage Photos Straight Ahead

Fall Foliage Photos Straight Ahead

View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Fall foliage in Hightown, VA. Photo © Shaphan Shank. Brilliant autumn foliage is straight ahead, at least we hope so. Finding a gorgeous opportunity like...

Favorite Focus, September 2024

Favorite Focus, September 2024

View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Fall foliage at Logan Canyon, Utah. Photo © Loren Auker. Red maple leaves. Photo © Laura Leid. Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Photo © Joshua...

Components of a Successful Photo

Components of a Successful Photo

View the full issue in the Magazine Archive What does it take for a photograph to be successful? That is a question that doesn’t have any one right answer. If you were able to capture a poor picture...

Favorite Focus, August 2024

Favorite Focus, August 2024

View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Daisies at sunset. Josiah Andring. Northern Mockingbird. Photo © Thomas Zimmerman. This mockingbird is a gorgeous example of separation lighting in a...

Solar Photography

Solar Photography

View the full issue in the Magazine Archive The aurora superstorm in May has captured my attention—not just the beauty of the aurora, but the beauty of the sun from which the storm originated. There...

Hindsight 20/20: Eclipse Photography

Hindsight 20/20: Eclipse Photography

View the full issue in the Magazine Archive April 8, 2024, has come and gone. Many of us had our calendars flagged on that date with “The eclipse” penciled in. Looking back, our vision is 20/20, as...

Favorite Focus, June 2024

Favorite Focus, June 2024

View the full issue in the Magazine Archive Iceberg Creek flowing out of Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park. Photo © Aaron Stalter. Photo © Riley Kropf. Photo © Ben Fehr. Barred Owl. Photo ©...