Jeff G

I’m excited to announce and share the launch of my website with new design and format!

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My website has new features and photos.

• I curated and started all new photo galleries and content.
• For standard prints & products, you can access my Fine Art America website content by going to the ‘SHOP’ menu.
• I added a blog section to share ‘News & Thoughts‘ and cross-post my Medium.com photography-related articles.
• There is a new function to inquire about any photos in the gallery if you’d like a custom size.

My site has come along way from my first website in 2000 where I wrote the html code to a more recent one I made it in WordPress.

This latest version was prepared by professionals more fluent than me with the latest tools. I decided to focus on my photography and content over web design and coding!

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Take a look and let me know what you think!

I’m looking forward to growing my online gallery, photos for purchase, and blog posts.

Enjoy life & take care,

-Jeff

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Copyright © 2026 Jeff Goetz. All Rights Reserved.

Lead Photo by Nick Iliasov on Unsplash

Originally Published on Medium.com, 25-Nov-2025.

Edited for website posting. All images © Jeff Goetz.

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Have you ever photographed a meteor shower!?

I haven’t yet (hence, the Unsplash cover photo), but I’m about to give it a try in December.

When I visited Big Bend National Park in April (reference my trip preparation article here), one of the workshops I attended was with National Parks at Night (NPAN), which was focused on using the PhotoPills app.

As part of the PhotoPills app, you can see when meteor showers are active and their location in the sky based on your location — that is totally cool!

As part of the workshop module on meteor showers, it was highlighted that the mid-December 2025 Geminids meteor shower would be one of the biggest (if not the biggest) meteor showers of the year. The ‘meteors per hour’ (met/h) forecast is off the charts compared to other meteor showers.

Note that there are meteor showers occurring regularly throughout the year. However, with intensities of 0.3 to 6.7 meteors per hour (met/h), or similar, they just don’t compare to the Geminids in December that will peak at ~150 met/h with a sustained period of 119 to 104 met/h over nearly 3 hours. Read that again, that’s an average of nearly 1.7 to 2+ meteors per minute if spread equally across the hour. And, we know where to look to see and photograph them — that is totally cool, did I mention that!?

Even before we left Big Bend, several workshop attendees agreed we would try to get together in December to use our newfound knowledge and photograph the meteor shower.

Our group of four has been reduced to two, but we are going, and the detailed planning has begun!

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Using PhotoPills: Where To Find The Geminids

Screenshot from PhotoPills (iPad version). Image by Author.

Notes:

1. The iPad app is much easier to use than the phone app when planning a shoot. The larger screen provides a cleaner interface to see the data.
2. I’m referring in this article to some key PhotoPills features and data. I’m not providing detailed PhotoPills instructions or steps. Please use the references at the end of the article if you want to know more.

Picking a meteor shower

On the bottom left, you can see the different meteor showers and their intensities. The Geminids are our target for this trip. Look at that meteor per hour meter bar (the blue lines) — it’s maxed out! Here’s a zoomed view:

Image by Author. Screen clip from PhotoPills iPad app.

Based on the meteor shower data above, select a day and your location to shoot. You can see by the top left screen grab that I chose mid-December and the Chiricahua National Monument. My photo buddy lives in Arizona, not far from there, so it’s a great reason to visit a friend and explore some dark skies!

Image by Author. Screen clip from PhotoPills iPad app.

Peak Meteors Per Hour

Press enter or click to view image in full size

Image by Author. Screen clip from PhotoPills iPad app.

Plans are made, and we are meeting up for 3–4 days for some night photography, meteor shower shots, and talking shop about photography and life. Our meteor shower shoot will be Saturday, 13-DEC night and into the morning of 14-Dec. You can see above that the intensity is quite high throughout this period.

The Challenges

We were all excited — ‘Ah, great! We’ll meet in Arizona to capture one of the biggest meteor showers this year. Awesome, see you there!’ — but there are two challenges.

Challenge #1 — Azimuth, Elevation (Altitude) & Foreground

Press enter or click to view image in full size

Image from Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azimuth

Using PhotoPills, I adjusted the timeline to create a table and determine the Geminids’ location and intensity over the peak night.

Note: PhotoPills uses ‘Elevation’ in place of ‘Altitude’ shown in the Wikipedia graphic above.

Here’s what I found:

Table data taken from PhotoPills. Image by Author.

Do you see the challenge?

With Earth’s movement and the Geminids’ movement, the meteor shower placement in the sky moves from East to West throughout the night. It’s on a trajectory that puts it going directly overhead from East (azimuth of 77–80 degrees) to West (azimuth towards 280 degrees). At its peak, it’s essentially directly overhead.

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I know I’m being selfish by wanting to capture the peak meteor shower. But, look at the ‘low’ numbers of 37–90 met/hr in the earlier dark hours. That’s still way higher than many meteor showers throughout the year. That’s my backup plan (that we will shoot first). It may be the primary plan if we get too tired through the night!

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With night photography, you typically want and need some form of foreground to anchor your photo. The foreground helps pull the viewer’s eyes through the scene and up to the sky. With the peak nearly directly overhead, that makes it difficult to have any foreground.

To find some interesting foreground options, I used Google Maps and the street view feature. Surprisingly, Google has actually mapped some of the trails so you can see the views. We identified some potential foregrounds, such as the one below. Press enter or click to view image in full size

Screenshot from Google Maps, street view. Chiricahua National Monument.

A daytime reconnaissance trip with PhotoPills handy will definitely be needed to confirm our locations before we go out in the dark.

You would typically get your camera set up before blue hour so you can get some foreground photos to blend with your night photos. With the meteor shower moving through the night, that’s a challenge with one camera.

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My Proposed Solution: Two Cameras

I think I’m going to bring two cameras and tripods, so I can have each set up prior to blue hour to get foreground shots in the East and West, and leave them set.

Set-up #1

My East-facing camera (Nikon Z8) will use a 10mm ultrawide angle lens, I intend to rent or buy, so I can get as much foreground and directly overhead views as possible.

With the 10mm field of view (circa 121.76 degrees in portrait mode — PhotoPills tells you these values, by the way!), I will determine when on-site if I’m getting enough of the peak meteor shower with the foreground, or if I need to rotate the camera nearly vertical after a certain time to just capture the peak meteor shower rate with an open sky and no foreground.

Set-up #2

My West-facing camera (astro-modified Nikon D800) will use my 14–24mm wide-angle lens (at 14mm with a 104.1 degree field of view) with some limited foreground. It will remain in place without movement after I get it set up. In post-processing, I will adjust my white balance and other settings to account for the additional light the D800 will get since it’s astro-modified — or I’ll consider renting another Z8 to avoid having to mess with those additional steps — to be determined.

Challenge #2 — Weather

Well, with all the planning and details outlined above, the other big challenge is the one I can’t do anything about — the weather.

Here’s hoping the weather will be clear and dry skies those nights. Fingers crossed.

Looking at historical data for this area in mid-December, history favors us having clearer skies.

We’ve done the planning. Wish us luck!

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Regardless of the weather and photos we capture, I’m looking forward to getting out of the city and into some dark skies with photo friends — it is a form of therapy for me being out in nature like that.

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How about you? Will you be out to catch the Geminids in December? Have any tips for me? I’d love any and all guidance to hopefully get some great results! Let me know in the comments below.

Enjoy Life and Thanks for Reading,

-Jeff

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References:

The National Parks at Night (NPAN) guys are a fantastic resource. I have participated in their workshops, conferences (in-person and online), and one-on-one guidance sessions.

Here are the references I’m using, along with PhotoPills and Google Maps, as part of my prep for my meteor shower trip. I’d rather give full credit to the folks who prepared this concise, excellent information, rather than summarize and have someone assume I created it. Check out these three-part blog posts and consider buying the eBook listed in the links below. (Note: These are not affiliate links.)

Part 1:Using PhotoPills to Scout Meteor Showers

Part 2: How to Photograph a Meteor Shower

Part 3: How to Process a Meteor Shower Radiant

eBook: Meteor Shower Guide

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Copyright © 2025 Jeff Goetz. All Rights Reserved.

Originally Published on Medium in the Full Frame publication. To read more of my writing on medium, click here.

Choosing Process, Intention, and Presence Over Convenience

Originally Published on Medium.com, 10-Nov-2025.

Edited for website posting. All images © Jeff Goetz.

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Okay, I admit it. My iPhone 17Pro’s cameras are pretty darn good. The phone app’s algorithms usually create great photos.

You can look on Instagram and quickly find folks sharing photos made on their phones that can rival the results from a full-function stand-alone camera.

Use the camera app’s advanced functions or third-party camera apps, and you can do so much with your phone camera that one may question why you would get your full camera gear out of the bag — or even take it on your trip.

There’s a time and place for both tools, and here are my reasons why I find my ‘big camera’ is my first choice for photography.

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I love taking photos. In both my photography and my writing, I find a common underlying theme or pattern: process. Hey, I’m an engineer at heart; we like processes and controls.

When I think about the process to achieve something, I have a mental checklist:

• Goals — What am I trying to achieve? In photography, why am I taking this photo? What am I trying to convey? How am I helping the viewer feel like they were there?
• Be intentional and focused; stay on point and don’t get distracted. In photography, I’m thinking about composing the photo frame and the feeling you want to capture.
• Think fundamentals. It’s amazing how many tips and ‘hacks’ show you a shortcut, but what you often need is to focus on the fundamentals. When you start with photography fundamentals, it helps you compose the photo to achieve your intentions and goals. Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO all play primary roles. But the thought process can extend out to the use of accessories to capture the best possible photo: lens choice, tripod, remote shutter release, lens filters, pano-head attachment, star tracker, lighting (natural and artificial), etc. Addressing fundamentals helps keep me grounded, versus chasing the latest Lightroom preset or other ‘hack’.
• Perform the task. Press the shutter button, check your work (exposure, highlights, focus, histogram, etc.), then revise and repeat, as necessary.
• Look for the next goal.

Stepping through the process to set up for your photo is much like ‘mise en place’ when cooking. With preparation, the activity goes smoothly and will be more satisfying. You’ll get more right in camera, instead of ‘just fixing it in post.’

This process helps me slow down. That’s a huge benefit for me. When I’ve been in a rush, I’ve had my share of photo mistakes that I find when I get home. When I slow down, I don’t forget key points (like ensuring my camera settings are not the ‘leftovers’ from the last shot or location).

Another added benefit is that I find I take fewer photos; I plan the shot, take the shot, take a few variations, and then move on. That’s a huge plus in my mind, as it’s too easy to just keep shooting with digital cameras. Coming home with 20–40 photos taken with intention is much better than coming home with 400–600 photos that seem to blur together.

More than mitigation against technical errors and managing disc storage, using the process above and taking my time helps me be more present in the moment to appreciate the photography environment and think about the result I’d like to achieve. I can achieve a state of ‘flow’ where I’m in the zone and time is not on my mind.

Thankfully, my wife is patient and supportive of my photography. I feel guilty when she’s waiting on me while I’m taking photos, but she has never rushed me and has always said to take my time. I’m a very lucky man.

In a world where folks can be constantly trying to do more, be more, get more, etc., I think looking selectively for quality over quantity can be more satisfying.

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Yes, there is a time and place to pull out your phone and take photos. I still do my share of phone snaps. But for me, getting out my real camera helps slow me down, be in the moment, walk through a process, and be intentional and deliberate to obtain photographs that can have a larger purpose than just posting online or being left on the cloud storage.

And, I often still pull out my phone to grab a photo of the scene I’m capturing with my camera. It can help visualize your goals with the main camera.

In a way, I equate this to my fishing experience; I may not always catch a fish, but I sure enjoy being out there and soaking up the environment! Sometimes, I come home with a trophy. Regardless, I enjoy the experience.

Enjoy Life and Thanks for Reading,

-Jeff

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Copyright © 2025 Jeff Goetz. All Rights Reserved.

Originally Published on Medium in the Full Frame publication. To read more of my writing on medium, click here.

Self-reflections, goals, and being honest with yourself.

Originally Published on Medium.com, 01-Oct-2025.

Edited for website posting. All images © Jeff Goetz.

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I joined Instagram two or three years ago to keep an eye on my teenage son when he joined. I had no plans to post anything — and I didn’t. Doomscroller? Nope, I rarely even opened the app.

Then, I retired from engineering, and my wife suggested I start posting my photography as it could be fun and perhaps there would be a way to monetize it in the future, such as affiliate links or selling prints. So, in December 2024, I made my first Instagram post.

As you can see from my stats above, I’m not exactly a prolific user.

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Fast forward to summer 2025, and my wife asked me,

“Why are you posting to Instagram?”

Huh?! I thought we talked about this. But, she wasn’t asking me ‘why’ so much as

“What are your goals?”

That question and its answer are what keep me focused on how I try to use social media and the internet.

If you’re honest with yourself when answering this question, it can help you set your expectations and the effort level you put into it.

Read on for my thoughts and answer.

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The Beginning

Initially, I had grand ideas of building a following and using affiliate links to share products I liked to earn commissions. I signed up for Amazon’s Affiliate program, being totally ignorant of their requirements. I’d just figure it out.

After my initial period, they shut me down, and rightfully so. I was not even close to meeting their requirements. I posted a few photos, and I had my Medium writing (on a similar follower count). I was nowhere near what Amazon expected.

Had I read the terms before signing up, I wouldn’t have even bothered. Chalk that up to one more person signing up for something online without reading the user agreement!

Talk about crashing to reality. Ouch.

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Today’s Reality: My Observations On Instagram

There’s a little bit of everything on Instagram. Here’s my two-minute summary.

The Good

By keeping the folks I follow focused on a few key interests, my Instagram feed is fairly clean of nonsense. I clear my browsing history periodically to avoid sprawl. And, I discovered the ‘not interested’ button and I’m not afraid to use it!

I like posting photos that others may also appreciate or like. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a small bit of validation when folks like a photo. It’s nice to feel appreciated. Comments are even better to see what folks think. So far, no trolls have entered my comment area.

I like connecting with fellow photographers and enjoy seeing their work. It’s great to get new ideas for my own projects.

I like learning photography techniques and post-processing methods — color grading seems like a trend for posts right now, along with Lightroom Classic presets to achieve different looks.

I like the advertisements and promotions for various photography gear and software. However, I am not quick to buy anymore. I have plenty and need more time mastering what I have.

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The Bad

It’s too easy to doomscroll on Instagram, and those few Earth minutes turn into Venus minutes. I admit I’ve sat down ‘for five minutes’ to check in on Instagram before starting another task, only to find I spent 30 minutes doomscrolling with nothing to show for it. Ugh.

It’s also too easy to push yourself to try to compete for people’s attention and clicks if you let it. I do want to share content regularly so folks may see things they like, but I was grateful when a friend told me about scheduling posts.

Now, when I’m ready to post something, I’ll schedule two or more posts to occur on certain days. Folks get to see some content regularly, and I’m not stuck logging in to post every day or so. That’s a cool feature I need to use more often.

To tackle doomscrolling, I no longer look at it before bedtime (hello Venus minutes), and I removed the app from my phone. I think by removing it from my phone, I treat the Instagram app on my iPad as a tool to do my uploads and check-ins, but not so readily available.

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The Ugly

A fellow photographer recently posted a video highlighting this new product he bought. He is a super nice guy, but his video was painful to watch. I felt bad for him.

I realized that could be me. I’m not much of a salesman, so I doubt I would build a rapport with viewers where they would flock to buy whatever I was promoting. So, affiliate links are likely not my thing.

That’s easy to say now, as I am nowhere close to meeting the Amazon affiliate program requirements. I don’t see myself going that route, but never say ‘never’.

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And My Goal?

My goal is to share my portfolio with folks who appreciate my photography and may eventually purchase a print, card, or product.

I’d like to generate annual revenue that exceeds my modest expenses to make a profit. That’s going to take time, as I’m picky about what I post for sale, and online is a competitive space. Thankfully, I have time to reach this goal, and I’m enjoying the journey.

Steps I’m taking towards my goal:

1. I’m reviewing my catalog of over 76,000 digital photos I’ve taken since 2001 to find photographs worthy of sharing. I’m being picky, so I think the ones worth sharing will be from the last few years or so.
2. I’m continuing to take photos I like.
3. I post when I have time. I have my day job (husband & father). Photography is part-time right now.
4. I’m posting photos, usually with a short story to share why I took the photo. Perhaps it helps the viewer feel like they are present in the moment when I took the photo.
5. I am being intentional and deliberate in my photography, and as mentioned, I’m being picky about what I share.

Much like my Medium writing, I post photos when I feel like I have something to share, not to meet a quota. I’m not following a frequency of posting to get the algorithm to share my work.

I won’t go ‘viral’, but you’ll see something genuine.

Hopefully, you like it. Maybe you smile or pause to enjoy it a bit longer. Perhaps, you’ll buy a print.

Either way, I’m good with that.

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And what about you? Why do you share your photos online?

Being honest with yourself about expectations and goals can help you enjoy the process more than stressing over likes, comments, and follows. I found that to be true with Instagram and also Medium articles.

If you’re a photographer, keep pressing that shutter button!

Enjoy Life and Thanks for Reading,

-Jeff

This article is a bit ‘cart before the horse’ from a marketing perspective since my website update is ongoing now and my Fine Art America site is still being populated. So be it. But, if you’re interested in my work, check out my Fine Art America site and my Instagram site.

On each of those platforms, just like Medium, you can follow me or comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Originally Published on Medium in the Full Frame publication. To read more of my writing on medium, click here.

Copyright © 2025 Jeff Goetz. All Rights Reserved.

Originally Published on Medium.com, 15-Jul-2025.

Edited for website posting. All images © Jeff Goetz.

Summer vacation photo. People walking in Paris. © Jeff Goetz. Do not use without permission.

Not in Your Photographer Happy Place?

Are you a photographer who leans towards a certain type of photography (landscape, sports, flowers, portraits, cityscapes, macro, cars, etc.) and find that you feel a little Jackson Browne* where you’re not getting enough time for your photography craft?

(* You know? His song, “The Load Out” where he says “the only time that seems too short is the time that we get to play”.)

Man, I feel that way so often. I love night photography, and I live in Houston, Texas. Light pollution is not my friend.

I’d rather be out in full Lionel Richie mode (‘all night long’) with my night photography in the middle of a Bortle 1 sky.

For me, that’s not going to happen without some planning and effort.

I’m sure there’s a t-shirt somewhere that says, “I’d rather be shooting star trails and Milky Way”. I may buy it if I find it.

My Story and Our Summer Vacation

When I open Instagram and see folks’ photos who are out there regularly getting the night shots I’d love to have, it’s easy to feel anxious and desperate to get out to dark skies.

Knowing it’s not practical to get those shots can be frustrating.

Our summer family vacation and annual pilgrimage back to the UK to visit family & friends didn’t help. The sun never set lower than 18 degrees below the horizon, so it was never dark.

My brain was in ‘family vacation’ mode. I wasn’t thinking about getting out to shoot some local places for photography’s sake.

It probably doesn’t help that I lived in Scotland on three different occasions, totaling about six years, so I’ve seen my share of Scotland already.

From visits and living there, I have plenty of Scotland photos from the last thirty years — many of them of the same locations. But I had tunnel vision and a lack of inspiration as we were on a family vacation.

Then my mother-in-law shared some photos with me from her local photography group’s outing to Tarlair — there’s a cool rock arch next to the open-air swimming pool. It was something new; I hadn’t heard of it before.

I was inspired!

After that, I did some web searches for local sites of interest. Over the next three days, I did short driving tours around the northeast of Scotland.

In all, I returned home with over 55GB of photos between my phone and Nikon Z8.

I’m looking forward to post-processing and sharing more photos on Instagram for folks to enjoy. Here’s my photo looking through the arch. It’s called the Needle’s Eye.

Needle’s Eye Arch, Tarlair, Scotland. © Jeff Goetz. Do not use without permission.

I know it may sound silly or selfish to say I wasn’t inspired to take photos when on vacation in Scotland. My mindset was in the wrong headspace.

Here are my suggestions if you feel uninspired about your photography or unable to focus on your photography interests.

Embrace What is in Front of You

As you might sense from my recent experience, I’m writing this article for me as much as for you.

We can all use reminders and encouragement.

Find local inspiration — whether that’s in your home, neighborhood, city, or state.

What would a tourist to your area visit that you haven’t visited yet for yourself? Find it.

See how other photographers are framing their photos. Take those photos and then figure out your perspective and composition.

Try some new topics. Full Frame has its annual photo project.

There may be a local photography group that can also give ideas and inspiration with their own projects and photowalks.

Get out there and take some photos!

It doesn’t matter if it’s with your mobile phone camera or your full setup. It’s probably better to try both cameras. I may take an initial photo on my phone to help with composition and confirm I want to take a photo on my Z8.

Try some techniques and subjects outside your wheelhouse; you may discover new skills, interests, or ideas to apply to other areas.

I get it. Finding the time can be a challenge. Life is busy.

I know I have a renewed enthusiasm and plan to shoot cityscapes and other local sites. Who knows, perhaps this will become another niche for me since it’s at my back door?

Above all else, get out there and keep pressing that shutter button!

Enjoy Life and Thanks for Reading,

-Jeff

If you are interested in following my photography journey, please follow me on Instagram. Click here to view my Instagram account.

Lastly, thank you to Rodrigo S-C for his feedback on my last article and guidance to check my drafts through Grammarly or similar. With my head lowered in a bit of shame, he told me he found my last article ‘lit up like a Christmas tree’ when he checked it. Hey, I’m a retired engineer; I know grammar isn’t my forte and I aspire to improve. I used Grammarly this time, but I didn’t accept all their recommendations as I think some of my voice would be lost. I did accept the highlighted grammar corrections. Hopefully, I found the right balance with this article.

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Copyright © 2025 Jeff Goetz. All Rights Reserved.

Originally Published on Medium in the Full Frame publication. To read more of my writing on medium, click here.

Originally Published on Medium.com, 05-Dec-2024.

Edited for website posting. All images © Jeff Goetz.

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Wide or tall prints just fascinate me! Why should we be limited to 3:2 or other standard or traditional ratios?!

It’s a great feeling of being pulled into a photograph — to feel like you’re there and part of the moment. It’s inspiring. I’ve had that experience with several photos in my life, but I find it happens more with panorama photos. For years, I’ve taken photos to stitch into panoramas to capture a broader view and moment. And, I may be addicted to them.

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Hi, I’m Jeff and I’m a Panorama Addict.

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I’ve made extra wide ones like the one below that is mounted above my bed at home. It’s eight photos stitched together.

Lochan na H-Achlaise, Rannoch Moor, Scotland. © Jeff Goetz. Do not use without permission.

It is about 8 feet wide and 20 inches tall. It’s a view of a lochan (small lake) in Rannoch Moor, Scotland and I feel like I’m still there when I look at the photo each morning.

It’s a wonderful feeling as it was a great day and I know my wife was standing next to me. It is just a great memory.

I’ve done extra tall ones for vertical panoramas, like the one below. It is a set of six photos stitched together. It’s 2 feet wide and 5 feet tall.

I’ve taken so many photos and made panoramas with them, but only a few are printed. Wall space (and costs) are a premium so choosing prints wisely is definitely recommended.

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My wife told me to slow down as she doesn’t want our house to look like a gallery. Personally, I don’t see what’s wrong with that. Having said that, we do try to get a piece of art (painting, sculpture or other piece) as a memento for places we visit, so I understand. But, the photos sure call out to me.

How do I make them?

I regularly use Adobe Lightroom Classic and Photoshop and they have panorama stitching functions that work fine. But I moved on to PTGUI (click here to check it out) as it has more features to create control points to ensure the stitched pictures are well aligned.

Panorama Photos – Daily Opportunities

While vacations and photo shoots using your full camera gear can give unique opportunities, let’s not forget the panoramas you can make directly with the camera you likely have with you all the time – your phone camera – both horizontal and vertical panoramas.

I make those all the time. I have an iPhone and the latest camera app has options for panorama photos using each lens with different focal lengths.

It’s so easy to take 3 or 4 different panorama shots using the different phone camera lens magnifications. I usually take a full view as wide or as tall as possible with each lens. Afterwards, I’ll look at each photo and decide if the composition will look better with only a certain portion of the panorama or the whole thing, and which focal length works best.

Here’s one from a visit to the Louvre in Paris. It was a quick handheld shot taken with my phone, so pardon the atrium roof squiggles.

Louvre Gallery in Paris. © Jeff Goetz. Do not use without permission.

I think I’m addicted, but there are some great pictures that the panorama format just calls out to me. Panorama photos are one of my favorite ways to capture a moment or place. With a good crop and selection, panorama photos are great!

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Key Takeaway

Panorama photos are a great way to capture a location and moment with a larger (wider or taller) than the normal photo aspect ratios. The composition options are nearly endless.

By choosing how many photos you want to stitch together (and how many rows), you can create some fantastic memories and shots.

Using different lens and range of angular view, some great shots can be found.

When/where to try panoramas?

I take panorama photos for most all scenes I’m photographing. It’s so easy to rattle off a few shots (or phone pan shot). It can give you so much flexibility in post-processing to stitch them together and create a great image.

Don’t forget to use different focal lengths to change the perspective of the photos. Give yourself options to choose the best one in post.

Background desktop slideshows

I love the current trend of extra-wide computer monitors, so having a slideshow of my favorite panorama pics as my background is a great way to see and enjoy them. Quick tip: use the neutral gray color for the background of unused screen view space.

Don’t forget to print them

If you have the wall space, think about some panoramas you’d like to put there. Be patient. My hallway vertical panorama photo was years in the making. I knew I wanted a taller print there. Initially, I thought it might be an Eiffel Tower print, but my family and I love to go snow skiing and the mountain view I took is a ski slope we’ve all been down many times, so it’s a great memory for us all.

Choose the right medium (aluminum, acrylic, canvas, framed photo print) that helps the print ‘pop’ and is within your budget.

Use a measured hand when printing, it is not an inexpensive task! The end product is fantastic. My wife and I chose our prints and spent a bit more money for them with the rationale that it was still cheaper than purchasing gallery art and we were getting prints that (1) I took the photos and (2) were memories for our family.

I hope you find the prints you love to see regularly and put them on your walls, screen savers and backgrounds to enjoy them everyday!

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Keep taking photos! You never know which one will surprise you, capturing a moment you’ll appreciate for a lifetime.

Enjoy Life and Thanks for Reading,

-Jeff

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Copyright © 2024 Jeff Goetz. All Rights Reserved.

Originally Published on Medium in the Full Frame publication. To read more of my writing on medium, click here.