Capturing images of your travels involves many of the same techniques used when shooting other forms of outdoor photography. But there are a few extra considerations to keep in mind if you want optimum results.

What’s different about photographing out-of-town trips is the key goal of telling a story with your imagery. This way the viewer can really appreciate your excursion. While visual storytelling can be an important component of many images you shoot, it’s almost essential when documenting trips.

In the video below, a British pro reveals the tips and techniques that make his travel imagery so special. Andrew Lanxon’s work takes him to all corners of the globe, shooting everything from travel and landscape photographs to macro and more. In today’s episode he concentrates on travel—whether you’re taking a short weekend car trip, traveling across the country, or flying abroad for the vacation of a lifetime.

Lanxon’s straightforward advice is appropriate for both beginners and more experienced shooters, and doesn’t require any exotic equipment. He covers a variety of topics from finding ideal locations, how to get the job done without carrying a lot of gear, and much more.

The video begins with a discussion of equipment, and Lanxon explains how he unburdens himself with a thoughtful and minimal selection of gear. That’s so he can enjoy an excursion without a heavy pack on his back, because he prefers a nimble approach that’s particularly important when traveling with companions who just want to see the sights. Versatile zooms play a big part here, as does a fast, compact normal lens for reportage-style photos.

Lanxon say says good travel images often require capturing a moment that arrives and vanishes in a second. And that means becoming intimately familiar with a camera so you can switch settings immediately. One key task that you don’t often encounter with other forms of outdoor photography is the importance of environmental portraits, “capturing a slice of time” with local residents within the frame.

This video explains the foregoing and more, with tips and techniques that are sure to improve your skills. You can find other helpful tutorials like this, on a variety of topics, by paying a visit to Lanxon’s instructional YouTube channel.

And don’t miss the tutorial we posted from another pro recently, explaining how to shoot unique outdoor photos with lenses of uncommon focal lengths.

Copying masks from one image to another is a great way to speed up the editing process. The catch is a common problem that often occurs, and we’re going to reveal the simple solution today.

If you’ve tried to copy and paste a Sky, Subject, or Background mask in Lightroom you’ve likely noticed that the necessary options are grayed out with these types of masks. Fortunately there’s a simple solution in the tutorial below so you’ve never experience this frustration again.

This episode from image-editing expert Anthony Morganti was prompted by a question he received from one of the many subscribers to his YouTube channel Because the necessary workaround isn’t particularly intuitive, Morganti demonstrates how it’s done in just eight minutes— thereby saving you a lot of time with the future edits you make.

Five of Morganti’s images are used to explain this episode: two of the exact same scene composed differently, and three others that are completely different shots—all five of which contain global adjustments without any selective masking.

Morganti begins with the first image and makes a sky mask to add a bit of drama, intending to copy that mask to the other four photos. But as you’ll see when Morganti goes to the masking panel, certain options for copying and pasting masks are unavailable—Sky, Subject, and Background. What’s this about?

Unfortunately the three options that are grayed out are among most common masks we make, and they require a simple-but-different approach. As Morganti explains, two quick clicks are all it takes to proceed with this timesaving task.

First, after competing a mask, navigate to Lightroom’s Settings panel and choose the Copy Settings option in the dropdown men. Once you do that another panel appears with the various settings available. Because global adjustments have already been made to all five images it’s important to leave those options unchecked. Simply check the Masking box, and the problem is solved!

As you’ll see, you can only apply the original mask to one other image at a time, but once you know the trick this is fast and easy to do. After adding this technique to your Lightroom bag of tricks, head over to Morganti’s YouTube channel where you’ll find more helpful tips and tricks.

We also suggest you check out the Lightroom tutorial we posted last week, explaining a simple edit that will make your landscape photos stand out from the crowd.

Return from paradise. Those are a few words to describe my day yesterday. I left behind the breathtaking nature of Colombia and its lovely people and returned to pre-spring Europe, lovely in its own way. (I will now be able to answer your comments that have been piling up under my articles, and for which I have so rudely kept you waiting.)

Olympus just introduced a 90mm f/3.5 macro lens, and Shutterbug had a chance to give it a full workout on the new Olympus OM-1 mirrorless marvel prior to launch. Here is our evaluation and a few sample photos captured by this camera/lens combo.

Overview & First Impressions
Understand up front that the Olympus 90mm f/3.5 Macro is the equivalent of a 180mm telephoto 4X macro in 35mm terms. This fact has significant importance when evaluating depth-of-field, bokeh and camera shake. It also means that this macro lens can double as a fast telephoto, ideal for sporting events, wildlife and so forth.

The extended 90mm focal length allows macro photography at greater distances from the subject as compared to the Olympus 30mm and 60mm macros (or any other shorter focal length macro for that matter). The larger gap allows better positioning of artificial lighting and configuration of the tripod.

Despite a long ungainly name like M.Zuiko ED 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO, this exciting new Olympus lens is only 5.4 inches (136mm) long and weighs just 16 ounces (453g). The girth (2.75 inches / 69.8mm) is slim as well, as evidenced by the 62mm front filter thread. It’s nicely balanced on a Micro 4/3 body and has an exterior finish that matches the Olympus OM-1 that was used during the evaluation; in other words, it’s excellent.

Autofocus is fast and sure, and the clutch-type shift to manual focus was a key feature that allowed me to do 2X macro work more easily. AF works at that range, but if you focus by moving the camera instead of rotating the focus ring, MF is a must. The joint lens/camera image stabilization feature enabled sharp handheld closeup shots, something of a rarity for most macro setups.

Out of the box the 90mm f/3.5 macro delivered crisp, clear images of various subjects. And by engaging the extensive library of the Olympus OM-1’s legendary built-in Art Filters I was able to create some images that are unique to the brand. After my first full day of shooting I was hooked. I own a 10-year-old Olympus OM-D EM-1 with which I’ve been highly satisfied, that is until I got my mitts on the Olympus OM-1 ($1999 from Amazon).

Specifications & Key Features
This is one heck of a lens. It looks like a regular telephoto but it possesses many concealed features. A major advantage over most macro lenses, the Olympus 90mm f/3.5 macro provides 2X magnification (i.e., 2:1 instead of 1:1 macro or half-macro 1:2) which increases to 4X when used with Olympus MC-20 Teleconverter. The minimum field size is 0.34 x 0.26 inches (8.7 x 6.5mm). That’s an evocative 1/3 by 1/4 inches. Autofocus is active throughout entire macro range. Note that 2X in Micro Four Thirds equals 4X in 35mm full-frame equivalent.

The integral 5-axis image stabilization is modestly named because when used with a compatible camera body, axis synch-IS is engaged and the combo delivers up to 7 stops of shutter speed compensation.

The 90mm f/3.5 macro is also compatible with automatic focus stacking when used on a suitable Olympus camera body. When properly applied, focus stacking produces images with an expanded zone of focus. This feature is highly desirable when shooting macro at 2X.

Weather-resistant sealing of IP53 supports splashproof and dustproof performance that is further enhanced with fluorine coating on front element. Fluorine is oleophobic and hydrophobic (sheds oil and water) and helps keep the front element free of fingerprints and easier to clean. The Olympus 90mm f/3.5 macro also freezeproof down to 14° F.

For a better understanding of what “IP53” means, take a look at this Shutterbug article from way back in 2016.

Two very useful features are the familiar, customizable L-Fn function button and a slide switch that optionally limits focusing range to Super Macro, 0.25-.50 meters or 0.25 meters to infinity to make the very capable AF focus even faster.

If you don’t round up to the nearest ounce you could say the Olympus 90mm f/3.5 macro weighs less than one pound. In any case, it’s the lightest weight lens in its class and tips the kitchen scale at 15.97 ounces (453g) without lens cap, rear cap and lens hood.

Exterior Construction: Fit & Finish
Overall mechanical construction is superb. The focusing helicoid is smooth a offers just enough resistance. Build quality is as good as I’ve seen anywhere.

Optical Construction
The optical formula comprises 18 elements in 13 groups and includes 2 x SED elements, 4 x ED elements, 1 x HR elements and 1 x Super HR elements. It’s amazing that the 90mm macro weighs only one pound considering the abundance of glass.

Image Quality
No shortcomings here, the M.Zuiko ED 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO and virtually free of perceptible aberrations. Sharpness and contrast are spot on, and colors are rendered in their full natural saturation and beauty. IQ was consistent at all distances including 2X macro.

Non-Macro Applications
The Olympus 90mm f/3.5 is a telephoto lens by all measures is a suitable replacement for most 200mm f/4 applications.

At 180mm (equivalent) this Olympus macro lens creates too much feature-compression to be used as a standard portrait lens, although the published focal length of 90mm may suggest it. Of course, it can be used for portraiture, but expect some natural distortion. That said, the bokeh is excellent and neutral.

Conclusion
The Olympus 90mm f/3.5 Macro is one outstanding lens. It’s a 2X (4X with converter) Macro and a fast mid-range telephoto. It offers exceptional performance, stunning images and versatile features.

The price is steep for casual snap shooters, but it’s well worth the dollar for serious amateurs and professional photographers.

Price & Availability
The M.Zuiko ED 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO has a projected price of $1499 and will begin shipping mid-March 2023. It’s available for preorder from amazon.com as this review is written.

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