Forget the flash

Which, in my mind, totally obliterates all the magic. Given the choice, I’ll Almost Always pick a slightly blurred shot over A Far-More-Flattened, significantly brighter, photo.

Simply steady your camera or yourself against a tree, post, rock or table/anything sturdy... Turn off the auto flash on "point and shoot" models, crank up the ISO if that's an option and fire away. For additional stability, use your camera’s timing device and/or a mini tripod.

So here are some of my favorite hand-held photographs. Know that I took a LOT of pictures to score a keeper. I'll add several stabilizing devices, such as tripods I use, on the product page.