The couple married in 1953.

They were married 70 years until Lee’s passing on July 31st, 2023.   

Dean, who was born in 1927 and raised in Casper, Wyoming, initially worked for the Denver Post where he met Lee in the 1950s. There, he achieved considerable success, being named Newspaper Photographer of the Year thrice. 

However, his life took a profound turn in 1959 when National Geographic came calling. 

He and Lee were in the midst of building a home in Arvada. Lee was expecting their first child, Eric. And they had just laid the foundation for their new house.

But the couple jumped at the opportunity. 

Lee later reflected on this pivotal moment, telling Robyn Conger:

“That’s not the kind of job you turn down.”

The couple eventually purchased a home in Bethesda, Maryland outside of Washington D.C. where they raised three sons. 

After 30 years with National Geographic, he retired on September 1, 1989. Dean and Lee moved to Durango, Colorado where they built a southwest-style home, hiked, and skied.

In 2012 they moved to Bend, Oregon to enjoy their sunset years, and in 2022 they moved to The Dalles, Oregon, to be closer to family.

Kurt said his father never looked back, noting life was too interesting and inspiring to have regrets.

At the end of his life, Dean Conger was focused on one thing – reuniting with his beloved wife who had passed just five weeks earlier. 

“I’m on a final assignment to go find her,” he said in the days before his death. 

Dean is survived by his three sons – Eric, Kurt, and Chris; three grandchildren – Joel, JR, and Jenney; and great-granddaughter Serena. His legacy lives on not only through his incredible body of work but also through the love and memories shared by his family and those who were fortunate enough to know him. He will be dearly missed, and his contributions to the world of photography will forever be cherished.

Holiday season is officially upon us, and now is the time when we start searching the internet for what to buy your loved ones, friends, and family, or even a cheeky treat for yourself. In this article. I choose five items that I think are ideal for landscape photographers old and new.

Lenses

In landscape photography, there are so many options of lenses to choose from. You do not have to shoot super wide all the time, and you can even shoot with a 70-200mm or 100-400mm lens to pick out those intimate details, rather than a wide field shot. 

One lens I really enjoyed shooting with was the Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 for Sony. It is an incredibly versatile lens, which is great for that wide angle look, and it also benefits from being performing well in low-light situations such as astrophotography. Another benefit of this lens is that it is cheaper than the native Sony 16-35mm f/4.0 or G Master f/2.8 lenses.

I own the Tamron trinity of lenses, which are the 17-28mm, 28-75mm G2, and the 70-180mm. They are very lightweight and perform really well in multiple situations such as astro, landscape, portraits, and weddings. 

The cost of buying those three lenses wasn’t even as much as buying a single G Master lens, so there are good savings to be had if you are looking for a selection of affordable lenses, which are sharp, quick to focus, and perform very well. 

Tripod

I am a big fan of the 3 Legged Thing tripods, as they are sturdy and easy to use and their customer service is fantastic whenever I have had an issue (which is not often). I also just love the aesthetics and color scheme of their tripods.

The Punks range is an affordable range available in both carbon fiber and aluminum, and for this list, I have chosen the 3 Legged Thing Punks Brian 2.0 Carbon Fiber Tripod, which is an updated version of their previous Brian model. The tripod includes their updated Airhead, which is a strong ballhead with easy-to-use features. 

The Brian tripod has three removable legs, so you can create a monopod if needed for certain shooting styles. It also has three locking leg positions, so you can get really low to the ground, which is a plus for landscape photography. This tripod is very easy to clean too, which, for landscape photography, is a big plus. Often, I find myself shooting at the beach in sandy conditions and occasionally seawater, which can get in the joints.

Shutter Release

Often in landscape photography, you may want to shoot for longer than 30 seconds, which forces you to go into bulb mode. Why most modern cameras still limit us, I am not sure, but I hope all cameras will eventually allow us to set longer times in body.

For now, a shutter release of some sort is still an important accessory to own, so you can set the exposure time for your image. When shooting with neutral density filters, you may find yourself wanting to shoot a 1, 2, 5, or even a 10 minute long exposure and having a good shutter release cable will take out a lot of the hassle for you.

They are very easy to use and, for me, a must buy. For this article, I have chosen the Vello ShutterBoss II Timer Remote Switch.

Neutral Density Filters

Neutral density filters are an excellent means of creating long exposure images, and there are multiple types available for purchase. Whether you simply want to reduce the light by 2 or 3 stops or go as far as 15 stops, the options are limitless.

You can also acquire graduated filters, which darken either the upper or lower section of an image. This is especially useful for bright skies, enabling you to expose for both the sky and the foreground simultaneously.

One advantage of using filters is that you can usually capture all the necessary information in a single image, rather than relying on bracketing. However, I would still recommend learning how to bracket your images and then blending them in post-processing.

Filters come in all shapes and sizes. You can purchase circular neutral density filters and polarizers, or you can purchase the square variety in kits such as this kit: LEE Filters LEE100 Deluxe Kit.

LEE filters is a tried and trusted brand and has been popular amongst many landscape photographers and YouTube photographers around the world. There is plenty of competition out there, however, so be sure to look around for the kit you need. This kit is a good start, as it has everything you may need for a successful landscape shoot. 

Cleaning Kit

Being out and about in the elements, you are likely to accumulate some sensor dust or water droplets on the front element of your lens. These are just a natural part of being a landscape photographer, so I highly recommend adding a cleaning kit to your pack for those moments. 

While it’s very easy to remove sensor spots from an image in post-processing, it’s good practice to keep your gear as clean as possible at all times, especially before you head out. Bringing a rocket blower with me is the bare minimum when I’m on location, and I have quite a few because cleaning kits are probably the most common gift I receive in Secret Santas. The second most common gift is the Canon lens mug!

Summary

That’s my list of at least five items that would make great gifts for yourself or for a photographer you may know. Some of these items are more related to the Sony system, as that’s the system I use for my photography. However, you should be able to find the same items or equivalents for other camera systems as well.

Are you a landscape photographer? If so, what other items would you add to the list as great gifts? Please share your suggestions in the comments below.

Landscape photography is a challenging genre that requires a wide range of technical and creative skills, a lot of perseverance, and often, just a bit of luck. If you would like to improve your landscape work, check out this helpful video tutorial that features an experienced photographers sharing seven useful tips sure to put you on the track to better photos. 

Coming to you from Nigel Danson, this great video tutorial will show you seven tips sure to improve your landscape photography. Of them, the one I think that is most often overlooked is using longer focal lengths. It is natural to use a wide angle lens for landscape images, but longer focal lengths allow you to leverage effects like telephoto compression to create drama and can also simplify overly busy scenes by excluding some of the elements and creating a simpler and more direct compositions. And in a genre where just getting to the location can take a significant amount of time and effort, getting all the shots you can out of a single scene is highly beneficial. Check out video above for the full rundown from Danson. 

And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out our latest tutorial, “Photographing the World: Japan With Elia Locardi!” 

Lyn Marie Burton Walrath was born in Alexandria, Va., in April of 1974. After growing up in Huntington, W.Va., she moved to Lewes, where she graduated from Cape Henlopen High School Class of 1992. Lyn passed away at home in Harrington surrounded by family and friends in early October 2023.

Lyn is survived by her husband of 15 years, Ronald C. Walrath Jr.; her beloved mother, Ann Burton of Milford; and her loving son, Steven Burton and his wife Dana of Harrington. She was a loving stepmother to Zachary Walrath of Moyock, N.C., and Ronald C. Walrath III, currently stationed in Baumholder, Germany. Her brother, Richard A. Burton Jr. and wife Julie, are located in Port Angeles, Wash. She leaves behind her cherished nieces and nephews, Ethan, Emily, Jesse, Sean, Amanda and Sam. Lyn loved and cared for many ‘adopted’ children and friends over the years. She was preceded in death by her hero, her father, Richard A. Burton Sr.

Special thanks to medical professionals Karen and Rebecca for going above and beyond. 

Lyn was a longtime employee at Milford Walmart. She enjoyed watching her WVU Mountaineers and Dallas Cowboys march to victory. Lyn loved outdoor photography and spending time in nature. She spent much of her time listening to music and reading books. Lyn enjoyed reaching out to many friends and family on social media. 

Lyn’s celebration of life service will be held at noon, Saturday, Oct. 21, at Goshen United Methodist, 103 Mulberry St., Milton. 

In lieu of flowers, the family will be accepting donations to help defray funeral expenses. Donations can be made to Berry-Short Funeral Home, 119 NW Front St., Milford, DE 19963, 302-422-8091.

Online condolences may be sent at shortfuneralservicesandcremation.com.

The menacing grimace of a stargazer earned wildlife photographer Pietro Formis Highly Commended for Animal Portraits in the Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2023 competition. Captured in Rijeka, Croatia, it depicts a Mediterranean stargazer (Uranoscopus scaber) laying in wait on the seabed in a portrait aptly named Death In Waiting.

As ambush predators, stargazers wiggle their way into the sand until they are invisible apart from the eyes and teeth. Stargazers use a worm-like appendage on the lower lip to act as a lure for passing prey, which they will snap up like a jack-in-the-box should anybody get too close.

Getting too close is precisely what Formis needed to do, however, if he was going to secure this memorable portrait. As he told IFLScience, taking their picture isn’t so bad, but finding them? That’s a whole other issue.

“The thing that is difficult is to spot them because they are always hiding in the sand. But if you’re lucky enough to see the eyes emerging from the sea bed or maybe the little ‘tongue’ that they use to attract fishes, once you’ve spotted [these] it’s not so difficult to approach because you can get really close. If you touch them, they swim away, so you have to get close, but not too much.”

A tricky subject, then, but one that was well worth the epic game of hide-and-seek for Formis as stargazers – beyond having a face that only a mother could love – are hiding a few tricks up their sleeves when it comes to underwater living.

“For me, they are like fish with superpowers because they can release electric shocks, they are super fast-moving, and they can camouflage perfectly,” Formis told IFLScience. “It’s a really incredible animal and one that I’ve thought about many times, but this time I wanted to do something different.”

“I always want to put an atmosphere in my images, not only describing the subject but something that makes you dream about the situation. The idea was to create this double-layer image with a stony-faced ‘voodoo mask’ behind a curtain of water so that the observer feels inside the picture because you see this scary face emerging from the sand.”

Another seabed dwelling creature scooped the grand title prize for Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2023 as Laurent Ballesta’s shot of a horseshoe crab scooped first place. As Ballesta told IFLScience, for these blue-blooded living fossils, photographing them was again easier than the underwater game of hide-and-seek it took to find them.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London, and is open from October 13, 2023 until June 30, 2024.

After more wildlife? Check out the first look at Planet Earth III, out this October.

Composition is one of the trickiest parts of photography no matter what genre you shoot, but it can be especially challenging in genres in which you have no control over the placement of the elements in the environment, such as landscape photography. This great video features an experienced landscape photographer discussing some of the difficulties of composition and showing how even minor adjustments can make or break an image. 

Coming to you from Alister Benn of Expressive Photography, this awesome video discusses some of the challenges of composition in landscape photography and how small changes can make big differences. Composition is some that we all struggle with at one time or another, but if you are new to the genre, the important thing to notice is what a subtle art it is. Small adjustments are often the difference between an unbalanced photo and a harmonious frame, and they can often take a good shot to a truly compelling one. Once you have a shot generally framed up, take a few minutes to really think through all the details in the shot. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Benn.

And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out our latest tutorial, “Photographing the World: Japan With Elia Locardi!”