Jeff's Photography

Name: Jeff's Photography
Address: Lawrence, KS, 66049, US
Telephone: +17858131226

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Jeff's Photography

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God's beautiful creation and doing my small part to encourage others to partake of and help sustain our natural heritage. Without the support of my best friend and wife, Priscilla, and our three grown sons, I'd not have the time to pursue photography full time. As a lifelong learner, I love to share what I'm learning, and whether sharing a simple story about a photograph's subject or delving into the intricacies of photography, I hope you come away encouraged and enthused about the beauty of creation and the world around you. One of my mottos is: 'the only photographer you should compare yourself to is the one you used to be.'

03/15/2026

https://www.jeffmcpheeters.com/Miscellaneous/MZuiko-100-400mm-Results/n-9JTL39

I created a photo gallery of good images taken with the m.Zuiko 100-400mm f/5-6.3 lenses, both the Mark 1 and Mark 2 versions, since a lot of folks ask about them, and the original is still for sale under $1000 and often much less for pre-owned copies in excellent condition. There are no differences in image quality, but some differences involve better handling and especially with syncIS where all the IBIS 5 axis is synchronized with the lens stabilization system, makes it able to handle video and slower shutter speeds quite a bit easier when needed. But hopefully, you can see from the gallery that the ability of either lens to perform well is limited only by the photographer and good light conditions. OM System 100-400mm f/5-6.3 lens

Freelance photographer specializing event photography, fine art landscape, nature, and portraiture.

02/18/2026

https://youtu.be/6OxoqkZwmmk

I've watched much longer and in depth discussions that didn't explain this as well as Simon does here.

Check out Whitewall at https://trfy.eu/Dk1VS and use code WWSIMON10 for 10% off!Sign up for my email list and get a free e-book on How to Shoot Backlit.https...

02/09/2026

https://www.jeffmcpheeters.com/Travel/China

I have needed for some time to clean up my photo library and organize online albums for friends and family, mostly. We have a lot of travel photos I have not organized into albums, so I randomly picked China from 2013 to go through and arrange, partly because it was the first major trip we took where I had replaced the large Canon DSLRs with two much smaller Olympus OM-D E-M5 cameras.

I brought along six lenses and the whole batch was smaller and lighter than what I had taken previous years. I will put a photo in the comments to give a visual comparison of size differences.

The first thing I began to notice when pulling out favorites from 2013, was how well they hold up to today's standards. The signal to noise ratio was actually quite good in those older sensors, up to around ISO3200. I had none of the pro lenses I use today. I did have a couple of small prime f/1.8 lenses, one of which I still use today and is a favorite: 75mm f/1.8. The 4x3 format was very flexible for taking 3x2 horizontal or 4x5 vertical crops out of when wanted. Dynamic range was passable and the color fidelity, mostly shot in auto white balance, was spot on in most cases, and especially in indoor venues with wildly variable lighting (performances and that sort of thing). jpegs out of camera were great and raw images could easily be corrected for white balance issues if needed. I used a small TTL flash at times, and Olympus handles TTL like a pro, it seems.

My lenses were the m.Zuiko 12-50 f/3.5-6.7 kit zoom, an excellent lens and one I have currently, attached to an E-M5 I still use; the m.Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 zoom lens, also quite good and small, a 7.5mm Rokinon fisheye, f/3.5, manual lens, m.Zuiko 45mm and 75mm f/1.8 primes (outstanding lenses - not weather sealed), and a 75-300mm II f/4.8-6.7 wealther sealed zoom. The largest lens is the size of a soft drink aluminum can about as heavy. I also used an iPhone 6 at that time and some iPhone images are in these albums.

Any of these would be fine today. Were I to return, I might get by with a modern iPhone for snaps and video, and an OM-1 with a 12-100 f/4 for 90% of the shots along with the 8mm f/1.8 fisheye. I would also have my Olympus TG-5 tough camera for macro as it's pocketable.

Newer sensors handle much higher ISOs and noise reduction in Lightroom is very capable. For countryside/zoos/distance, the 40-150/2.8 is still my favorite lens of all time, although the 75-300II is still a decent and small lens for day travel. I'd bring along the MC20 2x Teleconverter just in case. And a Godox flash.

Freelance photographer specializing event photography, fine art landscape, nature, and portraiture.

01/24/2026

This can be a fun exercise. Try it!

Crystalline Connections – Freezing Soap Bubbles

Cold is gripping much of North America. I checked the temperatures in my hometown of Sudbury, Ontario this morning, and it was -32C / -26F. With these horrible storms set to arrive later today and with bitter cold, many people are stuck at home. Why not try to photograph freezing soap bubbles? It’s easier than you think.

Step 1: Cold. Usually temperatures colder than -8C / 18F. Any warmer than this, and the crystals don’t form as readily or quickly enough. At the same time, temperatures colder than -20C / -4F generally don’t perform well as the bubble freezes far too quickly to be useful.

Step 2: No wind. Sunlight creates thermals. Shooting at dusk or later provides for calmer air.

Step 3: Light. Position an LED flashlight behind the bubble. If you’ve got a Fresnel lens (“sheet magnifier”) you can use that to refocus the beam.

Step 4: Camera and lens. A regular macro lens set to roughly 1:2 magnification is a good starting point (half life-size macro) and physically move the camera forward and back while continuously shooting. Handholding is best here, as each bubble will interact with the light differently and you will need to move around a bit, and quickly.

Bubble creation technique: Use a drinking straw to blow the bubble from a solution of the following:
- 6 parts water
- 2 parts normal dish detergent
- 1 part white corn syrup. If you don’t have this, just thicken up some simple syrup or add sugar to water until it becomes a syrupy consistency.

There’s more to this process, but there’s the basics. If you want the full tutorial, I write about it in a chapter of my book on macro photography: https://www.amazon.com/Macro-Photography-Universe-Our-Feet/dp/103276984X/

Address

Lawrence, KS
66049

Telephone

+17858131226

Website

http://www.jeffmcpheeters.com/

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Brief Bio

I have devoted myself to the disciplines of a professional landscape, interior design and event photographer for many years. Residing in rural Douglas County, Kansas, I've nurtured a growing interest with travel and nature photography through the course of some decades with film and digital cameras. I am also a devoted husband and father who loves to be in the outdoors, hiking, skiing and enjoying God's beautiful creation and doing my small part to encourage others to partake of and help sustain our natural heritage. Without the support of my best friend and wife, Priscilla, and our three grown sons, I'd not have the time to pursue photography full time. As a lifelong learner, I love to share what I'm learning, and whether sharing a simple story about a photograph's subject or delving into the intricacies of photography, I hope you come away encouraged and enthused about the beauty of creation and the world around you. One of my mottos is: 'the only photographer you should compare yourself to is the one you used to be.' More info at http://www.jeffmcpheeters.com and http://www.photographybyheart.com