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The much anticipated release of Photoshop CS5 is here! I have been using both the Mac and the Windows version for a couple of months now. It is a great update in several ways and falls short of expectations in others. While the features that have been updated or changed significantly are numerous, I'm going to focus on the ones that have most impact to nature photographers.

1 - Introduction
Creating a portfolio of your work is one of the most important things you can accomplish as a photographer. Unfortunately, relatively few photographers create portfolios because they find the process daunting or think their work is not good enough to be included in a portfolio. Others squirm at the idea that they will have to review thousands of photographs taken over many years. Yet others do not know how to select photographs for a portfolio. Finally, there are those who believe that a portfolio cannot be created by themselves, that such an endeavor has to be conducted under the control of a museum or a gallery or needs to take place in the context of a retrospective of the artist’s work.

While these concerns are fair, let me start by saying that they are inaccurate. Assembling a portfolio is not the daunting and frightening task it is purported to be. Let’s start by taking a close look at what a portfolio is, proceed to study why it is important to create portfolios of your work, and finally learn how you can create a portfolio of your own work. Throughout this article I will use portfolios I have created as examples.

As a backpacker, climber, paddler, and cyclist, I spend a considerable amount of time in the wilderness, even when not out photographing nature. Ever since I started backpacking, I’ve found myself incredibly disappointed by functionality, comfort, and design of photo backpacks.

I’ve owned and used a handful of photo backpacks. In addition to my own recreational pursuits, I also work as an adventure guide and trip leader which has given me the opportunity to try out a variety of backpacking packs as well. The difference in comfort and balanced load carrying capabilities between the two is like night and day.

Wouldn't it be grand if every photo vacation involved puffy clouds filling an azure sky above rugged peaks, deep canyons or vast deserts awash in alpenglow every morning and every evening of our trip? Perhaps some photographers are so lucky. I am not one of them. Twice now I've spent the first two weeks of June in Yellowstone and the Tetons and twice now I've been met with dull gray overcast skies, rain, snow, thunder and lightning and only fleeting glimpses of that big ball of fire in the sky. What's worse is that both times, the bad weather seemed to disappear just as soon as I'd left. I have to assume that I have somehow angered the Gods of Photography.