One of the most fun aspects of social media is meeting other artists and making new friends. Meet Chris Franklin, a photographer from Houston. A couple of weeks ago, here in the Tamron Theater I shared a post about action photography with tips from Grady James.

I posted the link in a tweet and Chris responded, "Great tips and advice. I will use them this weekend for a Roller Derby shoot...." Well, that's all it took for a quick phone call to track Chris down and ask him to share some images after the event. A few days later he sent a few of his favorites.

If you've ever photographed anything in an arena and especially a sport with a lot of action, you know there's absolutely no control over much of anything, especially the lighting. When Chris sent me these images he wrote:

"I have been using the Back-Focus button for a while now. Each time I read or hear of a professional photographer using it, it gives me confidence I made the correct choice. Pre-composing and pre-focusing are great tools to use when your subject is known to be in a certain place and time on a regular basis, (i.e. on roller derby track). Base line shutter speeds are essential to photographing high speed sports action. On my last shoot, I had to maintain a shutter speed of 500th/sec or higher. Unfortunately, I had to use a very high ISO to accomplish this. (high ISO images are not my favorite). Capturing expression and emotion are key to telling your story through your photographs. The photographs I took shows the grit, drive and determination the skaters were experiencing."

These image were captured with Tamron's SP 70-200mm F2.8 G2 lens. Chris had two Nikon bodies, a D500 and D800 and did most of his shooting at 6400 ISO.

Remember, I'm sharing low res screen shots here, so the originals obviously show more detail. I also didn't ask Chris to do any clean up of the images for better flesh tone, etc. These are right out of the can, although I took the liberty of a little fun cropping.

Check out Tamron's complete product line with a visit to one of their authorized dealers. They're manufacturing some outstanding glass, but don't take my word for it - have some fun with your own "test drive!"

A big thanks to Chris for sharing his images and to Tamron for making a great lens which gave him images to share! Click on any of the images to visit Chris Franklin's website and see more of his work.

For ten years, going back to the 90's we had a group of photographers who went into Yellowstone every winter. We spent three days on snowmobiles touring the park with enough camera gear to open our own retail store! It was one of those experiences that only a handful of people in the world get to see. I feel so fortunate to have been there for nine of the ten trips.

This week Tamron USA posted the video below featuring the NEW 18-400mm lens with Ken Hubbard traveling through Yellowstone. I know it's an infomercial, but it's really a travel log with Ken as our guide. I love the way he ties in some of the features of the lens together with the actual images he's capturing.

If you've never been to Yellowstone it needs to be on your bucket list. And, like we did each the winter, or Ken talks about each morning being up ahead of the tourists, the serenity of the park gives you a true appreciation of its beauty.

Ken does a terrific job of taking you through Yellowstone while at the same time sharing his passion for landscape photography and the features/benefits of this new lens, right down to its moisture-resistant construction.

You can't help but be impressed with the technology behind this new lens. It's the world's first ultra telephoto all-in-one zoom lens. I loved the approach Ken took in this video and the amount of great content he packed into just five minutes. 

For more information on the 18-400 mm lens, just click on the image to the left and you'll link to the full product page on the Tamron USA site. As you review the product, click on the links in the description which will take you on a journey into the technology behind Tamron's features.

After watching the video and thinking about Ken's ability to demonstrate the product while traveling through the park all I can say is, "When I grow up I want to be Ken Hubbard!"

I was out for a scroll this morning on the Tamron USA site and stumbled upon their help section. I've been on the site hundreds of times and just missed "Photo Tips and More." What I found was a wealth of great information featuring some of the most talented artists in photography.  Just click on the banner above to visit the entire section.

In the mean time, I loved this piece by Jenn Gidman with images and tips by Grady James. It's summer time and whether you're a pro needing a quick review or a serious hobbyist building your skill set, the article is loaded with great tips for action sports photography.

Grady shares fifteen solid tips to help you raise the bar on the quality of your action sports images. Here's a great example describing the image above:

I captured Sara one more time zipping across one of the trails, and this one was a panning image. My go-to shutter speed for this kind of photo is 1/30th of a second; I'll adjust it from there, depending on what I see after a trial run. With pan shots, I simply try to prefocus on the trail, then follow my subject as smoothly as I can as he or she travels up and down the path. The 70-200 is the ideal lens to use for this kind of photo. I actually had a couple of those images in the same spot featuring a biker with a yellow jersey, but Sara's photo came out best because she had a better shirt to contrast with the background here.

Click on Grady's image to read the entire article, and if you'd like to see more of his work, his website is just a click away.

Tamron isn't just a manufacturer of some of the best optics in imaging, but they're helping artists capture better photographs and video. They never slow down on their focus on education. Great support and help with so many of your questions are always available in "Photo Tips and More."

Don't forget - The Tamron Tech Team is on the road all year long. Here's your chance to bring some terrific support into your network and also test drive Tamron's product line. Bookmark their schedule and then don't miss the opportunity when they come to a city nearest you.

One of the things I love about Tamron is their never-ending goal to help photographers raise the bar on their skill set, regardless of their level of expertise. And, one of my most favorite methods is through hands-on workshops.

I'm not a tennis player, but I've often heard the comment made that if you're playing tennis with somebody better than you, you'll find your game improves. Photography is no different, and the amount you can learn shooting side by side with any of Tamron's tech reps is going to help you raise the bar on your own images.

Coming up between now and September 12 there are four outstanding hands-on workshops all taking place in wildlife parks in Ohio, Virginia, Texas and California. Regardless of your photographic specialty, don't miss the opportunity to work side by side with some of the finest artists and educators in photography.

The Ohio workshop is full, although Tamron is taking names for the wait list just in case there's a cancellation. Click on any of the programs below for more information and registration.

Since I'm sharing information about Tamron USA's Wildlife Safari Workshops, I can't think of a better video to also share, featuring the SP150-600mm G2 Lens. Tamron is one of the finest optics manufacturers in the world and with each workshop you'll have a chance to "test drive" their products.

Click on either of the two images below by Thomas Kettner for more information about this remarkable lens!