Every Thursday I post a favorite picture or pictures from one of my favorite travel destiantions - along with some photo tips. If you have been to the location, add a tip or comment in the Comments section.

This week: Croton-on-Hudson, New York - just one of the shooting locations on my Rick's Backyard Workshop.

There are two major photo locations in Croton-on-Hudson: the New Croton Dam and the river walk.

Dam Photo Tips:
• Bring your wide-angle zoom. Also pack a tele-zoom for close ups.
• A ND filter is necessary if you want to blur the water. Use shutter speeds from 1/5 of a second to several seconds.
• Yes! Bring your tripod.
• Shoot from the top of the dam, the side of the dam, and down near the water. Be careful when you are shooting near the water. It can be slippery.
• Try painting with light at night.
• You'll need a lens cleaning cloth to wipe the spray off your lens.
• When shooting from the lower bridge, be aware of vibrations caused by moving cars. Those vibrations can cause blurry shots at slow shutter speeds.
• As always, expose for the highlights. More on exposure in my

I shot the opening and close for my Photo Philosophy video at the dam.

River Walk Photo Tips:
• Sunset is the best time to shoot, as the sun sets on the opposite side of the river.
• Include an object in the foreground to give your photograph a sense of place.
• When shooting into the sun, try HDR - but know that HDR can ruin the mood of a scene.
• Remove all filters when shooting into the sun to avoid a ghost image of the sun.

Enjoy travel photography? Check out my digital photography workshops.

For more travel and photo tips, subscribe to my blog.

Explore the light,
Rick

Find the best light for your photographs and videos - anywhere on the planet - with my Photo Sun Dial app.

For the iPhone and iPad.

I picked up a Canon 70D yesterday from Adorama... mostly for the educational videos that we shoot (listed on the bottom of my On-line classes/Video page). Of course, I will be be shooting stills with the cool camera, too.

As always, I test and familiarize myself with all my new gear, which is something I stress to all my digital photography workshop students. So this morning, when it was 7° F outside, I swung by the New Croton Dam (where I teach summer and fall workshops) and took a few shots and made a quick HD video - before my fingers started to freeze!

Back home, after I defrosted, I downloaded my files. The camera is working perfectly - and the images are looking awesome.

NOTE: Waterfall was loud! You may want to turn down your sound.

If you are looking for a DSLR that shoots both stills and full HD videos, check out the Canon 70D. Among other features, including an awesome auto-focus system, you'll like the flip-out screen, which is great for moving making.

My main camera is still the Canon 5D Mark III. All my gear is listed on My Gear page.

Above: Here's a video we shot with the Canon 5D Mark III in Myanmar. As you will see, it's important to envision the end result.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. My Croton Creative Workshops, a.k.a. Rick's Backyard Workshops, fill up fast. I hope you can join the fun in the sun. :-)