Hi ,

Sometimes, the adventure of life throws a wrench in your way, or in this case of rock. Three weeks ago, I went down to Arizona for a mountain bike race, and during my Friday pre-ride, I crashed and injured my right shoulder.

I wasn't sure how bad it was, so I iced, taped, and actually did the entire 50 mile race on Saturday. However, when I got home, I went to the doctor, had an MRI and discovered that I had torn my rotator cuff. 

Last Friday, I had surgery to repair and reattach three tendons, and so now I'm at home resting and looking forward to a nice long recovery, with five more weeks in a sling, and then a few months of PT.

In the short term this means that I probably won't get my video review of the XF150-600mm lens done anytime soon. I'll just say right now it's an awesome lens with some great pro features, and I really enjoyed shooting with it during my time in Ohio earlier this month. 

The big plus this lens has over the XF100-400 is the addition of a switch that allows you to set the four lens Fn buttons to either AF-ON, AF Lock, or to focus on a preset distance you've set up. Optically, it's very sharp and just a really fun lens to use. I shot many fast action photos with it, and also some video, so that's my review; overall, highly recommended 

In the medium term, I won't be riding bikes again until the end of summer, and I won't be shooting with any big lenses for a while. And I probably won't be doing a YouTube video for a few weeks, because it's really hard to edit videos, or do  any computer work in a sling. Thank goodness for speech to text, which is how I am writing this newsletter right now.

However I will be doing 1:1 coaching sessions throughout the summer, because I don't need two arms to talk on Zoom. So if you'd like to do a session with me, whether it's for compositional tips, technical advice, or how to set up your camera to shoot specific subjects, click here to book your time slot.

And of course, I have my online course, Mastering the Fujifilm Autofocus System, which has received some excellent praise from students. Let me help you better understand your Fuji camera and teach you the skills needed, so that you can get the images that YOU want, even in the most challenging conditions. 

If you want to enroll in the course now, I've extended my 15% discount code SPRINGFOCUS through the end of May.

Finally I'm still on schedule for the workshop and outside field session at the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival in Tucson, which is held August 9-13. I should be moving a little more quickly by then.

Seattle June 10 Event - Still On!

And, my upcoming event at Kenmore Camera in Seattle is still up on the calendar for June 10, I'll just be teaching the class in a sling.

My free presentation is called Using Different Lenses in Your Outdoor Photography, and I'll have a lot of brand new images to illustrate. If you're in or near the Seattle area, then be sure to register and come say hi!

I actually made it 55 whole years without surgery or a serious injury, and I have a great doctor and PT, so I feel pretty fortunate. I'm very positive about my recovery; it's just gonna take a while. I can still use my X-T5 left-handed, as long as I shoot verticals and use a small lens. 

This will be a challenging time for me, indeed, but I'll get through it. I'll probably take lots of walks and gentle hikes, and explore a host of other low-impact hobbies.  

In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your May and watch out for rocks. I'll likely go radio dark for a while, or at least radio light, so when you're out shooting, just remember all that stuff I've told you in the past. You'll be fine.  :)

Take care, and as always thanks so much for your support.

Dan