Here's Your October 2017 Dan Bailey Photo Newsletter
Published: Tue, 10/17/17
Hi , Happy Fall!
It’s been a while since my last full newsletter. I have a good excuse, though. I was in Scotland. Again.
After a very busy summer of flying, shooting photos and bike racing here in Alaska, cranking out a 50K word eBook, doing my Glazer's Camera classes and PhotoWalk in Seattle back in August, and then teaching at a 4-day Portland photography summit in the beginning of September, I pretty much dropped everything, packed up the bikes once more and went back for another two weeks of pedaling around the Highlands.
We loved Scotland so much during our May trip that we decided to make it a double. Plus, with all the sunshine we had during the first trip, we barely had a chance to use our new rain gear, so we felt we needed to go back for a…ahem… a more accurate Scottish weather experience.
And, sadly, our May route didn’t take use near a single whisky distillery, so for this trip, I steered us up into the Speyside region, where you can hardly turn a corner or crest a hill without running into at least one or two.
So, even though the virtual emulsion is barely dry on my first batch of Scotland pictures, I just added about 1,000 more to the mix. Add to that all the Minnesota pictures. After Scotland, we flew straight to Northern Minnesota where we spent time hiking and pedaling our bikes down the Lake Superior North Shore, which is experiencing a brilliant display of fall colors right now.
*Whew!!* Now it’s back to the office for awhile!
I hope you’ve been enjoying fall where you live and getting out with your camera on a regular basis. This is a great time for photography, because the sun is getting progressively lower in the sky, which means there can be better light each day, and there’s less contrast than when the sun is directly overhead, like it is in the middle of summer.
This allows you more flexibility when shooting on sunny days inside the forest, which can be great when you’re capturing scenes of the changing foliage. Try it!
Upcoming Events
As I mentioned above, we had our Fall Fujifilm X-Photographers Summit in Portland Oregon at the beginning of September. Despite the onslaught of smoke and fire in the Columbia River Gorge that week, which prevented us from shooting in that area, we had a great 4-day workshop and got out to some very fun locations. I enjoyed meeting those of you who attended and I hope to connect with you again in the future!
I’ll be heading to New York to attend Photo Plus Expo next week. I’m not giving any talks this time, but I’ll be roaming the show flow and hanging out quite a bit around the Fujifilm booth. If you’re planning to be at the show as well, please stop and introduce yourself if you pass me. It’s always great to connect with you guys in person when I get a chance.
Also, I’m working hard to put together my 2018 events and workshops, so stay tuned for more information as we race towards the end of the year.
Photo Tip - Combine Fall Colors and Rushing Water
I just talked about the reduced contrast and more manageable light that occurs the fall. This is especially true if you live further from the equator. One way to take advantage of this solar benefit is to shoot long exposures and rushing water during the peak foliage season. This makes a wonderful creative compliment to the magnificent colors on the trees.
I did quite a bit of this when I was in Minnesota and got some really fun images! The Superior North Shore has an abundance of waterfalls, and with all the rain they’d had right before our trip, the water was really high!
When shooting these kinds of scenes, make sure you pay close attention to the light. Even though it’s more manageable, it can still be tricky, and it can be easy to blow your exposure. Watch your highlights especially and if you’re using an auto mode, keep a spare hand near your EV+/- control. A few clicks either way can save your shot and make a huge difference in your exposure.
Also, experiment with different time exposures for your rushing water images. Although nice, long 20-second exposures can look wonderful and dreamy, 1 to 4-second exposures can look quite dramatic as well. Play around with this.
Of course, you need a tripod for this kind of work, and a neutral density filter. I use the Hoya SOLAS IRND 10 stop filters. They cut infrared light, which can leave a reddish color cast on your nice, white silky water. In effect, this makes them truly neutral, where some ND’s let some of that IR light bleed into your exposure.
Although my tripod of choice is the Gitzo GT 0545T Traveler, I decided not to take it to Scotland this time, which meant I didn’t have it for Minnesota eather. Instead, I used my little Gorillapod Flexible Tripod. It worked just fine with my Fuji camera and small primes. Although I was limited to shooting everything at near ground level, it was nice to go so light. I just made do and got what I got. And I was pretty happy with what I got!
Gear Corner
Fujifilm
It’s been awhile since Fuji had any good rebates, but they’re here now, and there are some really good deals going!
Even the X-T2, X-T20 and the Graphite X-Pro2 are on sale right now. The 16-55, the 50-140 and the 100-400 all have instant savings of $150, and the GFX system has lens rebates of up to $550 and body/lens kit combo rebates of up to $1,000. Here’s the link to all the current Fujifilm rebates. You can also find the Camera and Lens rebates on Amazon.
In addition, Fuji has some new gear that’s available for preorder, including the super compact X-E3, otherwise known as the little brother/sister to the X-Pro2, and the long awaited 80mm macro lens. This is a pretty amazing lens, it’s a lot like the 90, but with macro and image stabilization, and it has a revolutionary new AF system which helps for shooting extreme close up work.
Review of the XF50mm f/2 Lens
Also, while we're talking Fujifilm, I just posted my full review of the ultra compact, ultra sharp XF50mm f/2 lens. I've been using this little gem for most of 2017, and it's quickly become one of my favorite X Series lenses. Read this post and see just how versatile this lens is!
Canon
If you’re a Canon user, you can save up to $300 on select camera bodies, and up to $200 on certain lenses. Both the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II and EF 100-400mm lenses are $200 off right now, the EF 100 f/2.8 L Macro. EF 35mm f/1.4 and EF 24-70mm f/2.8 are all $150 off. See the current list of Canon Rebates here.
Nikon
If you’re a Nikon user, you’ll be happy to know that they have a few rebates going as well, including a $200 savings on the D750. Also, you might be psyched about the new 45.7MP D850, which was just released. It’s shipping in limited stock right now, but if you want one, get on the list to minimize your wait time. Shooting at 7 fps and featuring 4K video, a new 153-point AF system, the D850 is a real powerhouse. You can also find the Nikon camera deals on Amazon.
Olympus
Olympus has some great rebates going as well right now. A number of their bodies and lenses are on sale right now, including a $100 savings on their 12-40mm f/2.8 lens, and their awesome 40-150 f/2.8. In my mind, this is the best thing about the entire system- a fast tele zoom that’s extremely compact. If you’re an Olympus shooter, this one should be on your list.
You can see all of the current B&H rebates and special deals here.
Around the Web
If you’re a regular reader, then you know I love sharing content from Robert Rodriguez Jr. He’s a great photographer based in the Hudson River Valley, and as I just learned, a fellow Berklee College of Music alumnus as well! Here’s an interview with Robert on Loaded Landscapes where he talks about his photography approach and his conservation work.
Here’s another photographer interview, this time with Italian mountain photographer Roberto Bertero, who shoots gorgeous landscapes of The Alps. He also happens to be a musician. This trend runs deep in the legacy of outdoor photography- Ansel Adams was a musician as well, and he believed that his musical training influenced his visual craft and his writing.
How to Deal With Creative Boredom. An excellent and insightful article from one of today’s great photographic visionaries, David duChemin. Pretty much eventing he writes is worth a read.
Above, I talked about shooting rushing water this fall. Check out this beautiful collection of stream images on Viewbug and try not to be inspired, or at least wowed.
I love using negative space in my photography. It’s a great way to help create both tension and balance in your imagery, and it can help give your subjects much more prominence, since it cleans up the shot. Here’s a concise blog post by John Barbiaux called Using Negative Space for Bold Photography.
Thanks for your support!!
That’s all for now. I’d like to close this issue by thanking you sincerely for your support, . Without you guys, my readers, my life would look very different. I enjoy sharing my photography insight with you and helping you become a better shooter, and I work really hard at this venture. In my mind, more people becoming more confident with their creativity make our world a better place.
For the past two years, I’ve been recognized as a Top 100 photography blogger. Earlier this month, I had my 2.5 millionth page view, and I also passed my 21 year mark for being a full time photographer. Those are big milestones, and they happened in part because of you.
In addition to my gratitude for your readership, I’m incredibly thankful for your support with my books and eBooks. I recently learned that my Outdoor Action and Adventure Photography print book has sold through it’s initial print run, and X SERIES UNLIMITED has become my bestselling eBook, and it’s only been out since July.
Even though that one is geared largely towards the specific settings and controls of the Fuji cameras, it does contain a lot of “method and approach” material; perhaps I can translate some of those ideas into a more general eBook for non-Fuji users. What do you guys think of that idea?
Anyway, this was my long winded way of saying thank you for your support, for reading my blog and newsletter, for attending my classes and workshops, for buying my books and eBooks, for using my B&H Photo and Amazon links to purchase gear and for keeping in touch through email and social media.
If you’re a new reader, then thanks so much for tuning it; I hope to become a regular part of your learning process and your journey with photography. Keep in touch! You can find me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
I hope you enjoy the rest of October.
Best regards,
Dan
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