Last week, I announced my brand new Alaska photo workshop series with Through The Lens Alaska. Having taught photography through various outlets for the past 20 years, I’m excited to team up with two very talented photographer/guides. 

 

In addition to Jody Overstreet, who brings a many years of professional travel and guiding experience, The newest member of our team is none other than longtime Alaskan and official Iditarod photographer Jeff Schultz. Jeff has been shooting the Iditarod for over 30 years. He also founded and ran Alaska Stock before selling the company in 2012. Between the three of us, we can get you into the best places to photograph in Alaska and teach you how to take your photography to the next level. 

 

Check out our site Through The Lens Alaska and see our list of workshop offerings for this year. Currently on the calendar are the Mountain Cathedrals workshop, which runs July 9-13, and the Autumn Light workshop which is scheduled for September 10-14.

 

 

 

You can now read the Winter 2014 issue of the Dan Bailey Photo Quarterly Journal, which is now out on virtual newsstands everywhere. This latest issue features recent tear sheets, a collection of new work and it highlights one of my recent photography assignments.

 

Check out my Winter 14 Journal here, or download it to read later. It’s a relatively small PDF file, and you can even view it on your smartphone or mobile device.

 

 

How many photos do you shoot in a month? How of those are great? How many of those are totally awesome? A handful? Maybe even just one or two? Good for you!! I know that doesn’t sound like a very high percentage, but remember- your goal with photography is not to amass a gargantuan collection of average photographs. This isn’t some kind of game where the person who shoots the most frames in their Lightroom or Aperture library wins. At the end of the day, what counts is that ONE KILLER SHOT that communicates excitement and emotion, and that wows your audience.

 

Consider the thousands of frames that most pro photographers shoot when they’re on assignment. Of those, they art directors will often choose JUST ONE PHOTO for their ad campaign or magazine cover. ONE SHOT. ONE. It just takes one powerful image to move mountains, or your viewers. 

 

 

Let’s make a photography challenge. I want you to produce ONE GREAT SHOT per month for the entire year of 2014. What’s that going to entail? Simple. Get out there and press the shutter button a few hundred or a few thousand times. Practice. Learn from your mistakes and your successes. Improve. Most of all, keep your expectations to a reasonable level. If you get only one absolutely stunning shot each month, then you’ve done well. If you get fewer than that, it’s still OK, because you’ve no doubt learned from the process of using your camera that many more times. 

 

Starting at the end of January, which is next week by the way, I’m going to make a callout on my Facebook Page at the end of every month to see your best shot of the month, and I want you to share your best, most favorite image. You won’t be up there alone, and you’ll be able to view and comment on other people’s photos as well. 

 

If you don’t see my Facebook updates in your newsfeed, you can go to my page and hold your cursor over the “LIKED” button at the top of the page and make sure that “Show up in News Feed” or “Get Notifications” is checked in the drop down menu. You should do this anyway, because lately Facebook is making most posts harder to see than easier to see, so if you like my page, make sure it shows up. Also, interacting with and liking posts will make it more likely that you’ll see the next thing I put up there. 

 

This isn’t a contest, and there will be no winner. It’s simply a way to get you out there shooting in the mindset of trying to get that ONE KILLER SHOT. Like I said, if it only happens once per month, then that’s great. If if only happens once every other month, that’s good too. As long as you’re out there using your camera, then you’re learning, and that’s the point of this whole thing.

 

 

Don’t let anyone tell you that gear doesn’t matter. Including me, because it does. It’s like anything else, if you have the skills, entry level camera gear will get the job done. If you have the skills, high end gear will get the job done faster, better and give you more options for success. 

 

Note, however, that the kicker here is “if you have the skills.” No matter if you’re toting a pinhole camera made from a cardboard box and a sliver of tim foil, or if you’re lugging around a pack full of top shelf cameras and pro glass, your skills, experience and technique are what matter. 

 

I equate this to guitars. Put a guitar- any guitar in the hands of someone like Eric Clapton or Eddie Van Halen and they’ll produce awesome music. They’ll get killer tone, because 90% of it resides in the hands, fingers and playing style. The last 10% reside in the gear, although that last 10% is a very important percentage, because it can mean the difference between a demo recording and a finished, studio quality record. 

 

Put a camera- any camera in your hands, and I’m fairly certain that once you figure out how it works, you’ll produce good work. However, put high quality equipment in your hands and you’ll be able to take your work into the realm of that last 10%. 

 

Are you ready to take your photography into that realm? Is this the year you upgrade one or two important pieces of gear?

 

 

Every month, readers email me asking me for advice on what gear to buy. I don’t mind answering emails from you guys, in fact, it helps me get to know you a little better as people and not just readers. However, as my follower base keeps growing and I keep getting busier, I run out of time. I don’t always get them answered as quickly as I’d like. 

 

If you have questions and want my advice, you have three options- 

 

1. Visit the Gear I Use link on my blog and see exactly what gear I use.

 

2. Search through the "camera gear" archive on my blog and you’ll find tons of reviews and writeups of different products that I feel are great tools for shooting outdoor and adventure subjects. I’m always pretty open with my opinions and I’ll tell you what I like and don’t like about any particular piece of gear.

 

3. Visit the Dan Bailey Recommened Gear pages at B&H Photo. I have separate pages for Cameras, Lenses, Lighting Gear, Light Shaping Tools, Camera Bags and Computer Gear. 

 

As a longtime B&H Affiliate, I’ve been working with them to create a set of pages of gear that I feel good about recommending to my readers. Some of it is gear that I use, but not all. I don’t shoot Canon, but I know that many of you do, so I’ve included some of the lenses and accessories that I’d use if I DID shoot with Canon gear. 

 

In addition, buying gear through these links helps me out. Whether you buy the specific gear I recommend or other products, doing so sends a small percentage my way. It doesn’t cost anything extra and you’ll get the same low prices on everything that I would if I were to call and order myself. Bookmark these links and use them whenever you’re ready to get some new photo gear.

 

B&H is a great store. I’ve been buying gear from them for over fifteen years and they’ve never let me down. They have the goods and some of the best prices in the entire industry.

 

Ok, so there’s four options. You can always email me or message me on FB or Twitter, or post a comment on my blog. I’ll do my best to get back to you in a timely manner. 

 

 

How does your website look? Is it easy to navigate and, more importantly, is it easy for YOU to navigate? If your website isn’t set up so that you can easily and quickly update it with new work, then it’s not getting the job done. 

 

I’ve been a big fan of the Photocrati website theme for a few years now. I even used Photocrati on my own site for awhile. I really liked how easy it was to set up modify and update. Best part, it’s designed specifically for photographers and made to put you in control of your branding, content and design. 

 

 

Photocrati is Wordpress based, so if you know Wordpress, then you’re already 90% there in terms of understanding how to use it and make it work for you. If you don’t know Wordpress it’s free, open source, easy to use and very quick to learn. 

The Photocrati Photography theme contains 60 built-in styles to get you started (these are just a few examples), and once you find a basic look that you like, you can fully customize everything without having to know any code. It’s all right there in clear menus. It’s compatible with eCommerce, NextGEN photo galleries and just about every Wordpress plugin that’s made. 

 

 

In addition, Photocrati has a great support team and they provide $5000 grants to photographers who are working on humanitarian and environmental projects. They work with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Steven McCurry, Jim Brandenburg and Art Wolfe. 

 

 

If your website needs an upgrade, take a look at Photocrati. They even have a full 30-day money back guarantee if you’re not satisfied. 

 

 

 

10 Tips for Shooting Stock Photos that Make Art Directors Happy, from Black Star Rising. There’s a ton of great stuff to read over at the Black Star Rising Blog, you could easily spend all day there!

 

Strobist David Hobby has posted his best of 2013 collection. Check out what he feels are his very best and favorite images from the past year. 

 

If you’re curious about the new “vintagey” Nikon Df, check out the FStoppers Nikon Df Camera Hipster Review, which includes a totally awesome video. Not to be missed!

 

What’s this? A brand new X Camera from Fujifilm? Apparently so, according to their website. Stay tuned for more details on this one, because I promise, it’s going to be worth a look. 

 

 

As always, feel free to share this newsletter with your photographer friends, and if you have a few free minutes, be sure and check out my newsletter archive to see what you’ve missed, especially if you’re a new subscriber!

 

Thanks for reading and happy shooting!

Dan