Hi ,

 

The whole digital photography lifestyle involves way too much computer time. Sometimes you sit at your desk, mousing and pounding away on the keyboard, blogging, posting images, surfing the web, tweeting, reading Facebook and generally racking your brain about how to improve your photography. And we haven’t even started talking about the time you spend editing, tagging and keywording.

 

The problem is that time spent at the computer doesn’t always spark the kinds of creative ideas that are necessary for the continued survival and growth of your photographic self.

 

I’ve said it before- creative ideas don’t live at your desk. They’re out there hiding in all the places where you love to be, and in the places where you’ve never been before. They’re waiting for your to come find them, and the only way to discover these little gems is to get away from your desk and go outside, where you’ll feel the wind on your face and the sun on your back.

 

Even if you’re not out shooting, just doing something like taking a walk can get your brain moving. In fact, there are studies which show that the simple act of walking can fire up a massive number of neural connections. This kind of brain activity is what opens up the doorways to thinking about new ideas and coming up with creative plans for your photography or your business. 

 

So, next time you feel bogged down with your creativity, just get up and head into the outdoors. Go take a walk, get on the bike, or clip into a pair of skis. Don’t even take your camera. Just take your empty, tired brain, and I promise you, by the end of your little excursion, it will be full of new ideas and creative inspiration again.

 

And please know that I’m writing this for me just as much for I’m as guilty as anyone of falling into these kinds of patterns.

 

 

 

I’ve been shooting with the new Fuji X-T1 for just over a month now, and after burning through a few thousand frames with it in a variety of conditions and shooting situations, both in Iceland and here in Alaska, My verdict is in: This camera rocks. It’s fast, it’s light, it’s compact, and it gets the job done the way I need it done. Plus, the body design and the new center-mounted EVF gives me a familiar feel when handling the camera, and that’s important.

 

I’ve written an extensive field test and review of the X-T1, but I’ll give you the bullet points: 

 

The X-T1 it’s built with a rugged, weather sealed, all metal chassis, so it stands up to abuse, even in extreme conditions, it meets the performance demands that I need from a camera (8 fps with full, predictive AF tracking), it has lots of dials and FUNC buttons that let me change settings in an instant, without having to dig into the menu for every little thing, and it gives me gorgeous looking images. 

 

 

The Fuji engineers did an awesome job with this camera, and it’s the first X camera that lets me shoot my style without limitation. I love the X20 and X-E1, and I’ve always liked the challenge of shooting action and adventure with them, but I’ve always had to adapt my style a little bit when using them. 

 

More importantly, I would have never taken either of those camera on a pro outdoor shoot. For me, that’s always been DSLR territory. For me, the X-T1 has changed that. I’m not ready to completely ditch my DSLR, but I’m using it a lot less lately and feeling very liberated by being able to go lighter and faster than ever before.

 

With it’s well designed build quality and high performance imaging technology, there’s no reason that the X-T1 couldn’t be your main camera, or your only camera for that matter. If you’re looking for an lighter alternative to your current setup, especially for outdoor work or travel, I’d take a serious look at the Fuij X-T1. 

 

If you’re an X camera user already who’s also been dealing with some of the limitations that cameras like the X-Pro 1 and X-E1 and 2 present when shooting action and fast breaking outdoor subjects, or if you’re hesitant to drag them outdoors into “conditions” because they’re not weather sealed, then I’d highly recommend the X-T1. Don’t get me wrong those are great cameras, and they give awesome looking images, but when it comes to performance and overall ruggedness, the X-T1 blows them out of the water.

 

The Fuji X-T1 bodies are finally shipping. B&H Photo has the body in stock and is offering free shipping to the USA. Same with Adorama: Body in stock, free USA shipping.  The body/lens kits with the 18-55mm lens should show up on shelves any day. They might even be in stock by the time you’re reading this. If not, you can still preorder from B&H Photo or Amazon and get it as soon as they become available. 

 

 

Nikon, Canon and Fujifilm all have great instant rebate deals going on right now. Here’s a rundown of what’s included in these deals and how much you can save.

 

Nikon: Nikon is running the latest incarnation of their Buy Together and Save offer, which means that if you buy a Nikon DSLR, you can bundle it with one or two lenses and get a really good deal on the combo. Almost all of the DLSRs in their lineup are included and depending on what body and lens(es) you buy, you can save anywhere between $100 and $680.

 

You can get these savings at both B&H Photo and Amazon. In addition, B&H is running a Nikon D7100 special. For one more day, you can get the D7100 with 18-140mm lens, a 55-300mm lens, the WU-1a wireless mobile adaptor, a 32GB Sandisk SD card, free bag and Nikon School DVD, all for only $1,545.95.

 

 

Canon: Canon currently has mail-in rebates on a wide selection of lenses, as well as instant rebates on a few of their speedlites. You can save up to $300 on lenses right now. These deals expire on March 29, while the speedlite deals run through March 15.

 

You can get these deals at both B&H Photo and Amazon.

 

 

Fujifilm: Fujifilm is offering savings of up to $250 on a number of their XF lenses for the X camera series. There are 8 lenses that are being offered in this deal, including the XF 14mm f/2.8 ultra wide angle lens, the super fast 35mm f/1.4 lens, the tiny 27mm f/2.8 pancake lens, the 60mm f/2.4 macro lens and the 55-200mm telephoto lens. Here are a few full size sample images that I shot with some of the Fuji XF lenses, as well as my full review of the Fuji XF 14mm lens.

 

You can get these deals at B&H Photo and Amazon. They expire March 22.

 

 

I led my first photo workshop with Through The Lens Alaska last Sunday with a group of international time lapse photographers up in Talkeenta. We shot northern lights photos on the Susitna River, and watched last light fall on Denali, Mt. Hunter and Mt. Foraker. Here are a few shots from the afternoon and evening.

 

 

 

 

A few months ago, I released my latest ebook, ZEN PHOTOGRAPHER: Turning Your Passion into Focus. After reviewing it, the editor of Photo.net said this and included it their list of top 10 Photography Books for 2013.

 

 

I know that many of my readers have already downloaded ZEN PHOTOGRAPHER. If that’s you, then thank you very much for your support! If you haven’t read it yet, I’ll give you a special 20% off discount on the book. Add ZEN PHOTOGRAPHER to your cart and use discount code ZEN20, and you’ll get the 20% off savings from now until the end of March. Also, don't forget to check out my other selection of photography eBooks.

 

A few months ago, emerging photographer Camrin Dengel wrote a great piece called Becoming an Adventure Photographer. Camrin has some great insight about the process of doing what you love with photography and laying the groundwork for turning it into a career. Maybe you’re following a similar path. Anyway, worth a read.

 

For many photographers, writing and blogging are essential parts of their workflow and creative storytelling process. Read 18 Seductive Writing Tips that can help you create better, more powerful narratives that will appeal to a wider audience and get you more traffic.

 

On his Strobist site, David Hobby has posted a complete guide to lighting indoor sports. While I don’t usually shoot indoor action, I know that many of you do, so I think you’ll find this guide quite useful. It covers using flash gear and optimum placement for a variety of sports.

 

Nikon has issued a technical service advisory for Nikon D600 users. Some people have had spotting issues on their D600 sensors, and Nikon is now offering full service, inspection, cleaning and replacement of the shutter assembly, FREE OF CHARGE. If you’re a D600 owner visit this page to see how to schedule your free repair.

 

Here’s a great post called 11 Myths About Professional Nature Photographers. A tongue in cheek look at what it means to be a pro. Funny with a hint of truth. 

Take a look at 30 Day Photography Challenges to Test Your Creativity. Some great ideas in here that you can apply in a wide variety of ways. 

 

Then, after you read that one, check out Dave Seeram’s post How a Photography Project 365 can KILL your Creativity. Dave has some solid insight and he is the editor of CLARITY: Photography Beyond The Camera, a quarterly PDF magazine that celebrates the photography life with killer content, advice and inspiring articles. 

 

 

As always, thanks so much for reading this newsletter, I hope you enjoyed this issue and will share it with your photographer friends. I welcome comments from my readers, so if you have a question or something to say, feel free to drop me a line!

 

I love photography, and I love it when other people get excited about photography, so I hope that my writing and imagery will continue to inspire you towards becoming better photographers.

 

Peace, love and more snow. Enjoy the posts below.

 

Best regards,

Dan