Who doesn’t love Springtime? Warmer weather, longer days, rebirth and the triumphant return of the color green, at least for those of you who don’t live in the high northern latitudes. 

 

Springtime always rekindles my excitement for photography, because I start obsessing about all the trips I want to do during the next few months and all the new photos I want to shoot. I’ll be pretty busy during the first half of April with assignment work and writing deadlines, but after that, I’ll be heading down to Utah for some sunny desert mountain bike touring. Can’t wait! This will be my first multi-day backcountry trip with my new Fuji X-T1, which I’ve been trying my best to abuse during the past two months. So far, it’s exceeded nearly all of my expectations, and I even used it for a paying job last week. For the Utah trip, though, I’m really looking forward to the weight savings compared to what I’ve carried in the past.

 

I'm also really excited to have one of my images used in the very first magazine ad for the Fuji X-T1. This was seen in the March issue of PDN.

 

 

Lately, since the evening light is extending past 9:00 PM now, I’ve been shooting sunset aerials over the Chugach Mountains. I love flying during this time of year. You can take a virtual trip with me and see what it’s like to preflight a 1947 Cessna 120 and chase the pink alpenglow over these incredible, rugged Alaska landscapes.

 

 

 

Spring is a great time to plant the seeds for new creative ideas that you can instill into your work as the year progresses. Here’s some insight on creativity and composition that I compiled from a few of my favorite landscape photographers. Their work is amazing and so it’s neat to read about the mental creative process that goes through their minds when they approach their subject matter. I hope that you draw some inspiration from it as well.

 

 

 

Fujifilm has extended their instant rebates on select XF lenses through April 4, which means that there are only two more days to save up to $250. There are 8 lenses in this deal including the 14mm f/2.8, the 27mm f/2.8, the 23mm f/1.4, the 60mm f/2.4 macro and the 55-200mm telephoto zoom. 

 

I’ve used most of these and I can attest that the glass on all of them is superb. If you’ve got any of the interchangeable X cameras, I would highly recommend checking out this deal. The Fuji lenses are not cheap, and they don’t go on sale very often, so if you think you want some new glass for this summer, you’ve only got two more days to grab it. You can get these deals at B&H Photo and Amazon.

 

Who doesn’t need new memory cards? It’s always good to stock up on new cards that are bigger and faster, especially with the new cameras that keep evolving. In addition, memory cards do have a lifespan, and the longer you use then, the more prone they are to card errors. 

 

Right now, you can get some really good savings on SanDisk SD Extreme Pro 95MB/s cards from Amazon, and they’ll even take them out of those stupid clamshell packages that we all hate and ship them to you in a secure way that protects the cards, but that doesn’t threaten to cause injury when you try to open the clamshells. Seriously. One time, I tried to cut one open with a pocket knife. The blade bounced off of the plastic and went right into my finger. It wasn’t pretty and it took quite a while to stop the bleeding. Anyway, need memory cards? Save between 60-75% right now and get free shipping. 

 

 

As a Lowepro Professional photographer, I can offer my US subscribers and readers special deals on Lowepro camera packs and bags. No matter what type of photography you do, they have a wide selection of carrying solutions, whether you shoot street images, landscapes or action/adventure sports. If you need a new bag for pro or casual use, click through this link and check out what they have, then use discount code LP20 in your shopping cart and you’ll save 20% on your order.

 

 

This summer, I’m teaching a number of workshops with Through The Lens Alaska, including my Mountain Cathedrals workshop, which runs from July 9-13. I’m really excited about this workshop because we have some great locations picked out and we’ll have a small group of enthusiastic photographers, so everyone will get very personal attention. There’s still space on this trip, so let me know if you’re interested!

 

That said, I realize that a full, multi day workshop can be difficult to plan for, so I’d like to feature another workshop option that I’m offering. My Sunset Photo Safaris are 4 hour, single evening workshops that will happen throughout the summer here in Anchorage. They’re ideal if you find yourself in Anchorage for a few days as part of another tour or business event. We’ll take you out so you capture some of that great midnight sun that we have in the summertime, and at the same time, teach you a little bit about how to improve your photography. It’s like a mini workshop that’s easy to commit to, plan and afford. I’ll even send you home with a free eBook!

 

Sunset Photo Safaris are 8-12 PM throughout the summer, depending on my own availability, of course. They’ll run through May-October, and only cost $249. You can book in advance to guarantee a spot, but if you can’t plan that far in advance, keep them in mind and sign up when you get here!

 

 

This week, Volume 3 of the PDF magazine CLARITY: Photography Beyond the Camera hit the virtual news stands. If you haven’t seen CLARITY yet, it’s a very well done PDF magazine that’s written from the perspective that photography isn’t just your hobby, it’s your lifestyle. Shooting photos isn’t just something you do in your spare time, it’s some that consumes your passions and plays a huge part in how you live your life.

 

Topics covered in CLARITY revolve around creativity, deeper ideas behind image making, technical aspects of shooting, post processing and backup, and how to extend your photography passion into greater things and use it to make a positive impact on the world and on your own life.

 

 

The 3rd quarterly issue of CLARITY features 82 pages, 5 and tutorial videos and great articles by authors such as Kevin Kuboda, Piet Van den Eynde, Sean McCormack and Chris Corradino. Published bi-monthly, CLARITY: Photography Beyond The Camera is readable on just about any device and it’s available as a single issue or as a subscription. The subscription ends up being only 5 bucks an issue, which means you’re getting an entire year of inspiration and education for the cost of one lunch out.

 

You can download CLARITY: Volume 3 here, or get the 6-issue subscription. Either way, I think you'll be happy with the magazine.

 

 

When the JPEG is Good Enough: We all know that jpegs that you post on the web are not good enough quality for printing. Or are they? This is a very informative post that questions just how many photos are being printed for personal and commercial publications from web-quality jpegs. Not meant to scare you, but something to think about.

 

Recently Getty announced that they’re going to start allowing free image use on blogs and small commercial websites, in exchange for content-related advertising cookies. Of course, this has raised lots of eyebrows. Read Getty CEO Greg Peters explain how this is all supposed to work. 

 

Any marketing guru will tell you that getting and keeping clients and customers is largely about building and fostering relationships. Read 5 steps to building relationships that get photography clients. Some good tips and ideas in this post.

 

I really enjoyed reading this post on the Chase Jarvis blog about creative people and doing creative things because you love them, not just for money. Read The Key Characteristics Shared by Most People I know, you’re sure to get some inspiration and feelgoodery out of this one. 

 

Finally, we close with a bit of snarky humor. Read the 22 Stupidest Question that Photographers Hate to Hear.

 

 

Ok crew, that’s all for this issue! Thanks so much for subscribing. Feel free to share this newsletter, and for more photography tips and insight, be sure and check out my selection of eBooks.

 

As always, don’t hesitate to contact me directly with questions or comments. I welcome feedback from my readers!

 

Enjoy the posts below and happy shooting!

 

Dan