Here we stand at the very end of 2014, with only one more full day to go before we leave the year behind for good. How was 2014 for you? I hope that you found success, excitement and worthy challenges with your photography and your creativity during the course of the past twelve months. It’s always interesting to look back and reflect on how far you’ve come since the year began. Sometimes it’s amazing to see what you actually accomplished or how you changed or adapted to new trends and ideas. 

 

For me, 2014 was the year of the X-T1. It was the year I went mirrorless, although I never would have imagined that I’d make such a statement 364 days ago. Having been a 20+ year DSLR shooter, I had ended 2013 by testing the prototype X-T1 camera from Fujifilm, being moderately excited, and then when I got the actual version in my hands in early February, I was blown away. I couldn’t believe how seamlessly the camera fit into my hands and my shooting style. By mid April, I ran my last frames through the D700, which now sits on my shelf, and I haven’t looked back. 

 

2014 was also the year I wrote my first book. Although it meant more time at my desk that I had anticipated, I’m excited to announce that Outdoor Action and Adventure Photography will be published by Focal Press and on shelves this coming May! You can preorder the book here. Even though I’ve written a number of eBooks, this project holds special significance for me, and I’m really excited for you to see the depth of information that I included in there!

 

 

What big events, milestones or projects did you complete or undertake in 2014? I love hearing stories from my readers, so if you’ve got an exciting tale to tell, don’t be afraid to share it with me!

 

I’ve got two workshop events planned for this winter here in Alaska. This January I’m teaching a Photography 101 class at Stewart’s Photo Shop here in Anchorage. This is a 3-part evening class that will run on January 15, 22 and 29, from 6:00-7:30PM at the store downtown. It’s a basic digital photography class that will teach you how to get the most out of your digital camera. 

 

Geared towards beginning photographers, I’ll run through the art and science of photography and you’ll learn how each of your camera’s settings work and how to understand depth of field and shutter speeds and how to use them creativity in your photography. There are a few spots open, so if you’re interested, call Stewart’s Photo at 907-272-8581 or email them at Stewartsphoto@gmail.com.

 

 

 

During the weekend of the Spring Equinox, I’m running a two-night photo workshop that will be based at the Knik River Lodge. This promises to be a really cool weekend, because we’ll be flying out to the glaciers by helicopter, which will give you the chance to shoot amazing glacier aerials on the way out and back. We’ll also spend a number of hours on the ground to intimately explore and photograph these otherworldly landscapes of ice and rock. Of course, I’ll be right there with you, providing full, personal instruction and teaching you the ins and outs of winter landscape photography.

 

Weather permitting, you’ll have the chance to catch the late afternoon warm winter Alaska light on the Chugach Mountains, which is simply awesome this time of year. By this time, we’re back up to nearly 12 hours per day, so we’ll have lots of time for shooting. We can even focus on doing some action photography if people are interested. After the sun goes down, we’ll do some “night sky photography” as well. Hopefully you’ll be able to capture the aurora borealis if the Northern Lights are out. If the skies don’t cooperate, we’ll focus on light painting and other slow shutter speed photography styles.

 

The last day will be geared around shooting winter landscapes and other subjects near the lodge with more personal instruction from me.  You’ll also have some time to edit and show your glacier photos from the day before during our final instructional presentation and critique session. We’ll actually have a couple of evening presentations during the course of the weekend where I’ll share some of the technical and creative methods I like to use in my photography.

 

This workshop is limited to only 7 spots, and as of right now, there are only 5 spots left. If you’re interested, visit the workshop page at Alaska Photo Treks, where you can register and secure a spot!

 

 

There were some exceptional deals during this holiday season. No matter what you were shopping for, there were amazing sales to be had, and many of them are continuing to run until the new year, which is tomorrow night. Here are a few that caught my eye.

 

 

 

Over the course of 12 days, dPS featured one or two eBooks and video tutorials at remarkable discounts (usually over 50%). Each deal was only open for one day, but now they’ve brought ALL of them back for a few more days. Through tomorrow, you can pick up any number of really cool eBooks and bundles at amazing prices. The really cool thing is that there’s something for everyone here- portraits, landscapes, post processing, black and white, flash photography, etc… 

 

 

It seems like tripods are one of the things that get bought in huge droves right around the holidays. Whether you’re buying a gift for yourself or someone on your list, everyone can use a really high quality, well made travel and outdoor tripod, especially if it means saving a few bucks! Here are three high end tripods that are on sale right now.

 

Gitzo 0532 Mountainer: The number one all purpose carbon fiber tripod for outdoor and backpacking photographers. Right now, Gitzo has a $150 rebate, which, when combined with the current sale price, makes this $650 tripod only cost $349. 

 

Gitzo GT1542T: with 4-section legs that fold back on itself, the Gitzo Traveler is without a doubt, one of the best travel tripods around. Sturdy, lightweight and built like a tank. Sale price and $150 rebate make this $750 tripod only cost $424. 

 

MePhoto GlobeTrogger : This highly versatile is an ideal travel companion. It has legs that fold back, making it close down to only 16”, it converts to a monopod, it has two leg angles and comes with an Arca-style ball head. The carbon fiber version is right around $350 and the aluminum version is only $187.

 

 

Lightroom Made Easy Course, 30% off this week: Are you new to Lightroom and need a little head start? Check out Phil Steele’s online video course Lightroom Made Easy. This 5-hour tutorial that’s made up of 24 short video lessons will teach you everything you need to know about how to get your photos into Lightroom, how to organize, them, how to edit, retouch, create web galleries, and archive your entire library so that you can find everything quickly and efficiently. This week, you can get the whole course for 30% off.

 

Cradoc Software: Two programs that I use regularly in my photography business are FotoQuote and FotoBiz. These are essential photo business programs that let you keep track of all your photo shoots, assignments, stock submissions, invoices and estimates, and they offer full stock photo pricing solutions. I’ve been using different versions of Cradoc software for over 20 years and find them to be indispensable programs. For one more day, they’re offering a 20% discount on all programs. If you do photography as a business, I highly recommend giving them a look. 

 

 

We all fall into creative ruts and find ourselves unable to focus our energy into making something original. Sometimes it’s our own self criticism that hinders us, other times it’s time, but more than anything else, it’s that we have too many options. Instead of sitting down and letting our own creative juices flow, we get caught up in trying to decide which tool/program/lens/camera/setting etc… will be the best on one to use. 

 

This happens to everyone, even me. I find myself falling into this pattern all the time with various types of creative pursuits. Want to increase your creativity? Get rid of the options. Narrow down to one or two choices, or pieces of gear and go with that. Next time you’re in a rut, remember this mantra: Limitation breeds creativity. Now get out there and start creating!!

 

 

How adaptable are you willing to be? This great post by Skip Cohen reminds us to keep our minds open to new paradigm shifts that are happening all around use every single day. If you get locked into any one mentality or mindset, you’re going to limit yourself and you’ll have a harder time surviving whatever changes the future brings.

 

V or H - I still Wonder. This fun little blog post from nature photographer Moose Peterson explores the age-old conundrum that we photographers face- Should I shoot in horizontal or vertical? Sometimes it’s an easy choice, but other times, it’s not so apparent which way to orient the camera. Anyway, here’s Moose’s take on the issue. Enjoy.

 

Essentials of Composition: Relationships and Gestalt Theory. I always like Robert Rodriguez Jr’s insight, he often writes interesting articles on composition and framing. This one explores how the brain interprets what we see with regards to the meaning of an image and how pictures relate to the actual memories that we had of a particular situation or moment. Definitely worth a read.

 

7 New Year’s Resolutions for the Struggling Photographer. I like this post by Colorado photographer Mike Wilkinson. It’s honest, it’s insightful and it’s written for the travel and outdoor photographer in mind. We could all use some of the advice that he gives, including me!

 

What New Year’s resolutions do you have with your photography? 

 

I want to thank you again for following me in 2014. I wish you the best for a great new year and I look forward to exploring more photography goodness and excitement in 2015.

 

Happy new year, take care and don’t forget to share!

 

-Dan