Hi ,

Hi there! I hope you’ve been having a fantastic summer so far, and I hope your adventures and travel have taken you to some amazing places during the past month. I just returned from a two-week trip around Newfoundland and up the amazingly rugged coast of Labrador in eastern Canada, acting as a guest photography guide abroad Adventure Canada’s new expedition ship Ocean Endeavor. 

In many ways, Labrador is much like Alaska- remote and mostly empty, with lots of bears and breathtaking arctic landscapes. The spectacular Torngat Mountains were the highlight of our trip- these are among the oldest mountains on the planet, dated at roughly 3.6-3.9 billion years old. Culturally, northern Labrador is also much like northern Alaska. (It's called Nunatsiavut by the Inuit people who have fished and hunted these areas for thousands of years.)



I’ll be sharing photos from this trip on my various social media channels during the next few weeks, and I also plan to release a special eBook features an intimate look at some of my favorite images from this trip. It will feature personal and creative insight about how I made each shot, and it will also include detailed historical, cultural and geological information about the region. I’m really excited to start working on this project as soon as I finish editing the few thousand frames I shot on the trip.

Also on the trip was Fujiguys Billy. You might have seen some of his videos on the Fujiguys YouTube Channel. During the trip, we shot a handful of video interview and "tips shorts." Look for those to go up sometime in the next few weeks.



Before heading up to the upper right corner of the continent, I squeezed in a quick Alaska bikepacking adventure to ride the Nome-Teller highway, a 74-mile stretch of gravel that heads north out of Nome along the arctic tundra to a tiny Inupiat village on the edge of the Bering Sea. It’s pretty much the furthest northwest road in North America, with the exception of a few short mining roads west of Brevig Mission that only go a few miles. Braving wind, rain, fog, mosquitos and 1:00AM sunsets, we had a great time enjoying the wilds of the upper left corner. There are three such roads that head out of Nome, and you can actually fly there and rent a car to enjoy the amazing scenery in this part of the world.

Outdoor Photographer Magazine Article

Be sure and cheek out the August 2015 issue of Outdoor Photographer; I’m excited to report that I’ve got a feature article in the mag this month!

The story is called My Move to Mirrorless and it details how I captured a number of action and landscapes images with my Fuji X cameras. 

That said, you don’t necessarily have to be a mirrorless shooter to get something out of the piece, the extended captions also describe the methods and techniques I used to get each photo.

I’ve always thought very highly of Outdoor Photographer; in my mind, it’s the magazine that most represents the style of photography that is closest to my heart and so I’m very honored to be featured in its pages this month.

The issue should be hitting stands any day now, and you can also read it digitally through Amazon, iTunes, Zinio, Nook and Google Play.

 

Upcoming Photography Workshops

Now that I’m back in Alaska for a couple weeks I’m running evening Sunset Photo Safaris with Alaska Photo Treks, and in the middle of August, I’ll be co-leading a Denali National Park Workshop with Jeff Schultz. During the first week of August, I’ll be flying down to the lower 48 to shoot an online video course, which should be available for viewing this fall. Stay tuned for more info.

Books and Apps

As you might know, my very fist print book was published this past April by Focal Press, called Outdoor Action and Adventure Photography. I know that some of you have already bought the book and for that I’d like to thank you very much. Can I also ask you to write a review on Amazon? This really helps the exposure on the book within Amazon’s search engine and it will help other photographer like you find it when they’re looking for outdoor photography resources.

If you haven’t checked out my book yet, please take a look. It pretty much covers the entire extent of outdoor photography knowledge that I’ve gained from 25+ years of experience. It’s written in a very conversional, easy to read style, and in fact, one reader called it “a page turner!”  There’s a ton of in-depth information and insight on the 300 pages, and most of it is text; it’s not a “lots of big pictures photo gallery book,” it’s crammed full of info. Here’s an excerpt of the book to give you an idea of my writing style. It's available in both print and e-versions. If you're in the UK, you can find the book on the Amazon UK site here.



This month, I’m excited to debut my first iOS photography apps. Right now, I’ve got two apps, Capturing Action and Capturing Landscapes. These are two simple, easy to use apps that give you quick insight on how to create compelling images. Each one features a number of images with full EXIF data and a few paragraphs of pro insight about how I made each image happen. They’re fun, cheap and provide great on-the-spot inspiration if you’re looking for ideas. Check ‘em out at the iTunes Store. Please note, they’re only for iOS 8.

Photo Tip - Shooting With One Color Palette

This is one of my favorite techniques. I don't use it very often, so it never gets old for me. I ran this on my blog a few months ago, so you might have already seen it, but I feel it's a tip that bears repeating.

Most of the scenery in the world is comprised of a multitude of colors, which can make for very exciting photographs. However, some subject matter is dominant in just a single hue. By focusing on those particular subjects when you find them, you can create very interesting photos that take on a unique look. 

Here are just a couple of examples, but you can read my original post to see more and get additional ideas. 

Gear Corner

Western Digital My Passport Wireless Hard Drive

I’m always looking for ways to decrease my gear dependency when I’m traveling, and one of the biggest cruxes has been carrying a laptop. Even though I can write, upload and share images, as well as do email and web stuff on the iPad, it doesn’t offer any practical way to download or backup SD cards, or to take my photo archive on the road. I either have to leave the house with severely limited mobile work capabilities or carry a 2-pound laptop in my pack, which is not always fun when cycling or traveling light.

Enter the Western Digital My Passport Wireless Hard Drive. Designed for traveling photographers, this has something no other drive has, a built-in SD card slot. This allows you to back up your cards on location, and since it creates its own wi-fi connection, the drive’s free cloud app allows you to browse the entire collection of images/files right on your phone or tablet. Or, you can use it as a regular external hard drive with the cable.

Theoretically, you could put a collection of your best work on the drive in case you need to deliver images, submit photos or fill stock photo requests when you’re on the road. Or you can simply use it as a backup drive, or a place to store all of your music when you’re on a road trip. 

I got one of these before my Canada trip and used it to back up all of my SD cards. It worked just as advertised, which suddenly tells me that I could indeed get by without my laptop on the next trip. While it has some limitations, the Western Digital My Passport Wireless drive definitely offers a very workable solution for photographers who like to go light.

Fuji XF 90mm f/2 Lens

Fuji just released the 90mm f/2 lens. I managed to borrow one for a couple of weeks and instantly fell in love with it. It’s fast, light and incredibly sharp, all aspects that fit right in with the mentality of using high quality lightweight mirrorless gear.

My main tele is the somewhat heavy 50-140 f/2.8, but after picking this thing up, it only took a minute to see that the 90mm f/2 is the perfect lightweight fast tele prime, great for travel, portraits, and outdoor work.

So far, I've found it to be extremely versatile; it even makes a great "walk around long lens."

I’m already budgeting to buy the 90 f/2 as soon as I have to return my loaner in a couple of weeks. If you’re a Fuji X shooter, I’d highly recommend taking a look at this lens, it's a real gem. 
 

Fuji X-Pro1 on Sale - Save $900

As a former SLR user, I love the X-T1. However, lots of people LOVE the X-Pro1. It’s a fantastic rangefinder style camera that rocks for portraits and travel. Right now B&H is offering a super deal on this camera: $900 off. The deal includes the X-Pro1 body and two lenses, the 27mm and 35mm, all for only $949. If you dig high quality rangefinders, you might want to jump on this one.

Updated Canon 100-400mm f/4-5.6L IS II USM Now Shipping

Canon has finally updated their venerable EF 100-400 f/4-5.6 IS II USM lens. The old version was around for years, and since it was designed for film, the new one offers incredible performance upgrades for high resolution digital cameras. If you’re a Canon wildlife or sports shooter, this is the lens to have. It’s now in stock at B&H and Amazon.

Also, check out the latest Canon and Nikon rebate deals.


 

Save 10% on Cradoc Photography Business Software

In my mind, David duChemin is the modern day Galen Rowell in terms of his penchant for traveling and his thought provoking and insightful writing. I guess you could call him the Man with the Golden Keyboard, because every one of his blog posts and eBooks is filled with the most amazing words of creative wisdom that are sure to inspire anyone. His post Stop Using a Camera, Start Making Photographs is no exception.

After careful anthropological research, Kai from DigitalRev published his dissertation. 9 Species of Amateur Photographers is an accurate portrayal of modern photographer wildlife. He totally nails it. Hilarious. Watch it. 

I’m a long lens guy. I love the compression and limited focus that telephoto lenses bring to the scene. Part of this is probably because it creates a viewpoint that we can’t normally see. Here’s a great, short post by Michael Reichmann called A Preference for Long Lenses that provides you some tips for getting the most of long glass. Even if you don’t have a super long lens, you can still replicate these looks by moving in a little closer to your subject.

No eye candy in this one, but a great article nonetheless. What is the Role of the Travel Photographer? This post explores how we as image creators can be great influencers in the world. We have the power to communicate and show the extraordinary quality of the ordinary, at least what counts as ordinary to those who see and experience these locations and customs every single day. Real people living real lives. Worth a read.

Edge of Stability - The Making of an Amazing Timelapse Film. California photographer Jeff Boyce spent months driving thousands of miles around the American West chasing storms, and the result is a jaw dropping time lapse made from over 70,000 high resolution photos from his Canon DSLR. This post features the video as well as an interview with Jeff about how he made it.

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As always, be sure and share this newsletter with your photographer friends, and keep in touch. I always like hearing what my readers are doing out in the world. Have a great month and please keep in touch if you make it up to Alaska any time soon.

Best regards,
Dan


 

Recent Interviews and Podcasts with Me Around The Web   Having just released my book, Outdoor Action and Adventure Photography, I’ve done a few interviews and podcasts lately. Rather than link to them all in separate blog posts, I’ve compiled three of them here for your leisurely monday reading/listening pleasure. … Continue reading → The post Recent Interviews and Podcasts with Me Around The Web appeared first on Dan Bailey's Adventure Photography Blog. Find out more The Challenge of Finding New Vantage Points   While giving a presentation on adventure and outdoor photography the other day at my Anchorage book signing, I showed some photos from my recent Oregon bike trip. That’s when my friend Nicholas asked me a very good question about vantage points, … Continue reading → The post The Challenge of Finding New Vantage Points appeared first on Dan Bailey's Adventure Photography Blog. Find out more More Action and Autofocus Tests with the New Fuji X-T10   A couple of weeks ago, I posted my full review of the new Fuji X-T10, which hits stores in just over a week (June 18.) I’ve been so impressed with this little camera; it really is a hot little number. The … Continue reading → The post More Action and Autofocus Tests with the New Fuji X-T10 appeared first on Dan Bailey's Adventure Photography Blog. Find out more Solar Charging Solutions For Your Camera Batteries   Modern technology is awesome, but it sucks to be tethered all the time. As much as we depend on our gadgets, and especially our cameras, we what outdoor photographers, adventurers and travelers really long for is to be able to run … Continue reading → The post Solar Charging Solutions For Your Camera Batteries appeared first on Dan Bailey's Adventure Photography Blog. Find out more Mirrorless Cameras and the Legacy of Photography   Last week, I went out shooting with my friend Ryan Greeff, who lives here in Anchorage. He also likes to photograph outdoor adventure subjects and sports like mountain biking. He’s only been shooting for a few years, but he’s got a … Continue reading → The post Mirrorless Cameras and the Legacy of Photography appeared first on Dan Bailey's Adventure Photography Blog. Find out more

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