Dan Bailey Photo Newsletter - January 2016 Issue - New Workshops Added!
Published: Tue, 01/19/16
Hi ,
I’d like to start by wishing you a very happy new year. I hope that 2016 is filled with inspiration and excitement for you, as well as endless photo opportunities. There really are endless opportunities out there. I guess thats the best thing I like about life itself, you can pretty much do anything you want. Anything. I’ll say it again. Anything.
A new year is such a great time to reflect on this, not only because of the whole New Year’s Resolution thing and the “what am I going to do this year?” question that we always ask ourselves when the big number finally changes on the calendar. It’s because there’s always a slight pause in the rat race, when things slow down for just a few days between December holidays and January 2 when everyone has to go back to work. There’s time to think.
I’ve always said that creative ideas don’t live at your desk. They live outside in the world, and it takes getting outside, away from the regular stuff of everyday life to find them. Even taking a walk can unlock new ideas in your head. If you don’t believe me, try it today. Take a walk in the middle of the day and see what new sparks ignite inside the lump of gray matter between your shoulders.
Great things, whether they’re awesome photographs or life changing events usually begin with the spark of an idea, and then it’s up to you to draw it out, push forward and make it happen. Of course, great ideas and creativity don’t always come easy. They take work and continuous effort, so along with those walks, you need to make time for practice.
There’s a third component- the willingness to fail. You need to not be afraid to come up with a really dumb idea, or to see your good idea crash and burn- at least the first incarnation of your great idea. That’s where sketching comes in. Practice taking pictures every day, or as often as you can, without worrying if they’ll be great. Don’t be afraid that they might suck, because they might, but that’s ok.
I elaborated on this notion in my November 5 blog post, called There is No Failure in Creativity. If you’ve already read it, give it another look and remind yourself that it’s ok to take bad pictures, because every single one of them is a vital ingredient in the learning process. Remember, creativity is not an end game, it's life. It's living. It's being a part of the world and responding in your own personal way.
So again, happy new year. I wish you the best fortune in your creative endeavors and adventures for 2016.
New Workshops Added for 2016
I’ve got three photograph workshops scheduled for 2016, one in April, one in May and one in July. This is in addition to the regular Sunset Photo Safari evening workshops and private custom tours I occasionally lead around Anchorage during the summer months. If you find yourself with plans to come to Alaska this summer, I’d love to have you join me for one of these outings! If you have questions about any of these workshops, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
If you aren't able to make it to Alaska, you can still learn from me online, either through my new video course, Outdoor Photography Essentials, or with one-on-one instruction through The Compelling Image. Both include assignments and personal feedback on your work.
Matanuska Glacier Photo Workshop, April 1-3, 2016
During this two-night weekend workshop, you’ll have the opportunity to explore one of the most amazing and rugged locations that Southcentral Alaska has to offer, the massive Matanuska Glacier, in the heart of the Chugach Mountains.
You’ll spend a full day exploring the glacier up close, with time to intimately photograph this otherworldly landscapes of snow and ice. This is really an amazing location, full of ice caves, massive walls of blue ice, impressive crevasses, and stunning ice formations that jut up into the sky. It’s a photographer’s playground! Accommodations are at the rustic Sheep Mountain Lodge, where you'll enjoy great food, a view of the impressive Matanuska river, and the northern lights, if they're out.
Of course, I’ll be right there with you to provide personal instruction and assistance so you can get the best shots possible. I want you to walk away with photographs you’re really excited about, so my focus will be on teaching and giving you compositional tips and technical guidance, as well as general tips for shooting in these kinds of environments, and if you wish, you’ll have the chance to try out some of my Fujifilm X Series mirrorless cameras and lenses like the X-T1 and X-T10.
Click here for more info.
Action Sports and Outdoor Flash Photography Workshop, May 21-22, 2016
During this two-day intensive workshop, you’ll immerse yourself in the outdoors with me and learn techniques for capturing exciting outdoor and action imagery in the field. This is not a classroom-style seminar, you’ll spend the entire time out on the trials, mountain biking and hiking, while hunting for good light until almost midnight under our late evening sunset and shooting a variety of action adventure sports, like hiking biking and trail running.
You’ll learn how to look for and see potentially compelling photo ops while out on location. You’ll learn firsthand how to gauge light, background and subject matter, and how to bring all of the elements together, quickly and efficiently, in order to create a successful, exciting shot. We’ll also practice with off camera flash techniques and see how to add dynamic light to our subjects in order to make them pop.
Run as organically as possible, with one session on mountain bikes, and one spent hiking in the Chugach Mountains, (you can participate in either session or do the full two-day workshop). We’ll all work together and bounce ideas off of each other for maximum collaboration of ideas and the best possible outcome in every situation. Everyone will have input, and you’ll even have the chance to lead the group with your own ideas during the exercises.
Click here for more info.
Midnight Sun Glacier Overnight Photography Workshop, July 15-17, 2016
The key to great photography is great light, and in the summertime in Alaska, this means staying up late. REALLY late. During this special three-day outdoor photography workshop, you’ll have the unique opportunity to camp outside in the heart of the Chugach Mountains and photograph glacier landscapes under the midnight sun.
You’ll also have the chance to shoot a few aerial photos of the massive Knik Glacier from the helicopter that will fly us out to our camping spot by Lake George and the Colony Glacier. Also, you’ll have the chance to kayak around the lake and see the icebergs from an amazing, intimate vantage point.
Starting with a Friday evening photo presentation designed to prepare you for the subject matter and conditions we’ll encounter during the next two days. You then spend the night in a rustic cabin perched on the hillside above the wide open Knik River valley.
Then, on Saturday, we’ll all fly out to our location and spend the entire day and evening in the company of massive icebergs that have calved off from the terminus of Colony Glacier. In addition to being able to photograph these incredible icebergs from a relatively close vantage point, you’ll have the chance to see them and then surrounding mountain landscape in the best possible light of the day.
Our camping guide service will provide all of the necessary camping gear and meals, as well as a selection of sea kayaks which you can use to explore the ice up close. The kayaks are very stable and they have a comfortable seat and a large cockpit, so they’re easy to paddle. This could easily be one of the highlight of the trip!
You might have seen some of my aerials and glacier photos, well this is where I shoot many of them. This is one of my favorite places to go in my little yellow bush plane. I’ve been out here during magic hour, and in the middle of the night when the quality of the light is blue and yet there’s still enough light to continue shooting, and I can tell you that it’s simply magical.
I’m really looking forward to this one and I hope you can join me. Click here for more info.
Gear Corner - New Cameras Announced!
2016 began with a flurry of new camera announcements, the biggest ones coming from Fuji and Nikon. Over the weekend, Fuji finally unveiled the long awaited X-Pro2, which apparently caused the world to stop for a few brief moments. Featuring a host of brand new technologies, including an X-Trans 24MP CMOS III sensor and upgraded image processor, as well as a newly revamp AF system that centers around 273 focus points, 40% of which are fast phase detect pixels, the X-Pro 2 looks like an amazing camera.
A number of accomplished pros have been using it for the past couple of months, and so far, it’s been incredibly well received. The image quality is absolutely stunning, and the classic ergonomic style of the original X-Pro1 has been retained. Although I don’t use the X-Pro2, I’m excited about this launch, because it surely means we can expect some of theses advancements and upgrades to appear in future incarnations of the X-T1 and X-T10. The X-Pro2 will be available at the end of February, but you can preorder it now at B&H Photo and Amazon.
Fuji also announced the new X70, which is basically a smaller, lighter and considerably less expensive version of the X100. It has the same sensor and image processor, but it doesn’t have an optical viewfinder; it only has the touchscreen LCD screen for a viewfinder. Also, the X70 has a slightly wider lens. Instead of a 35mm equivalent lens that’s found on the X100, the X70 uses a 28mm equivalent.
The X70 looks like a really fun camera- it’s highly affordable and offers the same image quality as the classic X100. If you’ve toyed around with getting an X100 but just can’t quite stomach the price, the X70 might be the one for you. It will also be available in February for only $695 and you can preorder it at B&H Photo and Amazon.
Nikon
At CES, Nikon announced both the D5 and the D500. The D5 is their new top of the line camera. As with the D4, which has now been reduced to only… that’s right, I said ONLY, $3,599, the D5 is big, heavy and built like a tank. You could light it on fire and drop if off the moon and it will keep on firing off full frame images at a blazingly fast 12 fps.
Since the D5 is clearly not for everyone, Nikon also announced the long… I should say VERY long, awaited upgrade to the venerable D300S. The brand new Nikon D500 is their new top of the line DX camera, and it has some pretty cool advancements. With a 20MP APS-C sensor, a brand new image processor, full time wi-fi connectivity, touchscreen display, 153 AF points, including 99 cross type AF points, and 4K video, the D500 is a highly capable and highly rugged camera.
Coming in at $1,995, the D500 will be available in March. You can preorder it at B&H Photo and Amazon.
Creative Tip - Using a Dominant Color Palette
Often times we try to create photos that have a blend of colors, or an even number of shades and tones in them. However, what if you were to use only one color scene in your imagery? What if, instead of capturing a rainbow of hues in your photographs, you only used the tones from a single color palette. Here are a few examples of things I’ve shot using this technique. Something to think about next time you’re out photographing. Think of it like shooting black and white, but in color.
Around The Web
I love shooting with long lenses. I love the compressed perspective they gibe, and paper thin depth of field they can produce, where your subject is razor sharp against a soft, blurry background. And I love that you can get closer to distant subjects. Here are 11 Practical Techniques for Long Lens Photography.
Do you follow me on Instagram? I’ve long had a love-hate relationship with Instagram. I love it because I see it as the great equalizer. Everyone has the same little space to share their creativity, and I see it as a great way to connect with other photographers. There are some great people in IG who I started following, or who reached out to me, who I have actually met and become friends with in real life. Last weekend, I rode snow bikes with someone who I first met on IG, and while I was in Romania, I met one of my followers. I don’t like Instagram, because it’s become such a silly numbers game where people obsess on how many followers they have, as if it’s some kind of contest. I even fall into this sometimes.
Canadiana photographer Dave Brosha wrote an awesome post on his Facebook Page about social media, how easily it its to get trapped in this game, and how to see it in a different, more healthy way. Read his post and learn to be true not to the numbers, but to yourself.
Kind of in line with that, there’s this article called 7 Habits for Becoming a Better Photographer. These 7 little tips are short, sweet and to the point, and they can help foster your growth as an creative artist. It’s worth checking out.
If you shoot sports photography, you know that it often revolves around capturing “The Moment.” We all try to grab the moment, but how often do we really succeed? Here’s a collection of 20 Famous Sports Photos to give you some perspective on just how powerful The Moment can be when you grab the right one. I know you’ve seen some of these shots, they’re petty amazing. Look at them and be reminded about how the right combination of craft, timing and vantage point can make all the difference, no matter what you’re shooting.
I sometimes forget about this, but Fujifilm has a loaner program that allows you to try out Fuji X Series cameras and lenses. If you’ve ever been curious about the Fuji cameras, or if you already shoot Fuji and want to try out some different lenses before buying, consider taking advantage of their pro rental program.
Here’s a list of 11 Ted Talks on Photography that you might find interesting. I know that time is limited, but some of these talks might be worth watching. I like the Polar Ice one. Anyway, it’s neat to see different people’s perspective on photography and what they do with it.
My Alaska Photo Treks business partner Jody Overstreet wrote this post called Shoot Recipe for Winter Sunsets. It’s part of a series she’s doing on photography recipes for different subject matter, the first one being centered around winter, since we have an abundance of it here in Alaska during this time of year. Enjoy!
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So, that’s all for this issue. Thanks so much for reading. Don’t forget to pass it on and share it with your other photographer friends. And as always, keep in touch. I enjoy hearing from my followers about their photography and their adventures. So don’t be shy, drop me a line and let me know what you’re doing, whether it’s on email, my Facebook Page, Twitter or Instagram. I try to answer everyone.
Take care and best of luck with your photography this winter.
-Dan
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