Read the Dan Bailey Photo Newsletter - Aug 2016 Issue
Published: Fri, 08/26/16
Hi ,
Man, I can’t believe that September is just around the corner. Where the heck did summer go? I’m asking myself that every day now and I’m trying to remember exactly what I did on my summer vacation. Oh, that’s right, I shot a huge batch of photos with the new X-T2, I taught my midnight sun glacier photo workshop here in Alaska and I raced bikes a few times. Yea, I pretty much got my butt kicked in every single one, but at least I was out there pedaling as fast as I could.
I hope you made the most of your summer and shot lots of awesome photos. Of course, that’s totally a loaded statement, because no matter what you did, I’m sure there is still a huge list of things you were hoping to accomplish, but just ran out of time. Well, fall is a great time to get outside, and besides, the autumn equinox is still almost a month away. There’s still time…
This past weekend, I was one of the keynote presenters at the Bedford PhotoExpo in Little Rock, AR. Following Scotty Kelby, who spoke the previous night, I talked about some of the benefits of using mirrorless cameras, how my own style has benefitted from the new technology, and I also talked a little bit about the new Fujifilm X-T2, which will be hitting stores in the next few weeks.
Side note- Bedford Photo and Video is great independent dealer in the Mid-South US. They have stores in Springfield, MO, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and four locations in Arkansas, and they run classes, events, workshops, contests and provide excellent customer service. They have a wonderful and very knowledgable staff, like my new friend Alex Kent, a fellow outdoor adventure and landscape photographer, and they run an informative blog. I love supporting local stores, so if you live in this part of the country, I highly recommend visiting them, either online, or in person.
Anyway, the gist of my talk wasn’t about gear, or even Fujifilm gear, it was about the concept having fun with photography.
We all got into this wonderful craft for a reason, and although I don’t know your personal motivations for wanting to take pictures, my guess is that in many ways, it revolved around having fun. I would also bet that it had something to do with engaging yourself in a creative hobby that keeps your mind and body active as you explore the world with your camera.
One of the coolest things about photography is that it requires both left brain and right brain activity. The technical side of photography, which is largely about exposure, numbers, ratios, fractions and how to operates your camera controls, is very much left brain. Things like color, magic hour, bokeh, blur, shadows and how to frame your compositions are very much right brain concepts.
Creating great images requires solid execution on both sides of the brain, and therein lies the challenge. Most of us are stronger on one side, which means we struggle with the other. Me included.
That's ok. It's part of being human, and it's what’s behind our learning process with photography and just about every other craft in our lives.
I realize that this left/right disconnect can sometimes lead to frustration, especially when your images aren't turning out quite the way you hope they would. However, this should motivate you, because you're learning every time you press the shutter, and that's pretty exciting.
Remember, photography is a lifelong pursuit, which means the learning process will never end. In other words, you'll never be bored. You'll always be adding to your knowledge, experience, and your skill to capture more compelling images.
Embrace The Fun
With this in mind, you should always remember to embrace the fun-ness of photography. This is a wonderful, creative activity filled with wonder and exploration, so it should bring you joy. If you find that it's becoming too frustrating, then think about what it is you're struggling with and make the change. Get a book. Take a workshop consider getting a different camera setup. Approach your subject matter in a different way, or seek out new subject matter. Take a trip. Connect with other photographers. Get some new gear. Shake it up somehow. Sure, this might mean spending some money, but how much is your passion worth?
Life is too short to struggle fruitlessly with anything.
2 Million Page Views
Earlier this month, my blog hit 2 million page views. To me, this is an astounding number; the fact that people have clicked and opened up over 2 million pages tells me that I’m doing a few things right with all of this blogging stuff. It shows me that the experience, insight and photographs I share provide real value and help to inspire and readers people from all over the world.
It makes me very happy to know that my work and words have inspired so many people out there. My blog is truly a labor of love, because every time I sit down to write a post or answer a comment, my primary goal is to help people become better photographers, including myself. In fact, many of my posts originate from my own learning process.
So, I’d like to express my deepest gratitude for making me WANT to write and share my knowledge with you, and for taking the time to read, share and comment on my blog. Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your creative process and your ongoing and endless photography journey in this world.
Also, I love to hear from my readers, so if you’ve been a frequent visitor to my blog, it would be awesome if you’d leave a comment and let me know how long you’ve been following me. Let me know if you remember the first one of my posts that you read, or one that has particularly inspired you or helped you with your photography. Or let me know what you’d like to see more of. What style of posts do you especially like from me? Any input and feedback is helpful and appreciated.
Shutter Speed, Aperture, ISO
A few months back, I wrote a blog post called Modern Cameras are Just Too Damn Complicated. It was my response after teaching a beginning photography class where almost everyone was utterly confused by their brand new cameras. Most people had DSLRs, but I did see a few mirrorless cameras as well.
It’s easy to see why this can happen. Most new cameras have anywhere from 15-20 buttons and over 100 menu items, and yet the three most important controls of all, shutter speed, aperture and ISO are not always easily apparent. Shutter speed and aperture are usually controlled via the front or rear command dials, but you might not know which is which. With aperture, it might even be a different control or button-dial combination, depending on which mode you’re in. ISO is a toss up. Sometimes there’s a dedicated ISO button, other times you have to dig into the menu or on the camera’s touch screen menu.
Given that these three things are the most important elements in the Exposure Triangle, which is the fundamental equation in determining camera exposure, you should not only know where to find these controls on your cameras, it should be second nature to change then quickly. This is one of the things I particularly like about the Fujifilm cameras; these three controls are right at your fingertips, just like on the film cameras of old. This makes it very easy to change exposure settings, even when holding the camera up to you eye.
No matter what camera you use, I highly recommend becoming very familiar with these three controls. Everything else on the camera is fluff. Remember that. If you buy a new camera, you could spend weeks or months learning all the other features, but it’s imperative that you memorize those three things first.
If you’re new to photography, and aren’t quite up to speed on the basics of exposure, here’s a great article that explains the exposure triangle. Also, I can highly recommend Bryan Peterson's book, Understanding Exposure. It’s my favorite book for learning that stuff. It’s one of the books I studied quite a bit back when I first started. Consider it required reading for beginners.
Also, check out the Digital Photography School eBook, Photo Nuts and Bolts. It's an excellent primer that will help you better understand your camera and show you how each control directly relates to real world photography situations. Filled with lessons, exercises and extra resources, Photo Nuts and Bolts gives you great information you can take away and use right away.
My Outdoor Photography Online Video Course
Almost one year ago, I released my first online video course, called Outdoor Photography Essentials. Filmed last summer in the mountains around Vail, Colorado it features over 80 minutes of material broken down into 6 concise lessons:
- Exposure in Action
- Modern Digital Cameras
- Challenging Light
- Dynamic Light
- The Right Lens
- Composition: Building Your Photos
- Shooting People and Action
Created in conjunction with Craftsy.com, this is an interactive online course that features HD video lessons that you can watch on your computer or mobile device, anytime, anywhere. In addition, you can ask me specific questions, upload your own photos and get personalized guidance from me that will help you get the most out of the lessons.
What I really like about this course, is that it presents a highly practical and real-world approach, and gives you a first-person look at exactly how I gauge the light and work my subjects when I'm on location. It’s the closest thing to actually being there with me on a shoot, or taking one of my workshops, except you can rewind and re-watch the content as many times as you want so that it really sinks in.
I tried to make it as real as possible. In each location, I had to work with whatever light we happened to have at the time, just like you do when you're out shooting.I had to come up with technical and creative ideas on the spot, with almost no pre-planning, and in each case, I show you exactly how I took the scene from initial observations to a great final image that I was exceptionally pleased with.
To me, this is the hallmark of Outdoor Photography Essentials. When you're out shooting people, action and adventure, you have to deal with whatever situation you're given, which often include fast breaking situations and quickly changing light. I wanted to create a video workshop that reflects and addresses the specific challenges you face when you're standing there on location with the camera in your hands, not just a course that repeats the stuff you already know, and I think we did a really good job with this!
As one of my subscribers, you’re able to get access to the course for a very special price. Use this link and save $25 off the regular price of the course. You can even watch part of the first lesson for free in order to get an idea of what it's like.
If you’re interested in other Craftsy photography courses, I highly recommend checking out these tutorials as well. I’ve previewed them and I feel they offer great quality content at a good price.
Basics of Digital Photography
Basics of Flash Photography
The Essential Guide to Lightroom
Landsape Photography: Shooting From Dawn To Dusk
Night Photography
Gear Corner
There are quite a few photography deals going right now, here are some of the ones that caught my eye.
Fujifilm Rebates
Fujifilm just announced another round of instant rebates. Most of the X Series cameras and lenses are on sale, with savings of up to $300. The X-T1 is on sale for $300 off, and you get a free vertical grip with your purchase. If you buy the 50-140 or 100-40, you’ll get either the 1.4X or the 2X teleconverter for free, or you can save $300 if you grab both the 50-140 and the 100-400 as a set. The X-Pro 2 has up to a $300 rebate, if you pair it with one of the lenses.
And of course, the X-T2 will be coming soon. It will start shipping in September, but you can get your preorder it now. If you haven’t seen my full, detailed review of X-T2, you can find it here.
In addition, Fuji just announced the brand new 23mm f/2 lens. Much like the 35mm f/2, this is a compact, weather sealed semi-wide angle lens that’s perfect for travel, photo journalism, street photography and environmental portraits. It will also be out in September.
Canon
Canon just announced their new 5D Mark IV, which features a new 30MP Full Frame sensor and the ability to shoot 4K video. It’s a real powerhouse, and it’s sure to please Canon shooters who wanted a 5D upgrade, but don’t need a 50MP sensor. This 30MP version should hit a sweet spot with many users. It will hit shelves on Sept. 8.
Lacie Rugged Hard Drive
Lacie’s rugged external hard drives are perfect for outdoor photographers on the go. Their bright orange sealed rubber bumpers help protect the drive against shock, dust, moisture and droppage, and make them easy to find inside your dark backpack or camera bag. They just released their 4TB version, which is a 2 X 2TB set inside the enclosure. You can either run it as a single 4TB drive, or configure as a 2TB RAID 1 drive. It features both Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 interfaces.
Slik Sprint 150 Tripod - Almost $30 off
The Slik Sprint is a great lightweight and very affordable tripod. It’s one of the mainstays of their line. My very first tripod was a Slik, and I’ve always thought they were decent legs for the money, especially if you have a lightweight camera setup. It’s only rated for 4.6lbs, but that’s fine for a small mirrorless camera or lightweight DSLR with a kit lens or a compact prime. The 150 model has four flip lock leg sections, it only weighs 2.4 lbs, and comes with QR plate ball head.
Normally $119, right now Slik is offering a $60 rebate, which brings the price down to only $59.34. Easily the best deal going for a compact travel or hiking tripod.
Photography Goodness Around the Web
We always hear about how we shouldn’t put the subject in the middle of the frame, or split the horizon directly in half. Putting things off-center or placing the horizon at a more random level in the frame helps create a more dynamic and flowing feel to your shot. However, most rules are meant to be broken, and photographer Chris Corradino offers some ideas on why splitting the horizon in half sometimes makes sense and can impart a tranquil feel to your images.
While we’re on the topic, here’s a blog post that features 27 outstanding examples of perfect symmetry. These photographs show you what a careful eye for composition can achieve when you look for symmetry both in nature and in man-made objects out in the world. This style of photography is a great exercise in composition and maybe they’ll inspire you to be more open to seeing this kind of subject next time you’re out shooting.
Last week while giving my presentation in Little Rock, I met a photographer named Don Hamilton Jr. Based in Florida, Don is an accomplished wildlife and nature photographer and workshop leader who’s travels include Equador, Colorado, Costa Rica, Alaska, and his own local Everglades. Check out Don’s work here and see his current list of 2017 workshops.
Who doesn’t love good quotes? Who doesn’t love good quotes when they’re packaged as nice little infographics? Here’s a concise list of 10 quotes that will change the way you think about photography.
I really want to visit Scotland. I’ve been dying to go there for a few years, because I’m intrigued by the incredible diversity of beautiful landscapes. Here’s a beautiful collection of Scotland scenics and nature shots by Daniel Korzeniewski that’s sure to have you looking for good airfare deals to Edinburgh.
I’ve always been fascinated by Henri Cartier-Bresson’s phrase, “The Decisive Moment.” Essentially, The Decisive Moment refers to a single fleeting moment that is captured by a photographer who was in the right place at the right time. Here’s a post I wrote earlier this summer that explores the different ways you can think about and capture decisive moments in your own photography.
As I mentioned above, it's been a very busy season of teaching photo workshops here in Alaska. I'm looking forward to doing some more traveling this fall, and possibly doing some more events in the lower 48. I'll keep you posted when I've got dates set, and will let you know what's on the horizon.
I'm also working on my 2017 photo worksop schedule. So far, I've got a couple of really cool things planned, and I'm just finalizing details. I'm really excited about the ideas I have for next summer, and I hope you can join me on at least of my trips next year. Expect to see those announcements very soon; for now, I'll just say at that they involve glaciers, bush planes, helicopters and some hiking.
I hope you have a great end-of-summer, (or winter, for my southern hemisphere readers). As always, keep in touch and let me know what you did on your summer vacation. Tell me what you shot, what you learned, where you improved, and send me links to your favorite shots form the summer, I always like to see what my readers are doing out there in the world.
Enjoy the blog posts below and remember to share this issue with your photographer friends. And, don't forget to follow me on Instagram and Twitter!
Take care,
Dan
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