Oh man, I can feel it. Summer is almost here. It’s approaching 60 degrees in Alaska, where the trails are, unfortunately, a long way from being dry. Of course, the skiing is still good, so we have that going for us. 

 

Also, I’m excited to report that I’ve finally finished writing my next eBook. It’s a behind the scenes book that breaks down 10 of my images, showing you everything that went into creating each shot: Details, gear, concepts, the whole sh'bang. Now the design and layout stage begins. I don’t have a definite release date yet, but I’m hoping that we can get the thing all put together in the next few weeks. I’ll keep you posted.

 

 

Lost of stuff to cover this week. First of all, Lowepro announced a brand new line of adventure photography camera packs, called the Flipside Sport AW. You’ll see a link for it in the next issue of my newsletter, but I figure why wait? Spring is here NOW! If you’re looking for a fast access technical daypack that will allow you to literally hit the trail running with your photo gear, then this might be the pack for you. 

 

The Fipside Sport AW comes in two sizes, 15L and a 10L, and they both offer a highly technical suspension system and full zip access to your gear. This allows you to unsling the shoulder straps, swing the pack around and unzip the entire back panel, which give you complete and unhindered access to everything in your bag. No taking the pack off, no digging and no slowing down. Both sizes will fit a camera and a relatively big lens, as well as a selection of 2-3 additional lenses or flashes, and they both have a hydration pocket and side flap tripod stash.

 

I’ve already got my 10L Flipside Sport AW on order, I see it as a great companion to my much used Photo Sport 200 for those really fast and light outings, when I’m shooting running, racing on the mountain bike, chasing subjects down the trail or blasting up the mountains in order to catch last light.

 

As a Lowepro professional, I’m allowed to give you, my readers, special discounts on Lowepro gear. If you think that the Flipside Sport AW, or any Lowepro product, is right for you, click through to the Lowepro site and enter code LP20 in your shopping cart to save 20% on your order.

 

 

 

 

 

A few months ago, I worked with the photography deals site Photowhoa to bundle together my entire eBook collection and offer it at a special price. If you missed that opportunity, Photowhoa has resurrected the deal for a limited time. Right now, you can get all three of my photography ebooks for only $17. That’s almost half off the regular price. 

 

Even if you’ve already got my eBooks, (Thank you!) check out Photowhoa.com anyway, because they always have some kind of special deal going. Right now, they have the entire Craft and Vision eBook collection for about half off as well. ($68 off.) If you’ve ready any of the Craft and Vision eBooks, then you know what an awesome collection that David duChemin and his crew have put together. Don’t wait, though, because this deal expires later today. Hopefully you get his message in time!

 

 

A few weeks ago, I ran a post called 3 Great Budget Carbon Fiber Tripods. I’m bringing it back into the mix because I know that with summer approaching, now is when you’re probably starting to think about upgrading some of your gear. If legs are on your list, then check out this review and see a few carbon fiber models that won’t cause you to melt your credit card. All three of these models are under $250. 

 

 

I found this post last week and thought it would be a great one to share. The camera and lens rental business has boomed in the past couple of years, making it highly affordable and practical to pick up expensive pieces of gear for trips, specific shoots and for short periods of time.

 

One of these companies is Lensrentals.com. Check out this interview with the company’s founder and see what goes on behind the scenes at a place like Lensrentals.com. It’s pretty amazing. They ship out around 1,000 pieces of gear each day. Can you getting to hang around with with 50 Nikon D4s or 300mm f.2.8 lenses? Anyway, check out this post and think about what gear you could rent this season.

 

 

While there is obviously no single recipe for making the world bend in your direction, but there are some common qualities that people do to make things work out for them. Read The Top 10 Things Successful People Do to Reach Their Dream. I found it to be a pretty good list, and I’m sure that you can relate to some of these things. You can certainly apply these thing to photography, and I would imagine that many of us already do. Anyway, I thought it was a good read.

 

Four months and counting, and I’m still totally loving my Fuji X10. Every time I use it, I discover some cool new feature. I’ll leave you with an X10 panorama that I took last week of my friend Eric getting ready for our Friday afternoon ski and splitboard descent of Peak 4 on the Chugach Front range. Good times, man!! 

 

As always, thank you very much for reading my newsletters and following my work. Don’t forget to share this issue with your other photography friends, and have an awesome week!

 

Dan