Earlier this year, I announced that I had begun to work on my fourth eBook and indicated that it would be a “Behind the scenes” adventure photography manual. Basically, I’ll feature a number of photographs and then go through the all the conceptual and technical steps that I used to go from idea to finished image.

 

Back in February, I even asked you for your input. I gave my subscribers a special opportunity to help direct the content of the book by letting me know if there were any of my photographs that you were dying to know how I created. And the cool thing is that many of you answered. While I obviously couldn’t fit every single request into the book, there were some images that had the interest of multiple readers, so I threw those into the mix. In that way, I ended up writing the book specifically for you guys!

 

Back then I was hoping for a spring release, but as the weeks passed by, some projects got pushed towards the back burner, including the book. However, I’m excited to let you know that it’s finally back on track! The text is finished and it’s currently in the design stage. 

 

Also, I’m really pleased to announce that the book will be published by Light Stalking. There, I said it. The news is out of the bag. Well, sort of, because as a subscriber, you're the only one to hear it yet. I’ve been forming a solid relationship with Light Stalking over the past year and am really excited about their enthusiastic approach towards helping people explore photography and improve their own craft. That’s right in line with the approach that I take on my own blog, and so I see this partnership being a really good fit. 

 

I don’t have a definite release date yet, but things are definitely moving forwards. I should have more information for you soon, so stay tuned. 

 

Also, if you haven’t had a chance to pick up my other eBooks, now would be a good time to do so. In fact, I’ll just ask nicely. Would you please buy my eBooks? If you already have, then I’ll say thank you very much for supporting me, my photography and my efforts to try and spread the outdoor photography love with all of you.

 

 

While we’re on the subject of eBooks, if you haven’t downloaded Craft and Vision’s free ebook, 11 Ways To Improve Your Photography, definitely click over and get it. It’s filled with 11 great articles about photography approach and technique, written by their top authors, including David duChemin himself.

 

A compilation of articles by a number of their top authors, 11 Ways to Improve Your Photography features eleven great chapters, each of which explores a different method for exploring and improving your photography.

 

With chapters such as Make Your Images More Dynamic, The Power of the Moment, Slow Down and Learn to See, and Make Stronger Portraits, this book is filled with rock solid tips, approaches and exercises that is sure to inspire you and open your creative flood gates.

 

 

I’ve been in the stock photography game for over twenty year, and for the record, every single agency that I’ve ever been with has been bought. It’s not surprising, in fact, I’ll be that most veteran shooters could say the same thing. Recently, Alaska Stock was bought by Design Pics, a Canadian company. Design Pics owner, Rick Carlson has said that he’s committed to preserving the Alaska Stock brand. I’m hopeful that the only thing I’ll see change is that my distribution and commissions increase. 

 

With this in mind, I often hear people lament about how the good old days of stock photography are gone. I’ve got news for you. The good old days, if there was such a thing, were short lived when you consider how young the industry really is. It’s been maturing for a long time, and when I got in 20 years ago, people were saying the same thing.

 

The truth is that stock is still viable. It’s not for everyone, but people are still making money at it. If you’re considering trying to make money in this industry, then check out this booklet from Photoshelter called, Selling Stock Photography. There’s some pretty good information in there that can help you get started on the right track.

 

 

One of the first things to learn when you start out with digital photography is how to efficiently manage, edit and keyword your images so that you don’t just have a mess of image files all over your computer. You may think you’re organized at first, but it can quickly overwhelm you as you progress and start filling up card after card with new imagery.

 

I always recommend getting a Lightroom book, both Scott Kelby and Martin Evening have great manuals. However, some people find that it’s easier to learn from a video tutorial. If that’s you, then check out Phil Steele’s Lightroom Made Easy video course. It’s 15% off this week, only $39, which is less than either of the books I just mentioned. The 24 part video course lives online and once you get a login, you can watch it as many times as you want if you need to keep referencing certain techniques and methods. 

 

 

I often get asked what my monitor of choice is for editing images and general photography work. I’m currently using the Dell Ultrasharp U2410 24” display. With a 16:10 widescreen 1,920 x 1,200 resolution, factory calibration, industry standard IPS (In-Plane Switching) technology, 12-bit internal processing and compatibility with both Adobe RGB (96% coverage) and sRGB (100% coverage) color spaces, the Dell U2410 delivers vibrant, consistent and accurate colors that make it quite suitable for pro work. 

 

In fact, Dell monitors have been used by professional photographers and stock agencies for years. If you’re looking to upgrade, this is a display that I can highly recommend. It’s a great quality screen, probably the best in its class, and for the price, you really can’t beat it. It's available at both Amazon and B&H Photo for about $460.

 

 

This season, Fujifilm chose one of my images to grace the front of their 2012 company holiday card. I was even told that the president of Fujifilm USA made the final decision on which image to use. As a longtime Fujifilm film and now X10 camera user, I’m thrilled to have his honor. The image they use, which is pictured below, is an aerial of last light on the Chugach Mountains here in Alaska. 

 

Finally, if you’re a new subscriber or if you missed last week’s newsletter, you can read it here. In fact, you can find any of my back issues online, which also works great if your email program doesn’t like the links in my emails. 

 

I’m not sure if I’ll get another issue out before Christmas, so if I don’t, I’d like to thank you again for reading and wish you very happy holidays.