I had my Outdoor Action Photography workshop last weekend here in Anchorage, and I’m happy to report that we had a great turnout of enthusiastic photographers! We shot dog sled racing and snow biking and everyone had a chance to learn some new techniques and practice trying out some of the different methods that I use for shooting action. During the critique session the next day, everyone had at least one or two awesome shots. That’s the fun part of teaching, I always love looking at everyone’s work and seeing my students achieve success with their cameras. 

 

I’ll be doing more classes, so if you’re thinking about heading up to Alaska later this year, stay tuned for more workshop announcements. If coming up to take an in-person workshop from me is just not in the cards for this year, you can always take one of my online photography courses at The Compelling Image. Check out my course offering and also read a review of my teaching style from one of my former students.

 

 

I'm excited to announce that my latest Photoflex Lighting School lesson just went live! Photographing Cyclocross with the TritonFlash walks you through my process of shooting a couple of cyclocross races here in Alaska last fall. It also highlights how you can use supplemental lighting to really make your images pop and add a new level of creativity to your subject matter.

 

As a member of the Photoflex test team and a Photoflex Pro Showcase Photographer, I'm excited about using their excellent gear and sharing my lighting experience with others. This is my third lesson for the Photoflex Lighting School- Look for more to appear in the months ahead! 

 

 

 

Craft and Vision has just released the second issue of their outstanding quarterly digital magazine, PHOTOGRAPH. Just like the first issue, it’s filled with a great selection of article and features by top shooters like David duChemin, Martin Bailey, Nicole S. Young. Younes Bounhar, Jay Goodrich, Chris Orwig and more. Really, they’ve done an outstanding job with this PDF e-Magazine, and it’s so well worth the eight bucks. Read it. You will learn. You will be inspired. You will love photography. Oh wait… you already do. So treat yourself and pick up a copy. You can even get a one year subscription, which gets you four issues for the price of three. Your passion is worth it.

 

 

 

My new eBook, called Beyond The Action is so close to being released. I sent a final proof off to my publisher at Light Stalking last week, and if he doesn’t have any major changes that need to be addressed, I see it being ready for sale within two weeks. Are you excited yet? I am, I’ve been working on this title for quite a few months and am ready to get it out there and share my methods and approach for shooting action and outdoor subjects. As a subscriber, you’ll be the first one to be notified the minute it finally gets released!

 

If you haven't had a chance to check out any of my other eBooks, you can find them here. Please, do have a look, I'm really excited about the stuff that I write and think that it can help you with your own photography.

 

 

If you’ve been reading my blog lately, you know how excited I am about the brand new Nikon 70-200mm f/4G ED VR lens. It’s a lightweight, compact telephoto zoom that’s a pound lighter and a thousand dollars less than the heavier f/2.8 version. And it has Nikon’s new 5th generation VR system, which I can attest, works really well! Overall, for its weight, cost and performance, I’d highly recommend this lens to any outdoor photographer, whether you like to shoot action, sports, landscapes, adventure, travel or people. Seriously, this is a pro-quality lens and that delivers fantastic image quality.

 

As promised, I wrote a full review of this awesome new lens on my blog today- Check it out!

 

 

 

Nikon doesn't put their lenses on sale very often, most of the time they do offer deals, they come as bundled specials. You have to buy a Nikon DLSR in conjunction to get the deal. However, right now, Nikon is offering instant rebates of up to $350 on 18 of their lenses. 

 

Both DX and FX lenses are included in this offer, and even some of their most popular and higher end lenses are on sale, including the AF-S 70-200 f/2.8 VR and the venerable 50mm f/1.8. It's a short sale, though, and the offer expires on March 30. If you're thinking about picking up some new glass, now is definitely the time. The deals are being offered at both B&H Photo and Amazon.

 

Photoshelter has just released a new guide called Pricing Your Work: Magazine Photography. It's the first in a series of guides with tips to help photographers create estimates and fee structures for their work. Get insights from Wonderful Machine’s CEO Bill Cramer who outlines what a photographer should expect when determining pricing for magazine assignments. The guide also includes:

 

• The most common magazine shoot expenses.

• FAQs, including if/how to charge clients for a rental fee, rush fee, or a cancellation.

• Online resources from Wonderful Machine on pricing and negotiating with clients.

 

 

 

If you're new to Adobe Lightroom, or if you feel that you're spending too much time trying to get up to speed with the program, check out Phil Steele's online video course, Lightroom Made Easy. It's a 24-part series (over 5 hours of training) that you can watch entirely on the web. It's a pretty straightforward course that's designed to get you through the initial phases of the learning curve so that you can get the most out of all of the main features that makes Lightroom such a powerful program. 

 

Lightroom is what I use to edit and archive my photos, and so I know how important it is to have the fundamentals under your belt. The video course is about the same price as one of those Lightroom books, and this week you can get the course for 15% off. Give it a try, and if you find that it's not the right learning tool for you, it comes with a full 60 day money back guarantee. 

 

 

If you’re a new reader, then I’d like to take a minute to thank you for subscribing to my newsletter, I hope that you enjoyed reading this issue and that it provides information that will help with your photography life. If you’re a longtime subscriber, then thanks so much for staying on for the ride through all of these issues. Over the years, I’ve found it to be very rewarding to share my own photographic knowledge and insight with others, because I really enjoy seeing other people get as excited about photography as I am.

 

Please share this issue with your other photography friends and feel free to dig through some of the back issues for other great tidbits and special content that’s not found on my blog. Finally, enjoy the posts below and have a great week!

 

Dan