September 22

11 comments

Photographers, How Was Your Summer?

By Dan

September 22, 2011

Tomorrow is the Autumnal Equinox, which means, sadly, that the summer of 2011 is all but over. Done. Finished. Curtain closed. Packed up and gone home. See you next year.

Looking back, I can say with much excitement that I had a great summer. Assignment work took me to varying corners of Alaska, places like Barrow, Skagway and Seldovia. I stayed up late under the midnight sun. I hiked mountains in the Chugach. I caught kings, silvers and sockeyes. I bought a little yellow taildragger and found some real adventure flying around Southcentral AK and landing on bush strips and river bars.

And although it seems that I never shoot quite as much as I’d like to, I added a new tripod, more Speedlights, and a few other goodies to my camera bag, shot hiking, trail running, landscapes, people, travel, aviation and watched my skills improve even more. It excites me to think that after fifteen years, I’m still getting better as a photographer. That’s the way it should be, right?

What about you? How did your summer turn out? Did it live up to the hype? What did you shoot? Where did you find adventure? What gear did you buy or try out? Did you get some photography work? Were you happy with what you shot and learned this season?

Love to hear your comments and see links to your favorite shots from the past few months. Post below and, of course, have a great fall!

About the author

Hi, I'm Dan Bailey, a 25+ year pro outdoor and adventure photographer, and official FUJIFILM X-Photographer based in Anchorage, Alaska.


As a top rated blogger and author my goal is to help you become a better, more confident and competent photographer, so that you can have as much fun and creative enjoyment as I do.


  • Summer was great, bought my Nikon D700 and tried out some great lenses! Got to photograph kiteboarding and meet some great people. And I’m ending the summer by going to The Adventure Photography Workshop! How was everyone else’s summer??

  • My summer was awesome! I sold my house, closed my business, started a new life, travelled across North America (in an easterly direction). I bought some Singh-Ray filters which I love. Now I’m turning south and I’m going to try to catch up with summer again! Come to think of it, I think this might have been the best summer ever.

  • I had an awesome summer! It began with a 2 week trip to the Oregon coast with my family. The highlight was sitting on the beach, eating pizza and drinking a beer, next to a campfire. I managed to make a few nice images, too. I took a few short trips here and there, a couple of which were on my new motorcycle, and we spent almost 2 weeks in the Colorado Rockies. My favorite images of the summer came from a wetland area that was burned in a wildfire earlier this year. I’m eager for fall to arrive as it is my favorite season but I’m also looking forward to next year’s crop of wildflowers. Just never satisfied, am I?

    I enjoyed reading about every else’s summer adventures. Keep ’em coming!

  • Summer is over? Really? I can’t remember going through a summer…wow…
    Mine was good, busy but good. Not a whole lot of shooting, but a lot of exciting discussions, plans, projects. I feel like I have crossed yet another plateau in my photography this summer and feel that much better about it. Still getting better, still trying new things, still pushing my limits. Here is to pushing them more!

  • Technically summer isn’t over for about 8 more hours so I guess this qualifies. Great trip to Moab in the Spring to spend a long weekend hanging out with about 20 photographer friends from RMNP. Made my usual pilgrimage to Crested Butte for wildflowers in July. But the crowning event was spending a week around Sedona, AZ after my daughter’s wedding on 9/10/11. Here’s a link to my gallery from that trip.

    http://wcbeanphoto.photium.com/portfolio222786p1.html

  • Well Dan, to me it actually feels like summer was over a long time ago. I got a head start in early June, and I took three amazing trips in addition to the experiences at home. No trips were really dedicated to photography as a whole, but I got to stop by Yosemite, Sedona, Denali, Glennallen, Seward, Painted Hills, and Crater Lake.

    A few weeks ago, I got to watch the finished version of a short film that I made some small contributions to, and I also signed a contract with Alaska Stock to cap the whole summer off. Today there was a ton of fresh snow on the higher peaks, and even some lower ones got a fair dusting. Others may be looking forward to fall, but I see winter standing on my doorstep.

  • This summer was extremely short. I didn’t get a chance to head out and do everything I wanted to. Next year I am going to try and live out my dream of moving to Alaska. I did go out on the water though and some other things….but not nearly anything I had hoped for.

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