I gave my blog a new paint job this morning. Delving into the theme editor, I tinkered ever-so-carefully with the CSS code and made some minor adjustments to the font size and spacing. I hope that the text a now a bit easier to read for everyone. In addition, I added some code that allows for text wrap around images, which adds a nice touch and a more professional feel.

Not being satisfied with a mere facelift, I also jumped underneath the hood and upgraded to the latest version of WordPress (2.6.1), which gave my blog’s engine more power, as well as some useful new features that will help me present and manage the site.

It’s been a year and a half and over fifty posts since I launched my Adventure Photography Blog, and during that time, I’ve tried to come up with interesting, relevant and generally entertaining material that will keep people coming back. Judging by the increase in traffic that the site has seen each month, it seems as if I’ve succeeded on some level.

As I prepare to enter the next stage of my life and career with a move to Alaska, I’ll continue to expand the scope of this blog with even more imagery and media from my assignments and adventures, more personal and professional insight about the world of outdoor photography, and other content that I find fascinating, or at least intriguing enough to share with my viewers.

So, thanks to everyone who has stopped by over the past eighteen months, and special thanks to everyone who has come by to visit more than once. If this is your first time here, please add a bookmark and come by often; I’ll try to hold up my end of the bargain by keeping things fresh.

Finally, if you’ve got a minute, take the time to leave a comment. Let me know what you like or dislike about the site, and tell me what you’d like to see here in the future. I’m curious to hear what you think.

August 25, 2008
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I keep hearing all about ‘change’ this year and how good it’s supposed to be, so after a minimal amount of introspection and consideration, I’ve decided to move Dan Bailey Photography to Alaska for awhile. What is awhile? Oh, I don’t know, haven’t figured that part out yet. At least a year, I’d say, since we’ve rented our house out with a one year lease, but it could be longer, depending on how things go up there with employment and with the cold dark winters.

Actually, I’m not too worried about the winter, there is incredible skiing in Alaska, as well as ice climbing, and of course, the northern lights. Plus, I’m taking a few guitars and my recording setup, so I’ll have plenty to do if I happen to find myself cooped up inside for any length of time. I’m actually looking forward to finally getting a chance to play some music after a very busy summer that saw almost no guitar playing. (Be careful what you ask for…!)

As for the employment part, what better place for an outdoor adventure photographer to live than in Alaska? I’ve notified all of my clients that I’m moving and hopefully some of them will call when they need Alaska pictures. I already have one very good client in Anchorage, and when get up there, I’ll work hard to get my name out there to the rest of the community. And, with all the new, and literally endless adventure photo opportunities, I should be able to produce vast amounts of stock imagery that I can market to my agencies and sell directly to my clients, should they happen to call. If the phone does ring while I’m up there, I certainly wouldn’t want to abandon ship if things are going well.

On the other hand, I love my house and life in Colorado, as well as the 300 sunny days a year that we have here, and I plan to come back someday. So, after taking those things into consideration, the answer to how long I’ll stay, is “I don’t know.”

Funny, I seem to say that alot about my life. Therein lies the adventure…

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some packing to do. We leave in two weeks.

Alaska mountain
(Clouds over The Gargoyle, Ruth Gorge, Alaska)

August 20, 2008
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Nikon D700

Finally, the camera we’ve all been waiting for: a compact, professional, full frame, full feature digital SLR. The Nikon D700 slips right in the line between the D300 and the D3, and it’s essentially a hybrid between the two bodies. Closer in size to the D300, the D700 features a 12.1 megapixel FX Full Frame CMOS sensor and the same low noise ISO sensitivity that’s built into the D3. You could say that the D700 is a D300 on steroids, since many of the other functions and features are the same as those found on the D300.

Street price? Right in between the D300 and the D3: just under $3,000. If you hurry, you can be the first shooter on your block to get one.

Read about the D700 at Nikon’s website.

August 18, 2008
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camping
(Camping below Missouri Mountain, Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, Colorado)

August 11, 2008
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After all these years as a pro outdoor adventure photographer, the enevitable finally happened. I dropped my camera.

I was hiking towards the summit ridge of Missouri Mountain in the Sawatch Range of the Colorado Rockies, trying to bag my third “Fourteener” of the day. I was tired, and I slouched forward a bit under the load of my backpack as I trudged up the trail as it traversed along a steep hillside. Suddenly, I felt an odd shift of weight at my waist and then heard a loud ‘clunk’ at my feet. I looked down with surprise and a bit of shock, and realized that my Nikon D300 had fallen out of my camera bag. My bag is quite old, and the foam is so worn, that it lacks the rigid support that it once had, and the velcro closure has lost much of its ‘stick.’ (Unfortunately, they don’t make my particular bag anymore, but we’ll cover that in a future blog post.)

Gazing in horror, I swore out of sheer helplessness as I watched the camera bounce off a rock and begin rolling down the roughly 30-degree hillside. There was little I could do except follow with my eyes as it careened away from me, cringe as I listened to the continuous clang of metal banging on stone, and hope that it wouldn’t pick up any more speed. Eventually, though, it came to a stop about thirty feet down the hill, and I hopped over the edge of the trail and went after it, almost knocking a few more rocks onto it in the process.

hillside

Upon retrieval, I turned it on and immedately took a picture. It seemed to work fine, so I began a quick inspection of the body for any signs of damage. Miraculousy, and much to my relief, the LCD screen had escaped witout any damage and the plastic cover that protects the screen didn’t have a single scratch on it. Next, I checked the battery compartment and the memory card door. Both worked fine. Camera controls? No visible damage. Flash? Seemed ok. Hot shoe? No dents.

In fact, the camera itself didn’t sustain a single dent, and the only evidence of the accident are a few small scratches on the bottom corner of the body. Most of the damage was sustained by the metal hood on my 85mm f1.8 lens, which was bashed in pretty far, probably because it took the full impact when it fell two and a half feet out of the bag and hit the rock. That’s hardly anything to worry about, though, and as I always tell my students, it’s better to dent the front of your hood than the front of your $400 lens. As far as I’m concerned, the lens hood did exactly what it was designed for- it took the brunt of the fall and protected my lens itself from any damage.

dents

dents

dent

I have to hand it to Nikon, the rugged structure of the magnesium-alloy chassis held true to form, which certainly reaffirmed to me the high quality and durable construction of the D300. I’ve always maintained that Nikon makes cameras that are built to withstand the rigors of professional use, and I’ve certainly used them in demanding environments over the years in, but until yesterday, I’d never actually dropped one. Add one more notch to my product testing belt.

Now, I need to see about getting a new camera bag.

July 31, 2008
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Active woman walking
(Woman fitness walking)

July 24, 2008
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triathlete
(Triathlete on Road Bike)

July 11, 2008
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One of the things that I particularly like about being a freelance outdoor photographer, is the diversity of work and subject matter that I shoot. One week I might be photographing fitness and outdoor lifestyle for a client, another week, I’m documenting an alpine rock climbing trip, while another, I might be shooting chest deep powder skiing in the Canadian Rockies with my friends. And sometimes I get called to shoot something just a little bit different…

This past weekend, I found myself working for a client who hired me to shoot a fly fishing calendar. However, it wasn’t your run of the mill fly fishing shoot, by any means, as all the models were beautiful young women in bikinis.

With regards to working with the models to come up with striking compositions, searching for good vantage points and making the best use of the light, it was no different from any other type of outdoor shoot. I approached it with the same level of professionalism, creative effort and technical expertise as I would for any assignment, but of course, I’d be lying if I said that this job wasn’t just a little more fun and enjoyable in it’s own way than some other jobs that I’ve had.

The models were all great to work with and overall, it was a refreshing twist to have an opportunity to create images that say: sexy instead of: sufferring on another godawful rock face in the fog.

I wonder what I’ll be shooting next week…?

Edit 2010: Unfortunately the girlsflyfishing.com calendar is no longer available. Instead, check out the 2011 Women in Waders calendar. I didn’t do the photography, but apparently it’s a pretty big seller. However, if it’s girls in bikinis you’re after, you might as well go top shelf and get the 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Calendar. The girls are way sexier and the photos are way better.

And, if you’re more into a real fishing calendar, then you should probably check out the 2011 Fly Fishing Calendar. Again, I didn’t do the photography but it looks like a pretty nice wall calendar.

girls fly fishing

girls fly fishing

girls fly fishing

girls fly fishing

June 24, 2008
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Here are some trail running shots I did for my client during a recent assignment for The Sport Shop, in Anchorage, Alaska. It always makes my job easier when we have great models, and this particular shoot was no exception. We fought with the light and due to scheduling, we were only allowed one cloudy afternoon, but I think we made the bast of it and got some pretty good final images. The soft overcast light actually worked exceptionally well for the shots on the paved trail inside the forest.

trail running
(Trail runner, Anchorage, Alaska)

trail running
(Action shot of a trail runner)

trail running
(Woman trail running on a paved trail)

trail runner
(‘Cool down’ after a trail run)

June 20, 2008
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Took a day off from my photo assignment in Anchorage to get out of the city and shoot some pack rafting with two friends, Eric Parsons and Nora Tobin. We went up to the Eagle River and they ran a fun three mile stretch below Eagle Peak while I hiked through the woods along the bank with my camera and chased them down the river, all the while keeping an eye out for bears and moose.

The fun really began when I decided to borrow Eric’s drysuit and packraft so that I could have a turn running the river. Being a relative novice when it comes to whitewater sports, I quickly turned the run into an epic. I flipped and swam in the rapids twice, got the raft hung up on a log in the middle of a good sized drop and then lost my paddle after being washed completely under the boat between two large rocks. And where was Eric with his video camera during all of this? Taking a nap in the woods.

All turned out ok, and I can still smell the refreshing tinge of glacial water up my nose. Besides, I would have felt pretty lame if I came all the way to Alaska and didn’t have some kind of good wilderness adventure.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go to REI and buy Eric a new paddle.

packrafting

packrafting

packrafting

packrafting

packrafting

packrafting

packrafting

June 2, 2008
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