Posts | Dan Bailey's Adventure Photography Blog

Why Being More Creative Leads to a Better World for Everyone

There’s no question, we live in a very odd world right now. Without mentioning specific issues or people, when it comes to analyzing our society, we all know that an unusually large number of things just don’t seem, for lack of a better word, “right.”

The anger and increasing polarization we face which stems from our constant bombardment of messaging drags us down on a daily basis and that hurts us. It hurts us individually at our core and it hurts us as a civilization. It makes us feel powerless.

By definition, the world civilization means: “the stage of human social development and organization that is considered most advanced.”

And of course, the basis of the word, “Civil”, can be defined as “courteous and polite.”

By all accounts, we seem to be hurtling away from those two fundamental ideas in a big way.

So what can we do?

I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but this is the idea that keeps resonating with me:

We all need to be more creative in our lives. Everyone. Each of us. All of us.

I realize that might sound like a trivial solution in a society that’s experiencing a horrifying increase in the number of mass murders and outward demonstrations of blatant hatred that are happening each month, but hear me out on this.

Being more creative on a regular basis lowers stress levels in the body and mind.

Regardless of how “good you are” at your chosen medium, spending time, even just 45 minutes on a creative project lowers cortisol levels in your body. This is especially true with younger people, although that probably has more to do with the fact that with age and experience you simply have more tools to manage your own stress levels.

Creativity can also lower depression and elevate your feelings of well being.

And it can help you cope with chronic pain or illness. This alone helps make life a little better for people who deal with theses kinds of issues.

Being creative on a regular basis also helps increase our problem solving ability.

This is a big one. Contrary to what it might seen, highly creative people often exhibit a higher degree of logical thinking ability. They’re often less compelled by social and cultural norms and are thus better able to process incoming and internal information and focus on the challenges of a situation, rather than just take a predictable side to an issue.

In addition, highly creative people tend to look at things a little differently.

They think outside the box. Whether it involves making an intriguing photograph, finding a new way to solve a complex problem or inventing something that will change the world, being creative helps you visualize different scenarios and come up with unique solutions and new ideas.

As I mentioned above, we are bombarded with information on a daily basis. People who exercise their creative brains more often don’t just collect information, they process it an play around with it in their heads.

This allows them to notice things that other people don’t see. It gives them the spark to ask questions and challenge long held beliefs about any kind of subject or situation. Ultimately, this can lead to increased understanding, tolerance and even shifting mindsets across all of society.

Being creative makes you more curious.

People who regularly exercise their creative brains tend to be more intellectually curious about the world. They want to know what’s out there and why things happen the way they do. They want to know what’s behind the curtain.

In many cases, this curiosity allows them to be more empathetic because they’re curious to know what it’s like to look at the world from the other side. They wonder what it might be like to see the world from the other side of the fence and actually walk a mile in the the other person’s shoes. They’re often able to relate more easily with people from different cultures and backgrounds.

And… This is The Big One:

Creativity Makes You Happy.

People who regularly engage in creative activities feel more enthusiastic and energized. They often feel as if they’re experiencing positive growth in their lives and that they’re “flourishing.” They feel more positive and find increased personal reward in their own lives and with their social interactions.

Being creative leads to feelings of well-being and often contributes to a “sense of purpose” in this crazy life. Kurt Vonnegut said that “practicing any art, no matter how badly, makes the soul grow.” It doesn’t matter if you draw, sketch, write, paint, cook, play a musical instrument, knit hats and scarves, build sand castles or stack rocks, engaging in that process is good for you and it makes you happy.

I’ve been thinking about this concept quite a bit during the past year. When I give presentations and teach workshops in camera stores around the country, I meet many of you guys out there and I see happy, engaged people who are excited about life.

At the same time, I was recently talking with a photography rep friend of mine who said that some camera stores are not interested in hosting any speaking events or classes. This is really sad, because they’re denying their customers a potentially vital opportunity to learn, explore and become more confident with their photography and their creativity, which is exactly what we need more of.

As outdoor photographers, we spend lots of time out in the world, standing in nature or traveling to foreign lands. Much of our brain power is taken up by thoughts on how to best frame our scenes, how to expose properly, which lens to use, etc… And if we’re traveling, well, that opens us up to interacting with people from other cultures. You know where that leads.

When we’re doing this stuff, when we’re outside taking pictures, or inside talking or reading about taking pictures, we’re not thinking about the stuff that makes us angry. We’re not being impulsive, short tempered, or argumentative. We’re not taking sides, being negative or blaming others for how we feel in that particular moment.

Quite the contrary; we’re having fun. We’re making our own happiness. We’re being better people.

Now, I’m not saying that taking pictures is going to solve every problem we have in the world or even that these notions about creativity are the same for everyone. There are many people with highly creative brains who struggle with depression and anger. And there are certainly many artists in the world who are very closed minded and locked into their own ideas.

I won’t pretend that I understand all the factors which have left a large number of people in this country feeling hopeless, angry or destructive. And I certainly won’t pretend that all photographers and creativity types are nice, tolerant, civilized people, either. For all the great things photography offers, some camera users are just plain jerks. (Seriously? I hope that guy never finds my blog!)

However, in a broad sense, it’s my strong opinion that if more people spent more time doing creative endeavors, and relishing in the wonder of the creative process, the world would be a better place. Why? Because as we saw above, being creative propels us out of the box and into the realms of discovery, personal growth, fulfillment, self worth and purpose, and those things generally make people nicer, more tolerant and less angry about things they can’t control.

In these times of uncertainty, I feel like this has become my own call to action. I recognize the infectious nature that my passion for photography has on some people and how my honest, childlike enthusiasm for this craft helps inspire others with their own photography.

My self-imposed mission at this stage in my life is not just to help make you guys “better” photographers, but to inspire you to love it even more. I know what photography has brought me, and I know how awesome it feels to capture a compelling image of a great subject under magical light; I just want you to experience the same level of joy as much as I do, if not even more joy and excitement.

And I want you to spend a large percentage of your energy in life striving to create incredible imagery, or creating anything, for that matter, and enjoying the process along the way. I want you to be happy.

Use Your Own Photography Powers for Good

I also want you to help spread the love. Above, I asked the question “what can we do?” Well, what can you do? You can use your own photography powers to help inspire other people with their own creativity. The more the better.

Be a catalyst for creativity and encourage other people to be creative, whether it involves taking pictures or doing any other kind of art. Be supportive. Wear your love for photography on your sleeve, or simply get your work out there and show others what’s possible, no matter how “good” you think you are. And really, there is no “good” or “bad” in all of this, creativity is a process and a mindset.

Remember, today’s bad photo is merely a sketch that will help you learn how to create a great photo, which, in turn, can inspire others to create, explore or just look at the world in a different way. Maybe your photos can help a fellow human appreciate a certain aspect of the world or make them realize why wilderness lands should be preserved. Or why… (fill in the blank.)

This takes time. It’s a long game, and of course, it won’t resonate with everyone, but if we can get more people to find happiness, wonder, excitement and personal fulfillment in their own creativity, I genuinely believe that we’ll all be better citizens of the planet and the world will be a better place of everyone.

And I haven’t even touched on all the ways you can use your photography for other charitable or philanthropic causes, like donating your time, shooting humanitarian assignments, donating prints for a charity auction, teaching people. The opportunities are limitless.

So, please do your part. And please comment below if you have ideas. I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you think I’m on to something, or am I just being too naive about all this?

Peace out.

November 8, 2017

Why Being More Creative Leads to a Better World for Everyone

Camera Gear, Reviews and Recommendations

A Look at the Fujifilm X-E3 and its New Touch Screen Gestures

Last week, while at the PhotoPlus trade show, I finally got a chance to take a close look at the long-awaited successor to the X-E2 and X-E2S, the brand new Fujifilm X-E3.

Positioned as the little brother/sister to the X-Pro2, the X-E3 is a compact rangefinder that updates the X-E series with the gorgeous new 24MP X-Trans III sensor, the much faster X-Processor Pro image processing engine, the revamped “My Menu” menu system and the new 325 point autofocus system, including the AF-ALL mode, which was previously only found on the X-T2.

It also has all 15 of the Fuji film simulations modes, including ACROS, as well as AF-C Custom Settings, Manual Shutter down to 15 minutes, Electronic Shutter up to 1/32,000 sec, Interval Timer, 8 frames per second shooting (up to 14fps with the Electronic Shutter) and 14-Bit RAW image capture with Lossless Compression.

Essentially, it’s the sibling to the highly popular X-T20, which was released earlier this year, so it has the most of the same specs with regards to features and performance, including 8 customizable function buttons and 4K video. However, the X-E3 does body does have a couple of noticeable difference.

Unlike the X-T20, the X-E3 has the AF Joystick that’s found on the X-T2 and X-Pro2. Also, to make it even more compact, Fuji has done away with the four Thumb-Pad buttons on the back of the camera.

They did this to make for a more simple design and offers a nice grip, and, more importantly, to ensure that you don’t accidentally press the Thumb-Pad buttons with the heel of your hand and change settings while you’re holding it. This sometimes happens to me when I shoot with my X-E1 and my X-T20, maybe you’ve had this problem too.

At first, this seems like a strange move, because those four Thumb-Pad buttons have a lot of functionality. However, to make up for the loss, Fuji has introduced new firmware inside the X-E3 which gives new operational control with the Touchscreen LCD.

New Touchscreen Controls

The LCD Touchscreen on the X-E3 has been programmed to recognize a number of commands, including tap, double tap, pinch in and out, drag and flick. When performing these gestures, you can quickly control a number of camera functions. Here’s what they do:

Shooting Mode and Playback Mode

1 – Flicking up, down, left and right acts as Fn button controls, just as if you were pressing the four Thumb-Pad buttons. Like all the other X Series cameras, you can program any number of settings to the Fn buttons and control them with just a simple swipe of your finger on the screen.

2 – Double Tap instantly zooms your image in and out to 100% during payback and performs focus check while shooting.

3 – Tap and/or Drag controls AF Area Selection. Although the X-E3 has the AF Joystick, it’s even faster to select and move your selected AF point around the screen using the touchscreen. This is a very cool feature. Even though I’m quite proficient with my X-T2 joystick, I was highly impressed with how well this works. The points will pretty much move as fast as you can tap or drag your finger around the screen.

4 – Pinch in/out operates Playback zoom. Whereas Double Tap does instant 100% zoom, pinching lets you zoom in and out to view the image at different magnifications levels and sizes on the screen.

5 – Swipe left and right gives you your next picture in Playback mode.

6 – Q Menu: After brining up the Q Menu, you can quickly select and change your settings by tapping the screen.

Touch Panel Operation While Using the EVF

I know what you’re thinking. While these functions work extremely well if you’re shooting via the LCD screen, it could be tough to navigate the screen if you’ve got your eye up to the electronic viewfinder, right?

Well, Fuji apparently though of that, because the X-E3 gives you the option to set the touch range of the panel to either Full Screen, Right Half Only, Left Half Only or Off.

Touch Shooting

In addition to these new touchscreen gestures, you can also use the optional “Touch Shooting” features, which include Tap to shoot, Tap to Focus and Tap to Zoom. Or, you can turn the Touch Controls off.

Bluethooth Connectivity

The X-E3 is the first X Series camera to feature Bluetooth functionality. In addition to Wi-Fi image transfer and wireless shooting, the camera feature Bluetooth pairing, which allows a simple and very fast method for downloading photos to your mobile device.

This is actually a great addition. Sometimes, when there are lot of Wi-Fi signals bouncing around your location, the camera can have a hard time connecting with the app. The Bluetooth transfer feature ensures that you can get your images sent over pronto, and without a hitch.

Overall – One Tiny Awesome Little Camera

With all the features, performance and image quality it packs, Fuijfilm X-E3 is one cool little camera. Weighing in at less than 12 ounces, (337 grams with batter and card), it’s also the smallest and lightest interchangeable full-featured X Series camera in their lineup.

This makes it an absolutely ideal travel camera, and also as a totally viable backup or second body for your X-Pro2 or X-T2.

It’s also a highly capable camera. Since it has the same sensor and image processor, you’ll get the exact same image quality as the X-T2, X-Pro2, X-T20 and X100F, and you’ll have the capability to shoot 4K video with the X-E3. Again, this makes it a pretty appealing camera to use for backup, or even an alternative camera when you want to go even lighter.

And let’s face it, with its small size, traditional look and no D-Pad buttons on the back, it has an extremely minimal and classic look. You’ll probably get even more people thinking that you’re shooting with an old film camera!

Some photographers might even prefer this over the X-T20, simply because it has the AF Joystick. In fact, I’ve resisted getting the X-T20, simply because I’ve become so accustomed to using the joystick on my X-T2.

Final Thoughts

I’ll be honest, when the X-E3 was first announced, I figured it would probably not be something I’d use. I was wrong. Now having seen and tried the X-E3 in person, I’m seriously considering getting one to use as my own second body and for video when I’m doing tips, tutorials and gear reviews in the field. I’m quite impressed with the camera and it’s definitely earned my recommendation.

Limitations?

The X-E3 has the same limitations as you’ll find on the X-T20. It’s not weather sealed and not as durable as the X-T2 or X-Pro2, the 4K video has slightly reduced functionality when compared to the X-T2 and it has less internal memory and thus a smaller buffer than the higher end models. It also doesn’t use the faster UHS-II memory cards.

So, if you’re shooing in Continuous High mode, you won’t get nearly as many shots as you will with the X-T2 before the camera slows down, especially if you’re shooting RAW. However, in practical terms for most shooters, this really isn’t a concern. It will still do action at 8 fps, but you might get 25 shots in RAW, and then you’ll have to wait about 15 seconds before the buffer clears. This is still WAY better than you could get with the X-T10 and X-E2S.

Shipping Now

Priced at $899, the X-E3 has the same price tag as the X-T20 (both cameras are shipping now), although the X-T20 currently has a $100 instant rebate going on.

Fuji is also pairing the X-E3 with either the XF 18-55 kit lens, or the awesome little XF 23mm f/2. I think this is a great move; the f/2 primes are such good lenses and they give your camera kit an even more classic look and style.

It’s got some great new features, enough high performance capabilities to get you through just about any kind of situation, even for demanding subjects like fast action and astrophotography. Plus it has all of the standard X Series creative modes and wonderful color reproduction that we Fuji shooters have grown to love.

Anyway, if you’re looking for a super high quality, ultra compact, ultra lightweight mirrorless camera for your main body or as a backup, the X-E3 is certainly worth a look.

Support this site: If you decide to purchase any of these lenses, click through the links to B&H or Amazon. It won’t cost you anything on your end, and I’ll get a small commission for the referral. Consider it your way of giving me a virtual thumbs up.

[iframe]<iframe width=”120″ scrolling=”no” height=”240″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border:none;” border=”0″ src=”https://mer54715.datafeedfile.com/widget/aff_widget_prdt_generate-2.0.php?aff_num=6746&aff_net=1&widget_num=7977&sid=” marginheight=”0″ marginwidth=”0″></iframe><iframe width=”120″ scrolling=”no” height=”240″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border:none;” border=”0″ src=”https://mer54715.datafeedfile.com/widget/aff_widget_prdt_generate-2.0.php?aff_num=6746&aff_net=1&widget_num=7978&sid=” marginheight=”0″ marginwidth=”0″></iframe><iframe width=”120″ scrolling=”no” height=”240″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border:none;” border=”0″ src=”https://mer54715.datafeedfile.com/widget/aff_widget_prdt_generate-2.0.php?aff_num=6746&aff_net=1&widget_num=7979&sid=” marginheight=”0″ marginwidth=”0″></iframe>[/iframe]

[iframe]<iframe style=”width:120px;height:240px;” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ src=”//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=danhbaisadvph-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B0759GZFMG&asins=B0759GZFMG&linkId=5b1d90ad663d07f1e7498eaf6913b282&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true”></iframe><iframe style=”width:120px;height:240px;” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ src=”//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=danhbaisadvph-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B0759HGV78&asins=B0759HGV78&linkId=971a6fc3ba444ba5113c9c91e61ae737&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true”></iframe><iframe style=”width:120px;height:240px;” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ src=”//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=danhbaisadvph-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B0759HDW97&asins=B0759HDW97&linkId=04ce6c8d8a6416dd97df4e53e6095dc2&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true”></iframe>[/iframe]

November 7, 2017

A Look at the Fujifilm X-E3 and its New Touch Screen Gestures

Interviews, Press, Interviews and Info, Publications

I’m Featured in the November 2017 Issue of Wild Planet Photo Magazine

I’m excited to be one of the featured photographers this month in Wild Planet Photo Magazine.

In this interview, I talk about my experience with shooting wildlife photography. I discuss my gear and favorite lenses, my creative and technical approach to photographing this kind of subject matter and I touch on tips and advice for other aspiring wildlife shooters.

The arctic also features a number of my favorite wildlife images I’ve shot during the past few years. If you read the article, you might notice that I mention one of my favs as being my “Three Cranes Photo.” For whatever reason, that image didn’t actually make it into the article, so I’m including it below.

This was a fun interview for me to do and I’m honored to be included in a publication that features such prominent wildlife shooters, especially since I consider myself to be much more of an action shooter than a seasoned wildlife photographer.

Although Wild Planet Photo Magazine requires a small (and totally worthwhile) monthly subscription for much of their content, this piece was included as one of their featured free articles in the November 2017 issue.

November 6, 2017

I’m Featured in the November 2017 Issue of Wild Planet Photo Magazine

Reviews and Recommendations

Luminar 2018 Announced for Both Mac and Windows

Macphun, who just changed their company name to SKYLUM, has just announced the latest update to their flagship photo editing program, LUMINAR 2018.

I’ve been using Luminar for just about one year now, and I’ve found it to be an extremely easy, powerful and fun program. With a great collection of presets and a host of effective editing tools it contains, Luminar offers everything you need for your photo editing needs in a simple, concise package, and it’s added a welcome and efficient component to my workflow.

Luminar has a RAW processor that supports just about every camera format, even Fuji X-Trans files, a huge selection of professional quality filters and image editing tools and some really fun presets. It also offers pro features like layers, masks and blending modes, which allow you to take your photography creativity in whatever direction you want.

Although Luminar is new, the developers are working hard to improve it, and today, they just announced LUMINAR 2018 for both Mac and Windows. The new version contains a streamlined user interface, number of noticeable performance improvements, some great new filters and expanded workspaces that let you customize and create an image editing workflow that matches your style.

Also, coming next year, Luminar will include a full digital asset management system. After Adobe’s recent announcement, this is welcome news indeed, and I’m extremely exited about this feature. If it’s as good as they promise, then Luminar could give you all the tools you need as a photographer to finally switch from Adobe. Even without the DAM, it still functions as a powerful and efficient image editing solution.

Full Support for Fujifilm Cameras and X-Trans RAW Files

I actually met with a number of the people behind Luminar at PhotoPlus last week, including the CEO and the Head of Product Development. Both of them were very receptive to my suggestions and answered a number of questions I had about the program.

Regarding Fuji and X-Trans RAW processing, the lead product developer assured me that they’re committed to supporting the Fujifilm cameras. In fact, he’s a Fuji X-T2 user himself and loves the system! And, they support every other major camera system out there.

Regarding their forthcoming assent management system, I gave him my input about what I feel a good catalog program should contain and how it should compare to existing programs. He told me that they’re using Photo Mechanic as a benchmark for speed, and considering that Photo Mechanic is the fastest browser around, that’s a pretty good benchmark to try and attain.

Their goal is to make it fast and comprehensive, without trying to make it do too much. That’s how programs get bloated- too many features and it starts to slow down and become inefficient. There confident that they can create a fast, usable catalog module that allows a Lightroom-style workflow, but with a high degree of simplicity and efficiency.

Judging by the preview and teaser clip on their website, appears that they’re on the right track.

Having used the pre-release version for about a week, I can verify that LUMINAR 2018 is indeed faster and snappier, and it contains some great new UI tweaks, as well as some fun new filters. It has an updated RAW processing engine, speed is improved with a number of features and new algorithms that let you get better colors more quickly.

New filters include SUN RAYS, which offer some incredible fun creative options, from realistic enhancement to over-the-top, image-popping visual candy. A MATTE FILTER allows you dial back and get a subdued, vintage look and LUT MAPPING allows for professional quality color grading.

Overall, I love the presets and I love how fast I’m able to bring up a photo, make my adjustments and bring and image to life with a minimal amount of processing time. It’s just so easy to use! Check out these blog posts to see how I use Luminar with my images.

This example below shows you how you can use the SUN FILTER to achieve some cool effects without going overboard. You can see even more dramatic examples here.

As is probably the case with all of us, I’ve gotten remarkably busier every year and I don’t necessary have the time to spend lots of hours at my computer processing photos. Also, my style of creativity is pretty spontaneous. Whether I’m using the Fuji film simulations or the Luminar tools, I tend to look at a scene or an image, get an idea, then try out a couple of creative ideas before quickly finding the one I like.

I’m not usually one to labor over minute slider movements or go back and forth between A or B, I like to trust the inherent sparks of creativity that generate quickly inside my brain. Spending too much time deciding takes away from that. Plus it takes away from the time you could spend playing outside and taking more pictures.

I’ve found that Luminar fits well with my style of creativity and that’s why I’ve been loving it so much during the past year. Whether I want quick, snap creative results, or powerful processing tools to make those necessary fine tune adjustments, Luminar has both.

Pre Order From November 1-15

LUMINAR 2018 is available for preorder here, and it will be ready for download on November 16.

If you’re an existing Luminar user, you’ll definitely want this upgrade, and you’ll get a special pre-order price of only $39. If you’re new to the program, the one-time, no subscription price will only be $59. Both of those prices offer $10 savings over the full price, which will be in effect after Nov. 16.

Also, if you were a Windows beta tester, you’ll save an additional $10.

Finally, if you pre-order LUMINAR 2018, you’ll get a bundle of free content, including a pack of presets from Nicole S. Young, an exclusive pack of LUT color grading files and more.

The Pre-order goes through Nov. 15, so you’ll have plenty of time to try it out, and still get the special price if you think it will work for you.

November 2, 2017

Luminar 2018 Announced for Both Mac and Windows

Featured Images

Happy Halloween! 🎃👻🕸🕷⚰️

I wonder what lurks in the scary Scottish Pine forest…

Happy Halloween!

October 31, 2017

Happy Halloween! 🎃👻🕸🕷⚰️

Creative Tips

3 Reasons Why I Recommend Shooting JPEG Instead of RAW

Things sure change, don’t they? A few years ago, when writing about this topic, I was insistent that serious photographers should always shoot RAW. Now look at me. Now I’m all about the JPEG.

So what’s changed?

Technology for one. Cameras sensors have improved over the years and are now capable of recording a much wider dynamic range than ever before. Also, mirrorless cameras happened. With full-time live view, you effectively have a WISYWIG viewfinder, which means there’s no more guesswork when it comes to exposure. (DSLR’s have Live View Mode, but with a major autofocus limitation.)

Finally, my own viewpoint has shifted. Over the past few years, I’ve evolved my own mindset when it comes to photography and creativity. I feel I’ve come full circle and returned to the shooting mentality I had when I first stated with photography almost 28 years ago.

So what does this have to do with you?

I’ll tell you. I feel that my evolution and my current approach to photography has brought me a vast amount of creative liberation and freedom. In short, my “fun factor” with photography is higher than it ever has been.

At the same time, I see many other shooters getting bogged down with their workflow and struggling with certain aspects of their photography approach. My goal with this post is to help you become more efficient and more productive with your photography. Put simply, I want you to have more fun. After all, photography and fun sound like they begin with the same letter, right?

Before you start arguing with me on this, you should know that I’m full supportive of shooting RAW when necessary. Shooting RAW allows you to extract maximum quality and tonal range to your image. With certain types of photography, or if you’re shooting a critical assignment, then of course, you’ll probably want to shoot RAW. Or RAW+JPEG.

I still shoot RAW on occasion, but much less often than ever before and I would advocate you try the same approach. Here are my 3 reasons why you should seriously consider shooting JPEG instead of RAW.

1. You’ll Save Time. And Hard Drive Space

Picture this scenario: You go on a really cool photo trip to an amazing destination and shoot about a thousand photos, all in RAW. When you get back, your friends ask you, “when can we see your pictures?”

You say, “After I edit them and process all the good ones.”

However, a few things seem to interfere with your photo processing time. On Monday, you have to go back to work, and right after work, you have to pick up the kids from school. While they’re at soccer practice, you stop by Home Depot and buy lightbulbs, because the one in the hallway went out while you were on vacation.

Then you have to take the dog to the vet, stop by the grocery store and buy food for the week, pick the kids up from soccer and sit in traffic for 45 minutes. When you get home, you replace the lightbulb, cook dinner, do the dishes, watch the news and see who got indicted today, spend some time with your family, answer a bunch of emails, read Dan Bailey’s most recent blog posts, surf the web for awhile while your download your cards.

Then FINALLY, at around 10:30PM, you start editing photos, flag the bad ones, tag the good ones, pick out one or two keepers, open them up in Photoshop or Luminar and begin sliding sliders.

By now, it’s almost 11:00PM, and you need to go to bed because you have to work in the morning. The rest of the week played out very much the same, and then it’s the weekend, during which time you go off and take even more pictures.

Next Monday, you return to the office and your co-workers ask you, “when can we see your pictures?”

You say, “I’m still not done editing them.”

Meanwhile, Bob from Marketing just got back from his trip to Iceland, where he also shot a thousand photos, except he shot everything in JPEG. He’s already made a web gallery, posted a bunch of shots to Facebook, sent out a few images to potential clients and is inviting everyone over on Friday night to his Iceland Slide Show Party.

You get the idea…

Shooting JPEG saves you time. Lots to time. Time you could spend playing outside, shooting more photos, hanging out with fiends… you know, stuff that doesn’t involve sitting at your computer. Don’t you spend enough time there as it is?

And of course, shooting JPEG instead of RAW will save you a TON of space on your memory cards and hard drives.

I know what you’re saying, though, “but I wanted to make sure I nailed all my exposures.”

Which brings us to #2.

2. Your Camera Will Nail It. (Most of the Time)

As I said above, cameras have come a LONG way. Today’s digital sensors are capable of recording a vast amount of dynamic range. Add to the fact that today’s image processors are incredible.

Most Fuji shooters know how good the X Series JPEGS are straight out of the camera, but the fact is that every modern camera has a highly advanced image processor that will make great looking JPEGS. You should take advantage of that feature. You trust the autofocus, right? Why not trust your camera’s sensor and image processor?

In most situations, your camera will nail it. If you’re not sure, just look at the LCD Screen or through your electronic viewfinder. The WISYWIG nature of todays mirrorless cameras and Live View mode on your DSLR shows you EXACTLY what the picture will look like before you press the shutter.

Add in the histogram and your EV+/- control and you have an amazing set of tools that can pretty much guarantee you perfect exposure most of the time. Even in tricky lighting.

You don’t always have to go by the histogram, though. In fact, you should only use if for reference, not as a rule. Your histogram doesn’t know what kind of image your trying to create, it only knows what tones are present in your exposure. So what if you lose your shadows. They’re meant to be black. Sometimes you can even blow your highlights and still have a great looking shot, like the example below.

Will your camera nail it EVERY SINGLE TIME? Of course not. There are sone times when you’ll want to shoot RAW, or RAW+JPEG. However, with most scenes, RAW doesn’t need to be your default tool, it should be the right tool when you really need it. (Note to Fuji users, you can always shoot RAW and then perform RAW conversions right inside the camera after the fact. This can be a really useful feature.)

And even if you do want to tweak your photos and give them a little bit of added life and pizzaz, there’s plenty you you can do with your JPEGS.

Unless you need to rescue extreme tones and control high levels of contrast, it’s nothing to add a little bit of vibrance or clarity to your image, or make fine tune exposure adjustment, or even apply a dramatic preset in a program like Luminar or ON1, you’ll be just fine. Your image will look great and you won’t suffer any noticeable loss in quality.

Learn to trust your camera. It works as advertised.

3. You’ll Walk Away With the Shot You LOVE

Before digital, there was no RAW, there was just film. You chose a specific film type based on the nature of your subject, the lighting conditions and what type of look you were going for.

You loaded the little green or yellow can inside your camera, you set your exposure and you pressed the button. When it was all said and done, you either nailed it or you didn’t. Of course, back then, we did lots of bracketing since there wash no such thing as LCD screens.

The result, however, was that the keeper frame WAS YOUR FINAL IMAGE. It was your JPEG.

There was no processing after the fact. You made creative decisions on the spot, took the photo and hopefully walked away with an image you loved. Although back then, you had to wait a few days or weeks with anticipation before you developed the slides to even see if you did indeed nail the shot.

Today, we have the luxury of Live View LCD screens, which again, gives you the ability to see exactly what your image will look like before you take it. This combination has allows me to take a full-circle shift in my approach to photography which has brought me an enormous sense of creative liberation.

Essentially, I’ve returned to shooting with a film mentality again, but with modern technical advantages.

My goal is to walk away from my scene with an image I love…

…as opposed to walking away with a RAW file that I need to process later in order to make it be the image I love.

I encourage you to try and take this approach and see what it does to your photography life. Trust your camera. Trust yourself. Have fun. Enjoy the process. Be free.

October 30, 2017

3 Reasons Why I Recommend Shooting JPEG Instead of RAW

4 Great Alternatives To Adobe Lightroom

Earlier this week, Adobe came out with a big announced and essentially broke Lightroom into two camps: Desktop (Lightroom Classic CC) and Cloud-Based (the all-new Lightroom CC.)

They’re also killing perpetual license versions, which makes the standalone version of Lightroom 6 a dead-end with no future upgrades. From now on, if you want Adobe, it’s subscription only.

This move has confused many photographers and left them wondering how to proceed. Some people just don’t like the subscription model, and others are just wary/tired of Adobe. After all, Adobe has been the target of a number of data breaches in recent years. I for one am not excited about the prospect of having them safeguard my life’s work in their servers.

Although Lightroom is a very powerful program that offers a comprehensive workflow for many shooters, the truth is that Adobe is no longer the only player in town. A few years ago, Adobe was king, but there are a lot of other software solutions out there for photographers that offer people viable workflow solutions.

If you’re considering leaving Adobe, here are four viable alternatives to Lightroom that can offer you a professional quality workflow, high quality creative tools and asset management for your image catalog.

1. Capture One Pro & Media Pro

Capture One Pro is one of the most full featured alternatives to Lightroom and Photoshop. With extremely powerful processing tools, it handles RAW files from just about any camera system, with improved support for Fuji X Trans files, and it offers a totally customizable workflow.

Capture One also includes the longstanding Media Pro asset management system for archiving, sorting and searching your photo library. With C1, you can choose to run a master catalog, or you can break down each job, assignment or shoot into “sessions,” and create a separate catalog for that particular job. You can also buy Media Pro as a standalone application if you don’t need the full Capture One Processing tools.

The main downside to Capture One is that it can have a steep learning curve, but they have tons of great tutorials and do a great job teaching you how to use the program.

If I were starting from scratch as a serious pro photographer today, I’d definitely consider Capture One. I’ve used it in the past and it’s a great program. If you just need a management/catalog system, then definitely try out Media Pro.

2. Luminar

Luminar is a relatively new image editing program that offers a wide range of features, tools, and really fun presets. I’ve never been preset guy before, but I really like the ease and look of the Luminar presets, and I love how the program functions.

You can use Luminar as a standalone app, or you can use it as a Lightroom Plugin. You can use it in “super easy mode” by simply choosing and dialing down the presets, you can make use of the huge array of tools palettes, or you can combine presets with specific tools to easily and quickly fine tune your images.

Luminar is a powerful program, it plays nice with all camera formats, even the Fuji X Trans RAW files, and they’re constantly upgrading the program with new features and performance tweaks.

And, (drumroll…) Luminar will be including a brand new, full service asset management system into the program in 2018. This is a huge deal, and with their Adobe announcements this week, the Luminar folks are well aware that people are looking at alternatives. They’re working hard to get this rolling and have posted a few screenshots and a short teaser video to show you what it looks like.

I’ve been using Luminar for almost a year now and I love it. I’m not the only one – it’s won numerous Apple awards for design and great functionality. If their catalog function is as good as their image editing functions, this could have real promise. I plan on taking a serious look at the demos when I go to Photo Plus Expo next week. I’ll let you know what I find out.

The Windows version of Luminar is coming very soon.

EDIT: October 31 – At PhotoPlus last week, I met with the CEO and two of the head product developers from Luminar and they assured me that they’re committed to offering full X-Trans RAW support for Fujifilm users. In fact, one of them is even a Fuji X-T2 user!

Check out the Luminar Mac demo here and see what you think.

3. Photo Mechanic

I’m in love with Photo Mechanic and have been from the day I went digital on April 12, 2006. Designed as a wicked fast solution for culling through large batches of photos and adding metadata, Photo Mechanic browses through a giant folder of images faster than anything else out there.

Have a thousand photos to go through? No problem. Photo Mechanic will let you edit, delete, tag, rate, caption, keyword, export, save, email & share like a champ. It’s been a vital part of my workflow for many years and I can’t see every giving it up.

Photo Mechanic does’t have any image processing capabilities, but you can the program with other apps in order to complete your workflow. I use it in conjunction with both Lightroom and Luminar and I’ve used it with Capture One as well. Photo Mechanic and Luminar or Affinity would give you a full workflow solution.

Technically, it’s not really a catalog program either, but as long as you store your images in an efficient, easily browsable folder hierarchy, you can use Photo Mechanic to quickly browse through your folders and use the array of search and sort tools to locate specific photos on your computer.

4. Affinity Photo

Five years in the making, Affinity Photo is a program for Mac and Windows created by Serif. It was built from the ground up to be a professional alternative to Photoshop, and based on the many 5-star ratings and the fact that it was chosen as the Best Mac App of 2015, it seems that Serif has done an excellent job reaching that goal.

Not only does Affinity have a full set of powerful processing tools, it has a very intuitive and customizable interface, very stable and streamlined design, cross-platform compatibility and the ability to work in any color space.

With hundreds of features, including layers, effects, live blend modes, sophisticated selection tools, and extensive retouching tools, Affinity Photo offers everything you need for full-service image editing and processing for only $49.

And if that’s not enough, Serif also has an iPad version of Affinity that provides image editing, functionality and performance like you’ve never seen before on a mobile device.

I’ve never seen anything like this. It looks incredible. The iPad version is so powerful, you should just read here and see everything it does.

Final Thoughts

So, as I’m sitting here writing this, I’m working through my own workflow decisions. My idea is that I’ll still use Photo Mechanic for browsing and Luminar for quick and fun image processing, and possibly use Affinity for more complex stuff, and for mobile editing.

First step is to try out Affinity and see how it works. If I like what I see, I can start to learn that program so I can transition away from Photoshop.

Right now, I’ve migrating my Lightroom catalog to Capture One to see how it works. Having used the program before, it’s a familiar look and the catalog browser has a pretty intuitive interface. That said, I’m really excited to see Luminar’s new catalog system. If it’s as good as I’m hoping it is, that could be the one to replace Lightroom for me.

Then, with PM for initial culling and browsing, Capture One or Luminar for the catalog and/or processing, and possibly Affinity for the Photoshop type work, I’d be able to cut my Adobe subscription and say goodbye to Lightroom and Photoshop.

I know I’d miss Photoshop. I’ve been using it for over 20 years, but the world marches on, right? Things change. I have to go with what works best for me and my own style and workflow, and sometimes that means shaking things up.

What should you do?

Same thing I am. Download the demo versions of Capture One or Media Pro, Luminar, Photo Mechanic and Affinity and see which program you like best and that fits your style.

Hopefully this post has given you some ideas as well and will help you start working through your own process. I’ll keep writing more about this topic in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

Click here to subscribe to this blog and get even more free insight like this.

EDIT: October 30 – Here’s a 5th Option

ON1 PHOTO RAW 2018 is currently in Beta, and it offers a brand new catalog browser feature as well. ON1 is incorporating a full RAW Processor, editor and effects app into the program. See more info about the program here.

October 20, 2017

4 Great Alternatives To Adobe Lightroom

Industry News

Adobe Breaks Lightroom Into 2 Versions – Classic & Cloud

Today, Adobe released a major Lightroom Update and effectively split the program into two completely different versions: Desktop and Cloud.

Lightroom Classic CC

The regular version, which we’ve all been using as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan has been “rebranded” as Lightroom Classic CC. It’s the desktop-based version you’re used to, and include all the features you’ve been using up until now.

Adobe has given Lightroom Classic CC a number of performance improvements, so the program is said to run even faster than before, which should be good news to those uses who complain about Lightroom’s “clunkiness” as their catalogs get bigger. They’ve also added a few new features, like Boundary Warp and HDR Merge.

With Lightroom Classic CC, you can still use Lightroom Mobile and sync your edits between your mobile device and your home computer. You just can’t use the new Lightroom CC Mobile features, which include now include keywording.

Lightroom CC

However, the newest update to Lightroom is the brand new version, which is called… wait for it… the “all new Lightroom CC.”

This is the new cloud-based version of Lightroom, and it’s designed to let you create, edit, develop and manage your photos anywhere, on your computer, mobile devices and the web.

Instead of storing your photos on your home computer and physical hard drives, with the new Lightroom CC, all of your original photos and edits are backed up in the cloud. Organization, search, editing and sharing are now easier than ever before, which should appeal to photographers who spend a lot of time traveling.

That said, there is a checkbox option in the preferences where you can “Store a copy of ALL photos locally.”

Branding issues aside, here’s where it gets complicated. Not surprisingly, Adobe has also added a price increase. The all-new Creative Cloud Photography Plan costs $19.99/mo and it comes with 1TB of cloud storage.

Existing members who are on the regular $9.99/mo Photography Plan now have the all-new Lightroom CC added to their plan, in addition to the desktop-only version of Lightroom Classic CC (and Photoshop CC), and 20GB of cloud storage.

However, exiting Photography Plan members can upgrade to the all-new plan and get the 1TB of storage for only $14.99. Of course, that’s first year only. After that, it goes up to $19.99/mo.

Another huge issue is the amount of cloud storage. The $9.99 plan gives you 20GB of storage. That’s not a lot of room. Most people are running around with 32BG and 64BG memory cards these days. Sometimes a pari of them. 20GB might not even get you a single card’s worth of storage. You’ll need to upgrade to the $14.99 plan.

And what if you need more than 1TB? I don’t know about you, but I have WAY more than 1TB worth of photos in my Lightroom library. Right now, my master catalog is about 4TB. The Adobe website says “Additional storage is available for purchase,” but it doesn’t say up front how much that will cost.

Also, what if you have limited bandwidth? Uploading 1TB worth of images can end up being pretty costly, not to mention the days it can take to upload your entire master catalog to the cloud.

Also, the new Lightroom CC Cloud version is missing quite a few features that are found on the regular desktop version, like Color Labels, Edit Capture Time, Face Recognition, Survey and Compare Views, Rename During Import, Smart Collections, Secondary Screen, Editing History, Soft Proofing, Send to External Editor, Third Party Plugins, Export as New File Name, Export with Watermark, Publish Services and many more.

It’s also missing the four Output Modules, Book, Slideshow, Print and Web, and it doesn’t let you split original files across multiple different hard drives. Or do tethered shooting. Or organize using folders. You can’t even rename your photos.

However, given that this version is brand new, I mean “all-new,” it’s likely that many of these will be added to the new CC version in future updates. Still, it’s a reason you might not want to upgrade immediately.

So, Which Version Is Right For You?

This is a tricky question, and fortunately, Victoria Bampton the Lightroom Queen has created a handy flowchart to help answer this for you. Actually, she’s got a lot of great information on her site about the new upgrades.

It kind of boils down to this: If you’re happy with Lightroom, then you’ll probably want to keep your regular plan and use the all-new Lightroom CC Classic. You’ll get some upgraded features and performance upgrades and you’ll still be able to use it with Lightroom Mobile as you have been.

Word to the wise, though: You may want to hold off from downloading and migrating your regular Lightroom catalog to the new Classic CC version until some of the bugs are worked out. Once you upgrade your catalog, you can’t go back. However, you can download and install the new version alongside your existing version of Lightroom so you can test it out.

If you’re excited about storing everything in the cloud and if you want to have your entire workflow accessible on any device, no matter where you are, then the new Lightroom CC might just the solution for you. After all, $14.99 isn’t that much money, and you’ll have a lot of flexibility. As I said, it could be great if you travel a lot. Or if you shoot primarily with your phone.

No More Perpetual Licenses

Oh yea… and by the way Adobe also announced that from this point forward all version of Lightroom will be subscription only. No more perpetual license. You can still use your Lightroom Version 6, but you won’t get any new features anymore. Sorry, but you can’t say you didn’t see this coming.

What if you’re not excited by all of this?

Don’t worry. Lightroom isn’t the only game in town anymore. There are a number of really good options that can easily take the place of Lightroom, especially if you don’t need all the in-depth features that the program offers. If you just want a simple workflow to import, process and keep track of your images, with no subscription, you’re have choices. And you’re not alone.

Stay tuned: I’ll be posting a list of viable alternative to Lightroom later this week.

Visit the Adobe site to see more information about the new Lightroom CC.

October 18, 2017

Adobe Breaks Lightroom Into 2 Versions – Classic & Cloud

Reviews and Recommendations

Full Review of the Ultra Compact Fujifilm XF50mm f/2 WR Lens

Earlier this year, Fujifilm released the 50mm f/2 WR lens, thus completing their trio of ultra compact weather sealed f/2 primes. Both the XF23mm f/2 and the XF35mm f/2 have been extremely well received and much loved by many X Series photographers, and I can attest that the 50 holds up as an awesome addition to the lineup.

We all know that telephoto lenses rock. They let you narrow down your scene, and they allow you nail your subjects, or part of your subjects, with tack sharp focus and isolate them against soft, out-of-focus backgrounds.

However, it’s not always convenient or fun to carry a really long lens, though, especially if you’re traveling or going light and fast with minimal gear. That’s where short teles are so awesome, they offer a great compromise for getting that telephoto look with a relatively small lens. The tradeoff is that you just have to get a little closer to your subject… which is exactly why they’re ideal for shooting portraits.

I’ve been using the new 50 f/2 for almost eight months now, and I attest, it’s one hot little lens. What’s not to love? It’s way smaller and lighter than the 90, and when compared to the 56mm f/1.2, it’s half the size, half the weight, half the price, it has faster AF and it focuses twice as close, so you can still get amazingly soft backgrounds and shallow depth of field effects.

And with the incredible high ISO performance of the X Series cameras, which I like to refer to as “ISO Who Cares?” that stop and a half loss of light between the 56 and the 50 is pretty negligible.

After using it extensively for most of 2017, the 50 has worked its way into my 50 to work it’s way into my heart and become one of my all time favorite Fuji lenses. If you meet me out in the world, there’s probably a 90% chance that I’ll have the 50 f/2 lens with me.

Let’s dive in and see what make this lens so great.

Size, Weight and Build

Like all the Fuji f/2 lenses, the XF50mm f/2 lens is built to minimize size and weight without compromising quality. Roughly 60mm x 60mm (2.3 inches) without the lens hood and weighing in at only 200 grams (7 ounces), it’s extremely compact. We’re talking pocket size. Seriously. When I’m out shooting with more than one lens, I often carry the 50 in my pocket.

Constructed with 9 elements in 7 groups and one aspherical Extra Low Dispersion element, the 50mm f/2 offers a traditional view angle 31.7 degrees, or 76mm when compared to full frame.

This puts it just beyond “normal lens” territory, at the shortest end of what we usually consider to be a short telephoto. We don’t often think of 70-ish mm range glass as producing extremely stylish looks, but with a close focusing distance of only 12 inches, the 50 can isolate a subject with incredible sharpness and bokeh.

Just how close can you get with the 50? This close:

Like nearly all of the other Fuji XF lenses, the 50mm f/2 features all metal housing, so it will take a quite a beating. Believe me. 10 points of weather sealing add to its durability and help keep out dust and water. It’s rated to function down to 14 degrees F, or -10 degrees C, but I’ve shot it at well below these temperatures and it works just fine, even below minus 20 degrees F. As with all of the Fuji primes, it doesn’t have Image Stabilization.

Also, like most of the other Fuji lenses, it has a numbered aperture ring and a 9-bladed aperture, which helps increase the “dreamy” bokeh quality when shooting at very shallow apertures. Generally, more blades gives you tighter, more circular “circles of confusion” when you shoot wide open. This is what makes for more pleasing bokeh. By comparison, the 56 f/1.2 only has 7 blades, and it’s considered to be a bokeh powerhouse.

Sharpness

All of the Fuji f/2 primes are ridiculously sharp, with the XF90mm being perhaps the single sharpest lens that they make. The little 50mm f/2 is not far behind. It holds edge detail with excellent precision and very little distortion, chromatic aberration or other artifacts.

Getting up close, the focus falloff is really pleasing. Both of these shots are made at f/2.8, at the closest possible distance form the lens. I love how you’re able to isolate extremely small bits of the scene with razor sharp focus against a wash of color and tone.

Autofocus Performance

The XF50mm f/2 lens uses an internal stepping motor to drive the lens elements quickly and quietly. The result is that the 50 operates with very fast AF performance. It’s able to quickly acquire and track moving subjects with a high degree of accuracy.

I’ve shot a wide variety of motion and action with the 50 and have been extremely impressed with how well it does, even in lower lighting situations. I don’t know if it’s quite as fast as the 90 or 100-400, which have the ultra fast Linear AF motors, but it’s pretty darn quick, and certainly fast enough for most applications. I haven’t noticed any limitations where it’s noticeably let me down.

Creativity, Usability and Fun-ness

As you can see above, I’ve been having a TON of fun with the 50. I got it right at the end of winter, and so I used it all spring and throughout the summer to shoot aerials, landscapes, portraits and, well, just about everything else. Many of my favorite images of 2017 were shot with my 50, including the arial that made the cover of my X SERIES UNLIMITED eBook.

After taking it on both of my Scotland trips this year, as well as a multi-day winter fat bike trip in March and a week-long fall cycling trip to northern Minnesota, it’s become one of my essential travel lenses. It’s so small and light that I see no reason not to take it with me just about everywhere.

No matter what type of photography I’m doing, my base lens kit always includes at least a wide lens and a telephoto. If I’m going ultra light, the 50 counts as the tele, because it gives me the compressed shallow focus look.

And it’s close enough to a normal lens, that it can count as that one too if I don’t want to burden myself with a third lens. Of course, the 35 is so tiny as well, that it’s usually in my bag (or pocket) too.

Overall

The little weather sealed f/2 series lenses are one of the best things that Fuji has done with the X Series, and the 50 f/2 is an excellent component in that line. Overall, it’s an amazing and highly versatile lens.

It’s light enough to take anywhere, sharp enough to shoot critical work, narrow enough to isolate specific elements in your scene, fast enough to shoot in low light, shallow enough to shoot compelling portraits to get beautiful bokeh, it focuses close enough to shoot macro-style work, especially when you add one of the Fuji extension tubes.

And, most importantly, it has that Fuji Fun Factor, which only adds to your X Series shooting experience and makes your photography adventures that much more enjoyable.

The 50 f/2 is a true winner and given that it’s such an affordable price, I would highly recommend this lens to any Fujifilm photographer. You really can’t go wrong with any of the f/2 lenses, (you can even buy all three as a kit), but if you’re looking for a really fun lens that will help you get that telephoto look, and that’s usable for just about any style of photography, then the Fuji 50 is defiantly worth a look.

Oh yea, and it comes in silver. You would think that the silver one is designed specifically for the silver bodies, but I have to say, I have a silver 50 on my black X-T2 and it looks really cool.

[iframe]<iframe width=”300″ scrolling=”no” height=”250″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border:none;” border=”0″ src=”https://mer54715.datafeedfile.com/widget/aff_widget_prdt_generate-2.0.php?aff_num=6746&aff_net=1&widget_num=7957&sid=” marginheight=”0″ marginwidth=”0″></iframe><iframe style=”width:120px;height:240px;” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ src=”//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=danhbaisadvph-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B01MS6WINK&asins=B01MS6WINK&linkId=f371fcf68f5def618884231fcc7cb21d&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true”></iframe><iframe style=”width:120px;height:240px;” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ src=”//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=danhbaisadvph-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B01N10DROS&asins=B01N10DROS&linkId=a7f9040d71009f5f1a95772ba55f742b&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true”></iframe>[/iframe]

October 16, 2017

Full Review of the Ultra Compact Fujifilm XF50mm f/2 WR Lens

Adventures with Dan, Featured Images

Back to Scotland for More Bikepacking. (And Whisky.)

It’s been a very quiet month here on the blog. I have a good excuse, though. I’ve been on vacation. After a very busy summer shooting, flying my little Cessna, teaching workshops, editing photos and writing my X SERIES UNLIMITED eBook, which I’m pleased to say has been selling like crazy, I decided to take some time off.

And what better way to spend a few weeks away from the computer than by going back to Scotland for more bike riding and photography?

I had so much fun in Scotland during our spring trip that I decided to head back there for Round 2, which meant even more bikepacking, and of course, more whisky.

Even though we pedaled around quite a few areas of the country during the May trip, as unfortunate luck would have it, we never found ourselves near any distilleries. So, for this trip, I dedicated myself to time and routes that would take us right past a number of Scotch distilleries.

During this two-week foray, we headed up the Speyside Way and visited the Tomatin, Tomintoul, The Glenlivet, Aberlour, The Macallan, Cardhu, and Dalwhinne distilleries. We toured a few traditional production houses where they make this wonderful golden elixir, or as it’s called in the Gaelic language, “uisge beatha,” or, “the water of life, “and sampled a wide range of whiskies from a number of different regions of Scotland.

A novice scotch drinker before the May trip, I’ve learned so much about how it’s produced and how the specific elements in the process create such varied flavors from strong and smoky to smooth and sweet. Let’s just say that I have a new expensive hobby. 🙂

Compared to May, we spent more time during this trip cycling and touring off-road, spending a significant portion of our trip on trails and land rover tracks through the Highlands. With its large swaths of open land and it’s wilderness access laws, Scotland is an absolutely ideal location for backcountry biking, hiking and walking.

We also got a chance to spend more time with our friend Andy Toop, who owns a great bikepacking and packrafting shop called Backcountry Scot in Aviemore. And we did an overnight bike trip with our two new cycling friends, Huw and Annie. Huw Oliver is a great young adventure photographer and writer. Check out his article about adventuring in the Outer Hebrides Islands on Bikepacking.com.

Annie Le is an outdoor instructor and has done a number of great adventures as well. (You can see here photos here.)

On the photography side, I went even lighter with my Fujifilm camera setup, only going with a single X-T2 body, and three small primes, the XF18mm f/2, XF35mm f/2 and the XF50mm f/2. This ultra compact trio gave me a wide variety of creative options and made things very easy, since I only had three focal lengths.

Although I so like the longer Fuji lenses, I loved the freedom of being so unencumbered my my camera gear and I’m very happy with the photos I shot over there. For most of my scenes, I found myself using either the 18 or the 50, which make sense, because I love going wide and I love using a short telephoto to compress my backgrounds slightly, which helps the subject stand out more prominently.

Overall, we got a lot of fantastic riding done in just two weeks, camped in some beautiful places in the Scottish backcountry, and lived the true Scottish experience with considerably wetter weather than we had in May. Our love for this awesome country only grew and I’m already thinking about when to go back for a third time.

I’ll be posting more Scotland pictures from both trips in the coming weeks since I still haven’t even shared very many from the May trip. I guess summer got away from me, which is exactly why I took this vacation.

After Scotland, we flew to Minnesota and spent a week up on the North Shore of Lake Superior, riding bikes, shooting waterfalls and enjoying a brilliant display of peaking fall foliage. Watch for those pictures in the coming weeks as well.