Onwards and Upwards!

Wow… It’s already March.

Now that we are already well into 2013, I was hoping to have figured out the rest of the year or at least a huge chunk of it. Seems like this happens at the beginning of every new year; I get super motivated with a zillion new ideas and projects to work on and then realize that I’m not capable of doing all the things I want to do.

“Have patience with all things, But, first of all with yourself.”

~Saint Francis de Sales

One step at a time, haste makes waste, the journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step, patience is a virtue, and all the other sayings in the world don’t necessarily make it any easier when time seems to be zooming past me at the speed of life. You’d think that as a photographer, I’d have learned how to focus better. I just wish that I had a crystal ball to tell me what projects I should be working on first.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m super motivated and excited about this year. I have several cool projects in the works that could take me to some awesome places (literally and figuratively). I’m planning several workshops this year in some wonderful places, forging new corporate partnerships with some great companies, testing some really cool new gear, re-doing my portfolio website, adding some new sections to my blog, developing a newsletter, doing some public speaking, and oh yeah… I’ll do a bit of travelling during all of this as well.

Iceland here I come… X2

As you may know, I’m co-leading a photo workshop in Iceland in June along with my friend Colby Brown. The June workshop sold out so quickly that we decided to offer a second workshop in September 2013. Amazingly enough, we only have a few spots available for the September workshop since so many people who didn’t get in on the June workshop have already confirmed their interest in September. If you are interested in joining us in Iceland in September sign up soon, there are just a few spots left!

I’m thrilled to be going to Iceland twice this year. This is one place that every photographer should visit at least once in their lives, trust me!

I’m working on at least 2-3 more workshops for this year in some incredible places and once I have details I’ll be sharing them here and on my Facebook, Google+, and Twitter accounts.

New Partners

I’m excited to have a great new corporate partner in Fujifilm.

I already have several new tripods to test and work with as well as a great new X-E1 camera and lenses from Fujifilm.

 

Getting the Fujifilm camera was such a treat. It felt like an unveiling more than opening up boxes. Can’t wait to start playing with this new camera. It is getting rave reviews and since it is so much smaller than my regular Canon cameras it will be perfect for shooting more spontaneous people and cultural imagery on my travels.

 

Out with the old…

Time to drop the old portfolio website as it is built in the now obsolete Flash platform that does not work on any mobile device. That’s just poor business for me and I’ll be working with my friends at Photoshelter on a brand new site using their upcoming new tools for building photographer websites. I’m part of the beta team that is working on this exciting project and I’ll tell you more once the site is under development.

I’ll also be moving my blog and portfolio site to a newer and much faster webhost. There will be some tweaking of the blog throughout the year in terms of functionality as well. Nothing drastic, just a few cosmetic improvements that should improve navigation.

“A good writer possesses not only his own spirit but also the spirit of his friends.”

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

And now for a little help from my friends…

Beginning this spring I will be sharing some awesome guest articles on my blog. I’m currently in the process of inviting some of my travel, photography, technology, and blogger friends to share a post on my blog. This is going to be a year long project and may turn into a regular feature now on  my blog.

You’ll be reading some great travel stories, how to articles, informational articles, tips and tricks, and so much more. I’m waiting for the first articles to be submitted now and still reaching out to other writers but already have several dozen confirmed contributors. I’m extremely pleased to have so many talented and generous people willing to share their articles with my readers.

Product and services reviews

I’m doing my best to get more product and service reviews here on my blog as well. I just completed one for one of my all time favourite photo editing software plugins (Nik Silver Efex Pro 2) and you can read it here.

I’m concentrating on the products and services that I use and like but will always remain objective. No one pays me for these reviews but I may participate in affiliate marketing programs with companies I believe in. My aim is to help my readers get better deals on the cool stuff I use, offer up freebies in contests and giveaways, and to bring to your attention some of the things that make my life easier as a photographer and traveller.

Newsletter!

The last but not really last thing I’m working on right now is a newsletter. I’ll be unveiling it later this spring/summer once I get the design and content details all hashed out. Look for a monthly roundup of what is happening on the blog along with some cool deals from my corporate sponsors and partners and bonus material that will be exclusive to the newsletter.

Yup, it’s onwards and upwards time indeed!

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