I recently read a short article by photographer and entrepreneur, James Clear titled, Email is Where Keystrokes Go to Die. James, reflecting on a speech given by Scott Hanselman of Microsoft, states that we only get so many keystrokes in our lifetime, and we are wasting them on emails that will only be read by one person. Instead, you should share your keystrokes with many people by blogging or writing that book you’ve been thinking about forever. And this concept of sharing with many instead of a few, or one, applies to other avenues of creativity such as photography and music. It’s a great article, and I highly recommend you go read it. While you are there, I also recommend that you subscribe to Jame’s newsletter and get his free book.
I’ve been in somewhat of a hiatus state with Digital Photography Mastery over the summer. It’s so easy to get off track from writing. A bad hail storm damages your house, you start dealing with contractors, and the next thing you know, the entire summer is gone. But that’s just an excuse. I could have found more time for writing and photography if it was a priority for me.
I didn’t totally goof off all summer long. I completed Trey Ratcliff’s Complete HDR course (Mac / Windows), and will be getting some articles online soon about my adventures in HDR photography. I’m currently working on Will Burrand-Lucus’ RAW Exposure course Marketing for Photographers. I’ve been learning a lot from that course and hope to use what I learn to grow Digital Photography Mastery.
I also read many books over the summer including several on photography. I read Landscapes in Lightroom 5: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide by Michael Frye. Even though I’ve been using Photoshop and Lightroom forever, Frye’s book really helped in making my landscapes pop. I also read Organize Your Photos by Trey Ratcliff. I’ve been reorganizing my images for several months now as time permits. I’m using some of Trey’s organizational techniques in combination with some of my own.
I’m currently reading Chasing The Light by Ian Plant, and will be doing a review of that book soon. I can tell you right now that it will be a positive review. Ian has a way of creating photography books that educate, inspire, and motivate. And his books are always so full of beautiful photos, that non-photographers like to look at them as well.
With all that being said, I’m looking forward to getting back into the groove with Digital Photography Mastery and growing it into a resource that photographers will find useful. I have many thoughts and ideas to mull over in the coming weeks as to what direction I want to take this site.
If you have any ideas or suggestions on what you would like to see here in the future, please leave a comment below.