Hello Reader!

My wife and I returned from our Death Valley trip last week where we tried out van life! The trip went well and I think we’ll end up doing another trip by renting a campervan in the future. Now our perspectives of the experience were slightly different - I described it as absolutely luxurious and she described it as the bare minimum level to camp, but we had a great time!

Before I head into this week’s topic, I wanted to share something exciting first!

F-Stop Collaborate and Listen Podcast Interview

I was recently interviewed by Matt Payne on the F-Stop Collaborate and Listen podcast, Episode #464! I’ve been a long-time listener of the podcast (and Patreon supporter) and it was a wonderful experience talking about landscape photography with Matt!

We talked about my background in landscape photography and the challenge of building a creative ecosystem that can also support itself as a business. I had a great time with the conversation and hope you’ll give it a listen.

YouTube

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Blog: https://www.mattpaynephotography.com/gallery/meaning-community-balance/​

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6G5ANTYlq5NZiY171dvGmb?si=nPnNMgzGSGiwE4SakLLuRw​

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/464-jeffrey-tadlock-how-to-build-a-thriving-photo-ecosystem/id1225041640?i=1000753985688​

Spring is in the Air

Between a trip to Death Valley where the temps were in the low 90’s and returning to Ohio where we’ve also seen a warm-up, it sure feels like spring is in the air! Now I know that is wishful thinking and we’ll get hit with at least another round of freezing temperatures between now and the real onset of spring, but still, one can be hopeful!

For a lot of us the winter is “stick season”, trees with no leaves, gray, and so on making it a real struggle to get out there and photograph anything during the winter months! But the return of spring brings a certain energy and gets a lot of us thinking about getting back out there to photograph landscapes!

Ease Back Into It

It’s easy to get caught up in the warmer weather and early spring greens and feel like that first outing has to be a success. The energy is there, the motivation is there, but be careful of setting yourself up for disappointment.
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After a long winter, you might be a little rusty, and it can take some time for both your creative eye and your camera handling to feel natural again. I’d recommend heading out for a short outing at your local metro park or someplace close. Work out those cobwebs and let your mind fully get back into the swing of things. Then as those spring greens really start popping, the flowers start blooming, you’ll be all set to take full advantage!

Pay Attention to Conditions

Weather is always an important part of outdoor photography, but spring can bring a wide range of changing conditions. From lots of rain, wind, storms, or even severe weather.
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Be sure to pay attention to the weather - both what it has been doing and what it is going to be doing on the day you head out. If your area has received a lot of rain, it might be a great time to go waterfalling. If there are storms building in the afternoon, you might want to be sure you are off the trail before they start. Or maybe you are planning on photographing flowers and the wind is predicted to be high and gusty - might be a good time to adjust your plans.

(Keep an eye out for a future newsletter, I plan on announcing a webinar on using Windy more effectively for landscape photography! You won’t want to miss this as you start planning your trips!)

Review Your Gear

And finally - be sure to review your gear! If you haven’t been out for awhile (or even if you did have an active winter) there’s a reason they call it spring cleaning! I recently repacked my camera bag to downsize to my 35L for the flight and it was amazing how much STUFF I had in my camera bag. Just taking the time to repack helped me drop a couple of pounds from my camera bag with no loss of capability in the field!

Beyond the camera bag, this is also a good time to wipe down your cameras, clean your lenses, and restock microfiber cloths and lens wipes. A little prep now can make you more efficient once you’re in the field.

While the motivation is high to get back out there, take advantage and use these three tips to make the most of your time this spring!!

One Spot Left - Smoky Mountains Spring Workshop

There’s just one spot remaining for the Great Smoky Mountains spring workshop in April. I am co-leading this workshop with Michael Rung who brings a wealth of woodlands photography experience and Adobe Lightroom expertise!

We’ll focus on thoughtful fieldwork, decision-making in changing conditions, and coming home with images you’re proud of, not just checking locations off a list.

I also have other workshops on the calendar throughout the year if the Smokies aren’t the right fit for you, more information on my Upcoming Workshops page.

Patreon - Behind the Scenes

If you enjoy these newsletters but want a little more behind-the-scenes content, I share additional material over on Patreon - including less polished thoughts, field reflections, and things I don’t always put on YouTube. There is a free tier if you just want to follow along.

Until the next newsletter!

Know someone who might enjoy this? Please feel free to share this email with them.

~Jeffrey