Exciting news and a game-changing photography tip

November 2023 newsletter

I hope you have been doing well. I have a couple of exciting news for you. Without further ado, let's get into them. In the end, I will share a personal update for those who enjoy following my life journey.

More valuable content

Take it as a promise. I want to create more relevant, valuable educational content for you. The first step was to change my emailing platform to Mailerlite. Now I can use surveys to help me understand better what you guys want.

It would mean a lot if you could answer one simple question:

New photography tours

Over the course of last month, I've been working hard to create new international photo tours to destinations you have been asking for. Check them out or request more information from me if you're interested.

Early signups can take advantage of early bird prices.

Scotland

October 4-12, 2024

Iceland

Nov 25 - Dec 3, 2024

I have also updated the Cappadocia photo tour for 2024 and listed some future tours I have in mind where you can sign up for early announcement information.

One game-changing tip for woodland photography

Use a polarizer. That's it.

Forests are usually humid, and there are reflections everywhere. If you shoot without a polarizer, you'll lose on most of the colors. Instead, the filter allows you to filter out the reflections and reveal the beautiful colors you see with your eyes.

During our family holiday (more on that below), I visited a Czech forest inscribed by UNESCO in 2021. The fall foliage was spectacular; I hadn’t seen anything like this before.

I took two shots to demonstrate this for you. It copied/pasted the same editing to both, so you can see the difference just the polarizer made.

No polarizer.16 mm, f/16, ISO 50, 1.6 sec

With a polarizer.16 mm, f/16, ISO 50, 2.5 sec

Here's a step-by-step breakdown:

1. Choose a forest mostly with broad-leaf trees near your home.
2. Check out maps to find interesting locations - bridges over streams, cascades, etc.
3. Pick a day when it's not rainy; an overcast sky doesn't matter so much.
4. Commit to it and get your gear ready.
5. When you arrive, try to find a composition you like.
6. Set up your tripod and attach a polarizer to your lens.
7. Spin the polarizer around to position it so it has the most potent effect that filters out the most reflections.
8. Use a self-timer, aperture priority (or manual), and set something from f/11 to f/16, ISO 50-100, and finally, press the shutter 🙂
9. Rinse and repeat regularly.

Update on my personal life

I want to speak more about the holidays. There were two moments that I especially treasure.

When I wanted to take pictures of a waterfall in the forest I previously mentioned, my daughter Emi (2) didn't feel like walking, so I only took my son Sebastián (5), and we embarked on a bit of an adventure together.

There were other photographers when we reached the waterfall, so we explored an area down the stream. That's where I took the images I shared in the previous section.

While I was shooting, my Sebi sat on a rock beside me, pulled out a notebook from his little backpack and some colorful markers, wrote “Sebík & Táta” (Sebi & Dad), and later drew the scene and his experience.

Two days later, I wanted to explore another waterfall, but there was no path leading to it, so Sebi and I decided to try to get there through a grass-covered slope. It had rained the night before, and everything was slippery; the ground was soaked, and it was challenging even for me.

After 20 minutes of being a team, we reached the waterfall. We were 15 feet from the river, but the last section was too rough, soaked, and had deep mud, so we decided it was better to head back up and climb back to the trail. We safely did that, and it turned out to be the adventure of the trip for Sebi, and I felt proud.

Red panda in ZOO Liberec135 mm, f/5.6, ISO 4000, 1/320 s

Jizera Mountains16 mm, f/16, ISO 80, 1/4 sec

The story for me is that Sebi has reached an age where we can go on these little photography adventures and have quality time together. He also gives me enough space to take some pictures, so it's mutually beneficial. I can't wait to do more scouting photo trips with him in the near future.

Another update is that we will spend part of the winter in Chile with my in-laws again! We purchased the flights a week ago, and we're going from mid-January until the end of March. I'm thrilled we could do it because Sebi will start elementary school next winter, and leaving for a couple of months will be significantly more difficult.

Thank you for reading through my therapeutic section, and if you have small kids or grandkids, perhaps you have found a hint of inspiration in it.

That's it for this month. Consider filling out the survey and checking out the upcoming trips.

If you ever want to discuss photography, I'm always happy to help. I love reading your replies to my e-mails, so if you have anything on your mind, don't be shy and hit reply.