improve your travel photos in one week with my free mini-course

I hope you are well despite the cold weather hitting Europe and North America. I managed to escape to the southern hemisphere with my family successfully, and we're currently enjoying the company of my wife's lovely family in Valparaíso, Chile.

Due to flight disruptions, it took us three days to arrive from Prague, including one day in Toronto at -10 °C (14°F), which we were not ready for regarding clothes.But let's dive into the bread and butter of today's newsletter. Here's what is in store today:

1. Free mini-course
2. Are you experimenting enough?
3. Inspiration from the Czech Republic

Since the end of November, I've been working on a travel photography mini-course, and it's finally ready for you to enroll.

It's called Improve your Travel Photos in One week, and it's a self-paced e-mail course delivered daily into your inbox.

You will learn various travel photography tips and techniques to elevate your skills. I hope you'll enjoy it and find it helpful.

If you have any photography friends or camera club members who may be interested in the mini-course, please do share it with them.

We are wired to do things we are comfortable with, and it takes extra effort to step out of our comfort zone. I am very prone to this, including in photography.

It's a notion that I realized while leading the photo tour in Turkey a few months ago. I have developed a particular photography style that I'm comfortable with, and that helps me to produce good images.

But the more I entrust in my style, the less I'm willing to experiment and try new things (that I'm not very good at). I'm mediocre at best at street photography, I'm below average at food photography (except for details of yummy pastries like the Turkish baklava, haha), and I feel very uncomfortable shooting interiors of restaurants or cafés with people in it.

So what do I do about it? I avoid it and don't shoot it.

But this approach eventually limits creativity and innovation, preventing unique and original work.

I will push myself out of my comfort zone this year and experiment more. This approach promises to expand one's skillset by becoming more versatile and proficient in various genres and styles. I believe it:

1. fosters creativity and artistic growth,
2. ensures that a photographer remains competitive and
3. can diversify one's portfolio and attract a broader audience.

Think about what photography skills are out of your comfort zone and try to push yourself in these situations this year intentionally. Practice makes perfect, and you'll eventually overcome the challenges and grow as a travel photographer.

Between the Christmas holidays and the New Year, I led a multiple-day photography tour for Abhi, a great guy from Colorado, US. The weather was very merciful to us and let us take some great photos I want to share with you.

If it sparks an interest, consider joining me in May for a 10-day photography tour in the Czech Republic . The tour is a go, and I still have two free spots available.

Holašovice (UNESCO). 16 mm, f/11, 1/160 sec, ISO 100

Český Krumlov (UNESCO). 19 mm, f/11, 4 sec, ISO 100

Český Krumlov (UNESCO). 33 mm, f/11, 15 sec, ISO 100

Sunrise in Český Krumlov (UNESCO). 21 mm, f/11, 1/50 sec, ISO 100

Houses in Český Krumlov (UNESCO). 35 mm, f/11, 1/50 sec, ISO 200

Hluboká Castle. 24 mm, f/11, 1/320 sec, ISO 200

Charles Bridge. 70 mm, f/11, 8 sec, ISO 200

Prague Castle at sunrise. 45 mm, f/11, 1/13 sec, ISO 100

Prague Castle. 45 mm, f/11, 1/13 sec, ISO 100

That's it for today. I wish you a fantastic start to the year, and remember that you can always contact me if you need help or guidance with your photography.