Anchorage, Alaska-based landscape photographer Dan Bailey doesn’t have a lot of free time these days. He has a busy action and adventure photography business which has him shooting and marketing regularly. He’s also a popular photo blogger who writes several informative photography posts a week. On top of this, Dan has written several photography e-books, the most recent of which, Going Fast With Light, has lead to a partnership with the lighting and equipment company Photoflex.
Dan’s interest in photography started when he was studying music production at Berklee College of Music. On a whim, he bought a camera. From that moment on, photography consumed him so greatly that by the time he graduated, Dan realized that his life was, “destined to revolve around a camera, instead of a mixing board.” Not long after, Dan read an article about wilderness photographer Galen Rowell in Outdoor Photographer Magazine and became hooked on outdoor photography,
Not only was I completely wowed by his photographs, I was also completely intrigued by his total blend of personal and professional passions that revolved around adventure, traveling and photography.
Eventually, Dan took the plunge into working as a photographer full time. Years later, as an established photographer, he found himself writing, blogging, and teaching photo workshops regularly. This led to Dan evaluating his brand, his writings, and his following to determine the next steps in his career. To him, the next natural step would be to write a book. He also thought it would help, “diversify my business model to adapt to the new economy.” Dan chose to pursue the eBook format.
We’re sitting on the cusp of an enormous media shift of opportunity for authors and content creators. As of December 2010, only 7% of Americans read eBooks. One year later, Amazon now sells more eBooks than regular book. I saw eBooks as a way to reach a huge audience of people who are eager to learn more about photography.
Dan has already written three books and is currently working on a fourth, but it’s his latest book that’s made the biggest impact on his career so far. In the book, Going Fast With Light, Dan reviews techniques on “how to apply small flash, speedlight photography to active outdoor photography styles.”
In the book, I recommend a number of light shaping tools that I feel fit with the Fast With Light, like Photoflex’s Octodome NXT. So when I went to the PDN PhotoPlus Expo last fall, I showed it to a number of companies including Photoflex.
The Photoflex guys actually called me after the show and decided to make me one of their featured Pro Showcase Photographers. It’s a great fit because I’ve been using Photoflex gear for almost 20 years and they see me as someone who’s using their equipment in some pretty extreme and difficult environments. They love my imagery and my approach, because it’s different. I’m cramming strobes into my backpack, strapping portable softboxes to the side and carting this stuff out onto the trail, into the cold and snow, to get some pretty unique shots.
Now, Dan has gotten to use some brand new Photoflex gear, like the TritonFlash battery-powered strobe and the WhiteDome. He’s also been signed on to write tutorials for the Lighting Lessons section of their website and has had his images used in Photoflex web ads.
I’m very excited about pushing the quality and direction of my latest work and Photoflex is working very hard to promote me and my photography.
Dan Bailey is now working on his fourth book. Like I said, a busy guy.