Hi ,

Sometimes, the adventure of life throws a wrench in your way, or in this case, a rock. Three weeks ago, I went down to Arizona for a mountain bike race, and during my Friday pre-ride, I crashed and injured my right shoulder.

I wasn't sure how bad it was, so I iced, taped, and actually did the entire 50 mile race on Saturday. However, when I got home, I went to the doctor, had an MRI and discovered that I had torn my rotator cuff. 

Last Friday, I had surgery to repair and reattach three tendons, and so now I'm at home resting and looking forward to a nice long recovery, with five more weeks in a sling, and then a few months of PT.

This means I won't be riding bikes or flying again until the end of summer, at the soonest, and I won't be shooting with any big lenses for a while. And I probably won't be doing a YouTube video for a few weeks, because it's really hard to edit videos, or do any computer work in a sling. Thank goodness for speech to text, which is how I am writing this newsletter right now.

However I will be doing 1:1 coaching sessions throughout the summer, because I don't need two arms to talk on Zoom. So if you'd like to do a session with me, whether it's for compositional tips, technical advice, or how to set up your camera to shoot specific subjects, click here to book your time slot.

And of course, I have my online course, Photography On The Brain, which has received some excellent praise from students. Let me help you improve your compositional eye and fill your creative bag of tricks, so that you can get the the types of compelling, eye-catching images that YOU want.

If you want to enroll in the course now, take advantage of my Spring special and use this 20% discount code: BRAIN20.

Finally I'm still on schedule for the workshop and outside field session at the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival in Tucson, which is held August 9-13. I should be moving a little more quickly by then.

Seattle June 10 Event - Still On!

And, my upcoming event at Kenmore Camera in Seattle is still up on the calendar for June 10, I'll just be teaching the class in a sling.

My free presentation is called Using Different Lenses in Your Outdoor Photography, and I'll have a lot of brand new images to illustrate. If you're in or near the Seattle area, then be sure to register and come say hi!

I actually made it 55 whole years without surgery or a serious injury, and I have a great doctor and PT, so I feel pretty fortunate. I'm very positive about my recovery; it's just gonna take a while. I can still use my X-T5 left-handed, as long as I shoot verticals and use a small lens. 

This will be a challenging time for me, indeed, but I'll get through it. I'll probably take lots of walks and gentle hikes, and explore a host of other low-impact hobbies.  

In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your May and watch out for rocks. I'll likely go radio dark for a while, or at least radio light, so when you're out shooting, just remember all that stuff I've told you in the past. You'll be fine.  :)

Take care, and as always thanks so much for your support.

Dan