You have a photographer friend and have yet to find THE perfect holiday gift? Take it from a photographer, any of the following would make my Christmas Day and the best part is, they all fit into standard-sized Christmas stockings and won’t stretch your budget like a lot of photography-related items do (Think 50k medium format camera).

Give the Gift of Knowledge

Photography is all about vision, timing and constant improvement to stay on top of your game. There are plenty of helpful books, ebooks and classes out there that can help you or your photographer friend narrowing the odds of getting the photographs desired. Ebooks are a great way to get started for often times as few as 10 bucks. Amongst the most influential for me and nature photography in general, are the ebooks from Guy Tal (http://guytalbooks.com/), whose writing is as compelling as his shooting. Another possibility of broadening your processing horizon is to experience hands-on Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom classes from Aperture Academy (http://www.apertureacademy.com/course-schedule.php). Great for advanced amateurs who are getting great shots in the field but missing the “Oooomph” the digital darkroom can deliver. There is nothing wrong with knowing your midtone luminosity mask from your red channel saturation mask. Speaking of which, the Photoshop actions of Tony Kuyper would make an equally great gift for the Photoshop-“challenged”. The complete set comes at as little as $20. (http://goodlight.us/specialoffers.html)

The Photographer’s Ephemeris

With the advancement of smartphones, there came a plethora of apps targeted at photographers and whether you are a fan of iPhonography and Droidography or not, there actually are a few gems out there that make landscape photography a lot easier. One of these apps is The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE). An app I find myself using all the time when planning a shot, long before I venture out, to make myself clear what I get myself into, light-wise; or in the field, when plans change due to unforeseeable weather patterns (thanks, weather guys!). Either way, TPE offers the full package of sunrise and sunset, moonrise and moonset times, directions of sun and moon for every place in the world and much more useful features. It comes in at $8.99 and is available for iOS and Android here: http://photoephemeris.com/buy-download

Gloves

Yes, you’ve read that right. Christmas time also means snow and cold weather in the northern hemisphere and warm hands on an outdoor shoot are as essential as a working camera. There is nothing worse than trying to operate your camera in the snow with freezing finger tips and you don’t want to miss the shot of your buddy’s first 360 because your hands were cold. I like my Marmot XT Gloves to keep my hands and fingers warm even in the lousiest shooting conditions. They are warm, yet thin enough to have me push the most essential buttons on my camera. Often times, the warmest gloves are useless as they are too bulky and restrict your movability quite a bit. The XTs are a perfect combination of warmth and usability for me. Get them following the link for around 60 bucks: http://www.bergfreunde.de/marmot-xt-glove-kletterhandschuh/

Lens Travel Mugs

Coffee – where art thou? Frankly, I couldn’t get anything done without a cup of freshly brewed coffee first thing in the morning and when it comes to cups and mugs, I like to enjoy my Italian roast in style. Such as with a Canon lens cup (Nikon versions are equally available). The 70-200mm travel mug makes a great conversation opener in the field and deserves the “oohs” and “aahs” it is getting, while the 24-105mm version is perfect to sit on your desk for a late afternoon coffee break. Expect to shell out around 20 dollars for either version. You can get them on Amazon or various online resellers. (70-200mm on Amazon.com)

F-Stop Watch

Nothing screams photography nerd more boldly than the F-Stop Watch, other than maybe a lens cap tattooed to one’s forehead. It’s a cleverly designed accessory that will grab the attention right away. No deal breaker at $35, if you get it here: http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/f-stop-watch/

2013 Wall Calendar

Alright, I reckon those were more than 5 in total, so it won’t hurt to have another idea handpicked and delivered to your screen, would it? I didn’t think so, either; so here it goes. Remember the time when your friend told you how much shooting that one place or the other would mean? Inspiration and incentive alike, a calendar featuring your friend’s favorite places would make a great Christmas gift under the tree and 365 days on the wall. Disclaimer: Self-promotion ahead!

You can get my “Element of Life” calender here, featuring 12 stunning pieces from my portfolio, all “anchored” around the water theme. Now on sale for the next two weeks on Red Bubble, before the price will go up the final week before Christmas. http://www.redbubble.com/people/davidrichter/calendars/9481417-element-of-life
Or maybe this skiing one for your buddy? http://www.bergfreunde.de/tmms-verlag-powder-2013-kalender/

Happy Holiday (Shopping) Season!

David

Without further ado, I am back in the saddle again after what seems like a terrible long late spring and summer break and before I even realized, the fall season starts to kick in with some really nice days for us here in Germany.

Last week I was finally able to catch a sunrise over the Ore Mountain ridges with a little fog settling in the valleys below, becoming illuminated by the wonderful warm sunlight hitting just the top layers and creating a somewhat mysterious atmosphere.

Then, I am on to share another shot from Germany taken some months ago at one of my favorite spots for lupines in the whole region. This year, the flowers were not as abundant as in the previous years but the sky was certainly one of the best I have ever seen here. Enjoy.

Now for the bad and ugly and back to the good. An odyssey in the customer service industry in Germany.

Many of you know, as a landscape photographer, your shooting and well-feeling in the field, stands and falls with your gear and we’re not talking about cameras and lenses here, but rather hard- and soft-shell jackets and pants, water-proof boots, etc. Either way, I was pretty disappointed in recently acquired gear, two hardshell jackets to name it, that literally failed on the first time wearing them.

I contacted the manufacturer, who, in the US, is known for the best of the best in customer service, but apparently, things move at a different speed here in Germany and my experience was far off of pleasant. I honestly did not expect them to send two new jackets out my way but at least some sort of apology with the request to send the jackets in for inspection of the matter or anything in this direction, but not so, instead they send me the following lines back. “Of course it is always a pity if a beloved product doesn’t function the way it used to.” What? Excuse me? Did you just say beloved product? I am really sorry, but I didn’t have time to enjoy said product(s) at all because they failed miserably the first time out in the field.

Long story short, I contacted the online retailer where I got both jackets and this time, I was more than pleased and received more than I ever expected after the first experience with the manufacturer. Not only they offered me to send me in the gear at no cost, picked up from my doorstep, the communication was super friendly and I knew at any point what was going on, where my gear has headed, etc. They handled the matter to my fullest satisfaction, but now you need to know who I was so pleased to deal with, huh?

bergfreunde.de is where it’s at, folks. At least if you want to shop for outdoor gear in Germany.

For recommendations on where to buy your gear, please refer to the links section of my website. Thanks for letting me rant. Oh wait, this is MY blog. Haha!

I know I said this in the past and failed, but it won’t be too long till the next update.