Canon Northern Explorers of Light Press Release

American Bald Eagle Fishing Silhouette (Hailiaeetus leucocephalus, Pygarge a tete blanche, BAEA) Kachemak Bay (near Homer), Alaska ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Canon EOS 1DX, 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM @ 300mm with Jobu L-Bracket  Hand Held ISO 1,000, f/5.6 @ 1/1,250s Manual mode. Click HERE to order a print or license image for publication.

We had a blast photographing hundreds of Bald Eagles that were fishing along the shores of Kenai Peninsula National Park in Kachemak Bay during my recent Bald Eagle Photo Tour. The flat water and amazing light produced some incredible silhouettes for everyone. The trip was a huge success and my many years of leading small groups there had us in the right place at the right time every time. My March 2014 Bald Eagle Photo Tour details are on-line and live; do consider joining me for what is always a photographic trip of a liftime for all who attend.

Canon Canada Officially Launches the Northern Explorers of Light

I am thrilled and honoured to officially become the very first CANON NORTHERN EXPLORER OF LIGHT. Canon Canada has now issued a press release outlining the program, it's other members and launching their new Canon Pro website. Congratulations go out to Canon and all of the others who received the great honour!

New program and website inspire amateur photographers to shoot like the pros.

PRESS RELEASE: MISSISSAUGA, ON, 17 April 2013 - Canon Canada Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions celebrating its 40th anniversary, announced today the launch of the Northern Explorers of Light program and its accompanying website www.canon.ca/pro. The Northern Explorers of Light are a prestigious group of seven Canadian imaging professionals who serve as ambassadors for the Canon brand and share their photographic passions and technical expertise with aspiring photographers.

The Northern Explorers of Light program is an extension of Canon USA’s popular Explorers of Light program, created in the mid-1990s. The new Northern members join the ranks of more than 50 Explorers whose specialties and styles span a wide range of photographic disciplines including photojournalism, travel and wildlife photography, portraiture, and television and film production. The Explorers’ use of Canon EOS photographic equipment allows them to capture stunning images in unrivalled clarity and detail. Many Explorers also use Canon’s large format printers and high-resolution REALiS projectors to produce and display their art. The Northern Explorers of Light will share their knowledge and enthusiasm with Canadians through workshops, speaking engagements, appearances at industry events, and social media outreach.

“The Northern Explorers of Light are some of the most gifted and influential imaging professionals in Canada,” said Ian Macfarlane, Senior Vice-President and General Manager, Imaging Technologies & Communications Group and Market Development Group, Canon Canada. “This program provides a unique resource for creativity and inspiration among photo enthusiasts, giving them access to the unsurpassed talent and skill of Canada’s elite photographers, and allowing them to improve their own techniques.”

The seven Northern Explorers of Light are:

• Todd Korol Calgary, AB
• John Lehmann  Vancouver, British Columbia.
• Patrick Nichols – Toronto, ON
• Camille Fortin Bensler and Chadwick Bensler (JONETSU STUDIOS) - Vancouver, BC
• Ed O’Neil – Toronto, ON
• Christopher Dodds – Huntingdon, Quebec.

To support the program, Canon Canada is also launching www.canon.ca/pro, the online home of the Northern Explorers of Light and a forum for interactive discovery and discussion about photography. Targeted to curious and aspiring photographers and cinematographers, the site showcases the Northern Explorers and the tools they use to produce their work. Visitors can browse photo galleries and read articles written by the Northern Explorers about the stories behind some of their most iconic images. The site also features technical information about the professional Canon EOS equipment used to capture and display the photos and videos.

For more information on the Northern Explorers of Light, please visit www.canon.ca/pro

Christopher Dodds Canon Northern Explorer of Light

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus, Ours Blanc) at Cape Tatnam Wildlife Management Area (south of Wapusk National Park) along the shores of the Hudson Bay in northern Manitoba. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Canon 1DX, 500mm F4 L IS , 1.4X Teleconverter III, Tripod & Jobu Jr. 3 (with Deluxe Swing-arm upgrade) ISO 800 f/8 @ 1/800s Manual Mode. PURCHASE A PRINT or LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION HERE.

Canon Northern Explorers of Light

I am thrilled and honoured to share the news that I have accepted the invitation to join the Canon family and their NORTHERN EXPLORER OF LIGHT Initiative as an inaugural member. The Canon Northern Explorers of Light initiative has been founded for the purpose of educating photographers and targets professional photographers. It truly is a huge honour, and I am very grateful to be one of the founding few to be recognized by Canon as a worthy ambassador. Watch out for news from Canon and I'll be sure to let you know when their new pro website goes live over the next few weeks.

The Business of Photography: The Business Plan

Red Fox Vulpes vulvas (renard roux). Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds  www.chrisdoddsphoto.com All Rights Reserved. Canon EOS 1DsMKII, 70-200mm F2.8 IS @ 70mm Hand-held. ISO 500, F3.2 @ 1/125s Manual mode. Ambient exposure using  Sekonic L-358 Flash Master Light Meter. Full Frame. CLICK HERE TO BUY A PRINT OR LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION.

The Business Plan

One of the biggest mistakes many people starting a business make is not having a business plan. A business plan can be as simple as a Mission Statement and as complicated as you feel necessary. Think of a business plan as a roadmap; Where are you going?, How are you getting there? Are you headed in the right direction? and what to do if you make a wrong turn. A well written business plan is also a great tool to measure your successes and failures as a business person if reviewed periodically.

I don’t want to deceive you, so I’ll make it clear to you now that I don’t know any other photographers that actually have a business plan. I am asked, quite often, how to get into Nature or Wildlife Photography as a profession. I also have regular conversations with other successful photographer friends (Jewelry and studio photographers) about how they plan on getting to the next level; both as a photographer and as a business person. A well written business plan will help you see where you want to go, and how to get there.

I’m sure you all have a plan and have though about where you want to be in five or ten years. All I’m suggesting is putting it in writing and making it an annual event to review and modify things. How often have you had a great plan or idea, only to forget it within a short period of time?

Here’s some simple steps to a successful Business Plan:

Define who you are as a photographer and identify key strengths and weaknesses. Review your photography and identify a specialty and or passion. What makes your clients choose you and why are you different than a stock agency or other photographer? Create an executive summary, or mission statement, that will become the first part of your business plan. This need only be a few sentences long and it is essentially a summary of your findings.

Define your market as a photographer. In what area of photography do you see yourself fitting best? Who are your potential clients? Do you want to sell image rights for publication? or sell fine art prints to collectors? or both? What age group and gender are those clients. If you want to sell images to magazines for publication, who works for the magazines, and who buys those magazines? This section is a summary of your product, your service and your target clients.

Define your Competition. Now you know who you are, what product, or service you offer and who is your likely client. It’s time to think about who else is out there doing the same thing as you, and why you are a better, more logical choice for your client. What do you offer that your competitors don’t?

The last section deals with finances. Identify how much money you need to make to keep your head above water without falling into debt. Essentially a spreadsheet with a list of your expenses that should include: Living expenses like food, clothing, housing (mortgage, insurance, taxes and repairs), Utilities (heat, air conditioning, electricity, gas, water, etc) Transportation (Car payment, Insurance, fuel and repair) and health / disability insurance. Don't forget contributions to an emergency fund; you never know when you have to replace a roof or have a sudden financial crisis. Make a list of the monthly costs and multiply by 12 to figure out just how much money you need (after taxes) to survive a year without falling into debt.

Once you establish how much you need, it’s time to figure out how, or if, you can get there. How much do you sell your product, or service for?, and how much does it cost to produce? If you are a wildlife photographer, then you should make a list of your overhead expenses like photography equipment (cameras, lens, etc.), Office, or production, equipment (computers, printers, etc.), travel (transportation, lodging and food) expenses, professional services (like accounting), business liability & equipment insurance, equipment repair and rental, advertising and promotion costs, office supplies and communications (telephone, internet and mobile phone). You get the picture.

Now add your annual personal expenses (plus income tax) to your annual professional expenses. Do you think it is feasible to sell enough product or service to cover these expenses? Let’s say you sell fine art prints for $100.00 each. You determine your material cost to be $32.00 (ink and paper). You have a gross profit of $68.00. How many prints (think $68.00) do you need to keep yourself afloat? how many do you need to sell to put some savings aside for a bad year (or two) or a catastrophic medical or mental event? (laugh, but most business people suffer one, or the other, at some point in their career) oh, did you think about retirement savings? ... Perhaps a few more than you initially thought - but you knew that, right? (smile).

Now that you have a plan in writing, it's much easier to stay on track. If you make the small effort to review and ammend your plan from time to time, you have a much better understanding of where you have come from, where you are and where you are going.