Hello, my friend!

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🍁 Can you feel it too? The building anticipation as we inch closer to the most photogenic time of the year? I’ve been counting down the days to autumn’s return—the crisp mornings, golden light, and vibrant foliage that transforms even the most ordinary landscapes into something magical.

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It’s hard to believe we’re just a few weeks away from that familiar seasonal magic. If you’re anything like me, you’re already dreaming of flannel layers, foggy forests, and those fleeting moments of autumnal perfection.

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Until then, please enjoy some new work(below) from my summer workshop in Italy.

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​​I hope you find some useful information in this edition of The Morning Blaze and as always thanks so much for reading & sharing. Have a great weekend! - Mark D.

📺 MY NEW VIDEOS

I Replaced All My Filters With Just This One

I just got back from an unforgettable week in the Dolomites, and during the trip, I had the chance to test out a brand new filter from NiSi — the JetMag Pro Variable ND Filter plus Polarizer. It’s magnetic with a 1–5 stop range, and to be honest, I wasn’t expecting it to have such a big impact on how I shoot. But by the end of the week, I realized I never once needed to swap filters. This one did it all for me! In this video, I share my honest experience using the JetMag Pro VND in the field — from shooting sunrises over alpine lakes to chasing fast-changing mountain light. If you’re into landscape photography or find yourself constantly adjusting to shifting light, this filter might actually simplify your workflow like it did mine.

RAW Photos Look Flat? Try This Lightroom Workflow

Over the past 15 months, I’ve taken over 30,000 photos with the Nikon Z8, and in that time, I’ve developed a Lightroom editing process that brings out the full potential of its RAW files—especially for landscape photography. One of the biggest challenges I faced early on was getting these files to look anything like what I saw in the field—flat, muted images that didn’t reflect the true scene. In this video, I’m sharing exactly how I edit my Nikon Z8 landscape photos in Lightroom, from the key global adjustments to the subtle refinements that make a huge difference in depth, color, and mood.

🔓 VAULT FAVORITES

Telephoto Mistakes to Avoid in Landscape Photography

The popularity of telephoto lenses for landscape photography seems to be at an all-time high right now and for good reason! Having a telephoto as a companion to the standard wide angle lens for landscape photography makes perfect sense. And if you were to look up how to improve ones long lens landscape photography on the web you'd be presented with a colossal amount of information to digest, but one thing you seldom hear mentioned has to do with the telephoto mistakes you want to avoid in landscape photography. In this video, I'll share with you the four telephoto mistakes that I made most often when I first started using these longer focal lengths for my landscape photography and how I solved them.

🔥25% OFF SUMMER SALE

Did you know Lightroom has over 100 tools—and more than half are focused on enhancing color? That says a lot about how important color is in photography. But with so many editing options, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed trying to make the most of your RAW files.

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✅ This course removes the guesswork and gives you a clear, repeatable editing process you can apply to every photo you love.

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➡️ Enter Code summer25 at checkout (sale ends 8/31/25)

📖 GOOD READS What Your Lens Choice Says About Your Personality As a landscape photographer, the lens you choose is more than just a tool—it's a reflection of how you see the world. But what if I told you that your go-to lens might also reveal something deeper about your personality? That’s the intriguing concept we’ll explore today, inspired by a question that has fascinated many photographers: If you could only use one lens for the rest of your life, what would it be? The Lens You Choose: A Window Into Your Photographic Mind Most photographers have a range of lenses they use for different situations. You might reach for a wide-angle lens to capture the grandeur of a sweeping landscape or a telephoto lens to isolate a distant subject. But if you had to choose just one, which would it be? For me, it's likely my 100-400mm telephoto lens. This choice suits the type of photography I love the most—capturing intimate, detailed scenes from a distance. But this question isn’t just about gear preferences. It’s also about how you approach your work and, possibly, how you approach life. To delve into this further, we need to explore another question: Are you an extrovert or an introvert? Extrovert or Introvert? Your Lens Choice Might Hold the Answer Whether you consider yourself an extrovert or an introvert can be influenced by many factors. Do you enjoy collaborating in a group, or do you prefer working alone? Is your ideal weekend packed with social events, or do you cherish time spent in solitude? These traits could also correlate with your photography style and, interestingly, your preferred lens. >> Read More​