Dan Carr

Founder of Shutter Muse, full time photographer and creative educator. Dan lives in the Canadian Yukon, but his wanderlust often sends him in search of images all around the world to meet the needs of clients and readers alike.

LaCie DJI CoPilot Backup Device

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I always keep one eye on announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show that rolls around in January every year. Whilst major camera launches tend to happen later in the calendar year, CES is often the place where exciting new peripherals are revealed, such as new hard drives and LCD monitors. This year the product that has got me most excited is the DJI CoPilot from LaCie/Seagate. The naming of this product is confusing though! Some people are referring to it as a Seagate product, and some people are referring to it as a LaCie product. LaCie is owned by Seagate, …

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How to Speed up the Charging of Your iPhone

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Like a good many people, I rely on my iPhone for work but I’m constantly trying to keep it charged. I have a collection of scattered chargers in my home and I usually try to add a little more juice to the phone whenever I’m near one. I would never think of using the charger that actually came with the phone, but the other day it occurred to me that this might not be a well known suggestion, so here I am today to tell you all why… The little USB charger than comes with an iPhone is the same …

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Behind the Shot: New Year’s Eve in Whistler

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Happy New Year folks! In this BTS post I’m going to be talking about a nightscape photo of the Whistler, BC, that was taken right as the clocks ticked over into 2018. Equipment Used for this Shot Having just returned from a two-week vacation over the holiday period the day before, I decided to get right back to work on December 31st. Mountains of fresh snow had just fallen in the valleys around my home town and a high pressure area was set to bring clear skies. On top of that, a nearly full moon (91%) was scheduled for the …

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Gear of the Year 2017

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For the last few years I’ve written an end of year post summing up my favourite and most used photo gear of the past 12 months. I don’t sit down to write this with a specific number of items in mind so we’ll just have to see what springs to mind as I keep typing. Canon 11-24mm f/4 L I’ve had an interesting journey with the Canon 11-24mm f/4 L, and previously written about why it was the lens I wasn’t sure I could love. This year I made more effort to carry around its significant bulk, and I was …

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Gear Check: Really Right Stuff TFA-01 Ultra Tripod

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I just packed my bags for a trip to Ottawa and for the first time in a very long time, I’m getting on a plane without a camera bag. This trip isn’t about photography at all, it’s about celebrating the holiday season with loved ones. Whilst I’m not taking a big camera bag as I usually do, I’m still travelling with a basic photography kit in my regular Arcteryx Brize 32 daypack. I chose to take the 5D Mark IV, the Canon 11-24mm f/4 L (unboxing) and the 24-105mm f/4 L IS. The 11-105mm range between two lenses is a …

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Behind the Shot: Milky Way Surprise

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This photo of the Milky Way rising over Wedge Mountain in Whistler had a little surprise in it when I looked closely through my shots on a computer. What at first might appear to be a shooting star in the centre of the frame, is in fact called an Iridium Flare, and it’s caused by sunlight bouncing off the solar arrays of a passing satellite! It’s the first time I’ve ever captured a photo of this phenomenon, so I thought it would be a fun one to share. Equipment Used for This Shot Am I Sure It’s A Satellite? Yes, …

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Last Minute Shopping! Free 2nd Day Shipping for Think Tank and MindShift + Gift Ideas

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If you’ve still got a few gifts to buy for the holiday period, Think Tank Photo and MindShift Gear are offering free 2nd day shipping on all orders placed between now and the end of Tuesday 19th! As usual, if you spend over $50 then you’ll also get a free gift with your purchase which will be selectable at the cart stage. I’ve compiled a short lift of top gift ideas for both brands below! Think Tank Photo MindShift Gear

New Tripod Case from Think Tank Photo – Tripod Manager 44

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Think Tank Photo have jut added another rolling case to their ever-growing lineup, and this one is a big beast! It’s called the Video Tripod Manager 44, and it’ll hold tripods or other support equipment up to 40 inches in length. The case is constructed with crush-resistant ABS twinwall for incredible impact protection, so your precious cargo is well protected. In fact, in the video on their website, it says you can comfortably stand on this case, which means it offers quite a bit more protection than their standard camera rolling cases. Whilst the primary target seems to be video …

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New Peak Design Capture v3 and Slide Straps Are Available

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Just a quick one to let you guys know that Peak Design is now shipping all the newly updated goodies that they launched last month. They initially ran a short Kickstarter campaign, but now the new Capture Clip V3, Slide and Slide Lite straps are shipping in limited quantities from their website. If you’re quick, you might get things in before Christmas!! Purchase links: If you’d like to get a discount on all Peak Design products, we are able to offer a special deal to our readers thanks to our long time relationship with Peak Design. Just click the button …

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Question: Have Your Lenses Ever Developed Less Accurate Focus in Severely Cold Temperatures?

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I’m going to do something on the blog today that I’ve never done before, and that’s ask a question to the ENTIRE INTERNET! Well, ok, that’s a slight exaggeration, but this can’t hurt to try. I’m doubtful that I’ll find the answer immediately from regular readers, but by putting this question out there publicly, I hope that perhaps one day someone else might be searching Google for the same information, and then stumble upon this post. Many of you know that I shoot with the wonderful Canon 400mm f/4 DO IS II super telephoto lens. This lens is sharp as …

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Powering my Photography Adventure Trailer with a Goal Zero Yeti 1400 Lithium Power Station

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This part of the project was made possible by my friends at B&H Photo. If you’ve been following along with the build-out of my photography adventure trailer then you’ll know that the last thing I did was to install a 100W Goal Zero solar panel on the roof, to go with my 50W panel that can be deployed alongside it. This has all been in preparation for adding a Goal Zero Yeti 1400 Lithium Power Station to the kit list. When I first purchased the trailer in the summer I quickly realized that keeping my camera gear and laptop charged …

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How I Add a Signature Watermark to My Photos for Online Sharing

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Earlier this year I came across a company called Photologo, who make hand-drawn logos for photographers. I thought they looked great as a signature watermark on photos, so I ordered one to check them out. To be honest, for the sub-$40 price-point my expectations were a little low because I’ve paid graphic designers many times more than this in the past. I was pleasantly surprised then when I got something awesome! In fact I got three awesome things. The first was a great logo, the second was a great customer experience from genuinely helpful staff, and the third was a …

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