This Week’s Tools, Thoughts, and Photos.
THIS WEEK IN THE MOUNTAINS
I took this shot at the bottom of Apple Orchard Falls on forest rd. 812 off of the Blue Ridge Parkway, its about a 20min drive from the parkway to get here. Great area to check out if you are in the area.
Head to sunset field on the blue ridge parkway then take the forest service rd. 812, look for the sign on your left for the apple orchard falls trail and this will take you to the bottom of the falls.
CREATOR CORNER
Open AI Chatgpt 5.1 - OpenAI just dropped GPT-5.1, and this isn’t just a performance bump — it adds two distinct modes: Instant, for quick, casual replies, and Thinking, for deeper, more detailed work. It also gives you more tone control, letting you choose how conversational or formal your workflow is. Worth checking out if you use ChatGPT in your creative process. Read More
Adobe Express - Adobe Express just stepped into next level mode. Their new AI Assistant (public beta) lets you type plain language prompts like “make this poster pop” or “give this jungle theme” and it edits or creates designs for you. Even more: you can ask it to change parts of the existing design (fonts, background, layers) while leaving other parts the same. For creators who use their visuals in social, print, or promos, this is a tool worth testing.
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/news/807802/adobe-express-ai-assistant-prompt-editing-beta-max-2025
GEAR DEALS FOR THE HOLIDAYS
The DJI Mic 2 - The DJI Mic 2 is one of the cleanest little audio tools you can add to your kit if you film anything at all. It is small, light, and the sound it captures is way clearer than the size suggests. Background noise drops off. Your voice sits right in front. VIEW DEAL
Canon EOS RP - The Canon EOS RP is one of the best entry points into the mirrorless world. It is light, easy to use, and the image quality feels way better than you expect at this price. I used this camera early on and honestly loved it. VIEW DEAL
Lowerpro Camera Bag - Lowerpro has been my go to camera bag for years. It goes with me everywhere. Great bag at an affordable price. VIEW DEAL
Manfrotto Tripod - I have used this tripod to take some of my most iconic photos you see on my website and social media. Great tripod for getting those shots to be nice and crisp. Easy to use and packs down really good. Definitely worth having in your bag. VIEW DEAL
Canon RF70-200mm Lens - The best lens I have ever used and one of my favorites to this day. Absolutely worth having in your bag. When I go to the mountains, this is the lens that does not come off of my camera. VIEW DEAL
Thanks for reading, stick around as more good things are on the way and I will be posting weekly. Your support means the world so I appreciate you being here. I will work hard to provide the most value in the future.
If you are interested, check out the prints I have for sale and some merch. You support goes a long way. Thank you!