Turret Arch Sky, Arches NP

I’m finally back from 10 days in Moab, Utah leading the Arches in Spring Workshop. It was a great experience with a wonderful group of enthusiastic students that all captured some amazing images during our 5 days there. Although we all shoot together in the same locations, it’s always amazing to see the variety and differences in the images, which reflects each persons vision, experiences, and unique perspective on the landscape. Some students focused on the grand view, others were fascinated by the small details and intimate landscapes, but regardless the possibilities were infinite and it showed during our photo critiques.

We had a special opportunity on our first day to take a guided tour of the Fiery Furnace, an area of Arches National Park that can only be explored with a special permit. Lead by a National Park Service ranger, it gave all of the students a much greater appreciation of the area, including the geology, wildlife, and natural significance of the fragile ecosystem. I’m a big advocate of understanding your subject matter as much as possible, and this was the perfect way in which to do it.

Our days were very long and physically demanding, starting at 4:30am and ending at 10pm. Based on the strength of the group, I decided to visit some of the more remote locations in the area, so we did a fair amount of hiking including several 3-4 mile strenuous hikes to hidden arches, lush canyons, and amazing rock formations.

We also visited Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse State Park, which offer fantastic views of the classic southwest landscapes. Again and again I stressed to the students how these iconic locations can be as personal as you make them depending on how they make you feel and what you want to convey. Just because they have been photographed countless times does not mean the possibilities are limited, and each of us has a unique perspective that is as worthy of expression as anyone elses.

During the photo critiques, I asked all of the students to comment on each others images. I think this provides the best possible learning experience since we all share our common knowledge and way of seeing. Of course I provided my own instruction and perspective, and as each day passed, I noticed each student utilizing more and more of my instruction in their images. It’s great to see progress in such a short period of time, mostly due to the concentrated nature of this kind of workshop. Having the camera in your hands in an inspiring environment for 5 days straight is easily the best and fastest way to take your photography to the next level – just ask the students!

For me the highlight of any workshop is seeing the passion and excitement that students get from nature, and exposing them to something greater than their images. It is the feeling, the emotion, and ultimately the inspiration that these places create in all of us that I believe make us better photographers and creative individuals. The hours, days, and many miles of hiking all seemed to pass effortlessly because we were all moved to express ourselves as best we could through the wonderful language of photography. Each one of these experiences adds to our vocabulary, and all of us became better photographers because of it.

More than anything else, I want students to come away from a Beyond the Lens Workshop with one main theme, and that is that I care deeply about their images, their progress, and most of all each of them as photographers and people. I obsess over every detail of a workshop; the locations and starting times, the direction of the sunlight at sunrise and sunset, the variety of opportunities, the food we’ll eat, and of course the safety of each student. I don’t believe in “secrets”, so I volunteer as much information as I can to make the trip successful for everyone. Because I treat each workshop like I treat my own personal photo trips, I know I have a chance to offer students something really worthwhile.

A big thank you to all of the students for their trust and confidence. I’m looking forward to returning to Utah next year for the 2013 edition of the Arches in Spring workshop.

Mesa Rise, Canyonlands

I’m in Moab Utah for another 5 days leading the Spring in Arches Photo Workshop. So far it’s been a fantastic experience for me, with a great group of passionate photographers. We’re visiting Arches, Canyonlands, Dead Horse State Park, and a special  canyon in the area with beautiful running creek. Days are long, starting at 4:30am and we’re not in bed until 10pm, but the inspiration and magic of the area keeps us going.

I’ll be sharing more photos from students and stories in the coming weeks…

Canyon Tree

Photo: Bill Urbin, National Park Service

This weekend I gave the keynote presentation at the Community Photo Workshop program at the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt Historic Site in Hyde Park, NY, part of the National Park Service. While I forgot to announce it here, I did mention it on my Facebook page and also via the last newsletter, so apologies to those who did not know about it. Life can get rather busy at times as I’m sure you can all understand. You can subscribe here for future announcements and updates.
My slideshow presentation, “Beauty Within – The Journey of Landscape Photography” is one that I have given many times in the past, though I continually tweak and refine it as I learn and grow as a photographer and human being. It basically summarizes my philosophy and approach to why I do what I do, and how this  has driven my creative life since I can remember.

Seeking beauty in nature, having a singular passion for subject and light, and focusing on mastering the language of photography in order to tell a story that resonates and imparts as much emotion as possible with the viewer; these are many of the things that keep me inspired year after year. They also keep me up late at night with thoughts of failure. These are lofty goals for sure, yet we progress and move along our chosen path moment by moment and image by image. If you ask yourself why you’re taking a picture each time you press the shutter, you will gain confidence and clarity, and discover the real possibility that you can develop a unique vision, even when it seems like the most impossible thing to do. I know, as I too struggle with the questions, challenges, and failures that are inevitable when you push yourself outside the comfort zone.

“Do one thing everyday that scares you” – Elanor Roosevelt

I’m also keenly aware of the potential influence I can have on others, and this motivates me to make a difference, and challenge others in a positive way. Inspiring someone to see the world with a different perspective is a feeling I really can’t describe, and regardless of whether I have actually done this or not is irrelevant, what is important for me is the awareness that this is what matters. All of this may seem rather idealistic, as I have thought many times, yet when someone comes up to me after a talk and tells me I have inspired them, or given them a new perspective, or simply made them feel better about their photography. that is quite powerful and real in my mind.

I continue to be influenced and inspired by so many great photographers and artists, past and present, so it is with much honesty and humbleness that I begin all of my talks with the statement that I am nothing more than a passionate student. And for me, there is no greater teacher than nature and its infinite subtlety, beauty, and ability to inspire us to reach for something greater than ourselves.

“When the student is ready,the master appears.” – Zen Saying

I’ll be giving a 2 hour seminar titled “Intro to Fine Art Printing” this weekend at Unique University, part of Unique Photo located  in Fairfield New Jersey. Sponsored by Canson Infinity,  I’ll be talking about the basics of printing your own work, the latest fine art printers, workflow, and of course Canson paper. I’ll also have a bunch of my own prints on hand to use as examples of the different papers I use, and also highlight key aspects of a successful print. There will also be a Q+A session where I’ll try to field all of the questions thrown at me!

Of course there is no way I can teach everything about fine art printing in a few hours, but I hope to give participants a thorough overview of what is involved, and provide some practical tips they can put to use in their own printing right away. This is a deep topic but I’m always eager to share what I’ve learned over the years, and give other photographers a deeper respect for the art and craft of printing. Many photographers choose not to print their own work, and I totally respect and understand that. I have always been interested in the finished product, which for me is the print. It is what I sell and how I make my living, so it gets my focus and attention as much as any other part of my photography.

I’ll have some photos and post some tips from the seminar here next week – if you’re interested and in the area, check it out.

Unique Photo SuperStore
123 US Hwy 46 (West)
Fairfield, NJ 07004
Phone: 973-377-2007

Landscape Arch, Arches National Park

 The Beyond the Lens Workshops for 2012 have been listed on the website for a few weeks now, but I thought I would mention them here as well and go into some specific details for those who are interested.

First, I’m really happy to be leading a 5 day workshop  in one of my favorite locations, Moab Utah. We’ll be visiting several fantastic locations in the region including Arches National Park, Canyonlands, Dead Horse State Park, and weather permitting the La Sal Mountains. While this is a very popular location for landscape photography, my many visits have proven time and time again that there are endless possibilities for image making. It will be an intense and exhausting week, but the rewards will be worthwhile I am sure.

• Download the Spring in Arches Workshop Guide ebook

The Adirondack workshop will be taking place in September this year to take advantage of classic fall color conditions. We’ll be based in Lake Placid once again, and students will have plenty of opportunity to photograph pristine lakes, mountain views, and get a strong feel for intimate forest landscapes.

There are several Lightroom workshops, and I’ll probably be teaching Lightroom 4 as it looks like it will be officially released by the time the workshops are held (if not I’ll cover it anyway). I’ll have an upcoming post soon about my favorite new features in this latest version, they are worth the upgrade!

As always, my priority is to create a fun, relaxed, and stress free environment, where the focus is on you and your photography. I’m happiest when you’re happy and making real progress – there is nothing more important for a successful workshop experience. Past students receive a 10% discount on any future workshops – email me for the code.

I’m working on some new workshops for 2013, including Prince Edward Island in Canada, and The Smoky Mountains in North Carolina -stay tuned.

Any questions or concerns, please let me know in the comments below – thanks for reading!

Sign up for the Newsletter for the latest workshop news, photo tips and resources!

Connery Pond

I had planned on posting regular reports from the “The High Peaks of the Adirondacks” workshop last weekend, but long hard days and lack of sleep got the best of me in the end. It was a great workshop in terms of learning to deal with challenging weather conditions, as well as tough terrain.

Ausable River Trail

Ausable River

The High Peaks are known for steep mountains, tough trails, and very inconsistent weather. I was originally hesitant to offer a workshop in this part of the Adirondacks because I am always thinking of selecting locations that provide the best opportunities for students. But the photographic potential and incredible scenery ultimately convinced me that it was worth the risk.

Shooting reflections at Heron Marsh

Afterall, nature and landscape photography is all about patience, frustration, and learning to “discover” opportunities even when it seems there are none at first glance. It’s always nice when we have perfect conditions on a workshop, and images are “easy” to find, but that is not the real world of landscape photography on a long term basis.

Sunrise on Pitchoff Mtn

More often than not we are “chasing” the light, trying to read the weather, struggling with the environment (blackflies!), and preparing to do it all over again the next day when our images don’t quite meet our expectations. This is the reality I am most familiar and comfortable with, and so this workshop gave me the opportunity to work with students in situations they might often encounter when out on their own.

A typical day was as follows:

• Head out at 4:15am to the days sunrise location- sometimes hiking up small mountains to dramatic viewpoints.
• Breakfast at 9am, often including a lengthy discussion where we discuss all things photography, especially the marketing and business side.
• A 2 to 3 hour afternoon session where I give different presentations on camera technique and photographic principles, composition and light, and in-depth photo critique’s with each student.
• A sunset shoot at a location suited for evening light, ending about 9pm.

Repeat for 4 days.

Students at Heron Marsh

Heron Marsh

This can get pretty intense both physically and mentally, but it also gets everyone in a particular rhythm and  frame of mind that I think develops your photography skills tremendously. So even if students are not capturing “masterpieces”, they are learning valuable skills that will help them on future outings. That is my primary goal on every workshop.

Connery Pond Sunrise

Giant waterfall

I’m really happy with the way the workshop turned out, and feedback from students was very positive. Lake Placid is a great town to hang out in, and any direction you take out of town puts you in some part of the beautiful Adirondack park system. All in all, it still remains one of my favorite locations, and I will be returning alone in late September to climb the highest peaks. Hope that gives you a good sense of what one of our workshops is like - experiencing nature, hard work, friendship and camaraderie – hopefully that inspires the creative spirit.

Thanks to all the students who participated!

Rocks on Pitchoff

This month I have two Lightroom webinars on schedule that should help you in all aspects of your post-processing, regardless of your skill level or proficiency with Lightroom.

Creative Workflow with Lightroom

Coming up tonight at 7pm EST is “Creative Workflow with Lightroom” a 90  min webinar where I will cover the creative aspects of working in the Develop Module of Lightroom, and how that can influence the final outcome of your image. I’m a big believer in having a strong idea of what you want your image to look like before you start moving sliders (pre-visualization), so I’ll go over some of the strategies I use to Lightroom a tool to help me realize my creative goals. Even if you’re not proficient with Lightroom, I will be discussing composition, light, visualization, and many other photographic concepts that apply regardless of your skill level. Register Here

Lightroom 3 Masterclass

Coming up on May 24th is a 9 hour Lightroom Master Class 3 webinar split over 6 sessions and 4 weeks, which will cover Lightroom from beginning to end, and help you master this amazing application so you can spend more time being creative, having fun, and less frustrated behind your computer. Watch this video for all the specifics and additional info.

All of the webinars are recorded and available to watch afterwards as many times as you want, for as long as you want. Even if you can’t join us live, you’ll have access to the video and course material.

Request for Feedback

Finally, I have a few more free webinars coming up in the near future that I’m excited about and I think you will be too. Many have asked for practical information, such as lens choices, appropriate settings for different conditions, camera setup, gear info, etc. so this will be covered in depth.

I want to hear from you – let me know what your specific issues or  challenges are in your photography, whether in the field or back at home, and I will try and address those in upcoming video podcasts and webinars. I’ve sent out an email to several students and received some great responses so far, so I wanted to extend it here to all of you. PLEASE let me know your ideas and thoughts in the comments below.

Thank you for your help, and as always I appreciate your time and support!

Webinar - The Art of Seeing

I am really excited to be offering a free live webinar next Thursday, April 21 from  7:30pm – 8:30pm EST.

It’s titled “The Art of Seeing – An Intro to Landscape Photography” and will discuss many of the ideas and concepts I discussed in yesterdays blog post. I’m offering it free of charge in anticipation of a new series of webinars that I will begin offering in May on various digital photography topics, including composition and light, Lightroom processing, digital media storage and backup, and the business of photography.

Stay tuned for announcements on these in the near future

To attend this free 60min webinbar, please visit the registration page.

Thank you all for your continued support, your great feedback and comments, and I hope this proves beneficial for all of you.

Cold Sunrise - Lake Placid, Adirondacks

This was a very cold, early morning hike to a great sunrise location in the Adirondacks, and I really wanted to convey this feeling in the image “Cold Sunrise”. There are many cues that you can use to express how you feel when you’re at a particular location, and these involve all of our senses including sound, touch, smell, etc. Here I’ve tried to convey touch and feel by leading the eye onto the texture of frozen snow on these rocks in the foreground.

In addition, I think that the low fog in the valley conveys that stillness and silence that we often associate with these types of atmospheric events. When we can’t see very clearly, our other senses become more acute, and even though this is a photo, it triggers that sense in our minds to imagine what it would sound like to be there. Notice also the strong diagonals which guide the eye as mentioned before – cool to warm, texture to smooth, dark to bright, all contrasting elements.

Anyone looking at this photo will immediately understand what it must have felt like to stand on this frozen rocky ledge – at least that is my hope, and why it is important to continually practice the language of photography.

• Lightroom Workflow

As a bonus, I’ve included my Lightroom workflow so that you can get a better sense of how I processed this image with these ideas in mind in order to create the best interpretation of the RAW file.

1) Here is the original capture, with the default settings n Lightroom. Aside from a small amount of highlight clipping in the sky, the histogram looks good and I have maximized tonalities by exposing to the right. The image looks a little dark, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t lose any sky detail which was beautiful and adds the warmth to the image – a critical component to the overall feel and composition.

2) Next I made some adjustments in the Basic Panel, mostly increasing the Fill Light to bring out the dark foreground, Recovery to control the clipped highlights, and Clarity to bring out the texture of the ice and snow. I also added a bit of Vibrance for color. This works together with White Balance, which I increased from 6000k to about 6700k – this adds some warmth to the sky and removes some of the blue cast from the snow.

3) Next I wanted to try and increase the mid tone contrast – again with the idea that the textures in the image will help convey the feel – ice, frozen, rough, cold – even the trees appear like frozen statues, and adding contrast emphasizes this. I used the Tone Curve panel to added a tight S curve. This helps the midtones, but prevents the deep shadows or highlights from being affected. Adding extra points high and low on the curve prevents this from happening.

4) I decided I wanted to darken the sky to help bring out the soft cloud textures, so I decreased the Luminance value of the Blues in the HSL Panel. This will also darken areas of shadow that often have a blue cast, so care must be taken not to go overboard. I wanted to a subtle effect, so -17 felt about right.

5) Now we come to theDetail Panel – one of the most important aspects of this image, and here I used fairly standard settings - Amount=66, Radius=1.0, Masking=25. However the important setting here is Detail=100. The Detail slider in Lightroom acts as a halo suppressor, meaning it tries to prevent halos, the ugly glow around edges when high sharpening is used. While often useful, it can make an image somewhat softer as well, especially a high frequency image like this one. I didn’t want to compromise that, so a setting of 100 removes all halo suppression and gives me the sharpest image possible. Remember that this requires a very clean image (little or no noise), and a sharp capture to begin with.

6) Finally, I was still not happy with the overall mood of the image – I wanted to sky to play a stronger role in leading the eye and conveying a sense of depth. Up to now it just seemed to bright and washed out. I added a Graduated Filter to with a setting of Exposure= -0.15, Brighness= -49. The key here is not to lose the highlights, but bring down the overall brigthness of the sky and stretch the tonal values. Had I just used Exposure, then I would have lowered the whitest part of the sky only, which was not my intent. By using mostly the Brightness control, the sky becomes more dynamic and richer – the finishing touch to the image.

• Conclusion

I hope this is helpful in illustrating how I make technical AND creative decisions when processing an image in Lightroom. Having a clear idea of what you want to say with an image is extremely important, and aids the workflow tremendously. Thanks for reading and hanging in there through my explanations, and feel free to post comments and suggestions below.

PS- I teach this extensively in the Real World Lightroom 3 workshop where I go much more in depth and work through a bunch of images explaining how the creative process happens in the field, and continues in the digital darkroom.

The 2011 Workshop Schedule is now online and open for registration. After a really great year in 2010, I’m REALLY excited about this years workshops for many reasons, but primarily the opportunity once again to share my passion for learning with students who love photography.

I’ve also given the workshops a new “motto” or tagline – “Inspiring the Creative Spirit.” I think this really summarizes my approach and goal with each and every student. Beyond the technique and gear, I think the real learning happens when there is synergy between students and instructor, and that’s what I strive for in every workshop. What do I mean by “synergy”? Simple – when I get excited about a location, or beautiful light during a sunset, and pass that energy on to those around me. Or when a student gets excited about something they didn’t “see” and weren’t able to capture before, then I know something special has happened for them. Sure, we discuss f-stops, and hyperfocal distance, and many other technical issues, but without the inspiration, it’s just an exercise.

Even when dealing with the increasing dominance of technology in photography, there is always room for creative inspiration, and my new “Real World Lightroom” workshop focuses on this very important part of the process. It is so easy to get lost in endless choices and complexity, that we forget what is simple to understand – to convey your feelings about what you photograph. To show people not what you see, but what you feel about something. That’s where the inspiration lies, and what I try to instill in the atmosphere surrounding each workshop.

I have my work cut out for me for sure – and I sometimes wonder if I can really meet the challenges of this task. But as soon as the first workshop starts, and I see all of the students ready and hungry to learn, I know I’ll be fine – I just follow my instinct and share from the heart. A ton of preparation and experience beforehand doesn’t hurt either!

Check out the schedule and the new offerings this year. Would love to hear your feedback on the workshop schedule, as well as suggestions for improvement.

Everybody is original, if he tells the truth, if he speaks from himself. But it must be from his true self and not from the self he thinks he should be. -Brenda Ueland