Adam Merrifield made the most of our recent workshop in Joshua Tree. He came away with more than a few hero shots and a set of related images to support them.
Read about his experiences and see his images on my Alumni blog.
Visit his website for more.
Adam Merifield made the most of our recent workshop in Joshua Tree. He came away with more than a few hero shots and a set of related images to support them.
“Being in Joshua Tree National Park is like walking through the dream scape of a stoned conversation between Salvador Dali & Dr. Seuss. Whimsical, bizarre, barren & curiously impermanent this environment embodies all that is surreal and offers the photographer a unique and challenging environment to explore their creative vision.
John Paul Caponigro’s workshop was an experience I won’t soon forget. It seemed sincerely aimed at forwarding each participant’s goals in photography. Me: I was seeking a spark of inspiration and a new perspective on seeing. JP delivered on both. He offered strategies that really resonated with me; he focused on exploring the final 20 and the nuances of what can be. As a result, I am convinced that many of the best images I captured were of scenes I would have walked right past a week prior.”
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Here are some first pass image selects from my recent Death Valley workshop. They won’t all make the cut, so this may be the only time anyone will ever see some of them. I’m really excited about the material I collected for composites.
We had such great locations, weather, and participants that I scheduled my Death Valley February 18-21, 2011 workshop today.
Find out more about locations in the Death Valley map we’re building right now.
Check out alumni Harry Sandler’s blog posts from the workshop.
Photographing. It’s my favorite form of exercise. You walk, climb, squat, bend, reach, stretch and more – much more. You lose track of time and how far you’ve gone. You just keep going. You always want to go farther. It’s exhilarating! At the end of it all, you feel great and you return with something to show for it. I recommend it to everyone.
This image shows me walking across Badwater during my recent Death Valley workshop.
Andy Biggs shares many of the details from our Namibia workshop last year on his blog. They’re the smaller moments that give each trip a life and character of its own. Sliding down dunes at dawn, the roller coaster rides of driving across dune fields, short siestas in the shade, picnics on the beach, wading in the ocean, gin and tonics in the field at sunset. A few hilarious moments were sensored.
Find Andy’s Blog here.
This link collects all six of Andy’s trip reports.
Skim the images and text and see all the fun we had.
Then see and learn more with my 5 tips here –
Let Color Carry the Day
The Function of Form
Establishing Shots
Guiding Metaphors
Take the Postcard Then Try a Different Approach
Find out more about my 2010 Namibia Workshop here.
Chris Alvanas’ image (above) is an excellent example of heavy HDR.
Last week I taught my most advanced Fine Art Digital Printing Advanced workshop ever. We talked not only about how to use HDR tools but also the visual effects they produce. HDR processing creates several identifiable artifacts. Going to extremes will help you identify the possibilities and the artifacts more clearly. After that, you can better decide just how far you want to go. Clearly identifying these artifacts can help you control them and craft your own HDR style.
1 Full detail in shadows and highlights
This is the reason special software was invented.
Pushed far blacks and whites can get gray.
2 Accentuation of contour
Images look sharper and clearer. It’s Clarity on steroids.
Pushed far this leads localized vignetting.
3 Accentuation of texture
Talk about detail.
Pushed far it gives objects a stained (“grunge”) appearance and boosts noise.
4 Distortion of relative saturation relationships
Sometimes it’s beautiful, sometimes it’s unnatural, sometimes it’s beautifully unnatural.
A little post-production work will help you get the balance that’s best for you.
Learn more in my free Lessons.
Learn more in my HDR DVD.
Learn more in my Workshops.
Next FADP Advanced workshop 2/1-5
Last week I taught my most advanced Fine Art Digital Printing Advanced workshop ever. A number of the participants work with HDR. So we explored a variety of HDR styles.
Chris Alvanas likes heavy HDR processing to give his contemporary portraits a grittier look.
Jim Hooper likes to blend normally processed Raw files with HDR processed files for a blend of classic and contemporary.
HDR techniques can be used to generate many different effects. They’re useful techniques every photographer should know about.
Learn more in my free Lessons.
Learn more in my HDR DVD.
Learn more in my Workshops.
Next FADP Advanced workshop 2/1-5
Last week I taught my most advanced Fine Art Digital Printing Advanced workshop ever. We delved deep into the art of dodging and burning, learning not only how to do it but many interpretive strategies for applying it in different ways to a variety of images.
Soren Lindqvist’s image drawn from the rocky coast of Maine demonstrates just how far you can go with dodging and burning. He turns an image with dark lines on a light ground into one with light lines on a dark ground. It’s a fine example of the art of interpretation. Available light may only be a starting point.
See more of Soren’s work here.
Learn more in my free Lessons.
Learn more in my Drawing With Light DVD.
Learn more in my Workshops.
Chris Alvanas, a professional photographer and photo educator in Washington DC, was reluctant to show us his recent cell phone photographs during my Fine Art Digital Printing Advanced portfolio reviews. But we were all very curious, so he did. The images he showed us were spontaneous, fresh, and inventive. We looked at the images first and later asked questions about the equipment, not the other way around. We all realized, perhaps we should be taking more photographs in more places in more ways and that many of them would be useful for our personal growth and worth sharing with others. Chris made us all laugh when he said, “I took this one out of my sunroof while I was driving. Is that wrong?” So, I recommended Chris also share short insights to go with each moment. Here’s what he had to share with us.
Accidental Irony…
Attention to the small details often payoff with large returns.
Simple shape and form.
If you look for it – they will come..
It is an obligation to challenge yourself and others.
My vision – your response.
Find out about Chris Alvanas here.
Find Chris Alvanas’ blog here.
Find Chris Alvanas’ DVDs here.
Find out more about my Fine Art Digital Printing Workshops here.
