Workshop – Iceland – August 10-14, 2009

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My Focus On Nature Iceland workshop August 10-14, 2009… Glaciers, glacial lagoons, volcanoes, deserts, waterfalls, rocky coastlines, sea caves, northern lights. It’s an adventure unlike any other! Refine your photographic vision and skills while experiencing stunning otherworldly landscapes with unparalleled local knowledge.

What will Iceland be like? Find out about My Thoughts and The Map and The Organization.

Get to know the locals … Einar – Ragnar.– Gudmunter – Ellert

See images from each day … 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 7

The 10% discount ends in 10 days on June 30. Save $495. Register now!

Warning! This blog post collects 13 other posts. Get coffee! Or wine!

Workshop Review – Along the Waterline

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At the end of my field workshops we do rapid fire reviews of the work done that week. Everyone puts in at least 6 images. We don’t know who’s pictures we’re looking at. We call out star ratings fast getting a quick first impression. Then we state quickly and simply why the image works or doesn’t work and how it could be improved. You get honest feedback and many diverse perspectives in a minimum amount of time. At the end, we sometimes look at all the images of each individual grouped together; suddenly new connections are made; sometimes images work better in context with one another than standing alone. The process is really enjoyable and educational.
Here are a few of the standouts from the week.

Anne Davey, having identified unifying elements in an extend portfolio review before the workshop, knew with confidence she would always be obsessed with color. But she took a risk in exploring pure abstraction this week.

Jim Brewster, after years of professional work for others, reconnected with his authentic voice this week, “I took ME off the shelf.” Initially he was documenting situations without composing them. With a little prompting he put the two together.

Sam Krisch enjoyed exploring a guiding metaphor, in his case a Kafkaesque paranoia. It gave him a subjective sensibility to unite many diverse experiences.

William Barek continued his explorations in photo-impressionism.

Rob Sylvan found many ways of connecting to story and themes with words helpful to find new perspectives and a deeper sense of connection in his images.

Jeff Fox admitted he was obsessed with structure and was torn between abstraction and representation
Alumni can read his comments on my Facebook Alumni group here.
Learn more in my field workshops.
8/9-15 – Iceland … 10% discount ends June 20.
10/16-19 – Fall Foliage … 15% discount ends August 15.

Special Guests – Greg Barnett & Patti Russotti

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Having special guests always adds extra positive energy into an already dynamic mix. Special guests Greg Barnett and Patti Russotti, both long-time high-level educators at RIT with vast experiences in the medium and it’s digital evolution, participated in my recent field workshop Along the Waterline. Their presence and the receptivity of the students encouraged me to ramp up the curriculum to an even more advanced level conceptually. We moved progressively varying our modes of inquiry, to identifying ways of looking, focussing on themes, and identifying ways to make the finally images more psychologically loaded. Each day built upon the previous one. At the end, everyone had increased their skillset, learned a lot of different ways of looking, and deepened their authentic voice. It’s great to see everyone progress together, all in different ways. It was really stimulating for everyone involved. In many ways, both small and large, it will change my teaching for the better.
Greg and Patti mind at the end of the week here.
“Over the last few days while working with John Paul, I’ve had somewhat of a breakthrough …”
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Iceland – Focus On Nature (August 10-14, 2009)

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Focus On Nature’s Einar Erlandsson asked me about my thoughts on my past (2008) and future (2009) workshop in Iceland, as well as my approach to teaching.
Here’s an excerpt.
Q: Do you see the light in Iceland as being different in some way?
A: Iceland’s light is ever changing. It moves so fast you have to stay alert.
Q: What in the landscape inspires you?
A: Extreme variety. Intense energy. Challenging complexity.
Q: Do you feel that the Icelandic workshop is different or has a character you can explain in few words to participants?
A: Iceland, both the landscape and its people, has a unique character. It’s very complex landscape with astonishing geologic variety – rugged seascapes, glacial lagoons, active volcanoes, Europe’s largest icecap, Europe’s only desert. The culture is simultaneously ancient (oldest European language, isolated genetic strain, different surname conventions) and high tech (cutting edge geothermal and computer technology). The people behind Focus on Nature are all professional photographers each with a lifetime of experience in Iceland. They know all the ins and outs of the place, the hidden spots and unusual people who would go unnoticed by someone without that experience. They’re extremely gracious. When it’s cold, Raggi pulls out a surprise stash of Russian Cognac. When it’s raining, Einar is suddenly found standing next to a student – with an umbrella. Everyday you’ll be surprised. You’ll get lost in Iceland. Be careful. If you go, you may not want to leave and you’ll definitely have to go again.
Read the rest here.
See my past Iceland blogposts including participant work here.
Space is still available. 10% discounts apply through April.

Joshua Tree National Park

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At the Palm Spring Photo Festival I took my workshop out for two very long days on location at the Salton Sea and Joshua Tree National Park. Joshua Tree National Park is magical. The park is named after the unusual trees found in abundance there; they’re actually lilies. Imagine them blooming; they do that soon. The rock formations are organically suggestive. It’s a landscape that looks like it was drawn by Dr Seuss.
There are a number of great locations to photograph in the park. Here’s a ranking of many of the locations to photograph there (moving north to south). (Ranks are on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being best.)
4    Quail Springs
9    Hidden Valley
6    Keyes Point
6    Cap Rock
4    Ryan Ranch
7    Jumbo Rocks
8    Skull Rock
5    Live Oak
5    Split Rock
4    Belle
8    White Tank
Find out more about Joshua Tree National Park here.
Get the map here.
Find out more about my field workshops here. Read More

D-65 – Workflow Solutions

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Seth Resnick and Jamie Spritzer offer phenomenal workflow workshops – D-65. Seth and Jamie’s wisdom is apparent from the start. It’s not a my way or the high way approach. They realize workflow is dynamic and needs to be modified for the needs of the situation and individual. So they teach principles and strategies that are universal before delving into specifics. Offering a workflow they feel is ideal, they encourage you to adapt their recommendations for your specific needs, with a thorough understanding of why you do what you do and what the repercussions are. The big concepts are as or more important than the details. Efficient and consistent workflow practices increase both productivity and quality. I can’t imagine anyone, no matter what their level, not improving their workflow after taking a D65 workshop.
I’ve been saying for years that my fine art workflow is not the workflow that I should use on the weekends when my client is my mother. Mom wants lots of reasonably good JPEGs of my son, yesterday, not one perfect 2 gig file next year. I need my fine art workflow on weekdays. I need Seth’s workflow on weekends. I need different workflows for different situations. We all do.
I really need to know more about keywords and hierarchies – soon. Keywording isn’t just about my finding my images efficiently. It’s also about other people finding my images efficiently. Seth is THE master of metadata. He’s not only a great photographer, he’s a contemporary linguist. He knows all the keywords and keywording strategies that make his images incredibly accessible to anyone. I often present a slideshow of my work in Antarctica and in it I show work by the other photographers I cotaught with, including Seth. A few of his images are on my computer. When I search for Antarctica on my computer his images come up at the top of any search. When I hover over his files in Bridge I see the descriptive paragraphs he’s added to his files. Now I use his images to research my trip. Amazing.
I wish I could stay for more than one day of Seth Resnick and Jamie Spritzer’s D-65 workflow workshop this week. I love hanging out with Seth and Jamie because they’re so much fun. I need D-65 professionally too. So, my wife and I are going to attend D-65’s upcoming sessions in Miami: 2-Day Advanced Lightroom (5/29/09- 5/30/09); 1-Day Web Workshop (5/31/09); 1-Day Business Workshop (6/1/09).
Check out D-65 here.
Check out their book The Photoshop Lightroom Workbook here.

Facebook Group – John Paul Caponigro Alumni

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I started a Facebook Group for my workshop and seminar alumni.
If you’re one of my alumni you can use this group to …
Network – Connect and stay in touch.
Learn – Exchange information.
Promote – Grow an audience for your projects.
I use Facebook to stay in touch with people. I let them know what I’m doing. I find out what they’re doing.
My hope is that this group will be useful to you to … Read More

Kathy Beal – Alumni – Antarctica

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Kathy Beal has a thoroughly unique approach to making images, capturing out of focus fields of color on location and using them as a jumping off point for creating unique compositions in Photoshop. Though still inspired by specific places and their palettes, her images take you to entirely new places with a palette all her own.
Kathy’s one of my long standing alumni who has come so far so fast it’s thrilling to watch! It took a combination of many things to make breathroughts – commitment, research, persistence, risk, courage, feedback, sensitivity, passion, and the most important of all hard work. But she enjoys what she’s doing so much, it doesn’t seem like hard work. She’s become incredibly productive, producing thoroughly unique work. Her growth can only be described as an explosion of creativity.
Check out more of Kathy’s work from Antarctica here.
Check out my workshops here.

Color Theory

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Color theory can help describe what is perceived more precisely. It offers a language that is shared and reasonably precise. Color theory can help make perception more precise. Language encodes thought and a more precise and nuanced language can lead to more sensitive perception. Color theory can help analyze what makes some color relationships particularly successful and what makes others less successful. It illuminates the dynamic interactions between the elements of color, which can be used to guide decisions in selecting and adjusting color relationships.
Color theory is best used to inform color choices rather than to make them. Theory lays a foundation for exploration (guiding inquiry toward areas with greater potential and away from areas with less potential). It is not a substitute for discovery. Jazz musicians Keith Jarrett and Theolonius Monk mastered music theory, but even they were surprised by their most original compositions; their compositions were informed and empowered by theory but not determined by it. Theory is the sum of what we know, but it does not contain what we do not yet know. It can prime conditions for a breakthrough, but it cannot make one. It can be used to empower a unique or authentic sensibility, but it is not a substitute for one.
Find out more in the current issue of Digital Photo Pro.
Find out more in my color theory ebooks.