A Photography Field Workshop
$875
Enrollment limited to 10 people, Covid-19 vaccination required. There is one scholarship spot in this class.
I’ve been coming to Yosemite Valley since I was a boy. It became synonymous with the very idea of the natural world. As I fell in love with photography, it was the reality that I saw portrayed with such wonder and beauty by Ansel Adams and others. It was where I first had a long conversation with Ansel. I love this place. It feels sacred.
We'll spend three activity-packed days in the valley and nearbty, sometimes rising before dawn and lingering for the last moment of twilight. The trip is designed to be a complete immersion in landscape photography and its digital evolution. Film-based photographers are also welcome. Film is where I started here, first used the Zone Syetem, and it is where I made the first digital 4x5 photographs. It is not about the light recording material, it is about this place and your heartfelt reaction to it..
We will discuss technical and aesthetic issues, tapping into your emotional response to this landscape, working toward images that are uniquely your own. Individual problem-solving is a high priority in my workshop program. Classes are kept small to maximize individual attention. Plan to bring some of your work to give me an idea of how you see, what you are happy with, and photographs that indicate problems you are encountering.
The advent of the digital age of photography provides unique opportunities for field photography instruction, reviewing work on camera screens as it is made, examining exposure, composition, and emotional impact. Group evening reviews will also be conducted.
Digital exposure and dynamic range, color management, printers, papers, b&w and color, composition, and amazement-all will be part of our ambitious excursion into the evolving world of digital photography.
The Place
Winter in Yosemite Valley is a transformed world. Trees are wet and dark, the oaks are bare. The cliffs are blanketed with snow. Weather moves through in waves of clouds and mist. Ponds and river edges are frozen. There is usually snow on the valley floor. Visitors are dramatically fewer in number. Our three days together will likely be cold, but we will no doubt be warmed by the special beauty that winter brings to this grand valley. Although we will carpool to various locations, I hope our basic mode of transportation through the valley will be our feet. There is really no other way to come to know a place.
Details
A full agenda is planned for this workshop, including dawn and dusk sessions. We will be doing a fair amount of walking if weather permits.
Yosemite NPS Website
Yosemite Valley Map (pdf download)
Lodging is not included but a group discount has been arranged for at our motel headquarters in El Portal. Details will be sent on enrollment.