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Tag Archives: death valley
New Workshops / Tours Update! (dates approaching)
Field Photography Workshops / Tours
NEW- February 22-24 Yosemite Semi-Private Tour – SOLD OUT
I will only take 4 people, offering us amazing camaraderie and teamwork. The intention is to enable you to experience the type of photography experience often reserved for my close friends and fellow pros. This will be a budget friendly trip with total immersion into the photographic experience, day and night. We will share in decision making, scouting and shooting. Weather, as always, dictates our shooting choices. This is the right time of year to capture the famous “fire fall” (conditions permitting). While I will be shooting with you, my main focus is your learning experience! You come first. I get us there, get us set up and answer EVERY question. I am working for you:)
Call me for specifics and to reserve your spot 530-545-2896.
Cost: only $479
Grand Teton National Park Workshop / Tour Dates Set! (see flyer below)
Grand Tetons in the Spring, 2013:
June 20-23:
This will be a four day adventure focussing on iconic Teton landscape images, as well as wildlife photography (baby critters will be out and about). Along with putting us in the right place at the right time to capture our dream photos, I will be teaching about composition, exposure, light, perspective and proper technique. 100% of our time will be spent in the field, where we will learn while doing. While our days are long and tiring, they are also extremely rewarding both photographically and personally. Comeraderie is a huge part of our experience. We will have a great time in a world class wilderness environment and come away better photographers for it. This will be limited to a small number of participants so everyone has all the personal attention required to get the most out of the experience. This is not a physically demanding tour, but participants should be able to walk on uneven ground. You will be expected to rise early to start the day, and be considerate to the groups time requirements in order to ensure that we can meet our “magic light” timelines! Please call to discuss any details that may help you make your decision.
Dates: June 20-23, 2013
Cost: $975
jonpaul@jonpaulgallery.com
530-544-4269
NEW Private Workshop Days available in both Grand Teton and Yellowstone!
I have added the option of private, one-on-one workshops, both before and after the official Grand Teton dates. I will offer these private sessions at the same price as my local private sessions!
Call to arrange your custom dates 530-545-2896.
Cost: only $500/day
I have added the option of private, one-on-one workshops, both before and after the official Grand Teton dates. I will offer these private sessions at the same price as my local private sessions!
Call to arrange your custom dates 530-545-2896.
Cost: only $500/day
Winter in Lake Tahoe
I have left a large number of dates open and available for private one-on-one or small group workshops / tours here in Lake Tahoe (or wherever you would like). This is a beautiful time of year to photograph Lake Tahoe, aspen groves, rivers, waterfalls, ice patterns, mist, black & white, sunrises and sunsets. The sun is low in the sky, providing soft light and long shadows. We can generally shoot a little later in the morning, and earlier in the evening. Snow and ice provide a new look to the land, and very different opportunities for familiar subjects. Composition and metering, along with managing the cold and snowy conditions, however, become unfamiliar. Join me in the field and allow me to share my experience with you. Let’s create some unique images, while I help you gain confidence in the snow covered photographic world!
Cost: $750/day only $500/day
Spring in Lake Tahoe
Dates will be announced shortly! Private workshops / tours are still available!
This is the most popular time of year to photograph Lake Tahoe! A majority of my signature Lake Tahoe images were composed at this time of year.
Often the lake is calm, providing iconic clear water images, along with beautiful sunrise and sunset reflections. Waterfalls are rushing with snow melt, rivers are full, and there are still very few visitors. We have the place to ourselves! Honestly, this is the stuff photographers dreams are made of:) Please join me, as I share the most outstanding locations to photograph in this region, along with my knowledge and understanding of the art of landscape and wildlife photography. As one of the few successful gallery photographers in the country, I have a different approach to this art. I am not attempting to create huge volumes of work to fill magazine space. Nor am I attempting to produce “digital art” from mediocre images. I will share with you the simple steps and tools necessary to capture “the fine art of nature”, eliminating the intimidation factor of the digital world. All questions are answered, as we learn by doing. Let’s look through the lens together, create amazing images, and learn to become more successful photographers in the field.
Posted in California, death valley, digital photography, Eastern Sierras, fine art, Grand Tetons, impressionist, Jackson Hole, jon paul gallery, Landscape, large format, light painting, Moose, Mountains, National Parks, oxbow bend, Panorama, photo techniques, Photo Tip, photo tour, photo workshop, Salt Flat, spring, Sunrise, Sunset, Tutorial, Uncategorized, western, wildlife photography, Winter Photography, Wyoming, Yellowstone, Yosemite Also tagged art, black and white, California, clouds, digital, Eastern Sierras, Grand Tetons, impressionist, Jackson Hole, jon paul gallery, Lake Tahoe, Landscape, large format landscape photograph, Mountain Photography, moving water, National Parks, Panorama, philosophy, Photo Seminar, photo tips, photo tour, photo workshop, Photography, reflection, spring, Sunrise, Sunset, teaching, technique, Tutorial, western, wildlife photography, Winter Photography, Yosemite Leave a comment
Look Beyond What You Expect To See!
Salt Polygons, Storm Clouds & Magic Light
With my time being valuable, and with experience on my side, many of my strongest landscape images are born of research, planning and multiple visits to a single location. That said, there are quite a few gems that have come from being open to whatever Mother Nature offers up. The image above is a great example of this scenario. I had waited for days while Mother Nature handed up flat grey sunrises and sunsets. On this particular morning, I was rewarded with exactly what I had hoped for. Just 20 minutes before this image was taken, I was treated to the pastel pink and orange sky I had hoped for, adding the perfect backdrop to my strong salt polygon foreground. It was quite tempting, after achieving the “goal image”, to pack up and head back to camp to rest. However, I was willing to receive multiple gifts, if Mother Nature wanted to be generous.
I was intrigued by the warm morning light on the salt polygons and the distant mountain line, contrasted against the dark clouds of the approaching storm. I put my 8×10 away, and set up my 5×7 field camera with a 6×17 cm panoramic film back. The panoramic format accentuated the long lines of the mountain range, dark sky, sandy brown salt and white salt in the foreground. I also feel that the panoramic format accentuates the feeling of vastness I was struck by, while eliminating too much empty sky or overdone foreground. The drama and mood of this image conveys the desolate beauty I experienced in this unique location. If I had closed my mind to anything other than the image I had pre-visualized, I would have missed an amazing opportunity. Remember, it is nice to compose an image we have created in our minds eye, but we don’t want to miss that hidden gem (or the experience that comes along with discovering it!).
Photo Tip:
This one is basic, but shouldn’t be overlooked. Always stay open and receptive to whatever Mother Nature may offer you. I actually find that this is often an issue for more experienced photographers. As we gain experience, we often become set in our ways, focused on “the job” of creating a perfect image, or just plain lazy. I have seen people discover magic light, learn how to plan around it, become adept at planning the ideal shot (all good things), and then forget about the experience of being in nature. Light changes, occurs in different ways and transforms a landscape. While the perfectly planned shot is great to achieve, we should stay open to something different (and perhaps better) that shows itself to us. If we go beyond what we expect, and tap into the emotion and intuition that made us want to preserve these natural moments through photography, we can maintain our love for the natural experience and create images that are truly moving.
This one is basic, but shouldn’t be overlooked. Always stay open and receptive to whatever Mother Nature may offer you. I actually find that this is often an issue for more experienced photographers. As we gain experience, we often become set in our ways, focused on “the job” of creating a perfect image, or just plain lazy. I have seen people discover magic light, learn how to plan around it, become adept at planning the ideal shot (all good things), and then forget about the experience of being in nature. Light changes, occurs in different ways and transforms a landscape. While the perfectly planned shot is great to achieve, we should stay open to something different (and perhaps better) that shows itself to us. If we go beyond what we expect, and tap into the emotion and intuition that made us want to preserve these natural moments through photography, we can maintain our love for the natural experience and create images that are truly moving.
Equipment:
Canham 5×7 Metal Field Camera, Canham 6×17 cm panoramic film back, Caltar (Rodenstock) 210mm lens, Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ball Head, Gitzo Carbon Tripod, Fuji Provia RDPIII 100 Transparency Film.
Canham 5×7 Metal Field Camera, Canham 6×17 cm panoramic film back, Caltar (Rodenstock) 210mm lens, Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ball Head, Gitzo Carbon Tripod, Fuji Provia RDPIII 100 Transparency Film.
Posted in 617cm film, 8x10 film, California, death valley, desert photography, digital photography, jon paul gallery, Landscape, large format, Mountains, National Parks, Panorama, panorama film, photo techniques, Photo Tip, Salt Flat, Sunrise, Uncategorized, western Also tagged 8x10 film, art, California, jon paul gallery, Landscape, large format landscape photograph, National Parks, Panorama, Photo Seminar, photo tips, Photography, Salt Flats, teaching, technique, Tutorial 1 Comment
Making Our Artistic Choices at Capture, Not as an Afterthought
Joshua Trees & The High Sierras
After a few days creating images in Death Valley National Park, my friend (and fellow photographer) Christian Fleury, and I ventured out of the park and into the desert for one final photographic opportunity. I was enamored with the starkness of the desert and wanted to share the feeling of vastness. I knew black and white film was a natural choice for the mood I was trying to convey, and the amazing cloud display begged for a this classic look. I chose my 6x17cm film format for the wide view that accentuated the expanse of the desert. The widely spread Joshua trees growing in the sand redefined the traditional vision of “forest”. The wispy clouds danced overhead, celebrating the openness of this wild place. The mighty Sierra Nevada Mountains in the distance pulled the scene together. I truly felt the mood of this location, and reveled in the artistic process of choosing how to visually interpret, compose and capture this image. If I had taken a modern approach of shooting hundreds of frames in color, weeding through them on the computer, and finally deciding “how the image should look”, I would have lost the mood and message I wanted to convey. As an artist in nature, I enjoy taking the responsibility of choosing my final vision while in the field. It is very gratifying to have that vision come to fruition through that initial emotion, successful choices, and an individual capture. That is the art I enjoy. Enjoy the View!
Photo Tip:
Slow down and trust your feelings. In a fast digital world, it is easy to get caught up in the whole mindset of not wanting to miss anything. Note that this is a human nature & societal problem, not a digital problem. The issue becomes a lack of focus on what is moving us and drawing us to the subject we want to photograph. In a familiar location near home, try the old method of giving yourself just one sheet of film (or one last spot on the memory card:) ). Observe what you are drawn to and take the time to conceive of the expected light, choose the composition carefully, clean up those edges, refine the focal length, pick the optimal camera position, carefully select the exposure, use solid technique with your tripod, cable release, etc. Make this one exposure important relative to what it makes you feel, and what it might communicate to a viewer. Enjoy the process, and take control of your art. Don’t go home with hundreds, or even thousands of images wondering if you may hove gotten anything. This practice will build your confidence in your skills, refine your artistic eye, and enable you to create a higher percentage of “successful images” in the future.
Equipment used:
Canham 5×7 metal field camera, Canham 6x17cm roll film back, Caltar II-n (Rodenstock) 90mm lens, Gitzo 1325 Carbon Tripod, Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ball Head, Acros 100 black and white film, Singh Ray LB Warming Polarizer, Red Filter.
Posted in 617cm film, black and white, California, death valley, desert photography, digital photography, Eastern Sierras, jon paul gallery, joshua tree, Landscape, large format, Mountains, National Parks, Panorama, panorama film, photo techniques, Photo Tip, Uncategorized, western Also tagged art, black and white, California, clouds, Desert, digital, Eastern Sierras, film photography, filters, jon paul gallery, joshua tree, Lake Tahoe, Landscape, large format landscape photograph, Lone Pine, Mountain Photography, National Parks, Panorama, philosophy, Photo Seminar, photo tips, Photography, teaching, technique, Tutorial, U2, western Leave a comment
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