I've finally resumed my writing - you'll find it in a new blog Lightblend.blogspot.com.
My five months in Missoula were a special time and I didn't want to add too much beyond the time I was there. That blog was created to record that time, and if nothing else the title would look out of place on more general writing.
This new blog is "a gentle fusion of light and ideas". Still very much a personal work, it's intended to cover my journey with light in photography and glass, and from time to time other media. The "Seen from my corner" blog will also be added to from time to time.
The first proper post in the new blog is Seeing the light
Enjoy!
Friday, 14 September 2012
Thursday, 2 February 2012
A fresh look
It's been 3 months since I left RMSP and two months since I left the USA. Time I put fingers to keyboard again for sure. And the inspiration for this resumption? Well that's down to a visit this week to the National Portrait Gallery in London.
The last time I visited the gallery was for the exact same reason; to see the prints selected for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. That time I was in London to get a visa so I could attend photography school. This time I noticed the effects of the five months I spent at school.
The Taylor Wessing prize is a prestigious, international photography competition that attracts over 6,000 entries from around the world. With a first prize of £12,000 it is easy to see why so many photographers enter.
Although I studied the 2010 winning entries in some detail I'm sure I wasn't as thorough as I was this time for the 2011 results. After a quick walk round to take it all in I went over each entry one by one. I looked at the depth of field, the sharpness of the image, the composition. I guessed at what post processing had been used. I got up close to examine the catch lights in each subject's eyes. I tried to work out if it was natural light or studio light or even fill in flash. I guessed at where some sort of light shaper had restricted the light to part of the scene. I tried to work out the angles. I tried to work out what type of lens may have been used on some of them. Often I think I was near enough right. One or two had me thinking harder and one had me giving up. Studying photography gives you a whole new perspective on photographs if you let it. Today I did just that.
What puzzled me most was the composition; so many of the photographs 'broke the rules'. A leg that was missing a foot: it didnt matter. The lightest part of the scene was at the edges: it worked. The subject faced one side of the frame and the other half frame was there apparently doing nothing at all: that worked too. No sign of 'rules of thirds': Dolly Parton, for she was the subject, just didn't seem to mind. She sat there on her hotel bed, her diminutive form swamped by palatial surroundings and didn't appear one bit interested in composition. Doubtless she was thinking of the 14 other interviewers who would be want to get the most out of their allotted time that day, if they hadn't done so already. Sometimes the rules are irrelevant, photographs are inspiring because they are inspiring, not because they tick a bunch of boxes.
Note that I am not saying photographs are inspiring because they were shot with the latest digital camera equipment and processed on an expensive computer. The winning entry was shot in natural light, on film, and was not post processed. One of the most impressive exhibitions of photography I've seen since leaving Missoula comprised photographs taken on mobile phones of one sort or another. The often heard comment by people unfamiliar with photography beyond a basic point-and-shoot camera is, "That's a nice camera, I bet it takes great pictures". I wonder how many times the great masters of oil painting heard comments about their art work being so good because they used such high quality brushes!
Regardless of how the image was recorded each photographer first had to see the subject in their own unique way using a set of standard issue eyeballs. The photographers exhibiting in this exhibition had mastered those instruments very well indeed, showed considerable skill in recording what they saw with their cameras, and then translating that to a large print for the competition. I shall return to see the 2012 finalists later this year, and I have already registered to be informed when I can enter a portrait of my own.
To see some of the photographs on display click on this link: http://www.npg.org.uk:8080/photoprize/site11/index.php
To see the winning entries click on this link:
http://www.taylorwessing.com/about-us/corporate-social-responsibility/national-portrait-gallery.html
The last time I visited the gallery was for the exact same reason; to see the prints selected for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. That time I was in London to get a visa so I could attend photography school. This time I noticed the effects of the five months I spent at school.
The Taylor Wessing prize is a prestigious, international photography competition that attracts over 6,000 entries from around the world. With a first prize of £12,000 it is easy to see why so many photographers enter.
Although I studied the 2010 winning entries in some detail I'm sure I wasn't as thorough as I was this time for the 2011 results. After a quick walk round to take it all in I went over each entry one by one. I looked at the depth of field, the sharpness of the image, the composition. I guessed at what post processing had been used. I got up close to examine the catch lights in each subject's eyes. I tried to work out if it was natural light or studio light or even fill in flash. I guessed at where some sort of light shaper had restricted the light to part of the scene. I tried to work out the angles. I tried to work out what type of lens may have been used on some of them. Often I think I was near enough right. One or two had me thinking harder and one had me giving up. Studying photography gives you a whole new perspective on photographs if you let it. Today I did just that.
What puzzled me most was the composition; so many of the photographs 'broke the rules'. A leg that was missing a foot: it didnt matter. The lightest part of the scene was at the edges: it worked. The subject faced one side of the frame and the other half frame was there apparently doing nothing at all: that worked too. No sign of 'rules of thirds': Dolly Parton, for she was the subject, just didn't seem to mind. She sat there on her hotel bed, her diminutive form swamped by palatial surroundings and didn't appear one bit interested in composition. Doubtless she was thinking of the 14 other interviewers who would be want to get the most out of their allotted time that day, if they hadn't done so already. Sometimes the rules are irrelevant, photographs are inspiring because they are inspiring, not because they tick a bunch of boxes.
Note that I am not saying photographs are inspiring because they were shot with the latest digital camera equipment and processed on an expensive computer. The winning entry was shot in natural light, on film, and was not post processed. One of the most impressive exhibitions of photography I've seen since leaving Missoula comprised photographs taken on mobile phones of one sort or another. The often heard comment by people unfamiliar with photography beyond a basic point-and-shoot camera is, "That's a nice camera, I bet it takes great pictures". I wonder how many times the great masters of oil painting heard comments about their art work being so good because they used such high quality brushes!
Regardless of how the image was recorded each photographer first had to see the subject in their own unique way using a set of standard issue eyeballs. The photographers exhibiting in this exhibition had mastered those instruments very well indeed, showed considerable skill in recording what they saw with their cameras, and then translating that to a large print for the competition. I shall return to see the 2012 finalists later this year, and I have already registered to be informed when I can enter a portrait of my own.
To see some of the photographs on display click on this link: http://www.npg.org.uk:8080/photoprize/site11/index.php
To see the winning entries click on this link:
http://www.taylorwessing.com/about-us/corporate-social-responsibility/national-portrait-gallery.html
Sunday, 27 November 2011
The End of a Chapter
It's the end of a chapter. On Friday 28th October my last course at RMSP was rounded off with a graduation ceremony, so I'm no longer a student at RMSP but one of many alumni who have spent time in Missoula learning about photography - and about themselves. It's been an amazing summer, though once in a while, when there were project deadlines looming for example, it didn't seem like that.
Unlike the majority of students I also had the opportunity to observe the life and language of another country - one of the benefits of being here as an "alien". I also had an unexpected opportunity to explore more of the USA than I'd hoped for so I've extended my stay to the end of November when my visa expires.
The USA is a beautiful country - a huge one at that. I recently spoke to a Brit who lives in Tucson and works for a photographic printing lab there. He said the only way he could relate to the size and diversity in the USA was to imagine it as if it were Europe - with each state as a different country but with everyone speaking the same language. That description works for me too.
The great advantage of being here for a longer period of time is that I get to live in the country as opposed to simply visiting it as a tourist. I'm so used to traffic driving on the right along very wide, straight roads that I'm expecting my first day or so back in Blighty to be a bit of a culture shock.
Since leaving RMSP I've had the opportunity to see some of the natural wonders of the USA. I visited Yellowstone and saw Old Faithful and several other of the amazing features there. I visited some of the national and state parks in Utah to see huge natural archways eroded in stone, rivers winding in deep horseshoe shaped valleys, and looked up to (and down from) huge mesas. Later, in Arizona I saw the amazing landscape around Sedona, and made a brief visit to the Grand Canyon, seeing it at dusk and at dawn. As magnificent as the landforms are in the USA it is the size that impressed me most. Coming from a country where you are never more than 70 miles from the coast and the drive from Land's End to John O'Groats (i.e. top to bottom of the UK mainland) is around 840 miles it is quite something to drive for days and days through various types of desert scenery.
If the scenery has amazed me, the language and way of life have in turn amused and saddened me. But we all speak English, right? Well... we can all understand each other but some of the words and ways of saying them are so very different. I've had many happy conversations about language differences with my landlady - thank you Carol for being such a wonderful host. For the record, any artist visiting here from the UK should be sure to ask for an eraser if they want something to correct their pencil drawings. And any American lady visiting the UK should refer to those convenient belt pouches as bum bags.
The saddest part of being in the USA has been what I've observed about health. The US diet is probably very tasty but it is not at all healthy, and while the spending per person on health care here is greater than any other nation, this is not reflected in the health of the nation. Some figures from the internet: The World Health Organization in 2000 ranked the US health care system as the highest in cost and 72nd in terms of overall health. In 2006 the US was top in terms of health care spending but 39th in infant mortality, 43rd for adult female mortality, 42nd for adult male mortality, and 36th for life expectancy. I still find it hard to understand how a country so rich in resources can have over 16.7% (over 50 million) of its residents uninsured for health.
Much harder to understand is how doctors and nutritionists in the US who have discovered cures (yes cures) for cancers that use changes in diet and lifestyle and avoid destructive surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation are forced to practice in Mexico or lose their license to practice since their treatments - essentially a healthy diet - are banned at home. Treatment using a healthy diet and lifestyle has also had great success in curing many people suffering from degenerative diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and MS - sometimes in spite of attempts by US authorities to limit the work or restrict supplemental resources.
On a more positive note I'm finding the benefits of a wiser way of eating. I never realised how tasty salads can be... and I'm not talking a tomato and a couple of slices of iceberg lettuce. There's a vegetarian restaurant in Tucson that has such an amazing variety of VERY tasty veggie food.... hmmm! And the results of this change of diet? Much more energy and a lot less waistline.
I'm excited to get back home and start in earnest on the next stage of my photography. I'll miss the many friends I've made.
And I'll be back sometime for sure!
Unlike the majority of students I also had the opportunity to observe the life and language of another country - one of the benefits of being here as an "alien". I also had an unexpected opportunity to explore more of the USA than I'd hoped for so I've extended my stay to the end of November when my visa expires.
The USA is a beautiful country - a huge one at that. I recently spoke to a Brit who lives in Tucson and works for a photographic printing lab there. He said the only way he could relate to the size and diversity in the USA was to imagine it as if it were Europe - with each state as a different country but with everyone speaking the same language. That description works for me too.
Since leaving RMSP I've had the opportunity to see some of the natural wonders of the USA. I visited Yellowstone and saw Old Faithful and several other of the amazing features there. I visited some of the national and state parks in Utah to see huge natural archways eroded in stone, rivers winding in deep horseshoe shaped valleys, and looked up to (and down from) huge mesas. Later, in Arizona I saw the amazing landscape around Sedona, and made a brief visit to the Grand Canyon, seeing it at dusk and at dawn. As magnificent as the landforms are in the USA it is the size that impressed me most. Coming from a country where you are never more than 70 miles from the coast and the drive from Land's End to John O'Groats (i.e. top to bottom of the UK mainland) is around 840 miles it is quite something to drive for days and days through various types of desert scenery.
If the scenery has amazed me, the language and way of life have in turn amused and saddened me. But we all speak English, right? Well... we can all understand each other but some of the words and ways of saying them are so very different. I've had many happy conversations about language differences with my landlady - thank you Carol for being such a wonderful host. For the record, any artist visiting here from the UK should be sure to ask for an eraser if they want something to correct their pencil drawings. And any American lady visiting the UK should refer to those convenient belt pouches as bum bags.
The saddest part of being in the USA has been what I've observed about health. The US diet is probably very tasty but it is not at all healthy, and while the spending per person on health care here is greater than any other nation, this is not reflected in the health of the nation. Some figures from the internet: The World Health Organization in 2000 ranked the US health care system as the highest in cost and 72nd in terms of overall health. In 2006 the US was top in terms of health care spending but 39th in infant mortality, 43rd for adult female mortality, 42nd for adult male mortality, and 36th for life expectancy. I still find it hard to understand how a country so rich in resources can have over 16.7% (over 50 million) of its residents uninsured for health.
Much harder to understand is how doctors and nutritionists in the US who have discovered cures (yes cures) for cancers that use changes in diet and lifestyle and avoid destructive surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation are forced to practice in Mexico or lose their license to practice since their treatments - essentially a healthy diet - are banned at home. Treatment using a healthy diet and lifestyle has also had great success in curing many people suffering from degenerative diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and MS - sometimes in spite of attempts by US authorities to limit the work or restrict supplemental resources.
On a more positive note I'm finding the benefits of a wiser way of eating. I never realised how tasty salads can be... and I'm not talking a tomato and a couple of slices of iceberg lettuce. There's a vegetarian restaurant in Tucson that has such an amazing variety of VERY tasty veggie food.... hmmm! And the results of this change of diet? Much more energy and a lot less waistline.
I'm excited to get back home and start in earnest on the next stage of my photography. I'll miss the many friends I've made.
And I'll be back sometime for sure!
Sunday, 23 October 2011
Days away from change
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" : John Lennon.
If you'd asked me two weeks ago what I was going to do when I left Missoula I'd have given you a pretty comprehensive answer, at least as far as the photography goes. Ask me today and you'd get a more cautious answer. It would be rather vague as I am still working it out, it would also be an answer that was more passionate and a truer reflection of myself I'm sure.
One of the early posts on this blog featured a song that a fellow student had posted on the student bulletin board. It came to mean a lot to a few folks here. With one week to go on the last of the five courses here at RMSP I realise the song and the moment have come round again and I'm once more only days away from change. Here it is again.. click to listen.
There won't be too many more blog posts in this blog, and with all the work and other changes there have been less than I'd expected over recent weeks. I'll carry on writing though, sometimes they'll be as posts in my other blog, seenfrommycorner.blogspot.com, as and when things catch my eye. I also have in mind a new blog on my new photography website which I'm working to set up at the moment.
For now it's time to rest as the final week at school starts tomorrow.
If you'd asked me two weeks ago what I was going to do when I left Missoula I'd have given you a pretty comprehensive answer, at least as far as the photography goes. Ask me today and you'd get a more cautious answer. It would be rather vague as I am still working it out, it would also be an answer that was more passionate and a truer reflection of myself I'm sure.
One of the early posts on this blog featured a song that a fellow student had posted on the student bulletin board. It came to mean a lot to a few folks here. With one week to go on the last of the five courses here at RMSP I realise the song and the moment have come round again and I'm once more only days away from change. Here it is again.. click to listen.
So what's happened? Well over the course of this summer we've had a range of photography based professionals come to talk to us. It was during a couple of these talks in the past two weeks that I realised I need more than just skill with a camera. I need to connect my vision and a passion if I am to be different. Cameras tend to reveal what's inside you as well as what's in front of the lens. And looking at some photos I had to show in class I was reminded of the vision and passion that have been with me for a few years now... and which in a way I'd lost sight of in my rush to plan. I also realised that bringing those qualities to the types of photo work I want to do are not just nice to have, they are essential. That's why I'll set about the list of things I have to do back home with a different emphasis and with revised priorities.
There won't be too many more blog posts in this blog, and with all the work and other changes there have been less than I'd expected over recent weeks. I'll carry on writing though, sometimes they'll be as posts in my other blog, seenfrommycorner.blogspot.com, as and when things catch my eye. I also have in mind a new blog on my new photography website which I'm working to set up at the moment.
 |
| A sense of direction |
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Wonderful World
Sometimes life brings along unexpected surprises as well as frustrations that often aren't as bad as they seem. Take last week's video classes for instance.
First surprise: after many weeks of getting to be pretty much at ease with my camera I switched it to video mode and felt like I was back in a photographic kindergarten. It wasn't the first time I'd switched the camera to video mode; of course it wasn't - you can't have a button on a camera and NOT try it out pretty early on. The difference this time was that I had someone teaching me how to do it properly, and it did feel like I was learning the camera all over again.
Second surprise: I liked it. Kids in kindergarten play and that was the beauty of this class - I didn't know what I didn't know and simply played and enjoyed the discovery, for the most part at least - the enjoyment increased as the week wore on.
And the frustrations? Well a laptop is not quite the thing for editing video so there was a lot of being patient and learning to go with the flow. Getting hot under the collar wasn't going to make the computer work any faster that's for sure.
Will I play with video again? Yes, for fun mostly. I had a great time playing and discovering this whole new set of toys, and coming to it with no preconceived ideas I had a great time. Here's one of the videos from this week to prove it. Enjoy!
First surprise: after many weeks of getting to be pretty much at ease with my camera I switched it to video mode and felt like I was back in a photographic kindergarten. It wasn't the first time I'd switched the camera to video mode; of course it wasn't - you can't have a button on a camera and NOT try it out pretty early on. The difference this time was that I had someone teaching me how to do it properly, and it did feel like I was learning the camera all over again.
Second surprise: I liked it. Kids in kindergarten play and that was the beauty of this class - I didn't know what I didn't know and simply played and enjoyed the discovery, for the most part at least - the enjoyment increased as the week wore on.
And the frustrations? Well a laptop is not quite the thing for editing video so there was a lot of being patient and learning to go with the flow. Getting hot under the collar wasn't going to make the computer work any faster that's for sure.
Will I play with video again? Yes, for fun mostly. I had a great time playing and discovering this whole new set of toys, and coming to it with no preconceived ideas I had a great time. Here's one of the videos from this week to prove it. Enjoy!
(The video was shot in 1080 HD mode but due to limitations of file uploads here it is a lot smaller)
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Counting crumbs
They say variety is the spice of life, well if it is then my life is pretty well spiced right now. I've completed three weeks of Professional Studies at RMSP and I'm now into the final course here. It's called Advanced Intensive, and lives up to its name.
Studying three specialist subjects in the Pro Studies classes was fun and I learned a lot. It was especially good that the instructors in each case were among the top professionals in their respective fields and were able to give lots of good advice about working in those areas.
In fact the whole summer has been filled with classes led by educators who are also professional photographers, but whereas the Summer Intensive course was about technique and appreciation of photography for the most part, these later courses are about putting it all into practice as a professional photographer and adding even more skills to the toolbox... or paints to the paintbox.
So what have I been up to?
My previous post covered the start of the outdoor photography class at the Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge.
That week continued on a high with trips to the National Bison Range and to an old town called Philipsburg. Interestingly the assignments were not simply to come back with pictures but pictures and the story.
Documentary Photography continued in the same vein with pictures and stories from an assisted living home where I interviewed and photographed a Native American man who is from the Blackfoot nation. Next evening the class descended on a local truck stop and interviewed truck drivers and staff and took lots of photographs. The final evening of shooting started at a local baseball game and then went on to a small open air musical event in a Missoula side street.
The Food and Product Photography didn't require a story, just a whole bunch of ingredients and a lot of patience. Some of the food was even edible after we'd finished with it.
Shooting pasta is not quite as simple as: cook pasta, pour sauce over the pasta, serve up and shoot. If it hadn't been cold when we started it would have been by the time we'd finished chasing crumbs of cheese round the set. There's an art to crumb wrangling... it involves odd numbers of crumbs, a fine implement of some sort, and a lot of patience. In contrast to this the sandwiches we made and shot one day were rather less than edible. If only we'd used organic vaseline to coat the bread before adding the mayo instead of the regular stuff, it could have made all the difference! Maybe we could have used organic cotton wool balls to pad out the delicately folded slices of meat, but least the cocktail sticks adding structure to the sandwich were sustainably sourced. It looked wonderful, at least so long as it stayed on the plate.
Fortunately the location shoot at the James Bar featured food prepared by their chef and real wine... which meant it was all fit to eat and very tasty even after we'd done with using it as a prop.
This week has flown by, and at the end of it I know lots of new techniques to try in Photoshop (like a kid with that new box of crayons). I know a little about printing on alternative surfaces - you name the surface and there's sure to be a process out there for putting a photograph onto it. I know about animation and time lapse and 3D images and I'm starting to get ideas for playing with those too. Next week we start on shooting video.
Despite there being lots to do in the remaining five weeks there is a sense of the time coming to an end. It's matched by a distinct autumnal air and cooler temperatures, in the morning. Gone are the days when I could cycle to class in a short sleeved shirt - I'm already thinking of buying some gloves!
Studying three specialist subjects in the Pro Studies classes was fun and I learned a lot. It was especially good that the instructors in each case were among the top professionals in their respective fields and were able to give lots of good advice about working in those areas.
- Outdoor Photography: Darrell Gulin gulinphoto.com
- Documentary Photography: Ed Kashi edkashi.com
- Food and Product Photography: Joe Lavine www.lavinephotography.com
 |
| The Sandwich |
In fact the whole summer has been filled with classes led by educators who are also professional photographers, but whereas the Summer Intensive course was about technique and appreciation of photography for the most part, these later courses are about putting it all into practice as a professional photographer and adding even more skills to the toolbox... or paints to the paintbox.
So what have I been up to?
My previous post covered the start of the outdoor photography class at the Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge.
 |
| Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge |
That week continued on a high with trips to the National Bison Range and to an old town called Philipsburg. Interestingly the assignments were not simply to come back with pictures but pictures and the story.
 |
| National Bison Range |
 |
| Philipsburg |
Documentary Photography continued in the same vein with pictures and stories from an assisted living home where I interviewed and photographed a Native American man who is from the Blackfoot nation. Next evening the class descended on a local truck stop and interviewed truck drivers and staff and took lots of photographs. The final evening of shooting started at a local baseball game and then went on to a small open air musical event in a Missoula side street.
 |
| Truck stop |
The Food and Product Photography didn't require a story, just a whole bunch of ingredients and a lot of patience. Some of the food was even edible after we'd finished with it.
 |
| Pasta |
Shooting pasta is not quite as simple as: cook pasta, pour sauce over the pasta, serve up and shoot. If it hadn't been cold when we started it would have been by the time we'd finished chasing crumbs of cheese round the set. There's an art to crumb wrangling... it involves odd numbers of crumbs, a fine implement of some sort, and a lot of patience. In contrast to this the sandwiches we made and shot one day were rather less than edible. If only we'd used organic vaseline to coat the bread before adding the mayo instead of the regular stuff, it could have made all the difference! Maybe we could have used organic cotton wool balls to pad out the delicately folded slices of meat, but least the cocktail sticks adding structure to the sandwich were sustainably sourced. It looked wonderful, at least so long as it stayed on the plate.
Fortunately the location shoot at the James Bar featured food prepared by their chef and real wine... which meant it was all fit to eat and very tasty even after we'd done with using it as a prop.
 |
| Edible, hot and tasty, even after it had posed for a photo! |
This week has flown by, and at the end of it I know lots of new techniques to try in Photoshop (like a kid with that new box of crayons). I know a little about printing on alternative surfaces - you name the surface and there's sure to be a process out there for putting a photograph onto it. I know about animation and time lapse and 3D images and I'm starting to get ideas for playing with those too. Next week we start on shooting video.
Despite there being lots to do in the remaining five weeks there is a sense of the time coming to an end. It's matched by a distinct autumnal air and cooler temperatures, in the morning. Gone are the days when I could cycle to class in a short sleeved shirt - I'm already thinking of buying some gloves!
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Stepping up
I usually write blog posts at the weekend but today is an exception. After spending last week relaxing in Texas this week is the first of three Professional Studies courses, and if the first two days of this course are anything to go by it will be a time of working hard and learning lots.
Yesterday we worked in class from 9:30 a.m. to around 6:30 p.m. This morning we started at 6:30 a.m. at a nature reserve about 45 minutes drive away and finished at 6.00 p.m. Tomorrow we start at 6:30 a.m. at a different nature reserve just over an hour away. Thursday we get to sleep in - class starts at 8.00 a.m. at a town an hour and a quarter's drive away. Despite the early starts the class, The Business of Outdoor Photography, is really enjoyable and well worth it. Friday is a normal class day - at least as far as the hours go.
As with other courses at RMSP the teacher, Darrel Gulin is someone who is out there doing photography and has been marketing his work for 25 years, 19 of them full time. Getting the benefit of that much experience from someone who is an excellent teacher is pretty cool. The class assistant, Jimmy White who is an RMSP graduate from 2009, also takes a pretty mean picture and is a great help and encouragement.
So, bleary eyed, we turn up at the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge while it is still dark and then shoot pictures from first light. We then head back to class, select the best 5 photos, process them, and then hand them in by noon ready for them to be shown later in the afternoon. Considering we were all in a very small area of the park at the same time and seeing essentially the same things we had a great variety of interpretations of what we saw and the photos we all turned in were very impressive. I'm getting to enjoy outdoor photography a lot. Here's my take on Lee Metcalf.
Time now for a bit of homework, recharging the batteries (mine and the cameras), and then an early night.
Yesterday we worked in class from 9:30 a.m. to around 6:30 p.m. This morning we started at 6:30 a.m. at a nature reserve about 45 minutes drive away and finished at 6.00 p.m. Tomorrow we start at 6:30 a.m. at a different nature reserve just over an hour away. Thursday we get to sleep in - class starts at 8.00 a.m. at a town an hour and a quarter's drive away. Despite the early starts the class, The Business of Outdoor Photography, is really enjoyable and well worth it. Friday is a normal class day - at least as far as the hours go.
As with other courses at RMSP the teacher, Darrel Gulin is someone who is out there doing photography and has been marketing his work for 25 years, 19 of them full time. Getting the benefit of that much experience from someone who is an excellent teacher is pretty cool. The class assistant, Jimmy White who is an RMSP graduate from 2009, also takes a pretty mean picture and is a great help and encouragement.
So, bleary eyed, we turn up at the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge while it is still dark and then shoot pictures from first light. We then head back to class, select the best 5 photos, process them, and then hand them in by noon ready for them to be shown later in the afternoon. Considering we were all in a very small area of the park at the same time and seeing essentially the same things we had a great variety of interpretations of what we saw and the photos we all turned in were very impressive. I'm getting to enjoy outdoor photography a lot. Here's my take on Lee Metcalf.
Time now for a bit of homework, recharging the batteries (mine and the cameras), and then an early night.
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