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.

Tea, Time Out, and Texas

There's an art to cooking on an outdoor grill. Speaking as someone who's outdoor cooking leans more towards cremation than culinary prowess I really did appreciate the cooked ribs and chicken I had this week... not to mention the wine, the travel, the endless cups of tea, and the conversation (in English).

I'm back in Missoula now, having spent the past week in the company of some wonderful Brits - in Texas of all places. The Brits are all from the Midlands (the area of the UK where I grew up) and have made me feel very welcome - thank you all for your very generous hospitality.

Of course I picked an interesting time to go to Texas. The temperature was over 100F (around 38 to 41C) during the day - and has been so for several weeks now. Night time temps have been similar to day time temps here in Missoula. Those ribs and chicken pieces would probably have cooked by themselves if left out during the day!

An eatery on San Antonio's River Walk that does a really nice bangers and mash.
What's that quote about mad dogs, Englishmen, and the midday sun?

So why go to Texas? Well...  after 11 weeks of working hard at Summer Intensive I needed to get away for a break and to relax before launching into the next part of my photo studies and I had the opportunity to visit a friend who grew up about 20 miles from my home town. It's funny how activity can be relaxing when it's somewhere new and trips to Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and south east Oklahoma made the week go by very quickly. I also saw signs of Texan wildlife, past and present.

Not native wildlife but a lot better suited to the heat than I was. Pics taken in a wildlife park.

All that separates my foot from this dinosaur footprint is a few million years.
Which is fortunate cos I'm not sure bear spray would have worked on these beasts!

More dinosaur footprints preserved in stone.

Part of the old Fort Worth stock yards

Views from the top, Oklahoma

High up in Oklahoma at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Reserve

The last time I posted here I had just two days to go on the SI course. Those two days saw my final project completed at last, and then the RMSP Summer Intensive graduation. They also saw a lot of goodbyes to a bunch of really lovely people who have shared, and made, my summer. In many cases it was all I could do to give a hug - any attempt to say anything would have tipped me over the edge. Some wonderful friendships have been made in SI and will continue. One of the things that struck me at the graduation was the quality of the photographs we had to show - easily of professional standard. We've learnt a lot about photography and about ourselves.

Many of my fellow students will be back for some or all of the Pro Studies courses and the Advanced Intensive which follows. I'll be studying one week courses in "The business of outdoor photography", "Documentary photography", and "Food and product photography", followed by the six week Advanced Intensive course. It's back to class tomorrow.

Almost there - part 1

There are only two days to go on the SI course. Today I get to show my final project and tomorrow is the final lecture followed by graduation.

The past 10 days have been busy and interesting with the main focus (for everyone) being the final project. There were the continuing lectures, mostly on the software we use to process digital photographs, with additional lectures on night photography, career related topics, the business of photography, and film (yes, there are many who still use that and interest seems to be on the increase). There have been days when I didn't pick my camera up and one where I didn't seem to put it down. It's been good and I've had some fun times.

The pace has continued, and that is good too. In part it's self imposed.  I mean, there was no one forcing me to end a busy day last Friday with a trip out to shoot the stars but that's what I did. Friday morning: work on final project (technically I should have been at a lecture but I had it in mind it was an optional lab session - I worked at home all the same). Friday afternoon: lecture on Photoshop software. Friday evening: print lab - printing the pics for my final project, and getting home at about 10.00 pm. Friday 10.45pm: head off to shoot the full moon, shoot star trails, watch shooting stars, draw light pictures, and generally have a brilliant time till 2 am.

A team effort with each of us doing one letter (I did the letter "I") we used Cindy's camera. 

Ghost writers (I'm the one with the hat)

Some of the other light painting creations were....

Night flower

Creature of the night. I think I had it in mind to draw a bear but pig, donkey or cow would also work as a description

I also turned my attention to the sky and shot this...

Full Moon: ISO 100, f9.0, 1/160th sec, 280mm lens on crop sensor camera (effectively a 480mm lens)

.... and these...

Moon behind the trees with a longer exposure

Star trails - with the moon lighting up the sky even though it was around midnight

It looks more like the middle of the day rather than middle of the night with the full moon and an almost clear sky

Moonlight with the added light from a passing car

You wouldn't think you could have so much fun and laughter out taking photos in the dead of night but we did, and the folk I was with were and are brilliant company. I shall miss them.

With all this activity it was good to be able to sleep in on Saturday morning, and just as well since I spent Saturday afternoon and evening at the State Fair in town shooting the fairground rides, some livestock, and a concert.  More of that in part 2 - with all the activity this week on my final project I've not had chance to look at the 600 plus pics I took at the fair let alone pick out some good ones (I hope there are some good ones in there!). Besides which it's morning and I could do with some breakfast and a shower before I head in to show the world, or at least Group D, my final project.

Weekend Down Time

Written on Saturday & Sunday

Saturday:

Not two minutes ago, or so it seems, I was winding up my previous weekend and thinking "I'll write my blog post on Monday". Well, now it's the next weekend and today, Saturday, is a day for downtime. Not that I intended it to be downtime. Nor that I've been working so hard there's been no downtime at all, it's just that today worked out to be time away from photography. Other than for a while thinking I should be doing SOMETHING to further the cause (for which read final project) and getting out the hard drive with my photos I've done nothing. Well I did take a fruitless wander round a local craft store for final project supplies, but aside from that it never got past the thinking stage. I've taken a day off and holed up instead... probably the first non-photo day since the course began.

Peace

Most days since I got here have involved studying photography (lots of class time), doing photography for myself (sometimes I think not nearly enough), or working on photographs on the computer in some shape or form. Today the nearest I got - aside from the craft store - was thinking about it. Instead I watched a film... and shortly I'll watch another. OK, so maybe if I finish writing this blog today (Saturday) I'll put some photos in here though I suspect that will wait till tomorrow. But I did make soup and do laundry and go to the food store - does that count as productivity
:-)

No shortage of these in Montana

It's odd the way time has flown by. As a former student described it to me in an email the other day, "Time felt very different too. It's as if it slowed down and sped up all at the same time", and it does seem that way as the end of SI approaches. She also described the approaching end of term as "bittersweet", which it is.

I'm looking forward to the end of the course and some time away... not to mention getting that final project finished and getting out to explore photography on my own. At the same time I'm aware that it will also be the last time I get to hang out with some really lovely people. Some will be back for Professional Studies and Advanced (And Even More) Intensive but others will not. Yes, there is the phone and there is Skype, but it's not the same as studying together in a local cafe (highly recommended and a place I often go if I want to get work done), or doing a late night photo shoot with multiple flashes and multiple students in a Missoula back alley, or experimenting with second curtain sync flash with a bike and fellow student. Those are times when photography seems fun, in fact it's all been fun, but, like chocolate cake, you can have too much of a good thing. Which is why I'm content to leave the camera in its bag and chill out for a day. Charging my own batteries if you like.

A dark night in a back street of Missoula... a bunch of students armed with flashes... and a dog

Sunday.

Yesterday's break from photography worked well, as did watching a couple of films once I'd let go of the idea of doing anything else and was able to relax. This morning I've been out bowling and had a great time, and now I feel ready for work on photography.

Architectural detail from the Missoula Art Museum

So what have I been up to these past two weeks? There have been the many photographs I took of various crafts people for my final project... I'll be working on them next. There have been photos of the Celtic Festival held in Missoula recently, there have been photos of some of the scenery nearby, pics of architectural detail inside the local art museum, general photos of life in and around the downtown area. I've also revisited the Saturday Farmer's Market with my camera and sound recorder to put together another slide show (see below).

Celtic Festival performers - audience view

Celtic Festival performers - view over stage into Caras Park

Sound technician's view

Celtic Festival

Thirst was well catered for

Ok, so I like details :-)

Looking back over the past couple of weeks I realise how much has been recorded as video files on my point and shoot... albeit a more advanced one typically used for still pics in manual mode and raw format. I've also started to use my sound recorder to capture ambient sounds from the market.

Missoula Farmers Market - slide show of random pictures and ambient sounds recorded at the Missoula Farmers Market. Click here once to download (it's a 32Mb file size so give it a minute to finish downloading.  It should start by itself when ready).

Here are some of the other things that have caught my eye over the past two weeks...

Blue skies

Farmer's Market

Riding Brennan's Wave

Perspectives

Steps