Eastern Sierras Wildflowers (06/26/24 - 06/30/24)
Deviate from the beaten path of iconic destinations with Jess Santos and Ryan Oswald on June 26th to 30th, 2024, our journey leads into a realm untouched by mainstream tourism. Plunge into this world of natural wonders and hidden gems, exploring through the eyes of those who discovered this landscape that inspired many of the greats. You’ll find towering peaks with enchanting valleys below, embellished with richly colored wildflowers laid out as a natural tapestry. Step into an rugged alpine grove, where ancient trees stand tall like wise sentinels, observing the world below for centuries. Stray further and you’ll discover glistening lakes, reflecting the splendor of surrounding peaks. This unparalleled adventure will leave an indelible mark on your soul, escape the ordinary and embrace the extraordinary, for the Eastern Sierras beckons those with a thirst for exploration and a yearning for the unknown.
Focusing on composition and more specifically visual storytelling, we help you refine your skills and find your artistic voice. This particular location is a great way to flex your creative muscles and truly learn how to design an exceptional scene from start to finish. Our goal is for you to feel confident, motivated and passionate about your photgoraphy. Armed with a new set of ideas, skills and perpective you can really start to craft your artistic style and build your portfolio.
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We will be including a Post Workshop Group Zoom Editing Session to cover putting it all together in the digital darkroom, this will be screen recorded for you to be able to finish your images at your leisure.
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⛰ All experience levels are welcome.
We are limiting this photography workshop to 10 students with 2 Instructors to ensure that everyone receives our attention and to keep compositional possibilities uncluttered.
This workshop is arranged to capture the best light both during the day and at night, so we have kept the itinerary flexible to be able to chase clear skies at night and light during day. If it rains or conditions prove unsafe to venture out we will work on post processing, image critiques and in classroom sessions, there's always so much to learn both in field and in the classroom!
This workshop will require moderate hiking (no more than 3 miles) through rocky terrain and sometimes at high altitudes.
Planning your shoots
- Scouting and evaluating conditions
- Composing an image to grab the viewer’s attention
- Composing an image with a person in frame to show scale and tell a story
- How to work with light and how to find the best light for the scene
- Utilizing apps, such as PhotoPills, for more efficient planning
- Choosing the right lens, find your focal length
- How and when to use filters
- How to shoot with a plan or vision for editing
Capturing your image
- Histogram: How to read for perfectly exposed images
- Exposure control: How to use ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed in different scenarios
- Creative ways to use lens distortion
- Focus stacking & Focal Length Blends
- Bracketing and exposure blending
- Focusing at night to capture pin sharp stars and foreground
- Blue Hour Blending: How to capture blue hour & Milky Way
- Stacking for Noise Reduction: how to shoot the proper frames to stack
Bringing the image to life
- Lightroom and Photoshop: Learn our post-processing workflow
- How to blend mutliple images together in Photoshop (Blue Hour Blends, Focal Length Blends, Exposure Blends, Composites)
- Luminosity Masks
- Dodging and Burning
- Blue-hour Blends
- Star-stacking: how to edit starry night skies with Starry Landscape Stacker (or Sequator)
- Understanding layers and masks
- Finishing touches using clone stamp and removing distractions
- Creating Orton glows and painting with light
- Sharpening: Creating sharpness in your final image
