Reflections on my first Photo Workshop

[TheBigE]

Well, as many have seen I have been posted some images for C&C from my recent 5 Day Photoworkshop.

The total collections (in no particular order) can be seen here (Still working on my website...so not all links will work)

This was my first ever Photo workshop and really I did not have any idea of what to expect. First some basic framework of the workshop

- We would generally start at 0630 and head to our first destination. We may make 2-3 stops in the morning and usually break around 1300. We would then pick up again at around 1600 and go until 2100 in the evenings. For those that were interested we also did two nights of Astro Photography which started around 2200 and went until 0100 the next day. There were two instructors and a total of 6 students (2 students cancelled last minute) and we had a model for two days of the course.


I have had nearly 2 months now to reflect back. I think there are some great lessons and concepts that I learned during and afterwards In no particular order they are:

Good Light - We spent our time in the golden hours of the day and this is really the first time I have made an dedicated effort to photograph during this time. What a difference, the soft light, the shadows, the lack of people. Everything is better in Good Light. For many experienced photographers this is obvious, but for me this was a real eye opener. Post processing afterwards was extremely simple on most of these photos - the light was good, the compositions worked and all that was required was just some color boost. It was hands down the easiest PP work I have done in my short time in photography. As a side note, of the 5 days of the workshop only one afternoon was dedicated to post processing. The emphasis was truly to get it as close to correct In Camera.

Thinking in Zoom - I remember one moment where we were at an overpass looking down at a valley. I had my 70-300mm lens on my D7200. I seemed to be focused on a Farm House just below (maybe 100 feet below in the valley).

The instructor saw me taking these photos and asked to see my camera. He quickly focused out in the distance and returned with this photo

After looking at the second photo by the instructor, it really clicked in my mind the compositional thought that needs to go into using a long lens. It is more than just getting close to someone/something but looking out with a narrow FOV and seeing an image. Picking that small spot in the distance that makes an image.

Sunny 16 - This rule really works, well I knew it did before, but in many cases we started with Sunny 16 as a benchmark for our exposure. I will say this workshop rekindled my desire to work more in Manual Mode and work the exposure to my liking based on my compositional goals.

Stop and Think It was nice to have a moment to just top and think. Usually most of the time when travelling, it is with family and during mid day - time is of the essence and good light is non existence. Here in the workshop we would pull up to a scene, with all our gear and could survey the scene and really think about the composition or feelings you wanted to envoke in an Image. The light was good so that variable was removed.

People/Activity add life to a photo A field of sunflowers is nice - but you add somone in the middle with a white dress it takes it to an entire new level. The simple addition of someone with a Red Umbrella walking down a road inbetween fields of lavender - again the photo goes to an entire new level.

Overall I was very pleased with the result and like many, mileage may vary if you take a photoworkshop. It worked for me in this case. I will admit that 5 days was a bit long and were prefer something on the order of 2-3 days. Any questions let me know.

In the end, I would say that if you are on the fence about a workshop. Push yourself to try - you maybe surprised how enjoyable and what you can really learn. I know I was....thanks for reading.

[bnnrcn]

Thanks for sharing your experience about the workshop and your images Erik . I'm glad that you are satisfied with the workshop

[rpcrowe]

Very nice collection of images as well as a well done smugmug site!

[Shadowman]

Nice feedback, I actually prefer your shot to the instructors; however it looks like you used a miniature effect on the structures, did you? Was the advice of the instructors to shoot RAW or jpeg?

[TheBigE]

Thanks for sharing your experience about the workshop and your images Erik . I'm glad that you are satisfied with the workshop

Thanks Binnur for the feedback, it was a great experience.

[TheBigE]

Very nice collection of images as well as a well done smugmug site!

Thanks Richard - still a few things left to do on the site. I like the organization and general layout so far.

[TheBigE]

Nice feedback, I actually prefer your shot to the instructors; however it looks like you used a miniature effect on the structures, did you? Was the advice of the instructors to shoot RAW or jpeg?

Thanks John - I do like my image, but also the instructors and it made me think more about how to use TelePhoto. I did not use a miniature effect on my image - just some color boost. We did not get much into Raw or JPEG - but he recommended shooting in RAW.

[purplehaze]

Good read, Erik. I am envious. I totally get what your instructor was doing with the telephoto, as it just came home to me this summer how the compression effect of a long lens creates compositions we do not see with the naked eye. No doubt, with practice, we learn to see them with the mind's eye.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[plugsnpixels]

Thanks for sharing what you learned, all very good points and ones that I can relate to in my own experience.

Golden Hour is definitely better than mid-day, perhaps even better than morning (especially the getting up early part!). I love the long shadows and low sun (for backlight).

I also love working with long telephotos (going back to my 35mm days), isolating small sections of the larger world. This is what enables a photographer to show their true vision, bringing the viewer's attention to details they might otherwise miss or not notice in a wider context.

I was forced to learn Sunny 16 back in 1975 when I bought my first 35mm (Argus) camera, a demo model from a department store. It was fully functional, but the shutter speed and ASA plates had fallen off the dial (screw came out at some point). So I had to first read the little instruction paper that came with rolls of Tri-X to get basic exposures (250/16 for sun, 250/11 for slight cloud cover, etc.). I also had to memorize the shutter speeds in order from the end point of the dial (1000, 500, 250, 125, etc.) since the table was missing. Great way to learn! I did eventually get the came fixed...

Scenics without people: I agree, you need some subject, otherwise the scene looks like a stock background image.

[Manfred M]

Erik - thanks for this posting. I'm glad you found the workshop useful. It certainly seems to have changed the way you look at photography (for the better), I think.

I've attended three workshops - two ran for two days and the third one ran for 7 days. So, to some extent I understand where you are coming from with respect to the advantages of a shorter workshop, but on the other hand, I noticed more of an improvement when I attended the longer workshop. The additional days of intense work did have a cumulative impact on how well I was shooting. Nicely said, during the 2-day workshop I learned new skills, but during the 7 day workshop I learned new skills and had the opportunity to practice and refine them.

With respect to your comments on having a human element in your images, this works really well when you have a model. Less well when you don't. but recognizing the fact that this does have a positive impact means I look for these opportunities when the situation presents itself. I find that in most situations, a frontal view (or at least the face of the person) should be towards the camera. Images of the backs of people usually does not work nearly as well.

Your comment regarding photo opportunities during travel is partially correct. It is true that you might not be able to get those "portfolio images" that you can get when shooting at Magic Hour and Blue Hour, but if you understand light, I can guarantee you can still get excellent images, so long as you stay within the limitations that the existing light gives you. Pure landscapes, those tend to work best when the sun is low in the sky.

[rpcrowe]

I LOVE TELEPHOTO LENSES and shoot at least 1/3 of my images (including all portraits - both human and dog) with long focal lengths...

[TheBigE]

Good read, Erik. I am envious. I totally get what your instructor was doing with the telephoto, as it just came home to me this summer how the compression effect of a long lens creates compositions we do not see with the naked eye. No doubt, with practice, we learn to see them with the mind's eye.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Janis - I would say the Telephoto Lens "Compression" effect was the biggest Ah-Hah moment for me on the workshop. Certainly more practice helps - I put it to good use in Sorrento on the overlook just a couple of weeks ago, still need to get through photos....

[TheBigE]

Thanks for sharing what you learned, all very good points and ones that I can relate to in my own experience.

Golden Hour is definitely better than mid-day, perhaps even better than morning (especially the getting up early part!). I love the long shadows and low sun (for backlight).

I also love working with long telephotos (going back to my 35mm days), isolating small sections of the larger world. This is what enables a photographer to show their true vision, bringing the viewer's attention to details they might otherwise miss or not notice in a wider context.

I was forced to learn Sunny 16 back in 1975 when I bought my first 35mm (Argus) camera, a demo model from a department store. It was fully functional, but the shutter speed and ASA plates had fallen off the dial (screw came out at some point). So I had to first read the little instruction paper that came with rolls of Tri-X to get basic exposures (250/16 for sun, 250/11 for slight cloud cover, etc.). I also had to memorize the shutter speeds in order from the end point of the dial (1000, 500, 250, 125, etc.) since the table was missing. Great way to learn! I did eventually get the came fixed...

Scenics without people: I agree, you need some subject, otherwise the scene looks like a stock background image.

Thans for the feedback Mike - I struggle with getting up early enough to enjoy the golden hour in the morning and in the evening family comes first. There are so many opportunities during these times - backlight, long shadows. It really is amazing and I am glad I can now really see what can be achieved.

[TheBigE]

Erik - thanks for this posting. I'm glad you found the workshop useful. It certainly seems to have changed the way you look at photography (for the better), I think.

I've attended three workshops - two ran for two days and the third one ran for 7 days. So, to some extent I understand where you are coming from with respect to the advantages of a shorter workshop, but on the other hand, I noticed more of an improvement when I attended the longer workshop. The additional days of intense work did have a cumulative impact on how well I was shooting. Nicely said, during the 2-day workshop I learned new skills, but during the 7 day workshop I learned new skills and had the opportunity to practice and refine them.

With respect to your comments on having a human element in your images, this works really well when you have a model. Less well when you don't. but recognizing the fact that this does have a positive impact means I look for these opportunities when the situation presents itself. I find that in most situations, a frontal view (or at least the face of the person) should be towards the camera. Images of the backs of people usually does not work nearly as well.

Your comment regarding photo opportunities during travel is partially correct. It is true that you might not be able to get those "portfolio images" that you can get when shooting at Magic Hour and Blue Hour, but if you understand light, I can guarantee you can still get excellent images, so long as you stay within the limitations that the existing light gives you. Pure landscapes, those tend to work best when the sun is low in the sky.

Manfred - you are welcome. I would agree that over a longer workshop (5-7 days) you practice what you learn in the first few days. At some point I would like to try a shorter course just to see the difference. Certainly with a longer workshop one can experience many more different types of photography - in my 5 days we touched on Landscape, Portraits, Street Photography and Astrophotography. I did not feel as if anything was rushed and when the instructor decided it was time to leave I think everyone was ready to leave the location - there really was no rush. I guess one could consider this an advantage of a longer workshop.

I am sure it has made me a better photographer in that it has given me more confidence and a much better understanding overall of the above topics. Still much more to learn and practice and maybe in the future another workshop.

[TheBigE]

I LOVE TELEPHOTO LENSES and shoot at least 1/3 of my images (including all portraits - both human and dog) with long focal lengths...

I have now rented the 70-300mm twice, as I really do not have a solid Telephoto in my bag. I used it a great deal in my workshop but on my last holiday (Med Cruise - the fun type, not the Navy type) it did not come out of my bag as much. I mainly stayed with street zoom lens (16-85).

For me, I really just need to "force" myself to put the zoom on my camera. Perhaps "Force" is the wrong word but rather highly encourage myself to take only this lens and make the scene work. For example, one day for Street Photography in the workshop, I purposely only had the 70-300mm on my Camera. The instructor even asked why only 70-300mm. Basically I need to practice and "force" myself to use this lens. Most of the time a 16-85 seems to cover what i need and gives me enough creative flexibility. However, I learned quite a bit by using only 70-300mm lens that day.

I guess it is time to finally make the jump and get a solid telphoto lens - fortunately the 70-300mm Nikon Used lens are plentiful.

[Tringa]

Glad you enjoyed your workshop, Erik and thanks for posting some interesting observations.

Stop and think is something we should all do. There will be times when a shot has to be grabbed but generally stopping and thinking is never wasted time. If we are trying to get shots early or late in the day then stopping and thinking needs to be combined with allowing yourself enough time.

Good light is so important. It is not that unusual to see questions on forums that ask what has gone wrong with someone's photo or even their camera, when the only "wrong" thing is the light was very poor. While the following does not encapsulate everything about photography it, IMO, says a lot -

'Beginners think it is all about the cameras,
enthusiasts think it is all about the lenses,
photographers know it is all about the light'.

Dave

[TheBigE]

'Beginners think it is all about the cameras,
enthusiasts think it is all about the lenses,
photographers know it is all about the light'.

Dave

Dave - Thanks for the feedback, I really like the above....I think my workshop pushed me from enthusiast to photographer.