Come Explore America’s Most Beautiful Photo Locations And Learn Aperture

David interviewed by Liana Lehua

Who is David Orias? I’ll tell you. He’s just another of our ANPW contest winners who we get to know a little bit about before our trip to Yosemite here.

The location of the photo was at Mono Lake, California but I live in Santa Barbara.

Website: http://www.redbubble.com/people/DavidOrias

Main camera used is a Canon 1 Ds Mark II

My dream photography trip would be shooting the wave at Teahupoo in Tahiti when it is going off with or without a surfer on it.

My inspiration….

My inspiration in my photography style is trying to record imagery in a way that our own eyes cannot see. I am a morning person so being up before dawn is not a particular chore for me, and provides wonderful opportunities for interesting light and conditions. Due to the low light, a photographer has three choices, to pack up and leave, use very high ISOs for a faster shutter speed or drop the shutter speed and see what happens. I prefer to lower the shutter speed rather than adding digital nosie to the image. I am not completely sure of the physiology, but when the human visual system looks at movies, for example, they are shown at 24 frames per second suggesting to me that our brains see images at no slower than 1/20 of a second. Also, when we move our heads, our brain tries very hard to keep the image sharp. With my photography, I use slower shutter speeds and camera motion to capture an image that we have no way of seeing perceptually. Also, due to the slower shutter speed, the camera has more time to collect color information which we cannot see at that moment of low light, and this also creates an image that frankly I couldn’t see when I took the image.

My workflow….

The workflow always begins with the light at the time you take the photograph. This cannot be emphasized enough. If the colors aren’t there to begin with, they aren’t going to come out in the processing. Digital sensors capture a ton of information and shooting in RAW optimizes that feature. I am a real proponent of “shooting to the right of the histogram” and try my best to get a little highlight alert flashing on the LCD screen. When you look at the image captured on the back LCD of the camera, it looks bright, flat and washed out, BUT, the color information is there. I open up the file in Aperture and drop exposure, add contrast and adjust color temperature and export it to Photoshop. There, I will remove the dust spots. There is a film legacy with surfing photography to use Velvia chrome which produces highly saturated colors, so early on, I found a Velvia plug in for Photoshop and make my first layer with that plugin. Then I use additional layers for color balance, fine tuning of saturation and curves for the final look.

What am I most looking forward to during the APNW?

I will certainly enjoy meeting new people. I am excited to meet the professional photographers as well as the winners. I always enjoy being around other people who are passionate about photography. I only wish we could be together longer. I will be looking forward to new insights into landscape and nature photography in what is most certainly one of the best locations for this type of photography. I am also looking for insight from the professionals and winners on what I need to do to take my photography to the next level. I look forward to learning more about Aperture and how I can utilize it to better for my photography.

Nikki interviewed by Liana Lehua

Are you a lone photo walker, or do you prefer to conglomerate with other like-minded photographers and shoot to your hearts’ content? Our own Nikki Frantz, who is joining us on our Yosemite workshop courtesy of her winning contest entry, can go either way but tends to be more inspired when walking alone with her camera and her imagination. Learn more about Nikki here.

Location: Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Website: www.nicoleraestudio.com
Blog: www.nicoleraestudio.com/blog

Main camera body and equipment used:
Canon Rebel xti

Your dream photography trip (location): A European tour

How did you get started in photography?

I got started in photography just under two years ago. Some online friends of mine had heard about a challenge called Project 365. It involved taking a photo a day and posting it on a blog for one year. I had never really taken a lot of photographs before, but thought it would be fun. I had no idea it would change my life. I started with a small point and shoot and by the end of the year ended up with a dslr. I did not miss a single day that year. It became a sort of therapy for me, a way to see things in my life differently.

What is your favorite aspect of photography? (Example: being outdoors, the art and science of capturing the image in the camera, telling a story, etc.).

There are so many things I love about photography that it would be hard to pick my absolute favorite. I love the art of it – being able to see things others don’t and bringing it out to the open. I love being outside, walking around with just my camera – whether it’s the city or out in the middle of nowhere. It always feels like it’s just me and my camera and I can see the world through new eyes. Picking just one aspect I think I would say it would be the therapy. Unless you’ve experienced it it is hard to explain. A friend once told me holding a camera up to your face tends to shut off the world. It becomes just you and what you see throught viewfinder.

What is your shooting style? (Example: lots of photo walking, planned photo taking trips, group meetups, etc.).

I definitely do a lot of photo walking. I will either go with a friend or on my own, but I tend to be most inspired when I take some time to just walk with my camera.

Are you planning on buying any new gear specifically for the workshop between now and the workshop?

The only thing I really plan on purchasing is a filter and maybe some snowpants! I am renting a few lenses and then probably purchasing one or two after the trip. I’d like to use this trip to find out which lenses I like the best and which ones I would get the most use from.

What inspires you?

Just getting to different places inspires me. I like seeing new things, new people, new places. Another thing that inspires me is looking at other photographers’ works. There are several photography blogs that I check daily. There is some beautiful work out there and looking at it makes me want to be better.

John Harrison Interviewed by Liana Lehua

Photo credit for John Harrison’s portrait: Michael Soo of Soo Photography

Your location: I live in Sunnyvale, California in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Website: www.jharrisonphoto.com

Main camera body and equipment used:

Nikon D300 (I REALLY would like a Nikon D700!)

Nikon 18-200VR lens

Sigma 10-20mm lens

Nikon 28-70mm f/2.8 lens

Gitzo GT2541 Tripod

Singh-Ray graduated ND Filters

Your dream photography trip (location)

My dream photography trip would be shoot on the Fiji Islands and to look for incredible waterfalls. The fun part of shooting on islands in Fiji would be to go shoot sunset on one side of an island and then shoot sunset on the other.

What are you passionate about shooting?

I’m a landscape guy. I love capturing vibrant colors in sunrises and sunsets, textures in nature, the moon, flowing water and waterfalls. I try to capture the mood of the scene and love how the light interacts with the scene. My “Nature’s Firefall” image I submitted for the ANPW contest ties all of these together – a dramatic waterfall at sunset that looks like molten lava surrounded by the incredible rock textures of El Capitan in Yosemite. Water, rocks, tree bark, leaves….all things in nature have a texture to me. When I’m at a location, my challenge is capturing how the scene in front of me looks, feels, sounds or smells. Even with today’s equipment, it’s a challenge to recreate what your eyes see. If I’m successful, the photograph will remind me of that place I want to be on a Friday afternoon.

What is one tip you would like to share with photographers?

The one tip I would share with aspiring landscape photographers is to use a tripod! A tripod helps you get more depth of field and sharper images. The caveat with that is to move it around as well as raise and lower it – don’t just leave it fully extended. A tripod also gets you to slow down and think about your shot.

What do you do for a living?

I am a product manager at high-tech company in Silicon Valley working with computer security products. I just started showing and selling my landscape photographs last year and recently announced a yearlong solo exhibit with two new series of images.

How do you make the time for your photography?

It is challenging to find time for photography; often I am heading out at sunrise and sunset while on family vacations. I try to be smart about when and where to shoot. I study maps, tide tables, moon and sun rise/set tables so I can make the most of my time shooting.

I work on my images, read and learn about new techniques during late nights after the kids get to bed. The MOST important part in making time for my photography is having a supportive wife and kids!

Stay tuned for more on the winners - this week here at ANPW.

In just a few weeks, we’ll kick off the second of four Aperture Nature Photography Workshops. The winners have all been notified and have started receiving their prizes. We’re all making travel plans. I’m personally hoping for lots of snow, since Yosemite and snow make for wonderful photos.

But we’re going to do some classroom stuff too. Steve Simon and I will be sharing our approach to using Aperture. The winners all receive a free copy of Aperture 2.2 as well as Rich Harrington’s great PeachPit Press book that they can use to brush up on Aperture after leaving the workshop.

Liana Lehua will come along to document the trip and share blog posts, as well as videos that will help our audience vicariously enjoy the trip.

Within a few weeks, maybe sooner, we’ll be opening up the third contest. Winners from that contest will get to travel to Yellowstone National Park.

So there are lots of reasons to stay tuned to this blog. More coming soon.

It was a dark and dreary night…Wait! No it wasn’t. As a matter of fact it was a sunny and exceptional day! My big prize came when I was honored to be asked by Scott Bourne to cover the second installment of the Aperture Nature Photography Workshop (ANPW) in Yosemite, California. I humbly follow the talented Lisa Bettany who covered the inaugural workshop in Yellowstone National Park in October.

I am very excited to join the team for this photo safari January 14-17, 2009. I’m making a list of the things I need to shop for - mostly clothing so I don’t freeze myself into the landscape while in Yosemite. While beautiful, I must be prepared so I can concentrate on bringing you behind-the-scenes coverage, photography tutorials, up-close and personal interviews with the pros and contest winners, and help you be there with us.

I’ll be working closely with the team prior to the trip to bring you some informative and fun content as we prepare and, of course, during the 4-day workshop.

In order to help me make our coverage meaningful to you please let me know, via email or follow me on Twitter, any photography-related questions you may have for the contest winners or any of the ANPW crew. As time, relevance and availability permit, I’ll ask as many questions as I am able and include your question and its answer in one of my blog posts, audio interviews, or videos.

Thanks again to the Scott Bourne and ANPW for allowing me to be part of this adventure. Time for outdoor winter wear shopping! Yay!

Be a part of the action by:
1. sending in your questions via email or Twitter;
2. following @fittorrent on Twitter;
3. stay tuned to f64.com to see, hear and experience ANPW first-hand.

I’m looking forward to this journey with you. It’ll be here before you know it!

Contact Liana Lehua
Email: liana@girlsgonegeek.tv
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/fittorrent
Web: http://lianalehua.com

Here’s the news you’ve all been waiting for. The second set of winners in our contest are…(in no particular order)

John Harrison

Nikki Frantz

Kimberly Haugen

David Orias

Each of these lucky winners will accompany us to Yosemite National Park in January for a great workshop. Keep checking back here for more details and congratulations to the winners.

To those who did not win, don’t worry. You will have two more chances to win. We’ll open up the third section of the contest right after the new year.

The title says it all. Enter before Thursday. If you don’t get your entry in on time, we will run another contest next quarter.

Over the course of the year-long project we’re calling the Aperture Nature Photography Workshops, we’ll be assembling a first-rate crew of working professionals to inspire both the amateur winners of our contest and our community at large. Here’s some information on the second pro team. We’ll be adding to this list throughout the year so check back.

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Steve Simon is an award-winning photographer who graduated from Concordia University in Montreal with a degree in Communications/Journalism. He has participated as a guest lecturer and workshop leader at various photography and arts events in Canada, The United States, and Argentina. He has had solo shows in New York, Buenos Aires, Toronto and Montreal and his work has been featured three times at the Visa Pour L’Image Photography Festival in Perpignan, France. His work is in the permanent collections of The George Eastman House, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Comune Di Verona. He’s also the author of several photography books.

Scott Bourne is a digital media pioneer and has been involved in photography for more than three decades. He’s the co-host and founder of This Week in Photography and the author of four photo books and three photography-related titles for Lynda.com.

Scott’s led workshops and seminars for, Palm Beach Photographic Center, Cooperative Communicators of America, WPPA, The Professional Photographers of America, Seattle Art Center, and Olympic Mountain School of Photography. He holds the designation Apple Certified Professional Trainer (T3) for Apple’s Aperture.

Jennifer Wu, a professional photographer for over 15 years, is best known for her nature and landscape photography. Before focusing on the nature�s elusive beauty, she specialized in journalism and portrait photography, publishing hundreds of images in newspapers, including The Sacramento Bee.

Her images, featured in magazines and books, have won dozens of awards. Canon uses her spectacular sky photographs in their professional camera brochures. She exhibits her images at numerous nationally recognized galleries.

Jennifer attended CSU, Sacramento where she received a BA in Photography. She offers classes at Betterphoto.com and teaches photography at California State University, Sacramento, Aspen Photo Workshops, Afilm International Workshops (Barcelona, Spain), Lepp Institute, Canon U.S.A., and Sierra Club.

Derrick Story, host of Inside Aperture podcast - interviewed Rob and Cathy, two of the winners of the first Aperture Nature Photography Workshop contest.